Zupa Pomidorowa: A Popular Polish Soup

Tomato soup is one of the most popular soups worldwide, and each country has their own version of the dish. The polish version of tomato soup is called zupa pomidorowa, and it is one of the most popular Polish soups. There are many variations of the soup, as families have their own zupa pomidorowa recipe that they pass down through the generations.

Some recipes for zupa pomidorowa add meat stock to the tomato soup, but our version contains only vegetable stock to make it suitable for vegetarians. See our additional tips at the end of the article if you want to add meat to your stock.

Most zupa pomidorowa recipes also contain pasta, rice, or polish noodles, so it is similar to the Italian soup Minestrone. In our version, we have used spaghetti. In Poland, the base of the stock is often made using packs of what the Polish call soup vegetables and these usually contain carrots, celery, and leek or another vegetable. Here is our easy zupa pomidorowa recipe.

Useful Information About the Polish Tomato Soup

Preparation time:	30 minutes
Cooking time:	2 hours
Servings:	4-6
Vegetarian:	Yes
Vegan:	No
Gluten-free:	No
Dairy-free:	No

Ingredients for Zupa Pomidorowa Recipe

• 2 fresh tomatoes, diced (deseeded if you prefer)
• 300g passata
• 150g spaghetti (approximately 1/3 of a pack), snapped in half
• 1.5 litres of water
• 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 1 leek, roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp sour cream
• Sprig of parsley for the broth + extra to serve
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp allspice
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Zupa Pomidorowa

1. Add the carrots, celery, a sprig of parsley, the allspice, bay leaf, salt, and pepper to a large pot and cover with water.
2. Cover the pan with a lid and put over high heat. Turn down the heat to medium-low, then simmer for 90 minutes.
3. Remove the scum from the edges of the pan before using a colander to drain the stock into another pan and remove the cooking vegetables.
4. Add the passata and fresh tomatoes to the stock, along with the dried spaghetti. Cook for a further 15 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat before serving, and stir through the sour cream. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Serve the soup in bowls and add some fresh parsley or dill as a garnish.

Additional Tips for Making Polish Tomato Soup

• To make the soup using a meat broth, you will need approximately 1kg of meat, such as two chicken quarters on a bone-in beef or lamb shank. Add 30 minutes to the simmering time if you use bone-in red meat.
• Do you not have the time to make the vegetable broth for the zupa pomidorowa recipe yourself? Simply use 1.2 litres of vegetable or meat stock.

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