There are several ways to make Polish Easter soup aka: Barszcz Bialy or white borscht. The traditional way involves fermenting rye flour for weeks. There are also a couple of easy ways to make it with packets or bottled Zur. Lastly, you can make it with sourdough discard.
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Polish Easter Soup Ingredients:
- Sour Broth (see below for 4 ways to make the broth)
- 1 large onion
- 1 teaspoon Marjoram
- Hard boiled eggs
- Smoked polish sausage
- Fresh grated horseradish
- Rye bread
Step 1 Make the Sour Broth in one of 4 ways:
Option 1: Using a packet to make sour broth
This is the easiest way to make the sour broth needed to make Polish Easter soup. When served with quality Polish sausage this broth is quite tasty and very easy. You will need to purchase Barszcz Bialy White Borscht Soup Mix packets. You can find them in a Polish or European market or find them here. The directions are printed on the back, but may be in Polish. Just add 1 Liter of water, and simmer for 5 minutes. Simply heat and serve!
Option 2: Using Bottled Zur to make Polish Easter Soup
There are several different brands or Zur you can purchase to mix and make your sour broth. These bottles can be found in Polish or European markets. They may or may not have directions in English or Polish on them.
Typical directions, if available suggest mixing the contents of a 500 mL bottle of Zur with 2.5 Liters of vegetable stock. This results in a broth that is not very sour in my opinion. I prefer to mix the liquid portion of the contents half and half with vegetable broth. Allow the bottle to sit until all of the flour is on the bottom. Carefully pour the liquid portion into the pan, leave as much flour as possible in the jar. The flour will thicken the soup too much if you add less water. I recommend starting there, heat the soup to a simmer before tasting it. If it is too sour add more vegetable broth.
Homemade vegetable stock is best. I use this recipe, but when I make it for Polish Easter soup I add a couple slices of horseradish before simmering the broth.
Option 3: Make Homemade Zur
Sterilize a 1 quart mason jar with boiling water. Allow the boiled water to cool to room temperature. Add 1/2 cup of rye flour to the jar, then pour the cooled water over top to nearly fill the jar. Cover the jar with a fermentation lid. Allow this jar to sit in a warm dark place for 2-4 weeks. The result will be a sour liquid you can use to make Polish Easter soup.
Option 4: Make sour broth with Sourdough Discard
Add 1/2-2/3 cup of sourdough discard to 2-3 Tea bags. Tie off the tea bags as tightly as possible. Place the filled bags into a mason jar filled with water and store in your refrigerator for at least one week. Squeeze the remaining sour flavor from the bags and use the sour broth to make your soup.
Alternatively you can fill the bags and soak them in your pot of water or vegetable stock as you heat it. Add as many bags of sourdough discard as you like to make your soup as sour as desired. Some of the flour will escape to slightly thicken your soup.
Step 2: Make the Polish Easter Soup
Sautee onions in a small amount of olive oil until softened. Add the sour broth and 1 teaspoon of marjoram. Simmer until heated to serving temperature, stirring occasionally.
Note: If you prefer a thicker soup, you can add a tablespoon of flour to the onions to make roux before adding the sour broth. Another way to thicken the broth is to add the hot broth 1 tablespoon at a time to 2 tablespoons of sourdough discard until the discard is heated. Then slowly pour the warm discard into the soup until the desired thickness is achieved.
Step 3: Serve the Polish Easter Soup
To Serve, spoon the broth into a bowl, then add a hard boiled egg, sliced smoked sausage and fresh horseradish to taste. Serve with a slice of rye bread for dipping.
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