Home recipe kuchnia polska

Żurek

Name: Żurek
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 110 min
Cuisine: kuchnia polska
Ingredients: 1.3 l cold water; 150 g raw smoked bacon (or 300 g smoked ribs or bones); 400 g raw white sausage; 1 pc carrot (about 80 g); 1 pc parsley (root) (about 60 g); 50 g celery (a piece); 1 pc onion (about 100 g); 2 pcs bay leaf; 4 pcs allspice (whole berries); black pepper (a few berries); 1 clove garlic; 3 g dried porcini mushroom (one slice, not necessary); 400 ml sourdough for żurek (store-bought or homemade; add gradually, 300–500 ml to taste); 2 tsp dried marjoram; 100 g 18% cream (or 50 ml of 30% cream); 2 cloves garlic (pressed, at the end); 1 tsp grated horseradish (up to 2 teaspoons, not necessary); salt and pepper (to taste); 4 pcs eggs (hard-boiled); rye bread (or round loaves for serving żurek in bread); 500 ml water (boiled and cooled); 6 tbsp rye flour type 2000 (up to 100 g); 5 cloves garlic (about 25 g); 4 pcs bay leaf; 10 pcs allspice (whole berries)

Żurek made with rye sourdough, cooked with smoked meat and white sausage, flavored with marjoram, garlic, horseradish, and hard-boiled eggs. This includes tips on how to adjust the amount of store-bought sourdough, how to prepare sourdough at home, and what to look for in stores abroad.

Servings: 4 servings
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Difficulty: Easy

Żurek w glinianej misce z białą kiełbasą i połówkami jajka na twardo

The story behind the recipe

The name comes from the German language. Brückner in the "Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language" from 1927 derives żur from the German word "sür" (today "sauer"), meaning "sour," and notes that since the 15th century it has been a general name throughout the Slavic West, passing from us to Ruthenia. According to Polish Wikipedia, soups made from fermented grain were known in Poland as early as the 13th century as polewki and bryje, and earlier such a dish was called kisiel.

Gloger wrote in the "Encyclopedia of Old Poland" that żur, "a soup made from fermented flour, uncolored but lightened with milk, eaten with loose or dried peas, was one of the most beloved dishes of both the common people and the Polish nobility." During Lent, it was eaten with herring. At Easter, the court youth organized a "funeral of żur and herring": the herring was hung on a branch, and a pot of żur was smashed on the head of the novice. In villages on Good Friday, żur was poured into a pit or buried along with the pot.

Today, żurek is a hearty Easter soup, often served in bread, and on Christmas Eve, a meatless version is prepared. There are several varieties listed in the Ministry of Agriculture's List of Traditional Products, including Kraków żurek, Kujawy żur, Silesian żur, Jurajski żur with mushrooms, and Łemko keselica made from oats. There is no agreement on how żur differs from żurek. The PWN Dictionary treats żur, żurek, and white borscht as the same, while chefs divide them differently, for example, by flour: żurek made with rye, white borscht made with wheat.

Ingredients

Broth

1.3 l cold water
150 g raw smoked bacon (or 300 g smoked ribs or bones)
400 g raw white sausage
Abroad: Polish stores and delicatessens
1 pc carrot (about 80 g)
1 pc parsley (root) (about 60 g)
50 g celery (a piece)
1 pc onion (about 100 g)
2 pcs bay leaf
4 pcs allspice (whole berries)
black pepper (a few berries)
1 clove garlic
3 g dried porcini mushroom (one slice, not necessary)

Soup

400 ml sourdough for żurek (store-bought or homemade; add gradually, 300–500 ml to taste)
Abroad: Polish stores, in the USA also as "Zakwas na Żur"
2 tsp (10 ml) dried marjoram
100 g 18% cream (or 50 ml of 30% cream)
2 cloves garlic (pressed, at the end)
1 tsp (5 ml) grated horseradish (up to 2 teaspoons, not necessary)
salt and pepper (to taste)

To serve

4 pcs eggs (hard-boiled)
rye bread (or round loaves for serving żurek in bread)

Homemade sourdough (instead of store-bought, prepare 7–8 days in advance)

500 ml water (boiled and cooled)
6 tbsp rye flour type 2000 (up to 100 g)
Abroad: Germany: Roggenvollkornmehl or Roggenmehl Type 1740 or 1370; USA, Canada, UK, Australia: whole rye flour, wholemeal rye flour or dark rye flour
5 cloves garlic (about 25 g)
4 pcs bay leaf
10 pcs allspice (whole berries)

