What is the must have of each Polish housewife? To prepare an every day soup or Sunday broth, you need these popular in Poland vegetables. Check if you know their Polish names!
Most popular Polish vegetables
Category: Recipes
Fried Parasol Mushrooms
Last weekend we went to Mazuria Lake district in the North East of Poland. We went mushroom picking twice and they both were successful:) Check more photos from the woods on my Instagram account. I was hunting for parasol mushrooms and I was lucky to find them in one of my places:) I made fried parasol mushrooms for dinner. They were a delicious alternative for a piece of meat. Remember to pick only mushrooms that you are absolutely sure that are edible or ask for expertise someone experienced and trustworthy, who can recognize them.
Check more seasonal recipes under section: Autumn food.
Polish Farmers Goulash Soup
Polish Farmers Goulash Soup is a thick, full of meat, country style soup, filling and warming, perfect in Autumn. It is one pot dish, a complete meal: you got meat, potatoes and vegetables inside.
For more Autumn recipes check a new section on my blog: Autumn food.
Polish Tomato Soup
When there is a season for tomatoes, we should use it and cook this gorgeous Tomato soup with fresh tomatoes. In winter and in spring, or when you are just tired and you need to put quickly dinner on the table – then you can cook traditional Polish Tomato Soup. The soup is more related to PRL tradition, but still – it is one of the most favorite Polish soups.
People in Poland laugh that when we have a chicken broth on Sunday, then on Monday we eat tomato soup:) Yes, actually it is as easy as this: if you add tomato concentrate to the broth – your budget tomato soup is ready:)
Poles cannot agree whether tomato soup should be served with rice or rather with pasta:) In my family house we used to have it with rice, but I like both options:)
Fresh Tomato Soup
Last days of summer and the beginning of autumn is a perfect time to cook Fresh Tomato Soup. In the middle of the season tomatoes are cheap and beautiful, there is a whole range of tomato species available. Remember to choose only the ripest pieces of your favorite tomatoes. They may be soft and not really best looking, but believe me, they will make delicious soup.
Check also winter version of Polish Tomato Soup with tomato concentrate. Believe me, it is also delicious:)
Polish Split Peas Soup
Autumn food needs to be warming, filling and thick. It needs to be comforting during long, dark, chilling evenings. And this is exactly what Polish split peas soup is. I cook it on pork bones, I simmer bones for few hours, to get a really reach stock. I invite you to check Grochówka.
Polish split peas soup recipe is under a new section on my blog: Autumn food. As this is the first Autumn of CookINPolish.com, this section is going to enlarge perspectively. Subscribe to my newsletter not to miss a recipe. I will be happy to see new subscribers:)
Polish Pickle Cucumber Salad
Yesterday was the last day of Summer:( In order to keep some Summer tastes for short cold Winter days, I made Polish Pickle Cucumber Salad. Canning has a long story in Poland, Polish housewives from 1980ties and 1990ties all the Summer were busy with packing cucumbers, red peppers, forest mushrooms, jams and compotes into jars. I remember pickled cucumber salad my Mum prepared those days, it was called Swedish Salad and had cucumbers and carrots in vinegar solution. My version has also red peppers and onions. Try this recipe, you will have crunchy spicy vegetables to reach for and accompany your meals in Winter.
You may also like simple and easy recipe for Quick Pickled Cabbage, that is ready on the very next day from preparing. I don’t preserve it, it can be stored in a fridge even for a month.
Polish Yeast Sweet Rolls
Plum & Cheese Yeast Rolls
Sunday afternoon is a perfect time for Polish Yeast Sweet Rolls. This kind of rolls are very popular in Poland to have it for ‘second breakfast’ at school or in the office.
For more Polish desserts check: http://cookinpolish.com/category/recipes/desserts/.
5 kinds of Polish Potato Dumplings to love
Review of Polish Potato Dumplings – check if you know them all!
Potatoes are one of the most popular food ingredient in Poland. They are cheap and can be easily stored during winter. Potatoes may be easily called a poor food. In the cities you can have pasta and rice more often, but in historically poorer countryside – you have potatoes! It is a popular side dish and a start to many other dishes, such as delicious Potatoe pie, Polish Farmer’s Casserole with sausages or: Polish potato dumplings. Check if you know all 5 kinds of Polish Potato Dumplings, I’m sure you will love it.
There is a whole variety of Polish potato dumplings, they vary in size and ingredients, whether cooked or raw potatoes are used, what kind of flour is used and is it served as a side dish or a main course.
Kartacze – Polish Potato Dumplings
Kartacze – Polish Potato Dumplings are made of raw potatoes with small (or non) addition of cooked ones. They are regional dish in Podlasie – North- Western part of Poland. Go to Białystok to try the best Kartacze ever:) Or make them yourself:)
In my family house we called them Kołduny, so the naming may vary:) My Grandma and Mum were born and raised on the present territory of Belarus, but back then it was Poland, language and cuisines mixed. Kartacze can also be called Cepeliny (dish with Lithuanian origins).
There is a range of Polish potato dumplings, they vary in size and ingredients, whether cooked or raw potatoes are used, what kind of flour is used and is it served as a side dish or a main course. If you are not sure which potato dumplings you like the most, check my short comparison of Polish potato dumplings with pictures and recipes: http://cookinpolish.com/5-kinds-of-polish-potato-dumplings/.
