Polish Easter Soup

For Easter this year we had a real treat, my friend Ewa made żurek, also known as Polish Easter Soup, and sometimes called white barszcz. It's basically a thin white soup and uses a sour rye started as a base, with polish sausage and hard boiled eggs in it, among other things. At first thought, you may think to yourself "this does not sound that good." But let me tell you from experience, when done right it's wonderful, and my friend Ewa did it to perfection. It was so good that one of my friends who's not very adventurous in the food department and more of a "meat and potatoes" type of guy, after he tried a taste, he had a whole bowl, and then came back for seconds. Yes, it was that good. 

So, without further ado, and with Ewa's permission, here is her recipe for this wonderful soup:

• 1 LB Polish sausage – skinless/skinned – cut into thick half slices
• 1 large onion - chopped fine
• 5-6 baby Bella mushrooms - chopped
• 2 QT Chicken bullion
• ~ 2C Kwas (Rye sour) – see recipe below *
• 5 Potatoes – med/small chunks
• 1 large turnip - grated
• 2 carrots – grated
• 2-3 TBS marjoram
• 5-6 cloves of garlic – finely chopped/minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ C sourcream

 To garnish:

• ~1/2 LB bacon- fried, chopped
• Fresh parsley or dill – chopped
• Hard boiled eggs – quartered (1/2 – 1 egg per person)  

1. Sauté sausage, onion and mushrooms together
2. Add to combined bullion and kwas
3. Add all vegetables and spices
4. Bring to a boil and cook till the potatoes are tender
5. Add sour cream (gradually, mixing with liquid)
6. Garnish in individual bowls

*Kwas

• ¾ C rye flour
• 2 C water
• 1 garlic clove – chopped

Mix ¾ C rye flour with 2 C pre-boiled warm water. Pour into a jar or crockery bowl. Add garlic. Cover with cheesecloth and let stand in a warm place for 4-5 days. Strain before using 

That's it! That's all their is to it. Now you have Ewa's secret and can make a żurek nearly as good as hers! Bardzo smaczne!