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Zupa pomidorowa
Polish creamy tomato soup with rice
In Poland, zupa pomidorowa is famously Monday's soup: on Sunday the family drinks rosół, and the next day the leftover broth becomes tomato soup with rice or thin noodles and a swirl of soured cream. Children across the country rank it as their favourite school-canteen dish. It is creamy, mild and a little sweet, nothing like a spicy Mediterranean tomato soup. This version starts from vegetable stock (the traditional base is chicken broth) and builds the flavour with carrot, celery root and tomato paste fried in butter. Serve it with rice cooked in the pot or with makaron (fine noodles). Chef's tip: fry the tomato paste in butter until it darkens one shade; raw paste tastes tinny and that one minute makes the soup taste like it simmered for hours.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Melt ⅞ oz butter in a large pot over a medium heat. Add 1 onion, 1 carrot and 2 ⅞ oz celeriac and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring, until soft and sweet-smelling.
6 minStep 2: Add 3 tbsp tomato paste (koncentrat pomidorowy) and fry, stirring, for 1–2 minutes, until it turns a shade darker and smells rich rather than sharp.
2 minStep 3: Pour in 1 ⅛ lb passata and 4 ¼ cups vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Add 4 oz long-grain rice, stir well so it does not stick, and simmer gently for 15–18 minutes, until the rice is tender.
18 minStep 4: Season with 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. The soup should taste rounded, with no sharp acidity; add a little more sugar if the tomatoes are tart.
Step 5: Whisk 5 ½ oz soured cream (śmietana 18%) with 2 ladles of hot soup in a bowl, then stir it back into the pot off the heat. Do not let it boil again or the cream curdles. Serve sprinkled with 2 tbsp parsley.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 280 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does zupa pomidorowa take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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