flavorofpoland

SORREL & CRAYFISH SOUP
(ZUPA SZCZAWIOWO-RAKOWA)

  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 young celery root
  • 1 large, white potato
  • A big bunch of sorrel leaf
  • A big bunch of baby spinach
  • 1/3 cup of cream
  • 4 cups of water
  • 6 crayfish
  • 3 boiled eggs
  • 2-3 tablespoons of butter
  • Salt and pepper

The Warmian-Masurian region abounds in sorrel. It can be found almost everywhere in the region and it has been used in local recipes for many years. One of the region’s favorite sorrel traditions is a sorrel and crayfish soup (crayfish being another icon of this part of Poland). It has a nice, refreshing taste with a bit of a sour note from the sorrel. Together with the crayfish it’s the perfect blend of flavors of Poland’s Mazury.

To make the soup..
  • Start by making a vegetable broth:
    • Peel the carrot and chop into three smaller segments.
    • Cut the celery off from the stems. Chop the stems and leaves into approximately 3 inch pieces. Wash the stems and the celery root thoroughly.
    • Peel the potato and cut into quarter size pieces.
    • Add a pit of butter to the bottom of a pot and toss all the vegetables (cut and peeled) into the pot. Seer the vegetables together, stirring frequently until the butter begins to brown just a bit.
    • Pour the 4 cups of water over the vegetables in the pot.
    • Let the broth simmer for about an hour and a half.
  • While the broth is cooking, peel the crayfish. (For detailed instructions watch episode 5 of Flavor of Poland). For one portion of soup about 6 crayfish are needed.
  • Take the bunch of sorrel leaves and chop into small pieces.
  • Chop the bunch of spinach.
  • After the broth has simmered on the stove for about 1.5 hours, remove the vegetable pieces from the pot.
  • Add in the chopped sorrel and spinach into the broth and use a blender to mix all the ingredients until the soup has achieved a bright, green color.
Serve and enjoy…
  • Serve the soup at room temperature, pouring it over a boiled egg halve into each bowl.
  • Garnish with the crayfish meat and a couple fresh, sorrel leaves.
Smacznego! (Enjoy)