Ostpreußische Schmandsuppe

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 3 litre soup pot
• •Whisk
• •Ladle
• •Small mixing bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Render the bacon

   Warm the butter or lard in a heavy pot and cook the bacon slowly until the fat runs clear and the edges turn golden. Keep the rind in the pot if you have it; it gives the broth body, and Weggeworfen wird nichts. Do not brown the onion hard after you add it, because burnt onion turns a pale sour soup muddy and bitter.

2. 2

   Sweat the onion

   Add the onion and cook it gently until it goes glassy, about 6 minutes. The onion should sweeten in the bacon fat, not fry crisp; crisp onion fights the soft potato and makes the soup taste of the pan instead of the broth.

3. 3

   Simmer the potatoes

   Add the potatoes, broth, bay leaf, allspice, and marjoram. Bring it just to a boil, then runter mit der Temperatur, down with the temperature, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Floury potatoes are right here because their edges break down and give the broth body without a spoon of flour.

4. 4

   Crush for body

   Fish out the bay leaf, allspice, and bacon rind. Crush a few potato cubes against the side of the pot with a spoon and stir them back in. Leave most of the potatoes whole, because this is a broth soup with body, not mashed potato in disguise.

5. 5

   Temper the Schmand

   Whisk the Schmand and egg yolks together in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in two ladles of hot broth a little at a time. This tempering warms the yolk slowly, so it thickens the soup instead of scrambling. Take the pot off the heat before the mixture goes back in; boiling is where Schmand breaks.

   Use full-fat Schmand or full-fat sour cream. Low-fat sour cream splits faster, because it lacks the fat that helps protect the dairy from the acid and heat.
6. 6

   Finish sharp

   Stir the tempered Schmand mixture into the pot off the heat, then set it over the lowest flame for 2 to 3 minutes until the soup looks smooth and lightly thickened. Do not let it boil. Season with vinegar or cucumber brine, salt, and black pepper at the end, because sourness and salt sharpen as the broth reduces. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss. Ladle into bowls and finish with dill or chives.

Chef Tips

• •Use a real broth. Not from the jar. A light pork, beef, or chicken broth made from bones gives this plain soup its backbone, and the Schmand only rounds what is already there.
• •Pick floury potatoes, the kind that fall apart at the edges when boiled. Waxy potatoes stay neat and glassy, which is useful for salad and wrong for this pot.
• •Keep the soup below a boil once the Schmand and yolk go in. If it splits, the taste is still there, but the texture is gone. That mistake is visible from across the table.
• •Cucumber brine is good if your pickles are good. It belongs to the same larder as the soup and gives a cleaner sour note than too much vinegar.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the broth up to 3 days ahead and keep it chilled, or freeze it in portions. The soup is a weeknight dish only if the broth has already done its time.
• •Cook the bacon, onion, potatoes, and broth up to 1 day ahead, then reheat gently and bind with Schmand and egg yolk just before serving. Once bound, it should not be boiled again.
• •Leftovers reheat over low heat with constant stirring. If the soup is too thick after chilling, loosen it with a splash of broth before it gets hot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 570g)