Sour Rye soup is an obsession I obtained on a genealogy trip to Poland with my mom. I fell in love with just about everything Poland had to offer but this soup was next level. One taste and I was hooked for life.
The following Christmas we had a German/Polish r Christmas Eve dinner. There was no question that this soup would be the star of the show. I just had to hunt down a recipe, source the ingredients and give it a go. After finding a polish deli that really wasn't too far away, the soup was a go. The results were amazing. It was a hit across the board.
The key is finding a polish deli near you. It will be your best bet to secure the white sausage and zakwas (rye starter). You can make the starter yourself, just like you would make a sourdough starter, and can find directions online but I prefer the ease of the premade starter. Not to mention, any trip to the deli gives you an opportunity to try all sorts of delicious Polish treat.
INGREDIENTS
8 c water
2 # polish white sausage
1 leek
1/2 c chopped celery
1 c chopped carrots
4 c chopped potatoes
2 c zakwas (rye starter)
1c sour cream
3 T fresh marjoram
salt to taste
dry aged bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 hard boiled eggs, halved
DIRECTIONS 1. Bring water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add sausage and cook 30-40 minutes or until sausage is cooked through. Remove sausage to cutting board until cool. Slice sausage. 2. While sausage is cooling, add leek, celery, carrots, and potatoes to sausage water. Cook until tender. 3. Stir in zakwas until fully incorporated. This may take a few minutes but stay with it. Add sour cream and mix until blended. Bring to a simmer and add marjoram and salt to taste. 4. Ladle into bowls. Top with half a hard boiled egg and crumbled bacon.