Zarzavat: Romanian Fermented Vegetable Soup Base
Give your soups, stews and braises a flavor boost this winter with this Romanian lacto-fermented soup starter called zarzavat.This recipe is enough to make 8 jars of bags of about 450 grams (1 lb) each. Each bag or jar is enough for one soup (6-8 servings). It can be stored in jars in the fridge or in zip bags in the freezer. To use just pour contents into pot. See other ideas in recipe post.
Servings 8 jars
Calories 130kcal
Equipment
- 8 500ml jars / US pint jar (16 fl oz)
- kitchen scale necessary for proper salt concentration
Ingredients
- 12 tomatoes medium-sized
- 8 carrots medium-sized
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley large bunch, equivalent to about 2 cups finely diced (stems removed)
- 1 parsnip
- 1 celeriac
- 3 red peppers
- 3 green peppers
- 25 grams salt
Instructions
cut the vegetables
- Slice the tomatoes into thin strips.
- Cut the peppers and root vegetables into very small cubes.
- Grate the carrots.
- Remove the stems and finely dice the parsley.
salt
- Add 25 grams of salt for every kg of vegetable weight (0.88 oz or ¾–1 tablespoon salt per 2.2 lb vegetables).
- Mix well to ensure even salt distribution.
countertop ferment
- Cover lightly with a clean cloth and leave on the countertop to ferment for 48 hours. Stir every so often. After 24 hours you will notice a lot of liquid (this is the brine forming). After 48 hours there will be bubbles - this is the fermentation.
store
- Put about 450 grams (1lb) of mix into 500 ml / US pint jars to store in the fridge or in ziploc bags to store in the freezer.