Barscz Polish Easter Soup Food

POLISH WHITE BORSCHT ON PORK RIBS AND FERMENTED WHEAT STARTER

Steps:

• Grab a large cooking pot, 4-5 quart / litres should be enough. Place just over a pound (around 500 grams) of pork ribs inside.
• Pour in just over 2 quarts (2 litres) of cold water. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to low-medium. Cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes.
• While that's cooking, peel the vegetables: 2 carrots, 2 parsley roots, a piece of celery root. Chop into chunky pieces.
• Grab a leek, remove the dirty outer leaves.
• Wash all the veggies under the running water and set them aside.
• Once the 30 minutes are up, add chopped vegetables to the pot. Add the spices: 3 all-spice berries, 2 bay leaves, 5 black peppercorns.
• Bring the pot to boil, reduce the heat to low and cook undercover for another hour.
• After that time, peel a garlic clove and smash it with a side of a knife. Add to the pot.
• Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of grated horseradish. This can be from a jar or freshly grated - whatever you have available.
• Cook for another 5 minutes or so. Grab another pot and place a strainer over it. Pour our soup through it. Don't throw the veggies and meat away! Keep them on the side for now.
• Grab a piece of smoked bacon. If it has a tough skin, cut it off. Cut the meat into cubes, roughly quarter of an inch (5-6 mm) in size.
• Heat up 1 teaspoon of canola oil and 1 teaspoon of butter. Add chopped bacon. Fry for 5-7 minutes, until the meat cubes turn lightly golden. Add it to the soup.
• Grab 4 white kiełbasa links, poke them with a toothpick in a few places. Add them to the pot and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
• Add 1⅓ cup (300ml) of sour wheat starter for a milder Barszcz, up to 2 cups (or more; roughly 500ml) for a sharper result. If you're not sure how much to add, pour it over gradually, tasting along the way. There are two ways to do it: • Mix the contents of the jar/bottle, so that the liquid part blends with the floury part, • Or start by adding the liquid only, topping with the muddy floury part later on - spoonful by spoonful, until you reach the desired thickness. That's how I do it.
• Add 2 teaspoons of dried marjoram and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously. Have a taste - does it need some seasoning? If so, add a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Pour the sour cream into a cup. Gradually add some hot soup in (around 8 tablespoons in total), spoonful by spoonful, stirring as you go. Pour over this creamy mixture into the soup, mix it in with a spoon.
• Do you want to serve your soup with vegetables and meat? Chop some veggies into pieces. Remove the meat from the bone. Add them to the soup. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on a low heat.
• Peel the boiled eggs, slice them in half.
• To serve, pour the soup over into bowls or soup plates. Distribute the pieces of meat and vegetables evenly. Add a portion of sausage to each plate - whole links or slices, up to you.
• Decorate with halved boiled eggs and fresh marjoram.

WHITE BORSCHT - POLISH EASTER SOUP - BIALY BARSZCZ

Steps:

• 1. Place pre-cooked ham and kielbasa in a roaster. Add 2 quarts of water, cover and roast for 2 hours at 350 degrees. Reserve the pan juices as this will be the base for your soup broth. Refrigerate and then remove the fat from top afterwards. NOw, add the juices to a large pot and your addtl water to make 8 quarts. *If using an uncooked ham, do not add kielbasa util 1 hour before ham is done cooking.
• 2. Add your peppercorns, garlic and bring to a simmer. In a medium bowl add your 1 cup of water and 1/2 flour, whisk till smooth and then add to your broth.
• 3. Now, add your vineager to the level of taste your desire. Add more if you like it to be a really tart soup. (I loved it with the extra vinegar.) Simmer for awhile till the soup thickens and flavors meld. Probably about 1 hr or a little longer.
• 4. Slice up Kielbasa 1/4 inch thick, cube ham and rye bread into bite sized pieces and the farmers cheese too. Coarsely chop your eggs. (The farmers cheese Chef Tad brought was extremely soft and so yummy too. It was unlike any farmers cheese I have had before. I will ask him this coming Sunday at our next class where he got it.)
• 5. Combine all the chopped ingredients into a large bowl, so that it can be scooped out and placed in serving dishes.
• 6. Now ladle your very hot broth over the top and add your desired amount of horseradish to your own bowl.
• 7. Now, you are ready to eat a most delicious bowl of authentic polish soup. I just love the tartness in the broth and our chef that taught us how to make this soup brought homemade polish smoked kielbasa. It packed so much flavor and was so delicious added into this soup.

