Subject: Polish Easter Soup
From: Unicorn (unicorn@indenial.com)
Date: Tue Apr 18 2000 - 17:36:17 EDT
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F O O D F U N N Y
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Thanks to reader Anna Holmes for this food funny. It may not be a
true story, but it sure has a familiar ring.
A resident in a posh hotel breakfast room called over the head waiter
one morning and said with a wonderful and cheerful smile. "Good
Morning sir. What a wonderful morning. I'd like two boiled eggs, one
of them so under cooked it's runny, and the other so over cooked it's
tough and hard to eat. Also, grilled bacon that has been left out so
it gets a bit on the cold side; burnt toast that crumbles away as soon
as you touch it with a knife; butter straight from the deep freeze so
that it's impossible to spread; and a pot of very weak coffee,
lukewarm."
"That's a complicated order sir," said the bewildered waiter. "It
might be quite difficult."
The guest replied, "Oh? I don't understand -- that's what I got
yesterday!"
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T O D A Y ' S R E C I P E
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In the Middle Ages, during the days of Lent's fast and abstinence,
particular foods like meat, milk products, and eggs were forbidden to
eat. When the feast of Easter brought this fast to an end and these
foods were again allowed at the table, people showed their joy and
gratitude by first taking these foods to church for a blessing. This
Easter soup, or Barszcz as it is commonly known in Poland, Russia and
other Slavic countries, is made from the foods that folks would not
have tasted since the beginning of Lent, and is served on Easter
Sunday. Many recipes for Barszcz have evolved as cooks began to
"dress up" this basic peasant dish. The following recipe is one of
the most simple and probably very close to how the soup was made
and tasted centuries ago.
Barszcz - Polish Easter Soup
6 cups (1.5 L) water
1 lb (450 g) Polish kielbasa sausage
2 cups (500 ml) sour cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbs (15 ml) plain or beet horseradish
2 Tbs (30 ml) lemon juice or vinegar, or to taste
1 cup (250 ml) sliced mushrooms
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
1 cup (250 ml) cubed, cooked ham
1 cup (250 ml) cooked diced potatoes
1 cup (250 ml) cooked diced beets (optional)
Chopped fresh dill or parsley for garnish
In a large kettle, bring water to a boil and add the kielbasa to cook
for 1 hour. Remove kielbasa from water and cut into thin slices. Add
the horseradish, mushrooms, salt and pepper to the broth and simmer
covered for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool. In a separate bowl,
beat sour cream with about 3 cups (750 ml) of the cool broth. Pour
this mixture back into the kettle with the rest of the broth. Add
lemon juice or vinegar. Reheat before serving, but do NOT bring to a
boil. Fill individual serving bowls with the liquid allowing each
person at the table to add the thinly sliced kielbasa pieces, hard
boiled eggs, ham, potatoes, or beets to their taste. May be
made a day or two before and kept refrigerated. Serves 4 to 6.
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