No baking turkey pate
When I was a child we loved pate – Pasztet bought in stores. Unfortunately this meat bread spread had and still have a long list of low quality ingredients: the worst parts of meat, water, thickeners, preservatives and who knows what else. Nowadays children still love meat pates, so I decided to prepare home made pasztet using good quality ingredients. It worked! My daughter approved it, I’m happy:) I decided to go for no baking version of pate made of turkey leg. I found recipe on Polish culinary website: posmakuj-to.blogspot.com, which I like very much.
If you would like to check more Polish ideas for bread spreads, you may like smoked mackerel Paprykarz and my Grandma’s Smoked Mackerel Bread Spread.
Apple Racuchy
Polish Apple Pancakes
Apple Racuchy are one of the favorite Polish suppers. Children love them and they are simple and easy to make. I don’t add sugar inside, so you can keep them low caloric or sprinkle Racuchy with lots of powder sugar. My Racuchy are crispy and fluffy, even though I don’t use yeast nor baking powder – are you ready to find out what is the secret of my perfect Racuchy: fluffy, crispy and moist inside? 🙂
Polish Redcurrant Kompot
I cooked Polish Redcurrant Kompot, as lately I got a plenty of redcurrant from my friend. Kompot is a drink, that Poles usually drink to dinner. It is served in every Polish office and school’s canteen.
Kompot is a fruit drink made of fresh or dried fruits. Wikipedia says that the tradition of kompot drinking has more than 700 years! The most special kompot is made for Christmas Eve- you cook dried fruits with seasonings like cloves and cinnamon. It smells like Christmas:)
In the Summer when there are many fresh fruits available, you can easily have this nice, healthy, simple drink for kids and adults. You can cook kompot using cherries, apples, rhubarb, strawberries, plums or peaches. You can also mix few different fruits in one pot. It is much better than soda. It’s fresh, with no preservatives and you control the level of sugar, or use healthier sweeteners, such as stevia.
Polish Leczo
Polish Leczo – Vegetable and Polish Sausage Stew
Polish Leczo is a vegetables stew with Polish pork sausage. It is a dish with Hungarian origins. You cook seasonal, use red peppers, tomatoes and zucchini the moment they are the best and the cheapest. You can cook a big pot of food for a family of 6 for a week:)
In Poland Leczo started to be popular in hard times of PRL, when there was shortage of everything in stores. There was also time when garden plots where very popular, Poles where growing their own carrots, tomatoes, parsley, cucumbers, peppers. Totally bio and eco:)
If you like Leczo you may also like Polish Stuffed Zucchini.
Polish Plum Yeast Cake
Taste of the childhood in Poland. My Grandma was baking this traditional Polish plum yeast – risen cake on Saturdays afternoons. We were eating still warm piece of cake with cold milk. Yummy:)
You can have this Polish Yeast Cake actually with any seasonal fruits. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, rhubarb – all will go great with a yeast cake. I love a smell of baking plums, so I choose plums:)
If you prefer apples and crusty desserts you may want to check my Polish Szarlotka recipe.
Quick Pickled Cabbage
This quick pickled cabbage is crunchy, sweet and spicy. Can go as a side dish to a dinner, can accompany meats (Polish kotlety schabowe), potato casserole or any dish that needs a kick.
It’s ready to eat on the very next day. Use fresh young spring cabbage to get the best of it.
Most importantly quick pickled cabbage can be stored in refrigerator for even 2 months, but don’t worry, usually it disappears before then:)
Recipe I use comes from my sister’s private recipe book.
Chanterelle Cream Sauce
Last Saturday I found fresh forest chanterelles on a local farmers market. They are not cheap, they cost 60 PLN per 1 kg, which is more than 15 USD. However they are sooo good, that I couldn’t resist:) I was waiting the whole season to cook Chanterelle Cream Sauce.
I had some for delicious scramble eggs for breakfast.
For dinner I cooked cream sauce, which I served with grilled turkey breast, young potatoes and mizeria (cucumber salad). However you can have any nice piece of grilled or fried meat with chanterelle sauce: pork chop, beef steak or pork tenderloin. If you prefer to stick with veggie, potato dumplings, crepe and pasta would go very well with this sauce.
Polish Plum Potato Dumplings – Knedle ze Śliwkami
Polish Plum Potato Dumplings are one of my favorite Summer sweet dinners from childhood. Sweet & cinnamon flavored plums, soft potato dough and crispy buttered breadcrumbs, topped with sweet cream, make knedle a special dish, that is loved by all Poles.
One of the tastes of Polish Summer. If you have potatoes left from dinner, it is just half an hour of preparation and less than 10 minutes of cooking.
If you follow the recipe you will get 9 potato dumplings, it is 2-3 servings. Feel free to adjust the portion to your needs.
If you prefer potato dumplings to accompany meat dishes, you will love Kluski Śląskie recipe.
Polish baked ribs
If you feel like simple homestead, peasant food, caloric and fat, go for Polish baked ribs. It is something all off us need from time to time:)
Polish Stuffed Zucchini
I remember when I was 6-8 years old, we were spending vacations on our large garden plot and sleeping in a Summer small house. My father was planting tomatoes & cucumbers for sale and other vegetables for our own use. We had zucchinis, but not eating them while they are small, but waiting them to grow to 2-3 kg each:) Then my Mum was cooking Polish Stuffed Zucchini.
Nowadays it is hard to find these big zucchinis in stores, but when I go to Farmers market, I get them from real farmers, not the sellers that buy in wholesalers and just distribute goods. They cost about 1 USD per kilogram.
Polish Stuffed Zucchini was one of the dishes that my Mum made for our big family those days. It was quite cheap to make: you use minced meat mixed with rice, so you can manage on your own the ratio between them:)
