Cuisine: Polish
•
Course: Soup
•
Diet: Contains Gluten, Contains Dairy

Biały Barszcz (White Borscht)

A velvety, sour, and smoky Polish soup loaded with sausage and hard-boiled eggs, finished with marjoram and horseradish.
Prep time 20m
Temp 100°C (212°F)
Cook time 1h
Total 1h 20m
Yield 4
Per serving:
745 kcal
32g Carbs
31g Protein
54g Fat
By Razziel

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Ingredients

  • 1200 ml
    Water
    Water
  • 500 g
    White Sausage (Raw)
    White Sausage (Raw)
  • 100 g
    Smoked Bacon
    Smoked Bacon
  • 400 ml
    Zakwas Pszenny (Sour Wheat Starter)
    Zakwas Pszenny (Sour Wheat Starter)
  • 400 g
    New Potatoes
    New Potatoes
  • 100 g
    Brown Onion
    Brown Onion
  • 4 pcs
    Garlic cloves
    Garlic cloves
  • 2 g
    Dry Forest Mushrooms
    Dry Forest Mushrooms
  • 150 g
    Sour Cream
    Sour Cream
  • 30 g
    Grated horseradish
    Grated horseradish
  • 3 g
    Dried Marjoram
    Dried Marjoram
  • 2 pcs
    Bay Leaves
    Bay Leaves
  • 4 pcs
    Allspice Berries
    Allspice Berries
  • 4 pcs
    Eggs
    Eggs
  • 5 g
    Sea Salt
    Sea Salt
  • 1 g
    Black Pepper
    Black Pepper
  • 100 g
    Carrots
    Carrots
  • 100 g
    Parsley Root
    Parsley Root
  • 100 g
    Celeriac
    Celeriac
  • 100 g
    Leek
    Leek

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Kitchen Kit

  • Large Pot
  • Frying Pan
  • Sharp Knife
  • Chopping Board
Person cooking in a kitchen with wooden shelves and utensils. | Cook & Keeper - Barszcz bialy

Method

  1. The Deep Infusion
    Pour the 1.2L Water into a large pot. Add the dried mushrooms, bay leaves, allspice berries, and your root vegetables: the carrot, parsley root, celeriac, leek (green top), and onion.
    -Note: Keep the vegetables large (halved or quartered) as we will remove them later.
    -Chef's Tip: For a deeper flavour, char the cut side of the onion in a dry frying pan until black before adding it to the water.
    Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
  2. The "Shimmer" Poach
    Prick the raw White Sausages (Biała Kiełbasa) several times with a needle or tip of a knife. Gently slide them into the pot alongside the simmering vegetables.
    Do not boil. Let them poach gently for 20 minutes.
    - Why? Violent boiling will burst the skins and dry out the meat. A gentle "shimmer" cooks the meat tenderly while the vegetables sweeten the stock. Remove the sausages and set aside.
  3. The Clear Out
    Fish out and discard all the vegetables (Onion, Carrot, Parsley, Celeriac, Leek), bay leaves, and allspice. Keep the mushrooms if you like them. You now have a rich, aromatic golden stock.
    Add the potatoes (halved or cubed) and the sliced garlic to this clear stock.
    Simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
  4. The Bacon & Sausage (Multitask)
    While the potatoes cook, dice the smoked bacon and fry it in a separate pan until crisp. Remove from heat but keep the fat. Slice the cooled White Sausage into thick rounds.
  5. The Sour (Zakwas)
    Shake your bottle of Wheat Starter (Zakwas Pszenny) well to mix the flour settled at the bottom. Pour it slowly into the soup, stirring constantly. The soup will thicken and turn creamy. Simmer for 2 minutes.
  6. The Temper (Essential)
    In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream with a ladle of the hot soup to warm it up (this prevents curdling). Pour this mixture back into the pot and stir well.
    Add the horseradish and the dried marjoram—rub the marjoram vigorously between your palms before adding to release the oils.
  7. Finish & Serve
    Add the fried bacon (plus the rendered fat) and the sliced sausage back into the soup. Taste.
    It should be sour, savoury, smoky, and slightly sweet from the vegetable base. Add the salt and plenty of black pepper. Serve hot with hard-boiled egg halves floating on top.
Chef's Note & Storage
Fridge 3 days. The flavour actually improves after 24 hours as the marjoram and garlic infuse further.
Bowl of soup with sliced eggs and sausages on a wooden table. | Cook & Keeper - Barszcz bialy

The Wheat & The White Sausage

We are moving from "easy" to "authentic." True Biały Barszcz is not just a sour soup; it is a celebration of the White Sausage (Biała Kiełbasa) and the Wheat Starter (Zakwas Pszenny). Unlike its cousin Żurek, which relies on the deep, earthy funk of fermented rye, Biały Barszcz is sharper, lighter, and slightly sweeter due to the fermented wheat. The foundation of this soup is the "Liquor"—the aromatic water left behind after gently poaching the raw white sausages with onion and marjoram. This is the Easter standard. It is not just soup; it is the essence of the holiday table in a bowl.

CHEF'S SECRET: The "Poach," not the Boil. When cooking raw Biała Kiełbasa for the broth, you must never let the water violently boil. If you do, the casings will burst and the meat will dry out. Keep it at a "shimmer"—barely bubbling—to extract the flavour while keeping the sausage juicy.

❖

The Fermented Wheat (Zakwas Pszenny)

You cannot fake this flavour with vinegar. The sourness must come from a fermented wheat starter. This provides a complex, yeasty acidity that thickens the soup naturally. While you can buy it in bottles (look for "Barszcz Biały" on the label, distinct from "Żurek"), the interaction between this wheat acid, the horseradish, and the cream is what creates the "White Velvet" texture.

