Gaby
Ingredients:
For the rye starter for żurek:
0.5 liters of boiled, cooled water
10 tablespoons of rye flour
3-4 cloves of garlic
3 bay leaves
3-4 allspice berries
1 piece of rye bread
For the soup:
1.5 – 2 liters of vegetable or meat broth
0.5 liters of żurek rye starter
500 grams of white sausage (smoked chicken sausage)
150 grams of bacon (or a similar cured meat)
2 medium-sized onions
1 tablespoon of butter
3-4 cloves of garlic
150 ml of thick sour cream (crème fraîche works well)
1 tablespoon of dried marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste
6 hard-boiled eggs (1 egg per serving)
For the vegetable broth:
1.5 – 2 liters of water
1 onion
2-3 carrots
2-3 parsley roots
3-4 potatoes
1 small piece of celery root or 2-3 stalks of celery with leaves
4-5 allspice berries
2-3 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
First, make the rye starter for żurek.
In a glass jar, mix all the starter ingredients.
You can leave the garlic unpeeled—just crush it with a knife—or peel it and halve each clove.
Cover the jar with a kitchen towel and place it in a warm spot in your kitchen for 3–5 days.
Stir the starter every day.
When it develops a pleasant sour smell (it took me four days), the starter is ready.
Strain it through a fine sieve into another clean container.
Discard the solids left in the sieve.
You can cook żurek immediately or store the starter in the refrigerator for a while (I kept mine for a week).
Next, prepare the broth.
I used vegetable broth.
While the broth is simmering, finely chop the onion and sauté it in a skillet with butter until translucent.
When the onion is nearly done, add the sliced bacon and sauté a bit longer.
Remove all the vegetables and celery greens from the broth, leaving only the allspice berries and bay leaves.
Add the sautéed onion and bacon (reserve about 1–2 tablespoons), add the sliced sausage, and bring the soup to a boil.
Shake the rye starter well and pour it into the soup.
Stir thoroughly, bring to a boil, and simmer for 3–5 minutes.
If needed, adjust the salt, add pepper and crushed garlic to taste, and sprinkle in the marjoram.
In a bowl, mix the sour cream with a few tablespoons of the soup, then pour that mixture back into the broth.
Bring the soup to a boil, cover, and let the żurek steep for about 15–20 minutes.
Serve in bowls with a quartered hard-boiled egg and enjoy.
Enjoy it with bread or with pre-boiled potatoes cut into sticks and drizzled with the reserved sautéed onion and bacon mixture.
