Eastern European · Lunch · Dinner
Żurek (Polish Sour Rye Soup with Egg)
Żurek
A tangy, smoky Polish soup made with fermented rye starter, tender potatoes and sliced sausage, finished with marjoram and garlic and served with halved hard-boiled eggs. This lighter version uses lean turkey kiełbasa and a spoonful of light sour cream instead of heavy cream.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 46% · Fat 35% · Protein 19%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 1 2/3 cups (400 ml)Sour rye starter (żurek zakwas), store-bought, shaken
- 120 gLean smoked turkey kiełbasa
- 3 medium400 gPotatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 medium80 gCarrot, diced
- 1 medium80 gParsley root or parsnip, diced
- 1 medium110 gOnion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves9 gGarlic, crushed
- 1 tsp5 gRapeseed (canola) oil
- 5 1/2 cups (1.3 litres)1,300 gWater
- 2Bay leaves
- 4Allspice berries
- 1 tbspDried marjoram
- 1 tbsp15 gPrepared horseradish
- 1/4 cup60 gLight sour cream
- 4 large200 gEggs
- 1/4 tspBlack pepper, ground
Steps
- 1
Slice the kiełbasa into thin rounds.
- 2
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion for 4–5 minutes until soft.
- 3
Add the sausage and cook for 3 minutes until lightly browned.
- 4
Add the water, potatoes, carrot, parsley root, bay leaves and allspice, then bring to a boil.
- 5
Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- 6
Meanwhile, place the eggs in a small pan of water from the kettle (not from the recipe), bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes until fully set.
- 7
Cool the eggs in cold water, peel and halve them.
- 8
Shake the starter well and pour it slowly into the soup while stirring.
- 9
Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until slightly thickened.
- 10
Stir in the garlic, marjoram, horseradish and pepper, then remove the bay leaves. Taste before adding any salt; the starter and sausage are usually salty enough.
- 11
In a bowl, whisk the sour cream with a ladle of hot soup, then stir it back into the pot off the heat.
- 12
Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with two egg halves.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- Use traditional pork biała kiełbasa or smoked pork kiełbasa instead of turkey kiełbasa for a richer, more classic flavour.
- For a vegetarian version, leave out the sausage and add 200 g sliced mushrooms browned with the onion, plus a pinch of smoked paprika for smokiness.
- Swap the light sour cream for plain Greek yogurt, tempering it with hot soup the same way so it doesn't split.
- If you can't find parsley root, use parsnip or a small piece of celeriac.
Storage
Cool and refrigerate the soup within 2 hours in a covered container and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating gently until steaming hot without boiling hard so the sour cream doesn't curdle. Keep the boiled eggs separately in the fridge, and don't freeze this soup since the potatoes, eggs and sour cream turn grainy.
Make ahead
Make the soup through the garlic and marjoram step up to a day ahead and chill it, then reheat until steaming and stir in the tempered sour cream just before serving. The eggs can be boiled and peeled a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: GlutenEggsMilkSulphites
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (696 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 293 kcal | 42 kcal |
| Protein | 14.8 g | 2.1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 33.8 g | 4.9 g |
| of which sugars | 7 g | 1 g |
| Fiber | 5.7 g | 0.8 g |
| Fat | 11.4 g | 1.6 g |
| of which saturated | 3.7 g | 0.5 g |
| Sodium | 935 mg | 134 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
