Polish White Borscht Bialy Barszcz Food

POLISH WHITE BORSCHT (BIALY BARSZCZ)

Steps:

• Bring keilbassa and water to a boil in a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed soup pot. Reduce heat slightly and boil for 25 minutes. Remove keilbassa to a plate and set aside. Leave the broth in the dutch oven.
• In a medium, non-stick skillet, saute garlic and onion with a tsp of butter until soft, 5 min.
• Add onion mixture to kielbassa broth. Add diced potatoes, bay, salt, and pepper. Cook until potatoes are tender, 15-20 min.
• In a small bowl, whisk flour and sour cream together until smooth. Add ½ c of the soup broth to the sour cream mixture and whisk until smooth and thin. Pour mixture into the soup, stirring constantly. Simmer, stirring often, until thickened, 10 min.
• Cut the kielbasas into 1/2 inch slices, chop the hard boiled eggs. Add both to the soup. Taste the soup and adjust the salt an pepper as desired. Cook 1-2 minutes to heat through.

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.

POLISH WHITE BORSCHT (BIALY BARSZCZ)

Steps:

• Place the kielbasa and eggs (still in their shells, they are going to be hard-cooked) into a 4-quart pot and cover with the water and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for 8 minutes.
• Use a slotted spoon, to remove eggs to an ice water bath; continue simmering the kielbasa for 15 minutes more.
• Drain kielbasa, reserving the cooking liquid separately.
• Return the pot to the heat melt the butter; turn the heat up to medium and stir in the garlic and leeks and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Reduce heat and cook until leeks are very tender, about 20 minutes, being careful not to let the leeks brown.
• Stir in the potatoes and reserved cooking liquid, increase heat to a simmer, cover, and continue cooking until potatoes are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Puree the soup using an immersion blender, or in a standing blender, in batches; return soup to medium-low heat.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and sour cream; stir in 1/2 cup of the soup to temper the mixture, then whisk into the soup in the pot on the stove.
• Slice the kielbasa into 1/2-inch slices and stir into soup; stir in horseradish and season with salt and pepper.
• Thin soup with water if needed.
• Peel the eggs and roughly chop them as a garnish for the soup.

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.