Polish National Dishes

Zupa szczawiowa: Polish sorrel soup with potatoes and egg

Fresh sorrel gives this Polish soup its gentle tartness. Potatoes, carrot and onion simmer in a light chicken broth, then sour cream softens the broth and a hard-boiled egg finishes each bowl.

Polish National Dishes
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A wide view of „Zupa szczawiowa: Polish sorrel soup with potatoes and egg“ arranged on a table for serving.
Yield 5 servings
Serving size about 400 ml soup and 1 hard-boiled egg
Difficulty easy
Category Polish sorrel soup; contains egg and milk
Ingredients ↓
At a glance

Zupa szczawiowa: Polish sorrel soup with potatoes and egg

Fresh sorrel gives this Polish soup its gentle tartness. Potatoes, carrot and onion simmer in a light chicken broth, then sour cream softens the broth and a hard-boiled egg finishes each bowl.

Zupa szczawiowa is a seasonal Polish soup built around sorrel, a leafy green with a naturally tart flavor. In this home-style version, potatoes cook directly in a mild chicken broth with carrot and onion. Fresh sorrel goes in near the end, so it softens without losing all of its color or bright flavor.

Polish versions vary by region and household. A Kujawy account describes sorrel soup served with hard-boiled eggs and crushed potatoes, while a registered Kociewie version uses sorrel in vegetable broth with milk and sour cream and offers potatoes or eggs as accompaniments. This recipe combines potatoes in the soup with one egg per serving; it is not an exact reproduction of either registered regional version.

Temper the sour cream with hot broth before stirring it into the pot off the heat. That keeps the finish smooth and creamy without a hard boil. Serve each bowl with a halved hard-boiled egg and chopped dill. The recipe makes five servings of about 400 ml of soup, plus one egg each.

Ingredients

Ingredients

For the soup

  • 1.5 L low-sodium chicken broth
  • 500 g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
  • 300 g fresh sorrel leaves, washed, central stems removed and chopped
  • 100 g carrot, finely diced
  • 100 g yellow onion, finely diced
  • 15 g unsalted butter
  • 1 bay leaf and 2 whole allspice berries
  • 150 g cultured sour cream, 18% fat
  • 4 g fine salt
  • 1 g ground black pepper

To serve

  • 5 l arge eggs
  • 10 g fresh dill, finely chopped
Method

Method

Directions

  1. Hard-boil the eggsPlace the eggs in the small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then cook for 10–12 minutes, until the whites and yolks are firm. Cool, peel and set aside. The eggs cook while the soup is being prepared.

  2. Soften the onion and carrotMelt the butter in the soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened without browning heavily.

  3. Simmer the potatoes in brothPour in the chicken broth and add the potatoes, bay leaf and allspice berries. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15–18 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

  4. Add the sorrelStir in the chopped sorrel and simmer for 3–5 minutes, until the leaves have wilted and softened.

  5. Temper the sour cream and seasonTurn off the heat. In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream with several ladles of hot broth until smooth. Stir it into the pot with the salt and black pepper. Remove the bay leaf and allspice berries. Do not bring the soup to a hard boil after adding the sour cream.

  6. ServeDivide the soup among five bowls. Halve one hard-boiled egg for each serving, place it on top and finish with chopped dill. Serve hot.

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition per serving

  • Servingabout 400 ml soup with one egg
  • Caloriesabout 280 kcal
  • Carbohydratesabout 24 g
  • Proteinabout 13 g
  • Fatabout 13 g
  • Fibreabout 5 g
  • Sugarsabout 5 g

Approximate values for about 400 ml of soup with one hard-boiled egg and dill. The estimate uses generic broth and ingredient composition, with a leafy-green proxy for fresh sorrel. Broth brands, salt levels and sorrel composition can change the values, especially sodium.

Allergens and food safety

Allergens and food safety

Serving, storage, reheating and make-ahead notes: Serve the soup hot with one hard-boiled egg and dill in each bowl. The potatoes are cooked in the broth in this version, rather than served separately. Bread is not included in the serving or nutrition estimate.

Serving, storage, reheating and make-ahead notes: Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if the room or outdoor temperature is above 32 °C. Keep the soup at or below 4 °C and use it within 3–4 days. Reheat thoroughly, stirring so it warms evenly; 74 °C is a conservative target. Cool extra hard-boiled eggs promptly and store them separately in the refrigerator. Once the sour cream has been added, reheat gently and do not boil hard.

Contains egg and milk. Packaged chicken broth may contain additional allergens, including celery; check its label. Keep eggs and sour cream refrigerated until use. Cook the eggs until both whites and yolks are firm. Refrigerate leftover soup in shallow containers within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 32 °C; keep at or below 4 °C and use within 3–4 days. Reheat the soup thoroughly, stirring to distribute the heat; 74 °C is a conservative target. Refrigerate extra hard-boiled eggs promptly and separately.

Wash the fresh sorrel, remove the central stems and chop the leaves before adding them.

Temper the sour cream with hot broth and stir it in off the heat to keep the soup smooth.

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