The story behind the recipe
Sour sorrel soup, also known as szczawiówka, is a tangy green soup from Polish cuisine, also known in other Eastern European cuisines and Jewish cuisine. Ukrainians call it green borscht, Lithuanians refer to it as "lapienė," and in Yiddish, it is "schav." It was a seasonal soup because fresh sorrel doesn't last long. Only jarred sorrel allows you to make it year-round. Hard-boiled eggs are a must.
In Kujawy, it is called "ściawiówka." In a description submitted by Renata Dzik from the Women's Agricultural Circle in Bronisław (Dobre municipality), it is served with hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters and with "krychany" potatoes. This was an everyday soup: "if there was broth, it was known that the next day there would be sour sorrel soup." The same description reminds us that in early spring, when food was scarce, wild sorrel helped people survive.
Sour sorrel soup can be found in many old cookbooks. Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa (1871) suggested using enough sorrel "to make the soup sour enough, which is done by eye," sautéing it in butter, pouring in broth, and thickening it with cream and flour. She served it with stuffed eggs or croutons. Elżbieta Kiewnarska in "Soups and Sauces" (1929) sautéed 40 decagrams of young sorrel with a teaspoon of butter, seasoning with salt only after adding flour, and after pouring in the cream, she only heated the soup, "but did not cook it any longer." In winter, sorrel was salted: according to "Pantry and Winter Supplies" by Norkowska (1925), young September leaves were layered with salt in a container, and before use, they were rinsed several times.
Ingredients
Broth
- 1.8 l cold water (or 1.5 l of ready broth, then skip the rest of the broth)
- 500 g pork ribs
- 1 pc turkey neck (or chicken carcass; not necessary)
- 2 pcs carrot (about 150 g)
- 1 pc parsley (root) (about 80 g)
- 60 g celery root
- leek (a piece about 10 cm)
- 1 pc onion
- 2 pcs bay leaves
- 3 pcs allspice
- whole pepper (a few grains)
- 1 tsp (about 6 g) salt
Soup
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350 g fresh sorrel (300–400 g, preferably young leaves; or 200–250 g of jarred sorrel)
Abroad: USA and UK: sorrel (garden sorrel); Germany: Sauerampfer; Polish stores: jarred or frozen sorrel - 10 g butter (only for fresh sorrel)
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200 g 18% cream
Abroad: sour cream; Germany: saure Sahne or Schmand - 1 tbsp (about 7.5 g) wheat flour (flat)
- salt and pepper (to taste, only at the end)
To serve
- 4 pcs eggs (hard-boiled)
- 650 g potatoes (600–700 g, boiled separately)
- dill or chives
Method, step by step
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Prepare the ingredients: rinse the ribs (and turkey neck if using), peel the carrots, parsley, celery, and onion, and wash the leek thoroughly.
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Broth: place the ribs and neck in a pot, cover with 1.8 l of cold water, and bring to a boil, skimming off the foam. Add the vegetables, bay leaves, allspice, pepper, and salt. Cook covered on very low heat for about one and a half hours, so the broth barely simmers.
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Meanwhile, boil the potatoes separately in salted water and hard-boil the eggs. When the broth is ready, remove the meat and vegetables and strain it. Cut the carrot into cubes or grate it, remove the meat from the bones, and return both to the broth.
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Thoroughly wash the fresh sorrel in cold water, remove the stems, and chop the leaves. Sauté it briefly in a saucepan with butter until wilted. Jarred sorrel does not need to be sautéed: if it is very salty or sour, rinse it in a sieve.
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Bring the broth to a boil, add the sorrel, and cook for just a few minutes. The sorrel will almost immediately change color to olive-brown, and that's how it should be.
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Thickening: mix the flour with 2 tablespoons of cold water, then thoroughly with the cream, without lumps. Add a few tablespoons of hot soup and mix, and only then pour the cream into the pot, stirring constantly. Do not pour cold cream directly into the soup, as it will curdle.
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Heat the soup over low heat until hot, but do not boil it anymore. Only now taste and season with salt and pepper.
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Place the potatoes and eggs cut in halves or quarters into bowls, pour hot soup over them, and sprinkle with dill or chives.
Photos
