Zurek - Polish Speciality With Homemade Sour Rye Soup Starter

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1. 1Step 1: If you are making the Sour Rye Soup starter you need to start at least 3 days ahead.
2. 2Step 2: Start by soaking dry mushrooms in a cup of water for at least 30 min, and hard boiling the eggs.
3. 3Step 3: For the broth: peel, wash all the vegetables and the garlic, pour 8 cups of water in a big pot. Add the white sausage, vegetables, some pepper and simmer for 45 min.
4. 4Step 4: While broth is cooking, slice Polish sausage, chopped bacon and onion. Fry the bacon on a pan for 4-5 min and drain it on a paper towel. Leave some bacon fat on the pan and brown the polish sausage on it. When the sausage has color, put it aside, and fry the chopped onion.
5. 5Step 5: Cook the mushrooms for 10-15 min. Next, cool them down and then chop, do not throw away the liquid. Cool down the eggs and then peel them.
6. 6Step 6: Take the white sausage and vegetables out of the stock. Slice the sausage and the carrots. Discard the other vegetables. Strain the broth though a sifter.
7. 7Step 7: When the white sausage cools down a bit, fry it on the pan for a few minutes to get some color on it.
8. 8Step 8: Time to assemble all the prepared goodies: to half of the broth pour all the rye start, add all meats, fried onion, mushrooms and carrots, and 5 spoons of the mushroom liquid. Let it simmer for 10 min on small heat.
9. 9Step 9: Mince the garlic into the soup, add marjoram, lemon juice, horseradish. TRY IT! And simmer for 30 min., on a small heat.
10. 10Step 10: If it's too sour add a bit of the leftover stock - you have to play with the ratio of stock and soup starter - keep on trying the soup. If it needs salt, add it.
11. 11Step 11: Serve it with bread or inside a bread, with the hard boiled eggs cut lengthwise (one egg per portion).