Method, step by step

If you are making sourdough yourself, prepare it 7–8 days in advance. In a sterilized jar, add rye flour, peeled garlic, bay leaves, and allspice, pour in boiled, cooled water, and mix well. Cover with cheesecloth, do not screw it shut, and place it in a moderately warm, shaded spot. Stir daily with a clean spoon. Strain the ready sourdough and put it in the fridge.
Broth: pour cold water into a pot, add bacon (or ribs), peeled carrot, parsley, celery, and onion, bay leaves, allspice, pepper, a clove of garlic, and a slice of dried porcini mushroom. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, and simmer covered on low heat for about an hour.
Prick the white sausage in several places, add it to the broth, and cook very gently for about 15 minutes, until cooked through. The water should only tremble slightly, as boiling too hard will cause the sausage to burst. In the meantime, boil the eggs until hard.
Remove the sausage and bacon, and strain the broth; you can discard the vegetables and spices. Slice the sausage, dice the bacon, and return the bacon to the broth.
Shake the sourdough bottle well to mix the flour from the bottom. Pour 300 ml into the soup while stirring, taste, and add the rest little by little until the żurek is as sour as you like.
Bring the soup to a boil and simmer on low heat for a few minutes until it thickens slightly. Add the marjoram, crushing it between your fingers over the pot.
Mix the cream in a cup with a ladle of hot soup. Remove the pot from the heat and pour in the cream, stirring. From this point on, do not boil the żurek anymore.
Add the pressed garlic and horseradish, season with salt and pepper. Return the sausage slices and heat through without bringing to a boil.
Ladle the żurek into bowls or hollowed-out loaves of bread, add halves of eggs, and serve with rye bread.

Tips

Too sour. Store-bought sourdough varies in acidity depending on the producer, so Kwestia Smaku advises adding it gradually and tasting. Start with 300 ml and add the rest little by little. If the soup turns out too sour, dilute it with hot broth or water.

Flour at the bottom of the bottle. Before opening, shake the sourdough bottle well, as the flour settles at the bottom. Without this, the soup will turn out thin and not sour enough.

Curdled cream. Mix the cream first with a ladle of hot soup and only then pour it into the pot removed from the heat. After adding the cream, do not boil the żurek anymore.

Homemade sourdough. Cover the jar with cheesecloth, do not screw it shut, and place it in a moderately warm, shaded spot. Stir daily with a clean spoon. According to Ania Gotuje, after 3–4 days, the sourdough begins to smell nice, and it is ready after 7–8 days. You can speed up fermentation with a bit of juice from pickled cucumbers or cabbage (not vinegar) or a crust from sourdough bread. A thin foam on top is normal; just skim it off. Mold and an unpleasant smell mean the sourdough should be discarded; this can be caused by a dirty jar or insufficient air. Strain the sourdough and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Żur or żurek. Ania Gotuje calls żur a spicy soup made with rye sourdough without marjoram and cream, while żurek is a milder version, lightened with cream and often cooked with white sausage and bacon. At Fukier, żur is thicker and sourer, while żurek is lighter, with bay leaves and marjoram. Every household has its own opinion on this.

What to serve with. With halves of hard-boiled eggs, slices of white sausage, and rye bread, and on special occasions in a hollowed-out round loaf. Kwestia Smaku also suggests potatoes; readers cook them separately so they don't fall apart.

Variations. For Christmas Eve, a meatless żur is prepared, made with mushroom broth. There are also vegetarian żurek and Silesian żurek with potatoes. In the 1930s, Kiewnarska fermented żur with oat flour and a crust from whole grain bread, diluting the sourdough with vegetable broth and adding fried bacon and boiled potatoes.

Storage. Ania Gotuje advises keeping żurek in the fridge for no more than 3 days and reheating it slowly. Kwestia Smaku readers say it tastes even better the next day.

Abroad. You can buy sourdough in bottles at Polish stores. The American blog Polish Your Kitchen states that in Polish stores in the USA, it is sold as "Zakwas na Żur" in 1-liter bottles. There is also powdered żurek, but this recipe does not require it. For homemade sourdough, you need rye flour type 2000, which is whole grain. In Germany, buy Roggenvollkornmehl or Roggenmehl Type 1740 or 1370. In the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia, look for "whole rye flour," "wholemeal rye flour," or "dark rye flour." These types do not correspond exactly to Polish types, but any rye flour will ferment, and the darker it is, the closer it is to the original. White sausage is easiest to find in Polish stores and delicatessens. Instead of bacon, Kwestia Smaku suggests using smoked ribs or bones.

Photos

Talerz żurku z plastrami kiełbasy, jajkami, ziemniakami i marchewką, widok z góry

Żurek podany w bochenku chleba, z jajkiem i kiełbasą

Żurek w porcelanowej wazie na wielkanocnym stole z rzeżuchą

Easter Soups Polish cuisine Substitutes abroad

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