Polish Sour Rye Soup {Żurek}
The star of my Easter table, sour rye soup. Żurek is creamy, smoky, garlicky and tiny bit sour in taste. In my home, it’s served as a starter, with slices of fresh sausage {biała kiełbasa}, garnished with a teaspoon of spicy horseradish {chrzan}. It takes some preparation, as the base of this flavorful favorite is mixed and set to ferment about a 5 days to a week ahead of time {recipe here}. The starter is a rye flour mixture and this recipe makes a very garlicky and fragrant variety.
A milder version can be found in almost any Polish grocery store here in the US, under the name of “Zakwas na Żur”, and it comes in 1 liter bottles. Prepare about 4 cups of stock for 1 liter of store-bought starter.
Poland is known for this fragrant soup, and I think it’s safe to say that it’s served at almost any Polish restaurant. Often served in a bread bowl it became my husband’s favorite as soon as he tried it. It’s hard to walk by a restaurant in Poland that serves it, and not stop in for a quick bite. Pieces of fresh sausage or smoked sausage, hardboiled egg make it extra appealing and fragrant. A side of horseradish will add slightly sharp and spicy edge. Highly recommended!
Polish Sour Rye Soup {Żurek}
Ingredients
- 3 qts / 3 l of water
- 1 carrot
- 1 small parsley root
- 2 inch / 5 cm wedge of a celery root
- 6 oz / 200 g of smoked slab bacon (in one piece)
- 6 links of fresh Polish sausage (about 16 oz / 450 g)
- 1 tbs of salt (more to tase)
- 4 c / 1 l sour rye starter
- 3 tbsp of dried marjoram
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- Sprinkle of ground black pepper
Instructions
Place all vegetables in a soup pot, add water, bacon, sausages, and salt. Bring to boil. Skim off all solids and simmer on low for 30 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, gently remove vegetables, ba- con, and sausages. Cut sausages into 1–2 inch / 3–5 centimeter pieces.
To the stock add 4 cups / 1 liter of rye starter (strained), sausage pieces, marjoram (rub in between your fingers to bloom), and crushed garlic. Sprinkle with ground pepper and boil on low for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Taste and add a bit more salt, if needed.
Soup is ready but it will do best if it combines for a few hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, place two egg halves in each bowl, along with a few pieces of sausage.
Pour in hot soup and add a bit of horseradish to taste.
Serve with bread.
GARNISH:
6 hard-boiled eggs
5 tsp of prepared horseradish
Notes
*Instead of preparing your own starter, you can purchase a store-bought version at many Polish delis. Look for “Zakwas na Żur”. You will need 2 (500 ml) bottles. Add more stock if too thick.
Best, if made a couple of days before serving.
If you haven’t made it yourself yet, I hope you give it a shot.
Smacznego!
Anna
ps. if ALL fails or if you’re just not a cooking type, you can get a pre-made / dried żurek here. Obviously it is not as good as home-made, but if you “Polish” it with the ingredients from this recipe (minus the starter and water) you can get away with this substitute.
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When making the starter, is it normal for it to separate with the flour sinking to the bottom and the water on top?
Yes.
Cześć Anna– I made the Zakwas na Żurek a few weeks ago and today I made the Żurek (Dzisiaj ja gotuję żurek… I am learning Polish!!). It was very good and very close the soup my husband’s family served me when we visited them in Bydgoszcz (My husband’s ciocia, Grażyna, recipe). I have longed for that taste experience again for some time now… thank you so much! I love watching your YouTube videos and you are my go-to person for Polish recipes. Dziękuję Bardzo!
Super!! Good job and thanks for watching!
After a week of tending to my starter, I finally made my żurek. And just as you said, it was even better the day after. Still trying to find the right meat substitute, but the soup base was delicious and tangy.
Kyle, awesome to hear! If you’re looking to make this soup as a vegetarian version, make a base similar to the one I make for Christmas beetroot soup {barszcz wigilijny}: dried wild mushrooms plus some veggies. I recently posted a video to my YouTube channel about how to make it. The mushroom based broth will be excellent with żurek starter.
I’ve been researching this soup for many years. I’m surprised my Polish grandmother never made it, since she was a professional cook/baker. She died when I was 16. I first discovered the soup in a Polish restaurant in NYC 1979. They made there’s with smoked kielbasa, and I fell in love with the unique flavor and texture. In my research, I quickly discovered the use of a flour starter, which made the soup even more curious to me. Truthfully, that step scared me. Now that I recently discovered your YouTube channel, I am no longer scared of this recipe. Your video has empowered me, and I’m going to begin the starter soon. Thank you for sharing your cooking secrets. You just can’t imagine the childhood memories you are stirring among many of us around the world.
I am surprised as well. This is an ultimate Polish flavor. Happy cooking!
I am making Zurek this morning so that we can enjoy it for our second breakfast! My starter turned out great. I started it last Saturday. I think it will be a huge success! Thank you Anna for all your invaluable guidance so that we can recreate our memories. Happy Easter!
I started my starter tonight! Looking forward to how it comes out. With the weather getting cooler, I was thinking of a good soup recipe…and this one came to mind.
The first time I made it, I used Adamba dried starter because I didn’t have time to make it from scratch. It was pretty tasty, and I’m sure it’ll be even better with homemade starter. Fingers crossed!
Yes, fingers crossed! 😉
I’m a soup addict and recently looked for easy Knorr cup of soup packages. I ended up ordering some and had no idea what they were since they were from Poland. I became very interested since they were amazing and started looking them up. Long story short, it sent me to your page. I LOVE your videos and started your pickle soup and rye starter today. I’m so excited! Thank you for being wonderful.
I’ve made Zurek a few times but never saw parsley root in recipe before, would parsnips be a good substitute since parsley root is impossible to find here in the USA.
Thanks,
Bill
My family makes a zurek with eggs, sour cream and a bit of flour whisked into water seasoned with sour salt. For Christmas Eve, we add dried mushrooms; for Easter, we add eggs and smoked kielbasa. It is delicious, yet I have never seen this type of recipe on any Polish cooking site. Have you ever heard of this recipe? My grandmother came to the US from Cwikow in 1904. I have made yours several times and love it too.