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Cook’s Notes & Discussion

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Biały Barszcz (White Borscht)
Cuisine: Polish
Course: Soup
Diet: Contains Gluten, Contains Dairy

Biały Barszcz (White Borscht)

By Razziel

A velvety, sour, and smoky Polish soup loaded with sausage and hard-boiled eggs, finished with marjoram and horseradish.

Prep 20m
Temp 100°C
Cook 1h
Total 1h 20m
Yield 4
Recipe from Cook & Keeper - www.cookandkeeper.com
Person cooking in a kitchen with wooden shelves and utensils. | Cook & Keeper - Barszcz bialy

Kitchen Kit

  • •Large Pot
  • •Frying Pan
  • •Sharp Knife
  • •Chopping Board
Per serving:
745 kcal
32g Carbs
31g Protein
54g Fat

Ingredients

  • 1200 ml Water
  • 500 g White Sausage (Raw)
  • 100 g Smoked Bacon
  • 400 ml Zakwas Pszenny (Sour Wheat Starter)
  • 400 g New Potatoes
  • 100 g Brown Onion
  • 4 pcs Garlic cloves
  • 2 g Dry Forest Mushrooms
  • 150 g Sour Cream
  • 30 g Grated horseradish
  • 3 g Dried Marjoram
  • 2 pcs Bay Leaves
  • 4 pcs Allspice Berries
  • 4 pcs Eggs
  • 5 g Sea Salt
  • 1 g Black Pepper
  • 100 g Carrots
  • 100 g Parsley Root
  • 100 g Celeriac
  • 100 g Leek
Recipe from Cook & Keeper - www.cookandkeeper.com

Method

Step-by-step instructions.

Chef's Note:
Fridge 3 days. The flavour actually improves after 24 hours as the marjoram and garlic infuse further.
Bowl of soup with sliced eggs and sausages on a wooden table. | Cook & Keeper - Barszcz bialy
  1. The Deep Infusion
    Pour the 1.2L Water into a large pot. Add the dried mushrooms, bay leaves, allspice berries, and your root vegetables: the carrot, parsley root, celeriac, leek (green top), and onion.
    -Note: Keep the vegetables large (halved or quartered) as we will remove them later.
    -Chef's Tip: For a deeper flavour, char the cut side of the onion in a dry frying pan until black before adding it to the water.
    Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
  2. The "Shimmer" Poach
    Prick the raw White Sausages (Biała Kiełbasa) several times with a needle or tip of a knife. Gently slide them into the pot alongside the simmering vegetables.
    Do not boil. Let them poach gently for 20 minutes.
    - Why? Violent boiling will burst the skins and dry out the meat. A gentle "shimmer" cooks the meat tenderly while the vegetables sweeten the stock. Remove the sausages and set aside.
  3. The Clear Out
    Fish out and discard all the vegetables (Onion, Carrot, Parsley, Celeriac, Leek), bay leaves, and allspice. Keep the mushrooms if you like them. You now have a rich, aromatic golden stock.
    Add the potatoes (halved or cubed) and the sliced garlic to this clear stock.
    Simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
  4. The Bacon & Sausage (Multitask)
    While the potatoes cook, dice the smoked bacon and fry it in a separate pan until crisp. Remove from heat but keep the fat. Slice the cooled White Sausage into thick rounds.
  5. The Sour (Zakwas)
    Shake your bottle of Wheat Starter (Zakwas Pszenny) well to mix the flour settled at the bottom. Pour it slowly into the soup, stirring constantly. The soup will thicken and turn creamy. Simmer for 2 minutes.
  6. The Temper (Essential)
    In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream with a ladle of the hot soup to warm it up (this prevents curdling). Pour this mixture back into the pot and stir well.
    Add the horseradish and the dried marjoram—rub the marjoram vigorously between your palms before adding to release the oils.
  7. Finish & Serve
    Add the fried bacon (plus the rendered fat) and the sliced sausage back into the soup. Taste.
    It should be sour, savoury, smoky, and slightly sweet from the vegetable base. Add the salt and plenty of black pepper. Serve hot with hard-boiled egg halves floating on top.
Recipe from Cook & Keeper - www.cookandkeeper.com

Chef's Notes & History

The Wheat & The White Sausage

We are moving from "easy" to "authentic." True Biały Barszcz is not just a sour soup; it is a celebration of the White Sausage (Biała Kiełbasa) and the Wheat Starter (Zakwas Pszenny). Unlike its cousin Żurek, which relies on the deep, earthy funk of fermented rye, Biały Barszcz is sharper, lighter, and slightly sweeter due to the fermented wheat. The foundation of this soup is the "Liquor"—the aromatic water left behind after gently poaching the raw white sausages with onion and marjoram. This is the Easter standard. It is not just soup; it is the essence of the holiday table in a bowl.

CHEF'S SECRET: The "Poach," not the Boil. When cooking raw Biała Kiełbasa for the broth, you must never let the water violently boil. If you do, the casings will burst and the meat will dry out. Keep it at a "shimmer"—barely bubbling—to extract the flavour while keeping the sausage juicy.

❖

The Fermented Wheat (Zakwas Pszenny)

You cannot fake this flavour with vinegar. The sourness must come from a fermented wheat starter. This provides a complex, yeasty acidity that thickens the soup naturally. While you can buy it in bottles (look for "Barszcz Biały" on the label, distinct from "Żurek"), the interaction between this wheat acid, the horseradish, and the cream is what creates the "White Velvet" texture.

Recipe from Cook & Keeper - www.cookandkeeper.com