CookINPolish – Polish Food Recipes
Polish Cuisine – Hungry and Sentimental
Both elderberry and elderflowers have amazing health benefits. They are a natural remedy for cough, cold and help to improve immunity. Elderflower syrup taste also really nice, so it is also a pleasure to have such a remedy:) My friend Ewa told me few days ago, that coctails with elderflower syrup got really popular in Poland this season, so why not try it this or the other way:)
Strawberries got much cheaper, as they are in full season. To preserve this deliciousness for Winter, I made Polish strawberry jam, exactly as my Mom used to make in my childhood. With no jelling sugar, simple and short list of ingredients. Sugar and lemon juice are preservatives, they help to preserve jam over Winter. Although I added one magic ingredient, that makes strawberry jam taste exceptional and it was.. butter. Try that trick and you’ll never use the other method:)
My Polish strawberry jam is spreadable, I use it just like butter with bread and butter. It’s great with pancakes, waffles and cakes. And what’s most important it tastes amazing!
Hut of Baba Yaga cake is a dessert that my Mom made in my childhood. Now it’s not so popular, there is many modern cakes and desserts that are made by Polish housewives. Hut of Baba Yaga for many sounds like a dessert from communistic Poland. I made it lately for my birthday, we always take a cake to work to celebrate birthday with colleagues. I was looking for a no bake cake, because last week my oven broke :/ It was nice to get back to old times. Hut of Baba Yaga Cake was creamy, not so sweet, with perfect chocolate topping and strawberries in a the middle- this was my invention, usually there is a chocolate layer in the middle of the cake.
This is my mom’s version of Barszcz Ukraiński. Polish Ukrainian Borscht is probably more Polish than Ukrainian, this is just a soup that we call Barszcz Ukraiński. Compared to typical Polish barszcz there is more vegetables and for me, the main difference is that we add white beans to Polish Ukrainian Borscht.
Try this hearty soup, it’s healthy and nutritious. It can be a complete meal itself, it’s fulling and comforting.
For other Polish soups try this link: Polish Soups.
If you like Ruthenian Pierogi you’d love Ruthenian Pancakes! Half that work needed, yet the taste is so good. I had them once in my office canteen, they were served baked under the bechamel sauce and they were called Kiev pancakes. From that time I wanted to make them myself and finally I did it! 🙂 Both ruthenian pierogi and pancakes originate in Ukrainian cuisine, they’re hearty, delicious dishes, truly a taste of home.
Cabbage rolls are a staple on Polish tables and next to pierogi they are one of the most popular Polish dishes. Most of the people make classic meat and rice gołabki, but Polish cuisine has much more to offer, with vegetarian options available! You can boil or bake them. Some serve gołąbki with tomato sauce, other with mushroom sauce. I use cooked rice, some people use raw one. So many different ways to prepare and serve gołąbki. Check my short review of Polish gołąbki recipes below and try them, maybe you’d decide do experiment with other types of cabbage rolls or at least try some of them?
My mum used to cure her stomach aches with this young walnuts tincture. Once I was grown up, she wanted me to use it too. I hated it, it was bitter and dark, but as we say in Poland the bitter cure heals best:) I have to agree that it really worked.
Now I’m making young walnuts tincture myself and I always have at least a small bottle in the kitchen cupboard. I add honey, so it has much better flavor, I can say it’s actually a pleasure to have such a medicine. You need to wait about a year for it to mature, so you’ll be able to try it next year. Start planning now, as you need to collect young walnuts while they are still green and soft, in Poland the best time to collect them is second part of June, in your part of the world it could be different!
New Spring cabbage is a deliciousness that I use for many dishes in Spring. I make it stewed, I make soup and lately I made young cabbage slaw in a different way than usual. I loved it, so I decided to share it with you. Recipe is so easy and there is only few ingredients needed to have this fresh and crispy side dish. I served it with kotlety mielone (minced meat patties, by some people called Polish hamburgers) and boiled potatoes. A lot of dill on the top and you get a perfect Spring dish.
I have read about it last year, but it was to late to forage, this year I remembered to collect young hop shoots and I made hop shoots in butter and garlic. I steamed it first and then sauteed on frying pan. Recipe is easy, while the main ingredient is not so obvious. One can associate hops with beer production, but with delicious dish? Never!
Hop shoots for me taste a little bit like asparagus and a bit like string beans, I would say something between them. They even look like asparagus and can be served the same way. You may try them with white sauce like the one in this recipe.
