Żurek on rye starter with white sausage is one of the most warming soups of Polish and highlander cuisine. At Karczma U Wnuka in Zakopane, at 8 Kościeliska Street, about 300 metres from Krupówki, we cook it on a homemade starter and serve it with white sausage and potatoes, called grule in the highlander dialect. It is a perfect choice for warming up after a frosty day in the mountains.
The heart of żurek is the rye starter, which gives it its characteristic, pronounced sourness: it is what sets this soup apart from all others. We cook it slowly, adding white sausage and potatoes, until the flavours combine into a thick, filling whole. The result is a creamy, warming soup with a deep taste, which can be a full meal in itself. It is a simple dish, but one deeply rooted in Polish culinary tradition, present on tables both on ordinary days and on holidays.
Żurek is sometimes confused with white borscht, but it is not the same. Żurek is cooked on a rye starter and is more pronounced, while white borscht is based on a starter of wheat flour and tends to be milder. In Podhale, where grains such as rye long supplemented the oat-based diet, sour, warming soups always had their place on the table. If you are looking in Zakopane for a real, homemade soup to warm up with, our żurek is one of the best choices. We serve it in the atmosphere of a historic inn, a few minutes' walk from Krupówki, best with a chunk of fresh bread.
Żurek is a soup that tastes best in the colder months, which is why in winter, after skiing or after a frosty walk along Krupówki, it is one of the most frequently ordered items. It is universal enough, however, to work well all year round as a filling, warming start to a meal. Many guests look in Zakopane for a real, homemade żurek on a starter, rather than a version from a packet: we cook it the traditional way. It is a simple dish, but one deeply rooted in Polish and highlander cuisine, which nicely captures the homely, family character of our inn in the heart of Zakopane's old town.
