Krupnik Recipe: An Easy Polish Soup

Krupnik is a traditional Polish soup. It is a thin broth featuring barley and vegetables. There are also meat versions of the dish, usually chicken or pork. Krupnik is a cheap, tasty, and easy soup to make, just like many Polish soups. The dish has many variations, but we have kept our Krupnik recipe simple. We chose to focus on the vegetarian version, but you can adapt the soup and add meat (see the additional tips at the end) if you wish. Here is our easy Krupnik recipe for you to try.

Useful Information

Ingredients for the Krupnik Recipe

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 cup pearl barley, rinsed
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 litres of vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

How to Make the Krupnik Recipe

1. Put the oil in a large pan over medium heat on the hob.
2. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for approximately five minutes until the onion and garlic are translucent.
3. Next, add the barley diced potatoes, sliced carrots, bay leaf, and parsley, then cover with the vegetable stock.
4. Season the soup with some salt and freshly ground pepper.
5. Bring the Krupnik to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for one hour.
6. Check that the barley is tender and remove the bay leaf before serving.

Additional Tips

• If you are not vegetarian and prefer soups with meat, add some leftover chicken or pork, and use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock.
• Serve the Krupnik recipe with kluski (Polish dumplings) to give the dish some substance. Alternatively, serve it with the bread of your choice.
• Barley is such a cheap and filling ingredient that it is ideal for hearty soups. if you enjoy barley in soup, you might also like to try our recipes for Scotch broth and minestra d’orzo.
• If you can get hold of them, try adding some Polish dried mushrooms (borowiki) to the Krupnik recipe. You must pour boiling water over the mushrooms and leave them to soak for an hour before slicing and adding to the soup.