How to make Queer Eye star Antoni Porowski’s authentic ‘hangover soup’
Antoni Porowski shares his authentic zurek soup recipe known to cure the most horrific hangovers. It originates from his parent's native Poland.
This "fortifying" Polish soup recipe can be the perfect cure-all to your hangover this weekend.
This hearty recipe is made with a combination fo root vegetables, kielbasa, pickles, sour cream, and hard-boiled eggs.
It also gets a "tangy" zing from a fermented sour rye soup started called zakwas. One of the most famous chefs of Polish-descent, Antoni Porowski, best known for his role as food and wine expert on Netflix's Queer Eye, shared his family's authentic recipe to revive you after a night of overindulging in liquor.
The following recipe is an excerpted from his cookbook, "Antoni in the Kitchen," released in 2019.
If this recipe isn't resonating with you, try out this breakfast sandwich that is the "ultimate hangover cure."
READ MORE: Breakfast sandwich recipe which is the 'ultimate hangover cure'
Ingredients
Zakwas (rye flour sourdough)
- 1/2 cup rye flour
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
Soup
- 1/3 pound thick-cut smoked bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide pieces
- 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
- 2 1/2 pounds kielbasa or bratwurst, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
- 1 large carrot, halved lengthwise and cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices
- 1 large parsnip, quartered lengthwise and cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices
- 1 medium celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 8 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus finely chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- 3 fresh or dried bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 cup drained prepared horseradish
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- Sour cream, for garnish
- 3 or 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved, for garnish
- 2 cups coarsely chopped dill pickles (about 4 medium), for garnish
- Chopped fresh dill, for garnish
- Kosher salt
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Directions
Zakwas
1. Pour 2 cups boiling water into a heatproof 1-quart jar or glass bowl. Let cool to warm.
2. Stir the flour, garlic, and bay leaf into the warm water. Tightly cover/seal the jar or bowl with plastic wrap (use a rubber band or two to hold the wrap tightly) and let sit in a warm, dark place (like a cupboard) for 4 to 5 days; “burp” the mixture every 2 days by removing the plastic wrap to let the air out, then resealing it again (this will prevent a little culinary explosion). Alternatively, you can seal the jar or bowl with cheesecloth (more breathable), held tightly with a rubber band, and you will not have to burp the mixture.
3. The zakwas is ready when it has a pungent fragrance, a solid, spongy deposit on top, and a light brown-gray liquid at the bottom. Scrape off any green or moldy bits that appear on the top (a healthy sign of the fermentation process and not dangerous!), and remove and discard the bay leaf. Strain the zakwas through a sieve into a bowl; discard the solids. You’ll have about 1½ cups liquid. Use however much you have; the exact amount is not important.
Soup
1. In a large Dutch oven or other wide heavy pot, cook the bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium bowl. Add the onions to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the bacon. Add the kielbasa or bratwurst to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to the onion mixture. Pour off and discard the fat from the pot.
2. Add the carrot, parsnip, celery root, parsley sprigs, bay leaves, marjoram, allspice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 7 cups water to the pot, bring to a simmer, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender but with a little bite, 12 to 15 minutes.
3. Add the zakwas, horseradish, and onion mixture to the pot, return the soup to a simmer, and cook until the vegetables are tender and the broth is flavorful, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the white pepper. Season to taste with salt. Remove and discard the parsley sprigs and bay leaves.
4. Spoon the soup into bowls. Top each bowl with a big dollop of sour cream, a hard-boiled egg half, the chopped pickles, and some dill or parsley, and serve.
