THE POLISH CUISINE

The Polish cuisine is rich in meat,

especially chicken and pork. In winter

vegetables like cabbage and spices as well as different

kinds of noodles the most notable of which

are dumplings.

The basic Polish borscht (barszcz) recipe includes red beetroot, onions, garlic and vegetables such as

carrots, celery or parsley root. The ingredients are cooked together to produce a clear broth when strained served in bouillon cups. Some recipes

include bacon which gives the soup a distinctive "smoky taste".

SOUPS

Czarnina ( from the Polish word black ) is a soup made of duck blood and clear poultry broth. In English it is

referred to as Duck Blood Soup. The sweet and sour taste of the soup

comes from the addition of sugar and vinegar. It is usually served with fine noodles, macaroni or boiled potatoes. Until the 19th century czarnina was

also a symbol in Polish culture. It was served to young men applying for the hand of their beloved ones after the

parents rejected their proposal. It is a plot element in Pan Tadeusz, a famous Polish epic poem by Adam Mickiewicz.

CZARNINA

Bigos ( Hunter’s Stew ) a traditional Polish stew which many consider to be the Polish national dish.

The stew is made of cabbage and meat. Since there is no standard recipe, then recipes vary from

region to region and family to family. Typical ingredients are fresh and fermented white cabbage (sauerkraut, kapusta kiszona in Polish), various cuts

of meat and sausages, often whole or purred tomatoes and mushrooms. The meat may include pork (often smoked), ham, bacon, beef, veal since

bigos is considered to be a hunter’s stew venison or other game.

BIGOS HUNTER’S STEW

It may be seasoned with pepper, caraway, juniper berries, bay leaf, marjoram, pimento, dried or

smoked plums, red wine and other ingredients. Bigos is usually eaten with rye bread and potatoes often accompanied by vodka or dry white wine. A

common practice is to keep a pot of bigos going for a week or more, replenishing ingredients as

necessary (cf. perpetual stew). This, the seasonal

availability of cabbage and its richness in vitamin C made bigos a traditional part of the winter diet in Poland and elsewhere. In

Poland, it was a traditional dish to be served on the at

Christmas time.

INGREDIENTS

YOU NEED

1.5 kg sauerkraut 1 small cabbage different kinds of meat: pork,

chicken, beef, sausage about 250 g of each meat, it can be freely changed to taste

smoked bacon (optional) - about

100 g one or two onions mushrooms - about 50 g salt, pepper, allspice, laurel

leaves 1 cup dry red wine bacon

(optional) Oil

PREPARING

Chop the sauerkraut if necessary, add allspice

and laurel leaves to it. Boil the sauerkraut in a large pot in a small amount of water for about 1 hour, until it softens.

Grate the cabbage, add mushrooms and boil it in a separate pot (it requires about 30-40 min). It's sauerkraut and meat which define Polish Hunter Stew, cabbage is optional. If you choose not too use it, add mushrooms to the sauerkraut.

It's important to use a few kinds of meat. You should choose good quality meat. It's up to you what exactly the amounts and proportions will be. We suggest

about equal amount of each meat. Some smoked

bacon can be added too (about half less than any of other meats), but it's not necessary.

Cut the meat into small pieces. Brown it in a frying pan on vegetable oil or other kind of fat. Add lots of chopped onion and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and wait until good amount of dripping appears.

Bigos - most pictures from: www.rafalkosik.com

Put the 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.

Add the cabbage. Pour in one cup of dry red wine (not indispensible but enhances taste).

Simmer it for about 30 minutes.

Then your bigos is ready.

It can be served now, but remember that it's best to reheat it for a few times, as it will gain in taste and

become more delicate then. Serve bigos with bread.

KOTLET SCHABOWY POLISH PORK CHOP

This dish is extremely popular in Poland and very simple to prepare.

0.5 kg Pork Loin or (4 thick slices)

salt and pepper 25g plain flour 1 egg, beaten 25g breadcrumbs Oil/butter for frying

YOU NEED

INGREDIENTS

Slice the pork into four cutlets and pound them out until they are 1.5 cm thick.

Beat out the pork chops until fairly thin. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

On separate plates, pour flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Dip each chop into the flour, coating on both sides, and then dip into the beaten egg. Finally press the chops on to the breadcrumbs, ensuring even coating.

Heat sufficient oil/butter in a large frying pan. When very hot, add the pork and cook over

high heat for 5 minutes on each side. Lower heat and cook for another few minutes

until golden.

Polish style pork chops are usually served with potatoes and boiled cabbage stew or sliced

cucumbers with sour cream but are great alone and make for decent leftovers for the next day's lunch.

Gołąbki are a form of cabbage rolls. They are a traditional Polish dish consisting of boiled cabbage

leaves stuffed with ground beef, chopped onions and rice or barley; most often baked and refried in a spicy

tomato sauce.

Dumplings which are usually filled with sauerkraut and/or mushrooms, meat, potatoes and/or savory

cheese, sweet curd cheese with a touch of vanilla or blueberries or other fruit, such as cherries or strawberries and sometimes even apples.

The sweet versions may be topped with sugar and the other versions with sour cream.

PIEROGI

PIEROGI RUSKIE

Grated onion (roughly a couple of tablespoons)

Mashed potato (cold) (a few cups)

White cheese ( a few cups) Butter Salt and pepper Flour (2 1/2 cups) Egg (1) 1/2 teaspoon salt Oil (2 teaspoons) Warm water (3/4 cups)

INGREDIENTS

1. Mix flour and salt.2. Add egg, oil and water to

make a medium soft dough.

3. Knead on floured board but do not knead too much. Keep dough soft.

4. Roll dough thin.

5. Cook onion in butter until soft.6. Add to potatoes and cheese, season and mix

well.7. Cut out round pieces with open end of glass.

8. Put some filling in the middle and fold in half to make a semi-circle.

9. Press edges together firmly ensuring no holes or filling are at the edges.

10.Cover finished pierogi with tea towels to prevent drying.

11.Cook by putting a few into rapidly boiling salted water.

12.Do not let pierogi sink to bottom or stick to each other.

13.Boil for 3-4 minutes or until they are puffed and float.

14.Put cooked pierogi in bowl and cover with oil or butter to prevent them sticking to each other

By far the most popular is pierogi ruskie which is filled with white cheese (dry cottage cheese),

mashed potato and onion. They are usually topped with fried onion

and bacon or sour cream.

Smalec (dripping), melted with pork scratchings, chunks of meat and onion, seasoned with salt,

pepper and often aromatic herbs.

Poland is proud and famous for its high quality sausages, ham and butcher's

products. There are many various kinds

of Polish sausage and we definitely recommend you to try at least some

of them.