Spring Sorrel Soup

I grew up waiting for Spring to eat my favourite soup - the Sorrel Soup. Sorrel is one of my key indicators of Spring and upcoming warmer weather. I remember being excited seeing sorrel in the store when I was a kid and asking my mom to make sorrel soup. I love everything about sorrel - its color, its tanginess, how well I feel after eating it (It is a high oxylate - remember to rotate your greens!).

Since I left Poland it was one of the foods I was missing the most; food I could not get enough of during each of my visits to the country. Once I started my little garden patch it was obvious that sorrel is going to be one of the plants in it.

Today I am sharing my sorrel soup recipe.

Ingredients:
6 cups of vegetable stock
2 carrots
4 potatoes
1.5 medium size onions
3 garlic cloves
4 cups of fresh sorrel
2 egg yolks
1-2 tbsp of cream (optional)
2 bay leaves
4 whole allspice
3 tbsp of ghee
sea salt
pepper

Instructions:
1. Cook the vegetable stock with bay leaves, chopped carrots, and chopped potatoes.
2. Heat the ghee and gently fry chopped onions and crushed garlic cloves. Once done, add them to the stock. Cook for approx 20-25 minutes.
3. Boil a pot of water, add chopped sorrel. Cook on a high heat for 2 minutes. Remove sorrel into the blender.
4. Add few spoons of the soup with some chunks of vegetables. Quickly blend it, it does not have to be smooth. Add back to the soup. Cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Take 2 yolks and whisk them with a fork. You can add cream if you want. If you added cream you need to add some soup to warm it up before adding it to the pot. If you only have egg yolks you can whisk them into the soup.
6. You can serve it with cooked egg sliced, or cut into quarters.
7. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

I had been struggling a bit with allergies over the last couple of weeks. This has been eating up my time as I had to focus on reducing my symptoms rather than enjoying life.

This soup is low in histamine and will help everyone suffering at this time of the year. The recipe is based on Yasmina, the Low Histamine Chef.

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash

1 large onion

3 garlic cloves

0.5 can of coconut milk

2-3 tbsp of black sesame seeds

pinch of saffron

5 large basil leaves

3-4 cups of water

sea salt

pepper

ghee

Instructions:

1. Roast the whole butternut squash 

2. Use ghee to fry chopped inion with crushed garlic cloves.

3. Fill the pot  with 3-4 cups of water and coconut water, add the roasted squash chunks, fried onion with garlic. All all remaining ingredients. 

4. Cook on a gas mark 2.6 for about 25 minutes.

5. Blend all the ingredients.

6. You can serve the soup with with fresh herbs.

7. Enjoy!

Zurek (fermented rye soup) - traditional Polish Easter soup

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #eastertraditions

Over the last two years I had been making zurek, a traditional Polish Easter soup. It has been one of my favourite soups when I was growing up and I have to admit I missed it tremendously.  For the longest time I though this soup requires a lot of work so I stayed away from it, but in fact it is super simple. 

The base of the soup is a rye starter, which is rye flour, water, whole garlic cloves, whole allspice and a bay leaf that are fermented over 3-5 days. The starter stays in the room temperature, covered with a cloth. There is absolutely nothing that you have to do with it during the fermentation process. 
To make the starter, mix flour with water, then add garlic and spices. Flour to water ratio is about 1:5; the consistency of the starter should be similar to a crepe dough.

Ingredients:

1.5 litres of stock ( you can use a mix of stock and water, I often do that)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp fried shallots (optional, I find they add a lot of flavour)

4 slices of prosciutto (you can use bacon, pork fat, or any other fatty meat you want)

3 garlic cloves

2 white sausages (they should be plain if possible so they do not overpower the soup)

1-2c rye starter, it depends how sour it got during the fermentation process.

2 tbsp dried majoram

3 tsp horseradish 

5 tbsp cream (35%)

1. Fry on a medium low heat shallots, onion, and finely chopped prosciutto for about 5-7 minutes. You can add a little butter if the meat you are using foes not contain enough fat.

2. Heat the stock and water and add fried onions, whole (or chopped) white sausage, and pressed garlic cloves.

3. Cook it for about 30-40 minutes on a medium low heat (gas mark 2.8).

4. Add rye starter by adding about half and then adjusting as required. It should be a little sour but not too sour in taste.

5. Add majoram and horseradish. Mix well and taste if it has the right balance.

6. Finally add cream, start by mixing part of the soup with the cream to warm it up. 

7. Serve with cut into pieces hard boiled egg(s).

8. Enjoy!

My Yummy Medicine Cabinet: Super A Soup

#easyfoodcreations #YummyMedicineCabinet #healthyeating

Here is on of my favourite soups that helps me battle cold, flu, sore throat, and sinusitis.

