Zalewajka (soup)

Zalewajka from Piła

Zalewajka^[1] is a traditional rustic soup made of diced and boiled potatoes and overflowed with sour rye made from sourdough bread. It also often contains Polish sausage and dried mushrooms.

Origin[]

The soup comes from central part of Poland. The first mentions of it appeared in 19th century in Łódź and Radomsko. The basic component of diet for people from those areas were potatoes and mushrooms. Potatoes constituted the base of the majority of the dishes people from Łódź and Radomsko prepared. They were served in different ways like boiled, mashed or fried. Thanks to its simplicity in the 19th and 20th century zalewajka become popular around the country to places like Kielce and Zagłębię Dąbrowskie.

Zalewajka recipes[]

Zalewajka - recipe from a 1933 cookbook

There are a lot of recipes for this kind of soup which are different because of the region of Poland they were prepared.^[2]

Łódź[]

The main product we need to make the soup is bread sourdough (200 mL). Next are water (1.5 L), sausage (200 g), onion (3 slices), salt and pepper. We also have to add wheat flour (2 spoons), sour cream 18% (3 spoons) and potatoes (as much as we like).^[3]

Peel the potatoes, cut them into small cubes and then put into water. Add salt and boil them. Slice sausage into small pieces and chop the onion . Fry the sausage and the onion on the pan. When the potatoes are almost boiled, add sausage and bread sourdough. Mix it carefully and then add flour with the sour cream and the pinch of salt.^[4]

Świętokrzyska[]

This recipe originated in the Świętokrzyskie region. It's quite similar but we need to add garlic, bacon and less of sour cream. The cooking process itself is almost the same except putting bacon into the soup.^[5]

Radomsko[]

Zalewajka from Radomsko is similar but we have to add more spices like marjoram and dried mushrooms. Cook the same way as in the recipes from Łódź and Świętokrzyskie but this one has no meat in it at all.^[6]

See also[]

• List of soups

References[]