Silesian Żur – soured stew

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 300 g coarse rye meal
• 1 slice(s) rye bread
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 carrots
• 3 parsley roots
• 1 celery
• 1 stalk(s) leek
• 2 slices of bacon
• 1 ring/s garlic sausage (meat sausage)
• 1 sausage, smoked
• 2 pinches of Vegeta
• 2 pinches of pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest period approx. 3 days; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes; Total time approx. 3 days 3 hours 15 minutes

A delicious, traditional Silesian soup specialty, served with mashed potatoes. Perfect for cold days.

For the śur base, coarsely grind about 300g of rye, pour it into a jar with water, and add 1 slice of crustless rye bread as a starter for the lactic acid fermentation. It will come out again after 1 day. When it is clearly fermenting, add 2-3 cloves of finely chopped garlic to the jar. Let the mixture ferment for 3 days, stirring occasionally. Lightly fry the bacon and smoked sausage, as well as the cleaned vegetables, in oil in a pot. Add the vegetables whole; they will be chopped later. The sausage will go into the finished broth later. Pour in 2.5-3 liters of water and simmer for about 2 hours, until the vegetables are tender. Once the vegetables are tender, discard the celery and leek, and finely dice the rest. Chop the sausage, too. Return everything to the broth and season with pepper and Vegeta or salt. Mix the broth and śur base together. Then bring everything back to a quick boil to stop any further fermentation. The soup will now thicken slightly; the cloudiness and the very distinct garlic aroma indicate that it’s done.