Zupa Czosnkowa (Garlic Soup)

Well, after a long and difficult winter I am back! It wasn't a very cold winter here, even by Australian standards, in fact it was surprisingly mild. That didn't stop me from getting a couple of colds/flu's and random viruses. The worst was bronchitis which left me very ill for three weeks, and then has taken another few weeks for me to feel like I am getting back to normal.

This Polish soup is one that ticks all my boxes when I am ill, It is easy to make, it is delicious, it is good for you (if you ignore the sour cream lol). It warms you up and makes you feel all cosy and loved. OK, maybe that's just me!

Though this may sound like a strange soup, with way too much garlic, give it a try. Cooking the garlic for such a long time takes away any heat and astringency and leaves a very sweet flavour. The egg and cream mixture further rounds out the flavour.

Ingredients

8 cups beef stock (use vegetable stock to make this vegetarian)

1 bay leaf
15 peeled garlic cloves
2 carrots, diced VERY finely
2 tablespoons oil
2 onions,diced finely
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream

Method

Cut 5 garlic cloves in half. Dice the remainder finely or put through a garlic sieve.

Saute onions in oil until translucent.Add the diced garlic and cook till softened. Add in remaining garlic, stock, carrots, and herbs.

Let simmer on a low heat for 1 hour. Season to taste. Leave to cool slightly (ie don't let it be near boiling or you may split the cream).

Mix egg yolks and sour cream together in a bowl, then slowly add a few tablespoons of hot stock to it to temper it (so it doesn't curdle when you add it to the soup). Whisk it into the soup.

Enjoy with hot bread, croutons, or shards of crispy bacon. (OK, so there goes the healthy part!!)

Chive Kluski with Garlic Cream

Love love love this. I was tired, and had only odd things in the fridge - leftover mashed potato, boursin, half a carton of cream, and a rubbery carrot. I really must go shopping... Anyway, mother is the neccessity of invention, so I took on the challenge, and came up with this dish. OMG it is really yummy. It's a take on a normal potato kluski (see my kluski recipe for more detail). Basically to the potato kluski recipe add 1 bunch of finely chopped chives. Then boil them and strain them. These kluski are soft, pillowy, and savoury. A great addition at this point to soups and stews... I can just imagine them in a chicken soup. The experiment was not to end here, though...

To a pan add a lug of olive oil with 1tsp of butter. Add in the kluski and cook until golden on the outside. At this point they are great as a side dish to steak etc - soft inside, slighty crunchy outside, with that lovely slightly oniony flavour. But, I wasn't yet done.

Pour in some cream and crumble in 1/2 a pat of boursin (a lovely creamy garlicky cheese). Stir till melted and the sauce thickens. Eat with cries of pleasure at just how delicious it is. I would have sprinkled some herbs on top, but I had used all the chives and it was too dark and cold to go outside and find any herbage... but I think a little bit of parsley or thyme would be lovely on top.