Polish Strawberry Soup always seems to be served with pasta that has been cooked separately. In Polish, it’s called Zupa truskawkowa (z makaronem). I really enjoyed this fruit soup, so it surprises me to hear from many Poles that they have less than pleasant memories of this soup from their childhood.
If that’s the case for you, it might be worth re-visiting. Tastes change over the years. As someone who discovered strawberry soup later in life, I find it uniquely delicious, and refreshing.
The soup can be served hot or cold. Having tried it both ways, I much prefer it chilled. The soup is a little thicker when it’s cold and the fruit and pasta flavors just seem more in harmony.
Variations on Polish Strawberry Soup
There are many fruit soups eaten in Poland. Use the same process with cherries, blueberries, and plums. In case you’re wondering about the pasta, you have choices there too.
Pasta shapes that are small and can easily be eaten with your soup spoon are the most commonly used: elbow, small shells, spirals to list a few examples. You can also add homemade noodles such as poured noodles. They’re called kluski in Polish. My food blogging friend and fellow cookbook author, Ren Behan, has a great recipe for them on her website.
You’ll always want to add the pasta and the soup separately to the bowl just before serving. This keeps the pasta texture firm. If it were to sit in the soup for some time, as in overnight with leftovers, or even just chilling for 15 – 20 minutes, the pasta becomes mushy as it soaks up the strawberry broth.
Although I prefer the soup chilled, I like the pasta at room temperature. You can rinse it with cold water if you’ve just cooked it.
Give it a try. Polish Strawberry Soup can serve as a light meal at any time of day or dessert!
Smacznego!
Lois
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Polish Strawberry Soup
- Prep Time: 45 min (includes chill time)
- Cook Time: 5 min
- Total Time: 50 min
- Yield: serves 4 1x
- Category: soup or dessert
- Method: cooking
- Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons potato flour or Wondra flour
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups pasta, cooked according to package direction
- optional garnish – sour cream, strawberry half, small mint leaves
Instructions
- Add strawberries, water, sugar, and salt to a pan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 20 minutes.
- Using a blender, immersion blender, or food processor, process until smooth. If you don’t have one of these machines in your kitchen, try pushing the fruit through a sieve.
- Sprinkle the potato flour or Wondra flour (see notes) over the top and whisk until any lumps have dissolved. Stir in heavy cream. I recommend chilling the soup before serving, although it can be eaten warm.
- Add cooked pasta to bowls, top with strawberry soup, and garnish as desired.
Notes
Wondra flour is the brand name of wheat flour that is sold in blue tube-like canister containers. It’s flour that has already been cooked, so you can add it to recipes and not worry about a raw flour taste. It’s also made to blend easily into liquids. I find it’s easiest to avoid lumps by adding it in small amounts, sprinkling or sifting it over the liquid and whisking.
Potato flour is the traditional thickening agent, but it can be difficult to find in many locations. I have done a side by side comparison with potato flour and Wondra flour and tasted no difference due to the small amount used.
If you live near a Polish deli and can find a packet of strawberry Kiesel (fruity dessert thickened with potato flour) you can add that as your thickener.
I like to add a pinch of salt to sweet recipes. It doesn’t taste salty. It just brightens the other flavors.
Keywords: Polish strawberry soup, Polish fruit soup
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