It is packed with healing ingredients that help me get back on my feet fast. Can it help you fight your influenza too?

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 medium butternut squash, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

2 inch ginger root, grated

2 garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp fenugreek seeds, ground

1-2 tbsp butter

4c stock (vegetable or chicken) 

2c water

1. Melt the butter in a pot, over low heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Cook for about 5 minutes.

2. Add stock, water and remaining ingredients.

3. Cook over low heat, gas mark 2.6, for about 40-50 minutes. 

4. Let it cool down a little bit then blend it to a smooth consistency. 

5. Enjoy!

Polish Christmas Eve: Barszcz (vegan beet soup)

#easyfoodcreations #Christmas #healthyeating #PolishFood

Barszcz takes a little bit of time to cook that is why we always make a big batch; It never lasts too long.
I love anything with beets - soups, salads, smoothies, juices, cookies - but peeling beets is one of my least favourite activities as it severely stains your skin and it is extremely difficult to remove. Hence when handling beets I use latex gloves which effectively solve the problem.

Important note - never cover beet soup while cooking it as it will become brown; you want to maintain beets beautiful ruby colour.

Ingredients:

4 carrots

2 parsnips

0.25 large celery root

9 medium sized beets

1 leek

1 onion

3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half

3 whole allspice

10 black pepper corns

3-4 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice (helps in preserving the colour)

10 dried mushrooms

1. Peel and clean carrots, celery root, parsnip, leek, onion. Cut into large chunks, it will be taken out later and used in a Polish Vegetable salad.

2. Soak dried mushrooms for about 15 minutes.

3. Place carrots, celery, parsnip, leek, onion, dried mushrooms, and all spices (other than garlic and lemon/vinegar) in a large pot, add 2-3 litres of water. Bring to boil then lower the heat to gas mark 2.4 and cook for about an hour.

4. Peel beets, but into 6-8 pieces each. Set aside.

5. Take out all vegetables from the soup leaving mushrooms in. Set them aside to cool.

Add beets, vinegar and garlic. Cook on a low heat 1.8 - 2.0 for another 3-4 hours. Add more water if needed. If you use too high heat you will lose the ruby colour of beets. 

6. Take beets and all other spices and vegetables out. Since we don't like wasting food we keep the beets and use them in salads.

7. Serve clear soup in a cup or a bowl.

Beet soup can be served with uszka - Polish dumpligs with mushrooms. This way it would be served in a bowl.

Other alternatives are pasztecik - yeast cakes, or kulebiak - cabbage cake. This way we serve it in a cup as a drinking soup.

8. Enjoy!

Spiced zucchini and celery soup

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #soup

Here is an easy everyday soup that will satisfy all tastes.

Ingredients:

1.5 litre of chicken stock (you can use any kind if stock you like)

1 tbsp butter

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

4 small zucchinis

3 celery stalks

7 small potatoes

1 cup cream

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1. Melt the butter and add finely chopped onion and crushed garlic. Cook on a gas mark 3 for a few minutes stirring occasionally. Add spices and cook for another minute.

2. Add chopped into smaller pieces potatoes, add stock and cook for 15 minutes.

3. Add chopped celery and zucchini, lower heat to gas mark 2.8 and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

4. Take off the heat and let it stand for a few minutes, add cream.

5. You can cook it on a low heat (gas mark 1.8) if want to have a piping hot soup or can serve it at this point.

6. Serve with cheese toast or by itself.

7. Enjoy!

Cabbage Soup

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #cabbage

With the new year's resolutions one of the goals is to eat certain foods more frequently - cabbage is one of them.
Cabbage is a great source of fibre, vitamin C, iron, vitamin K, folate, and potassium.

Ingredients:

1 small head of green cabbage, finely chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crashed and chopped
2 lean sausages (I used lean beef sausages)
1 can of tomatoes
1 litre of stock (I used chicken stock)
2 tbsp of butter
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
2/3 tbsp dried origano
2/3 tbsp dried thyme




1. In the large pot melt butter and add fennel and caraway seeds. Wait for them to start popping.
2. Add onion and garlic  and cook for another couple of minutes until translucent.
3. Add sausage and cook for another minute.
3. Add carrots, celery, and cabbage, and remaining ingredients. All ingredients should be covered in liquid. You may need more stock or water. Cover and cook on gas mark 2.8 for about 40-50 minutes.
4. Serve hot.
5. Enjoy!