Barscz Polish Easter Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Bring water, kielbasa, and 2 whole cloves garlic to boil in a large pot; reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove sausage and pour liquid into a separate bowl. Cut sausage into cubes.
• Melt butter over medium heat in the pot used to boil sausage; cook and stir leeks, onion, and minced garlic until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a blender; add about 1/2 cup reserved sausage water and blend until smooth, adding more water as needed.
• Pour vegetable puree and remaining sausage water back into the original pot. Add bay leaves and bring borscht to a simmer over medium heat; remove and discard leaves. Whisk sour cream and flour in a bowl until smooth; gradually whisk into borscht until thickened. Stir dill and vinegar into soup and season with salt and black pepper.
• Divide cubed sausage and chopped eggs into bowls; ladle borscht over sausage and egg.

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.

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)!

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.

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.