Polish Cuisine Vegetable salad ––– SaSaSałatkaSa łatka jarzynowa Ingredients: 5 boiled carrots 2 boiled parsley-roots 5 boiled potatoes (optional) 1 small boiled celery-root (about 15dag) 4 hard boiled eggs 5 pickled cucumbers 2 apples 1 little can of corn (optional) 1 can of green peas 1 mayonnaise (300 - 400g) 1 tablespoon of mustard salt, pepper, parsley, dill Preparation: Rinse vegetables and cook without peeling (each separately); cool and peel them. Hard boil eggs, cool and peel them. Peel apples and remove the core. Cut vegetables, pickles, apples, and eggs into small squares. Chop green onions and strain peas. Add salt, pepper, and stir in mayonnaise and mustard. Chop parsley and dill, and sprinkle over salad. Set aside for one hour. Decorate with mayonnaise, green peas, and carrots. The secret of good Polish vegetable salad is to have all the ingredients diced very fine, no larger than the size of a green pea. Polish Herring Salad ––– Sałatka Śledziowa Ingredients: 1 jar marinated herring (with onions) 2 apples, core removed, peeled and diced 2 onions, chopped 4 cucumbers in brine, chopped 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons mustard Preparation: Take out marinated herrings from a jar and drain. Discard jar with onions and spices inside. Dice herrings and place in a salad bowl. Add apples, onions, and pickles. Toss gently and fold in the Creamy Mustard Sauce (fork-blend mayonnaise with sour cream and mustard). Chill for 2 hours before serving. Carp in aspic ––– Karp w galarecie Ingredients: a bunch soup vegetables (a carrot, parsley, celery, leek) 1kg carp 2 onions 5 tablespoons gelatin 1 glass white wine 4 grains allspice ½ lemon salt, sugar, pepper Preparation: Wash and peel vegetables. Peel an onion, spear it onto a fork and roast it over a cooker burner until softened and slightly blackened. Add vegetables into a pot, pouring one liter of water over them. Add allspice berries and a dash of salt. Simmer over low heat for one hour. Strain the stock, discarding all vegetables except carrot. Cut the cleaned carp into thick steaks and add to the stock. Cook on low heat for about twenty minutes. Take out the carp, drain it well and remove the bones. Line a narrow fruit cake tin with aluminum foil. Put the fish and a boiled carrot cut into long strips and decorate each layer with some dill. Strain two glasses of fish and the vegetable stock and mix it with gelatin and wine. Flavor with salt, pepper, sugar and lemon juice. Cool it down, pour into the prepared tin and leave in the refrigerator until set. Remove the dish from the mold onto a serving platter and decorate it with pieces of lemon and sprigs of dill. Red Borscht with dumplings ––– Barszcz czerwony z uszkami Ingredients for borscht: 5 cups beef broth 6 medium beets, peeled 2 carrots, 1 stalk celery 3 cloves garlic, smashed 2 bay leaves 3 allspice berries ½ teaspoon black pepper chopped fresh parsley or dill, for serving Ingredients for dumplings - miniature mushroom filled pierogi packages called “uszka”: 1 cup dried forest mushrooms 1 cup boiling water or enough to cover mushrooms 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 onion 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, finely chopped a pinch of salt and pepper Ingredients for dough: 2 cups flour 2/3 cup and 2 tablespoons hot water 2 tablespoons olive oil a pinch of salt Preparation: Add broth, beets, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, allspice, and pepper to a pot; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, until vegetables are extremely soft for about 45 minutes. Strain soup into another cooking pot, reserving all liquid and discarding all vegetables and spices. Place reserved cooking liquid over medium heat; season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour boiling water over mushrooms to reconstitute. Let them sit for about 30 minutes. Strain and reserve liquid. Heat oil in a large sauté pan. Add garlic, sautéing until soft. Finely chop mushrooms; sauté for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and add parsley. Cool mixture and make dough. Knead flour and salt, add oil and drizzle hot water until the mixture comes together as dough. Cut dough in half, cover and let it rest for 5 – 10 minutes. Roll out the first piece of dough about 3mm thick. Cut out rounds/discs 5cm in diameter by using a glass, add a small amount of the mushroom filling to the center. Dampen the edges, fold dough in half and seal tightly. You may either pinch two opposite edges together to create the “tiny ears” appearance, which also resembles tortellini or leave the edges flat. Repeat with the remaining dough. To cook, drop