Szczawiowa: Polish Sorrel Soup with Fried Bacon Flakes and Soft-Boiled Egg
Add diced onion and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, until lightly golden.
- 34 fl oz (1 litre) homemade broth; can replace with stock (meat or vegetable-based), see notes
- 2 bunches (≈ 14 oz, 400 g) fresh sorrel leaves
- 0.5 bunch (≈ 4 oz, 120 g) fresh nettle leaves; can replace with baby spinach
- 1 medium onion (≈ 5 oz, 140 g)
- 1.5 tablespoon butter
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- pinch of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar, can replace with mild honey
- 6 tablespoons (≈ 3.5 fl oz, 100 ml) of sour cream; 12-18% fat
- 4 medium eggs; poached, fried, hard- or soft-boiled
- 2 teaspoon of lemon zest; grated or cut into strips
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 4 bacon rashers; fried and crushed
- Wash all leaves, pat them dry and chop them roughly.
- Peel onion, dice it finely.
- In a heavy-bottomed stock pot, melt butter. Add diced onion and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, until lightly golden.
- Add chopped leaves with a pinch of salt, combine with a spatula. Stew under a lid for around 3-5 minutes.
- Pour broth in, stir and bring to a near-boil. Reduce the heat (so that the soup just simmers), cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes.
- [Optional] Using a slotted spoon, remove around one-fifth of the leaves and into a bowl. Set aside.
- Blend soup with immersion blender until smooth. Alternatively, if using a food processor, allow the soup to cool down first, then move it over to the device's container, blend until smooth and return to the pot.
- [Optional] If you removed one-fifth of the leaves, now it's the moment to return them to the pot.
- Add 0.5 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, a pinch of ground pepper and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir and have a taste. Is it too sour for your liking? Add a touch of sugar. Is it not sour enough? Add more lemon juice.
- Bring the soup to desired temperature. Add cream and stir.
- Pour into individual bowls or soup plates. Garnish with eggs, lemon zest, fresh thyme and fried & crushed bacon. Serve immediately.
Add chopped leaves with a pinch of salt, combine with a spatula. Pour broth in, stir and bring to a near-boil. Reduce the heat (so that the soup just simmers), cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. [Optional] Using a slotted spoon, remove around one-fifth of the leaves and into a bowl.
Blend soup with immersion blender until smooth. Alternatively, if using a food processor, allow the soup to cool down first, then move it over to the device's container, blend until smooth and return to the pot. [Optional] If you removed one-fifth of the leaves, now it's the moment to return them to the pot.
Add 0.5 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, a pinch of ground pepper and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Garnish with eggs, lemon zest, fresh thyme and fried & crushed bacon.