🇨🇿 Czechia · Moravian Wallachia (Valašsko)
Valašská kyselicaWallachian sauerkraut soup
The Moravian Wallachian form of sauerkraut soup: a thick zelňačka of sauerkraut and potatoes with sausage or smoked meat, whitened with sour cream, in many versions with dried mushrooms and, in some, prunes; once a hearty breakfast for forest workers.
Origin and history
Kyselica is the sauerkraut soup of Moravian Wallachia (Valašsko), the hilly, poor-soiled corner of eastern Moravia where cabbage kept through the winter was a staple. Cooks there rank it with frgál pies and slivovice among the region's best-known specialities. It is a white zelňačka, thickened with cream and potatoes, and men once reportedly ate it for breakfast before a day's work in the forests.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 1 h
- Hands-on
- 35 min
Ingredients
- 600 g1.3 lb sauerkraut (kysané zelí), drained, brine kept; chop long strands
- 250 g9 oz smoked paprika sausage (klobása) or smoked bacon (slanina), sausage in thin rounds, bacon in small dice
- 15 g1/2 oz (about 1/2 cup) dried mushrooms (sušené houby), ideally boletes, soaked, see notes; soaking water kept
- 30 g2 tbsp lard (sádlo), or rapeseed oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, whole
- 600 g1.3 lb potatoes, peeled, cut in 1.5 cm (1/2 in) cubes
- 1.2 l5 cups light stock or water, hot
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 allspice berries (nové koření)
- 6 black peppercorns
- 3 juniper berries, lightly crushed
- 4-5 prunes (sušené švestky), optional, halved
- 300 g1 1/4 cups sour cream (zakysaná smetana), or half sour cream and half whipping cream
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- salt, black pepper and a pinch of sugar, to taste
- sourdough rye bread, to serve
Method
-
1. Lift the soaked mushrooms out of their water, chop them roughly and pour the soaking water through a fine sieve or a coffee filter to leave any grit behind.
-
2. Melt the lard in a large pot over medium heat, add the sausage or bacon and fry for 3-4 minutes, until the fat runs out and the edges colour.
-
3. Add the onions and cook gently for 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and golden.
-
4. Stir in the caraway, then add the potatoes, bay leaves, allspice, peppercorns, juniper and the chopped mushrooms.
-
5. Pour in the hot stock and the strained mushroom water, add a little salt and simmer, partly covered, for 12-15 minutes, until the potatoes are nearly tender. They go in before the sauerkraut because its acid would keep them hard.
-
6. Meanwhile, put the sauerkraut in a small covered pan with 100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) of water and let it stew gently for 15-20 minutes, until soft.
-
7. Tip the sauerkraut and the prunes, if using, into the soup and simmer for 10 minutes more, until the potatoes are fully soft.
-
8. Whisk the flour into the sour cream until smooth, then whisk in two ladles of the hot soup so the cream does not curdle.
-
9. Stir the cream into the pot and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes, stirring, until the soup is thick, white and creamy.
-
10. Rub the marjoram between your palms over the pot. Season with salt and pepper, then balance with a pinch of sugar if it is too sharp or a splash of the reserved brine if it is too mild.
-
11. Take out the bay leaves and serve hot with rye bread.
Notes
- Before you start: cover the dried mushrooms with about 250 ml (1 cup) of hot water and leave them for 30 minutes, or overnight in cold water.
- How it differs from the parent zelňačka: kyselica is the 'white' sauerkraut soup of Moravian Wallachia. There is no paprika roux; the sour cream is cooked into the soup instead of spooned on top, the potatoes cook in the pot, and dried mushrooms, juniper and marjoram give it a woodland flavour. The everyday Czech zelňačka is red with paprika and thickened with a roux.
- Every Wallachian family has its own kyselica. Actress Květa Fialová's version uses paprika sausage or smoked bacon, juniper and no mushrooms; others cook a smoked pork hock first and use its broth, leave out the potatoes, or add cooked beans. Dried mushrooms are common but not universal, and prunes are a local addition: a Rožnov restaurant serves kyselica with porcini and dried plums, while the Novinky and Prima Fresh recipes use neither prunes nor, in the first case, mushrooms.
- Thickening: instead of flour, some cooks dice one extra large potato into the broth at the start and let it break down, which gives a lighter soup.
- Sauerkraut sourness varies a great deal, so taste before adding brine. If yours is very sharp, rinse it briefly, or use less brine and more stock.
- In Wallachia kyselica was a breakfast as much as a lunch, and it is a favourite after a day's skiing in the Beskydy hills today.
- Make-ahead: kyselica is best the next day, when the flavours have settled, so many cooks make a double batch. Reheat gently without boiling hard, and add a little water if it has thickened.
- Related soups: Slovak kapustnica, the Christmas sauerkraut soup, and Polish kapuśniak.
Adapted from Květa Fialová, Prostonárodní kuchařka (via Prima Fresh, "Kyselica s klobásou a bramborem"), Forbes Česko, "Snídaně Valachů. Posilněte se tradiční valašskou kyselicí", and Novinky.cz, "Tradiční valašská kuchyně".
At the festivals
No festival we list has printed it on a menu yet.