Baking with King Arthur Flour

Zupa Ziemniaczana
Polish Potato Soup
This hearty, creamy soup is "the real deal" -- the recipe comes almost directly from Poland. It's very simple, but has a surprisingly rich flavor. One of our newest King Arthur team members, Jen Korhonen -- whose mom, Jane, has been with The Baker's Catalogue almost since its inception -- cooked this soup for us, then wrote up the recipe and reports as follows:

"This is a recipe from my good friend Anjelika Mazur. Being that her mother moved to the U.S. as a child (from Poland), and her father didn't make the journey from Poland until his late teens or early 20s, they have both stayed very true to their roots. Meals, dishes (her mother has a large selection of Polish pottery), holiday traditions, decor, and the language itself are a very large presence in her household."

And here's what Anjelika says: "This is a great potato soup my dad makes. Instead of the sour cream, milk can be used, but sour cream tastes much better. The bread [Paskha, see recipe] is traditionally made around Easter; however, my family makes it often. For us, these foods are everyday meals."

7 medium potatoes (2 3/4 pounds), peeled and cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch cubes
3 medium carrots (9 ounces), peeled and thinly sliced
3 celery stalks (3 1/2 ounces), thinly sliced
1 large onion (12 ounces), peeled and chopped
1 1/2 quarts (48 ounces) water
2 cups (16 ounces) broth (chicken, beef or pork)
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup (9 ounces) sour cream*
*Or just use an 8-ounce container, if you like.

Place the potatoes, carrots, celery and onion into a large pot. Add the water and broth, and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cook the soup over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it bubbles. Add 1/4 cup of the sour cream, stirring till smooth, then add the remaining sour cream and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir the sour cream into the soup. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve the soup hot, garnished with chopped parsley, chives, or scallions, if desired. Yield: about 14 cups, 9 to 10 generous servings.