pierogies into rapidly boiling water for about 3- 4 minutes, removing them once they float. Add pierogies to the borscht just before serving. Polish Sour Rye Soup --- ŻŻŻurekŻurek Ingredients: 1/2kg white sausage 3-4 hard-boiled eggs a bunch soup vegetables (a carrot, parsley, celery, leek) 1/2 l sourdough 4 grains allspice 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon marjoram 1 clove garlic a dried mushroom 2 tablespoons sour cream 2 tablespoons rye flour salt and pepper Preparation of sourdough : Prepare sourdough a week prior to cooking this soup. Boil a liter of water. To a jar or stone pot pour 30grams of whole meal rye flour, mix with the amount of boiling water to form a slurry. When cool, add the rest of lukewarm water. Put a slice of whole meal bread and 2-3 cloves of garlic. Cover with gauze or cloth and leave in a warm place for 3 days. Sourdough poured into bottles can be stored for two weeks. Preparation: Pour 1liter of water over cleaned and washed vegetables, add spices, a mushroom and lightly sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 40 minutes, in the middle of cooking add sausage and continue cooking on low heat. Take out vegetables, spices and sausage from the stock, add previously made sourdough. Grind garlic cloves with salt, add to the soup. At the end add the mixture made of sour cream combined with flour and a bit of stock. Boil it and season to taste with marjoram. Serve with sliced sausage and hard-boiled eggs, sprinkle with herbs. Polish Breaded Pork Cutlets --- Kotlet Schabowy Ingredients: 4 boneless center-cut pork chops 1 cup flour 1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon milk 1 cup bread crumbs vegetable shortening or canola oil salt and pepper Preparation: Trim off fat and gristle. Pound pork between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/2cm thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge pork chops first in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Allow cutlets to dry for 10 minutes before frying. Heat shortening or oil to a depth of 2cm in a large skillet. Fry one at a time by placing cutlets top side down into the pan. Fry 5 to 7 minutes per side until golden. Alternatively, use two skillets to speed up the process. Serve with mashed potatoes and cucumbers in sour cream (recipe below). Cucumbers in Sour Cream ––– Mizeria Legend has it this dish was a favourite of Queen Bona Sforza, an Italian princeprincessss who married Polish King SigSigmundmund I in the 16th century.century. Homesick for her native Italy where cucumbers were common, every time she ate it, it made her cry. HHenceence the Polish word ‘mizeria’ derives from the LatinLatin word "misery". Ingredients: 1 large cucumber with or without seeds, thinly sliced 1 onion thinly sliced and separated into rings 1/2 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon sugar 2 teaspoons white vinegar (optional) 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill salt and pepper In a serving bowl, combine sour cream, vinegar, sugar and pepper. Stir in cucumbers and onion. Hunter's Stew --- Bigos "Bigos is no ordinary dish, For it is aptly framed to meet your wish. Founded upon good cabbage, sliced and sour, Which, as men say, by its own zest and power Melts in one's mouth, it settles in a pot And its dewy bosom folds a lot Of the best portions of selected meats; Scullions parboil it then, until heat Draws from its substance all the living juices, And from the pot's edge, boiling fluid sluices And all the air is fragrant with its scent." Adam Mickiewicz - Pan Tadeusz (1834) Ingredients: 2kg sauerkraut 2kg cabbage 0.5kg smoked pork 0.5kg beef 0.5kg veal (optional) 0.5kg spareribs 0.5kg smoked sausage 0.25kg bacon 1 large can tomatoes 2 cups water 1/2 cup onions, chopped 6 dried forest mushrooms 2 or 3 prunes, cut up into pieces 1/2 cup red wine 2 tablespoons flour 2 bay leaves a few allspice berries salt and pepper Preparation: Chop sauerkraut if necessary, add allspice and bay leaves to it. Boil sauerkraut in a large pot in a small amount of water for about 1 hour, until it softens. Grate cabbage, add mushrooms and boil it in a separate pot (it requires about 30-40 min). Cut meat (pork, beef, veal) into small pieces. Brown it in a frying pan on vegetable oil or other kind of fat. Stir and wait until a good amount of dripping appears. Put meat with dripping and onion to the pot with the sauerkraut. It is very important that you add the dripping too, because it determines the taste of the bigos very much, simmer for 1 hour. Brown spareribs in a large heavy pot. Combine it with the sauerkraut mixture. Remove a lid and keep the pot on a very low simmer.