Home recipe kuchnia polska

Zupa pomidorowa

Name: Zupa pomidorowa
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: kuchnia polska
Ingredients: 1.2 l rosół (poultry or poultry-beef, can be from Sunday dinner); 200 g koncentrat pomidorowy 30% (small jar; start with 100 g, add the rest after tasting); 100 g kwaśna śmietana 18% (or 60 ml of 30% cream, which doesn't need tempering; can be omitted); sól i pieprz czarny mielony (to taste, at the very end); 1 pinch cukier (only if the soup is too sour); 150 g makaron suchy (noodles, fusilli, shells, or broken spaghetti); 120 g ryż biały (instead of pasta); 2 tbsp posiekana natka pietruszki albo koperek

Homemade tomato soup made with broth and tomato paste, enriched with cream and served with pasta or rice. Tips on how to temper the cream to prevent curdling and which tomato paste to buy abroad.

Servings: 4 servings
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Difficulty: Easy

Domowa zupa pomidorowa z ryżem i koperkiem na głębokim talerzu

The story behind the recipe

Tomato soup, commonly known as pomidorówka, is according to Polish Wikipedia a soup "prepared based on poultry or vegetable broth," served "with pasta or rice, batter, or so-called zacierka (a type of noodle)." Wikipedia also cites "Polish Ethnography" (PAN, 2004), where a traditional Polish dinner includes tomato soup with pasta, pork chop, potatoes, cucumber salad, and compote. In Tadeusz Różewicz's poem "On the Departure of a Poet and a Passenger Train," tomato soup symbolizes the monotony of everyday life.

The recipe has been known in Poland since at least the 19th century. Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa in "365 Dinners for 5 Złoty" (1871 edition) provides two versions. "Clear tomato soup" is a good broth to which tomatoes sautéed in butter with a bit of bread pulp, strained through a sieve, and half a cup of white wine are added, along with croutons. "Tomato soup with cream" is enriched with sour cream mixed with a spoonful of flour and served with thick rice cooked with butter placed in the bowl before the soup. Thus, broth, cream, and rice were already in it a century and a half ago. The jar of tomato paste appeared later, but exactly when is unknown.

In many homes, tomato soup is made on Monday from leftover broth from Sunday dinner. Kasia from the blog Polonist writes that many people also know tomato soup from milk bars and canteens. However, this is a family custom, not a documented tradition. We did not find tomato soup on the ministerial List of Traditional Products.

Ingredients

Zupa

1.2 l rosół (poultry or poultry-beef, can be from Sunday dinner)
Abroad: store-bought chicken broth; can be salty, so add salt at the end
200 g koncentrat pomidorowy 30% (small jar; start with 100 g, add the rest after tasting)
Abroad: USA and Canada: tomato paste (not tomato purée); UK and Ireland: double concentrate tomato purée; Germany: Tomatenmark 2-fach konzentriert; Austria: Paradeismark; Switzerland: Tomatenpüree
100 g kwaśna śmietana 18% (or 60 ml of 30% cream, which doesn't need tempering; can be omitted)
Abroad: USA and Canada: sour cream; Germany: saure Sahne or Schmand; instead of 30% cream: Schlagsahne
sól i pieprz czarny mielony (to taste, at the very end)
1 pinch cukier (only if the soup is too sour)

Do podania

150 g makaron suchy (noodles, fusilli, shells, or broken spaghetti)
Abroad: instead of egg pasta, ribbons, e.g., tagliatelle
120 g ryż biały (instead of pasta)
Abroad: regular long-grain white rice
2 tbsp (30 ml) posiekana natka pietruszki albo koperek