WHITE BORSCHT (BARSZCZ BIAłY - POLISH EASTER SOUP)

Steps:

• Cook the white sausage: Bring the broth to a boil, when hot add the raw white sausages and simmer over very low heat for 15-20 minutes. The broth should not cook rapidly, it should just gently simmer.
• Chop the smoked bacon into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes, press the garlic through a garlic press. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes.
• When the sausage is cooked, take it out of the water and cut into slices.
• Add potatoes to the broth and cook for 7-10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan. When hot, add the sausage slices and bacon. Cook for a couple of minutes over medium-high heat, until they are browned on all sides. Add the garlic and marjoram and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add some hot broth to the pan then scrape with a spatula all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the content of the pan to the pot with broth.
• Add the sour wheat starter - stir the flour with the liquid and add it to the soup. Make sure to add the starter gradually - trying the soup while you add it, to make sure it's not too sour for you.
• Add the heavy cream and horseradish. Warm up the soup until very warm (I'm trying not to boil it only to preserve the health benefits of the wheat starter).
• Season the soup with salt and pepper. Serve with hard-boiled eggs.
• Enjoy!

BARSCZ - {POLISH EASTER SOUP} RECIPE

Steps:

• MAKING THE BARSCZ, 5 to 6 days before making the soup: Stir together the dark rye and warm water in an ample container (ceramic is good) and set it aside in a warm place, covered with a towel. I made mine in a big plastic container, covered it with a potholder, and put it on the back of the stove. The kitchen counter is also fine.) Stir once a day. The fermentation and sour smell is a sign that it's getting good. After making the soup, you can decant the clear liquid, refrigerate, and use as a flavoring in other soups. MAKING THE SOUP: When you're ready to make the soup, bring a quart of water to a simmer on the stove. Beat together the egg and milk, then slowly stir it into the simmering pot. Turn up the heat a bit, let thicken, then slowly pour in the barscz. Stir until it thickens to the consistency of watery oatmeal or runny pea soup. Season well with salt and pepper. It should smell sour. FINAL ASSEMBLY : When ready to serve, place the bread bits, chopped sausage and egg into each bowl that you're serving. Ladle the Barscz soup over all, then stir in horseradish to taste. Serve hot to 4 to 6 people on Easter morning...or whenever. It's a rich and unusual soup -- thickly white from milk and dark rye flour; sour from fermenting the flour into traditional barscz kwaszony zytni (the Russian kvass), tart from freshly grated horseradish, and highly textured from chopped egg and smoked kielbasa and rye bread. Maria says, "it's something you have to acquire a taste for, but once you do, there's no substitute for it." As a converted addict, I agree.

MY POLISH(EASTER) KIELBASA SOUP

Steps:

• Boil kielbasa link in 3 quarts of water, occasionally piercing it to release juices, for 30-45 minutes.
• While kielbasa is cooking, peel and dice potatoes and boil eggs to hard-boiled stage.
• Keep potatoes in cold water in bowl after rinsing them well.
• Cool eggs in cold water before peeling.
• Remove kielbasa from water.
• Drain and add cut up potatoes to the water in which you cooked the kielbasa.
• Add salt and cook.
• When potatoes are done, add pepper and vinegar to taste.
• *Don't use balsamic vinegar.
• To thicken soup, add flour to cold water in a jar with lid or shaker.
• Shake vigorously to combine.
• Add to simmering soup through a fine strainer to remove any lumps.
• Stir to incorporate.
• Simmer a few minutes to slightly thicken soup.
• Adjust seasonings at this point. More vinegar? More thickening?.
• When ready to serve, slice kielbasa, approx 1/4-inch slices.
• Add some to each soup bowl with one chopped egg.
• Ladle in broth with potatoes.
• Serve with a good thick-crusted bread like Polish sisel bread.
• At Easter when there is baked ham we add pieces of chopped ham, and, of course, a dollop of horseradish(white)!

BARSZCZ (CLASSIC POLISH BORSCHT)

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine the beets, bones, carrots, parsnip, onion, leek, celery, garlic and bay leaves, plus the mushrooms, peppercorns and marjoram, if using. Top with 14 cups water. (There should be enough water to cover all the ingredients.) Bring to a boil over high.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. As it cooks, use a small ladle to periodically skim off and discard any foam, impurities and fat that have risen to the top of the pot.
• Transfer the 3 whole beets to a cutting board to cool. Strain the soup through a colander set over a large bowl. Remove the bones and press the solids to extract all the liquids, then strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean medium saucepan.
• Once they're cool enough to handle, chop the reserved whole beets into small 1/2-inch cubes. Stir the diced beets into the soup and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat soup over medium until warmed, then stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Serve very hot in small bowls or even large teacups, which you can pick up and drink. If desired, serve with a spoonful of sour cream. Keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.