I haven’t had asparagus in my childhood, there was shortage of food in a hard times of communism and we usually had a simple food. Nowadays asparagus is common on Polish tables, but I was convinced it was a piece of modern Polish cuisine. What a surprise it was when I found a recipe for Polish style asparagus originated in XVIII century! Here is a source. I made asparagus in white sauce in a comparable way that it was in that old recipe, ingredients for sauce are the same, but I slightly changed the way of preparation.
It’s a great time to make half sour pickles. I love cucumbers this way, lately I tried half sour radish and all my family was happy to try it. It’s great to grill parties, fresh and crispy, with a dill flavor and a bit of garlic. I invite you to experiment a bit and try radishes or other vegetables. Let me know please how you liked it and what kind of vegetables have you tried.
Celeriac Slaw is one of the slaws you can get in Polish milk bars, canteens and simple food restaurants. It could be one of the ‘bukiet surówek’ – ‘slaw bouquet’ set. Check what can be also included in it here: Polish Slaw Bouquet.
Celeriac is a popular vegetable in Poland. In comparison to celery known in US, which is a a green stick, Polish celeriac is a round root and it may be really big. They both are all the same family of vegetables, but stick celery become popular in Poland relatively not long ago, while celeriac is used commonly in Polish households. Check celeriac slaw, it cannot be compared to any other vegetable, it’s really worth trying.
I decided to make a summary on wild garlic and let you know about a range of their names, how they are beneficial to our health and finally I will present few wild garlic – ramps recipes.
Yesterday I was chatting at the butchers in a long queue, an old lady inspired me to buy pork loin and make Prune Stuffed Pork Loin. It’s a roast meat that can be served warm, as a main dish, with mashed potatoes and a favorite Polish slaw. For Easter we often have a white radish slaw, you can check recipe here: White Radish Salad. Prune Stuffed Pork Loin can be also served cold. Let the roast rest and cool down. Then put it into the fridge for few hours, then it would get firm and would be easier to slice. I bought smoked prunes, so that the smoky aroma enriched the flavors. I baked it in a baking bag with onion and apple, to keep the moisture inside and to have a base for delicious sauce to serve with a roast.
When I was talking with my Mom on the phone, we were discussing Easter and what we wanted to make for it. She said, she wanted this year’s Easter to be a real fiesta, contrary to the political and social situation in our part of the world. Once I saw pork belly at the butchers, I decided to make her a surprise and make Roast Rolled Pork Belly. I am so sure she is going to love it. We had it store bought from time to time, this time I made it myself.
Polish Meatloaf with hard boiled Eggs appears to be a popular Easter dish in Poland. It looks very nice on the table, while is rather easy to make. You can use already ground meat or ground it yourself, then it is just a matter of seasoning and few simple ingredients that would make a perfect Easter dish.
Meatloaf can be served cold on open sandwiches or warmed up and served as a main dinner dish with boiled potatoes and nice side dish, such as lettuce and sour cream (cut roughly lettuce, add sour cream, some salt and couple of tablespoons of vinegar and it is it).
In late 80ties new seasoning gain great popularity in Poland – a yellow universal seasoning I don’t want to refer to, because one of the main ingredients of it is monosodium glutamate, that is not healthy and which I don’t use. Instead I make my own dried Homemade Vegetable Seasoning.
Are you interested in an all purpose seasoning, that makes meals taste like your babcia used to make? It might be your secret ingredient to make your dishes taste better.
Lazy pierogi are a treat to many Polish kids. They are delicate in texture, they taste great with breadcrumbs sauteed in butter. If you are serving lazy pierogi for kids – sugar is necessary, for many adults too 😀
The main ingredient is twaróg– Polish farmer’s cheese. What to do if you don’t have twaróg? You can still enjoy lazy pierogi using ricotta cheese.
Hreczanyki – patties with buckwheat and ground meat – are of Ukrainian origins, still after XX century war migration they came to Poland and now they are a popular dish in a region of Bieszczady. I was looking for a dish that links Poland and Ukraine. In this dramatic time I am donating, I am sending clothing and hygiene stuff to people on Ukrainian border, I helped as a volunteer with organization of help, but this is what I decided to do as a cook.
Egg patties is a simple vegetarian dinner idea, in Poland they are often served for dinner in school canteens and milk bars. They are also loved and cooked in Polish families. Crispy egg patties can be served with cooked potatoes or kasza: buckwheat or barley. They will taste great with carrot and peas with a roux, or with mushroom sauce. Check this easy recipe.