Method, step by step

Measure 1.2 liters of broth. If there is a lot of fat on top, skim it off with a spoon, as tomato soup shouldn't be fatty. If the broth has evaporated, replenish it with boiling water. Clarity doesn't matter here; the broth can be cloudy. If you don't have broth, cook it according to our broth recipe.
Heat the broth in a pot until it is very hot. It doesn't need to boil.
Stir in half of the tomato paste, about 100 g, and thoroughly incorporate it into the broth. Taste and only then add the rest, spoon by spoon, until the flavor is distinctly tomato but not sour.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta or rice in a separate pot in salted water according to the package instructions, and drain. Do not cook them in the soup, as they will overcook and absorb the liquid.
Temper the cream: transfer it to a bowl, add a ladle of hot soup, and mix thoroughly. Add a bit more hot soup, mix, and then pour everything into the pot while stirring continuously. You can pour 30% cream in directly without tempering.
Bring the soup just to a boil and turn off the heat. Only now season it with salt and pepper, and if it is too sour, add a pinch of sugar.
In bowls, place the pasta or rice, pour hot soup over it, and sprinkle with chopped parsley or dill.

Tips

The cream curdled. It wasn't tempered or it went into boiling soup. Always first mix it with a bit of hot soup in a bowl, and only then pour it into the pot. 30% cream does not require tempering.

The soup is fatty. The fat from the broth wasn't skimmed off. Tomato soup, like broth, shouldn't be too fatty, so skim it with a spoon before adding the paste.

Too sour or metallic. Too much paste at once. Add it in halves and taste. If you've overdone it, dilute the soup with unseasoned passata, purée, or regular tomato juice. A pinch of sugar will soften the acidity, but it won't remove its cause, so don't overdo it.

Overcooked pasta or rice absorbs the soup. Cook pasta and rice separately. Everyone can serve themselves as much as they want, and the soup won't thicken in the pot.

Without cream. Cream is not mandatory. A clear, red tomato soup is also good, and Ćwierczakiewiczowa in the clear version added half a cup of white wine instead of cream.

What to serve it with. With pasta (noodles, fusilli, shells, or broken spaghetti) or with rice; the "rice or pasta" debate is a family classic. Also with batter dumplings or zacierka. Top with chopped parsley, dill, lovage, or basil.

In summer with fresh tomatoes. For 1 liter of broth, use 1 kg of ripe tomatoes, such as beefsteak tomatoes. Blanch them, peel thinly, remove the hard core, and cut them into quarters to prevent juice from leaking. Sauté half an onion and 2–4 cloves of garlic in a tablespoon of butter for 2 minutes, add the tomatoes and broth. Do not replace fresh tomatoes with paste 1:1; you can substitute them with 800–1000 g of passata, purée, or canned tomatoes.

Storage. According to American FoodSafety.gov, soups with vegetables or meat last 3–4 days in the fridge and 2–3 months in the freezer. Keep pasta and rice separate. If you want to freeze the soup, freeze it before adding the cream. Reheat soup with cream only to a light boil. Quick tip: freeze strong broth, and you can make tomato soup from it in a few minutes.

Abroad. Tomato paste has a different name in every country, and it's easy to buy the wrong product. In the USA and Canada, buy "tomato paste" (6 oz cans or tubes); American "tomato purée" is thinner and corresponds to our purée. In the UK and Ireland, the opposite is true: paste is "tomato purée," preferably labeled "double concentrate," while passata is passata. In Germany, buy Tomatenmark 2-fach konzentriert; 3-fach is stronger, so use less, and einfach is weaker, so use more. In Austria, it's Paradeismark, in Switzerland, Tomatenpüree. 18% cream: in the USA and Canada, sour cream; in Germany, saure Sahne or Schmand; instead of 30% cream in Germany, use Schlagsahne. Homemade broth is best, but you can use store-bought chicken broth, just be aware it can be salty, so add salt at the end. Instead of egg pasta, Polonist recommends ribbons, such as tagliatelle, and regular long-grain white rice is sufficient.

Photos

Zupa pomidorowa z makaronem, kawałkami kurczaka i natką pietruszki

Niezabielana zupa pomidorowa z makaronem muszelkami i marchewką

Zupa pomidorowa na rosole z lanymi kluseczkami

Soups Polish cuisine Substitutes abroad

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