Balkan Sour Vegetable Soup

It's another simple vegetable soup, with a little something sour to sharpen it up. Vinegar, yes; but tart yogurt or sour cream to give it a delicate tang. The egg yolk mellows it a bit. As usual with soups that have dairy products added at the end, you must be sure not to let it get too hot or it will curdle.

This is a lovely soup as a starter course, or it will pair up with a sandwich to make a very good lunch.

You can use whatever vegetables are in season. I had onions which had not died down properly, so I put in about the equivalent of one better onion, and added the chopped green tops with the cabbage. A little parsley would give the same nice touch of green if you had some.

4 to 6 servings
1 hour 30 minutes prep time

1 medium onion
1 or 2 stalks of celery OR 1/2 cup peeled diced celeriac
1 medium leek
1 medium carrot
1 medium potato
1 medium turnip OR 1 cup peeled diced rutabaga
1 tablespoon chicken or bacon fat, or mild vegetable oil
2 or 3 bay leaves
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon rubbed savory
4 cups unsalted chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 cups finely chopped cabbage

1/2 cup rich yogurt or sour cream
1 egg yolk

Peel and chop the onion. Wash, trim and finely chop the celery. Wash, trim, and chop the leek. Peel and dice the carrot. Wash, trim, and dice the potato. Peel and dice the turnip or rutabaga.

Heat the fat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook for a few minutes, stirring often. Add the leek, potato, turnip, and bay leaves, and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until everything is softened and impregnated with the fat. Season with the salt, pepper, and savory as it cooks.

Add the stock and vinegar, and simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes and turnip are just about tender. Add the cabbage and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Mix the yogurt or sour cream with the egg yolk. Thin it with a couple ladle-fulls of the soup, then mix it well into the soup. Turn off the heat, but let it stay on the stove for a couple of minutes.




Last year at this time I made Kohlrabies au Gratin.

Posted in: Ontario Food