Mum's Polish kitchen -Zupa Ogorkowa (Cucumber Soup)

Stan Krawczyk • 4 January 2020

Mum's Zupa Ogorkowa

Mum's version of Cucumber Soup, very simple and good for you.

A few notes before we begin.

Most Polish cooking is a faff and takes a fair bit of effort, its not difficult just a lot of preparation and messing such as peeling, chopping so its not worth making just a small amount for 1 person. All mums portion sizes are suitable for a family of 3 or 4 people and will last 3 to 4 days without going off. They are quite filling, healthy and wholesome you wont leave hungry trust me.
Please ensure you buy good ingredients don't skimp on meat or cheap veg.
Only buy Krakus Cucumbers in Brine (not the pickled variety).

Note to vegetarians: You can make this soup without meat replace the chicken /chicken stock with vegetable stock, otherwise everything stays the same.

Ok shall we begin?

Ingredients:

1 Jar Krakus Cucumbers in brine, available from good Deli's or Polish shops, avoid the brands in supermarkets, some of that stuff I wouldn't feed to a dog!

1 or 2 small chicken breast or leg, whatever you like. Its just for the stock.

1 Chicken stock cube

2-3 peeled carrots and chopped into 4

6+ Salad potatoes like Charlotte, peeled

1 Small single cream (can be double but tends to split)

1 Small bunch of fresh Parsley , dried is fine also.

Dusting of Mixed herbs, Dill

Seasoning

Water

Method:

Wash your hands often.

Select a large saucepan. (I am using up the previously opened jar from the Salatka recipe hence this is a smaller portion size 2.5 ltr saucepan, but add more veg to increase volume.)

Peel the potatoes and carrots, you can leave the skin on but it tends to float off and becomes a bit slimy to eat. Drop them in the pan.

Important note.

Open the jar of cucumbers, at this point I would pour the juice into the saucepan however please remember the juice or brine is very VERY salty. Generally Krakus brand cucumbers are consistent but sometimes they can be a little bit too salty (for my personal taste) depending on your own preference?

a) If you like things very salty/sour and you are cooking enough to feed 5-6000 people , then pour the entire contents of the Jar in.

b) Should you not like the idea of eating salt with a hint of water pour only 1/3 initially into the saucepan. Taste it at the end, if it needs more you can always add some in and simmer it for 10 mins more.

c) The safest option is only to add the cucumbers. Taste them at the end if it needs a bit of zing then refer to b) otherwise there is normally enough brine in the cucumbers when removed.

If its still too salty add more water and some cream till it neutralises the salt but you do need it to be a little bit sour.

Place the cucumbers on the chopping board.

Cut them roughly into 1 cm sized cubes and drop in the pan, mixing everything well, top up with cold water until pan almost full. (That's pan as in a saucepan not Pan as in Mister - see what I did there?)

Add a sprig of parsley, don't chop it, then some dill too and mixed herbs.

Now add the the chicken stock cube, wash chicken and push it to the bottom of the saucepan.

That's it, lid on and let it simmer for about 30-40 mins.

Check once in a while to ensure it does not evaporate then mix and pour in the whole tub of single cream (mum always used double, but it splits for me)

Mix well and leave to simmer on low for another 10 mins.

Discard the Parsley.

Add a little pepper to taste and serve .

You can thicken it up a tiny bit with Cornflower mixed in, but I find it spoils the taste a little plus its no fun when it doesn't splash on your shirt during eating. It's the Law!

There you go Mrs Krawczyk's Polish Zupa Ogorkowa......................simples-ski.

Serve:

Serve in a wide rather than a small soup bowl. Sprinkle some fresh chopped Dill in the middle and maybe a splash of sour cream if you like but you can get cream overload.

This is good as a starter but can also be a main if you eat the chicken and potatoes and carrots with it.

Let it cool down overnight, it will taste better the next day. It should last 2 days outside of the fridge but I recommend you put it in the fridge overnight after the first day.

Transfer the amount you need for that day and warm it up in another saucepan and eat like that, don't reheat the original pan.

Smacznego (Bon appetite)

More recipes to come keep an eye and nose out for them.