Zurek
Yield: approx
2.5 gallons
Ingredients
2 lb
smoked white sausage sliced
1 lb
bacon cubes
4 T.
butter
4 T.
oil
3 lg
white onions sliced
1 head
garlic chopped
4 large
carrots cubes
1 head
celery sliced
4
jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1.5
gallon chicken stock
1 lb
sour cream
4 cup
cream
16 oz
zurek, (or 10 oz sauerkraut juice)
6 T.
flour
3
bunches of dill chopped
¼ cup
maple syrup
12 eggs
hardboiled halved
Directions
1.) In
large soup pot heat 1 T. butter and oil over medium heat and brown bacon w.
pinch of salt
2.)
When crispy remove and add sausage and more salt, cook until deeply browned
3.)
When all crispy remove sausage and add onions and salt, add more oil and butter
if needed in equal proportions. Cook till deeply browned about 25 min.
4.) Add
carrots, celery, jalapenos, garlic, and salt, add more oil and butter if
needed, cook 20 more minutes
5.) Add
chicken stock and sausage, scraping up browned bits then add a generous pinch
of salt and pepper, bring to a simmer and cook 35 minutes
6.)
While simmering whisk sour cream, flour, cream, dill, zurek, more salt, and
maple until flour is dissolved
7.)
After 35 minutes whisk in cream mixture and cook another 8-10 minutes or until
flour taste is gone.
8.)
Taste and adjust seasoning
9.) Served each portion with half a hard boiled
egg and a pinch of crispy bacon
Notes
I had
this on a layover in Warsaw and it was like a competitive eater shotgunning beer
for the first time. I put my own spin on
it adding jalapenos and more vegetables to beef it up. The dill and cream are other additions to my
taste, the traditional soup is creamy white but browning the ingredients turns
it dark; the cream adds richness and color.
If you can find butcher shop smoked sausage go for it, the cheap stuff
will not suffice. Zurek is a soured
flour mixture popular in polish dishes, you can buy it online at polonia.com( a
polish deli) or ask around your ethnic
polish markets. Sauekraut juice will work
in a pinch but use less then recommended and taste as it’s stronger than zurek.