Polish Tomato Soup, known as Zupa Pomidorowa (pronounced zoo-pa pomido-rova), is a comforting and flavorful dish that has been a staple in Polish homes for generations. The soup is very versatile, it can be served with rice or pasta.
Tomato soup is very often prepared from Polish Chicken Soup (Rosół) cooked the day before. Instead eating chicken soup day after day, you just add tomato paste and cream to the Rosół and mix thoroughly.
That’s exactly how my parents used to do back in the day, chicken soup on Sunday and tomato soup on Monday. Easy, simple and delicious. Now, 50 years later, I do the same thing and I love it as much as I used to when I was a kid.
Here is my Mom’s classic Polish Tomato Soup recipe.
Ingredients:
- 4-5 chicken breasts or drumsticks
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 medium celery root, peeled and chopped
- 2 large parsnips
- 1 leek
- 4 cups (1 liter) chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup (156 ml) of Tomato Paste
- 2 cups (470ml) 18% Sour Cream
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 2 cups cooked rice or pasta
- Fresh parsley or dill, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions:
Step 1
First wash the chicken under cold water. Wash your vegetable. Peel the carrots, parsnips, celery root and onion and cut them into mid size pieces. Trim your leek and cut into 3-4 pieces.
Place chicken and all your veggies in the pot. Add two bay leaves and 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper.
Lastly, pour in 4 cups (1 liter) of chicken or vegetable broth and two literes (8 cups) of fresh, cold water.
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Step 2
Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer (uncovered) for about 45 – 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
While the broth is simmering, use a spoon to skim off any white foam that collects on the surface of the broth to prevent the soup from turning bitter or sour. You will need to do it a couple of times during the cooking.
Step 3
In the meantime, cook the pasta (or rice) separately according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the pot and let it cool.
Step 4
Remove all your veggies from the pot and discard them except for the carrots. I like carrots in my soup but don’t like parsley and leeks. My Mom loves all her vegetables, so she chop parsley, leek and carrots and put them back to the soup at the end.
Step 5
Stir in the tomato puree and bring to a gentle boil. Then turn down the heat to low. You can always use fresh peeled and seeded tomatoes to make zupa pomidorowa, but I like the convenience of canned tomato puree. For the nice, velvety texture, make sure to use a smooth tomato puree rather than chunkier diced tomatoes.
Step 6
Stir in tomato paste.
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Step 7
Gradually pour in 2 cups of 18% sour cream. Stir the soup, check its taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt or pepper if needed. It is always a good idea to temper sour cream before adding to the soup. To do that, pour 18% sour cream into a small bowl and a little at a time add a ladle of hot soup into the bowl. Mix it well until smooth. Pour this creamy mixture into the pot with the hot tomato soup.
Step 8
Keep the heat low and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld. Stir the soup frequently. Remove the bay leaf.
Step 9
Add pieces of shredded chicken and chopped carrots into the pot for extra heartiness. If you are like my Mom, also add chopped parsley and leek. Simmer for additional 5 minutes.
Ladle the soup into bowls, adding a scoop of cooked rice or pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley or dill.
Finally, the eternal dilemma. Tomato soup with rice or pasta? I love noodles, so most of the time I eat tomato soup with pasta (rotini or fusilli). But my wife prefers regular white rice. We cook pasta or rice separately anyway, so there’s no problem for everyone to eat their tomato soup with what they like best.
Just make sure in either case you cook the noodles or the rice ahead of time and then just add to the bowls and stir them in.
Enjoy your warm and satisfying bowl of Polish Tomato Soup!
SMACZNEGO!
Have you tried Mama’s Polish meat patties or Kotlety mielone? Another Polish classic and my personal favourite.
