Yutschka

The weather has been kind of gray and rainy lately. These are the types of days when you just want to curl up with a hot bowl of soup and watch a video.

Well, this soup is great for that or for serving  with Shabbat dinner, like I did last week. This is a Polish potato soup recipe I got from my mother, who got it from her father who got it from... you get the point. 

Toss in some mandel for a little crunch and this soup is perfect for any occasion. 

Yutschka

 

3-5 lbs potatoes

3-4 stalks celery

3-4 carrots

Kosher salt, 3 tsp

White pepper, 1 tsp

1 onion (baseball size)

2 tbs margarine

2 tbs flour

Peel and cube the potatoes into approximately 1-cm. pieces. Coarsely dice the carrots and celery.

Put the potatoes, carrots, and celery into a large pot and fill it with cold water 1-2 inches from the top to yield half-volume water and half-volume vegetables. 

Bring the pot to a rolling boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add salt and pepper, and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the kitchen smells good.

After simmering, make your roux for the soup. Dice the onion and saute in 2 tbs margarine in a frying pan until golden brown. Work in two heaping tablespoons of baking flour and stir until the flour has been absorbed by the onions. (If you don't want to use margarine, you can use Crisco or shmaltz to make the roux.) Add this roux to the soup. 

Let the soup simmer for another hour, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer or cover the pot and turn off the heat until ready to serve.