Surówka - Polish Cole Slaw

I love Surówka.  My kids do as well.  Surówka is a raw salad.  There are many varieties of Surówka, and all will say the name of the main ingredient.

This is the recipe for Surówka z białej kapusty, or Raw salad from white cabbage...  Polish Cole slaw.

Ingredients:

1/2 small head of White Cabbage
1 Carrot, washed and peeled
1 Apple*, washed and peeled
2-3 tablespoons Sunflower Oil
1-2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2-1 tablespoon Sugar**
Salt and Pepper to taste


Optional:

Pinch of Caraway seeds
1/4 Sweet Onion





Grate the cabbage.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and squeeze together to make the cabbage more tender.

Grate the carrot and apple and mix into cabbage.  If using onion, grate and mix in.

Add remaining ingredients, stir together well and allow to sit in the refrigerator about an hour to allow the flavors to blend.




* I personally prefer using a Granny Smith apple for this but any apple will work, it will just affect the flavor to be more or less sweet.

** The sweeter the apple, the less sugar to use.



Smacznego...

Related Posts:

Chłodnik, A Cold Soup

Bean and Pickle Salad

Pickle Hamburgers

 

Kluski z Makiem or Poppy Seed Noodles

Poppy Seed Noodles, or Kluski z Makiem (pronounced Klooskey z Mahk-ee-em) is a once a year dish which takes several hours of preparation and is usually reserved for Wigilia.


If you haven't started soaking the poppy seeds in boiled milk for at least 5 hours (preferably 12) and want to make this dish, there is still a short window of opportunity to do so today.  Or you can use a can of poppyseed filling in place of soaking the poppyseeds in milk.


My Tato told me to inform you that children can enjoy this in small amounts as this makes them sleepy.  Perhaps this is an old fashioned remedy for children trying to stay up late on Christmas Eve to catch a peek at Santa Claus, or Sw. Mikolaj.


Ingredients:

1 12 oz. bag of Poppyseeds *
1 1/2 cups Milk or Water
1 cup Honey
1/2 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Lemon or Orange Zest
pinch of Salt, if you like
about 3 cups of cooked Kluski (Polish Egg Noodles)
2 tablespoons Butter


In a saucepan, combine the poppyseeds and milk.  Bring to a boil, cover with lid and set aside to soak for at least 5 hours, but preferably 12 hours.

Drain in a sieve.  Grind twice.

You can use a coffee or seed grinder. I prefer to use a mortar & pestle with my kids. 
Just call me Baba Jaga. ;)

In a clean saucepan, combine the poppyseeds, honey, raisins, nuts, extract and zest.  Also, add the salt now, if using.

Heat through and toss with noodles and butter.

Smacznego!



Notes:

* In place of the poppyseeds and milk, you can used a can of poppyseed filling.

You can also add chopped prunes to the dish, if you like.  Also, you can add Almonds with or in place of Walnuts.

I'll add the photo of the completed dish later today, as I won't be combining the dish until just a little bit before serving.



Related Posts:

Pierniczki or Polish Gingerbread Cookies, Not Torunski Version

My Meatless Golabki

My Favorite Holiday Memories

"Busia's" Stuffing

By now, I hope that you know we love traditions and remembering our loved ones.

My husband's Polish American Grandma was known as "Busia" by my older daughter before she passed away a couple of years ago.  The title "Busia" was at her request. 

My husband and his family have always loved her cooking and her Thanksgiving Day stuffing was no exception.  It's not the stuffing I'm used to but that's the beauty of family, each one has it's own traditions. 

And I still make it in memory of her.  She was a wonderful woman and was always very kind to me so deserves to be remembered.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of Bread torn apart (she preferred white bread)
1/2 an Onion, peeled, washed, finely diced
1 rib of Celery, washed and finely diced
2 cloves of Garlic, peeled, washed, finely diced
2 Eggs
handful of Curly Parsley
1 Turkey Liver, well chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chicken Broth, roughly 2 cups


Tear apart the bread.  Add all ingredients and mix together.  Add enough chicken broth to make the dish moist.

Stuff the bird and use one end of the bread to close the opening.

I took this photo after we were done eating, sorry, I was too hungry beforehand...

Smacznego!



Note:  You could add marjoram to this.  You can also use leeks or shallots instead of an onion.  It's really just whatever you prefer.

This is a great dish to have your kids help.  Have them tear apart the bread and curly parsley while you cut the ingredients.  They can also add the cut up onions and celery.  My toddler helped with this recipe this year and was extremely dumna (proud).




Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!



Related Posts: 

Busia's Mushrooms

Thanksgiving and Remembering Our Past with Sauerkraut

Pumpkin Pie from a Pumpkin (Not a Can)

Polish Cold Carrot Salad

My husband just bought me a 20 lb. bag of carrots.  That is a lot of carrots.

So, I scoured my memory for several easy recipes to make.  I remembered a salad that came up very often on our table when I was a child and was almost always on restaurant tables with anything we would order while eating in Poland.

In Polish, it is called Surowka z Marchewki and means Cold Carrot Salad.

We even had this salad as part of my husband's first meal in Poland while on our honeymoon.

This salad is served cold, is very easy and inexpensive to make, and delicious. 

I wouldn't be a Mama if I didn't mention that eating carrots prevents night blindness, are high in Vitamin A and have some Vitamin C, Iron and Calcium in them as well.  Also, a diet high in fruits and especially vegetables significantly lowers your chances of diabetes, obesity, cancer, and all sorts of other health disorders and diseases.  Eat your vegetables!

Alright, Mama's ballad to carrots is over.  On to the recipe...


Ingredients:

4-6 Carrots, tops removed, washed and peeled
1 Apple, washed and peeled
Juice from 1/2 a Lemon
1 tablespoon of Sunflower Oil *
Sugar and Salt, to taste


Grate the Carrots and Apple.  Mix all ingredients together.

Serve cold.  It's that simple. 

Smacznego!



Notes:

This dish goes great with pork and is perfect for hot weather.

* In Poland and many European countries, sunflower oil is used as often as "vegetable" (soybean) oil is here in the USA.  You can substitute with "vegetable" oil, if you like.  I usually buy my sunflower oil in the Polish or European stores since I like to try to avoid soy and corn as much as possible.

Bean and Pickle Salad

Summer is ending but for now, the weather is still warm enough for cool salads and side dishes.  I decided to create a bean salad based on the Polish cuisine.

Did the family eat it?  My older daughter ate only a little because she had already eaten a bit beforehand.  The toddler gobbled it up.  My picky American husband enjoyed it, as he does just about all my salads.  And, of course, I loved it!  My father, however, wasn't in the mood for this, preferring instead to eat the baked beans I also made.  I definitely plan to make this again and include it in my party menus.



Ingredients:

1 can Cannellini Beans, drained
2-3 Polish Dill Pickles, diced
2-3 small ripe Tomatoes, diced
1/2 Onion, diced
1/2 Leek, washed and chopped
1 tablespoon Vinegar
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Any of the following:
Marjoram, to taste
Dill, to taste
Curly Parsley, to taste

Salt and Pepper



Mix.  Allow to sit covered in refrigerator for at least a couple of hours.  Eat.

Smacznego!



Notes:

If your stomach is sensitive to onions and leeks, caramelize them in a tablespoon of oil beforehand as I have done.

Also, real Polish dill pickles are not this strange day-glo color as in the picture.  My husband just decided to buy regular pickles from the local grocery store, which always contain yellow food dye.

"Busia's" Mizeria or Cucumber Salad

My husband's grandmother, who liked to be called "Buzia", woud always make this family favorite for special occasions, Cucumber Salad.  It is a different version of the Mizeria I grew up with but it is still delicious and I felt it was worthy of sharing with others. 

As the days start warming up and Lent is nearing it's end, such recipes are welcome additions to the Easter Table, picnics, and warm weather days.  Because I am becoming very impatient for winter to end, I am starting to make such dishes off and on, to remind myself that summer is coming.



Ingredients:

3 Cucumbers (I used 2 European Cucumbers instead this time)
Salt
2-4 tablespoons Sour Cream
1-2 Chives or 1/2 small Sweet Onion, diced finely
Salt, Pepper, Sugar and White or Apple Vinegar to taste


Peel cucumbers, if you like *.  Depending on your family's preference, you might julienne, dice in 1/2" to 1" cubes, or slice thinly using a mandolin slicer.

In a dish, layer cucumbers with pinch of salt between layers.  Allow to sit for 1/2 hour to an hour so that the salt can draw out the moisture from the cucumbers. 

In a colander, rinse under cold water well, squeezing cucumbers to remove extra moisture (I don't squeeze them, but this is how "Buzia" did it).

In a bowl, combine the Sour Cream with the Pepper, Sugar, and Vinegar.  Mix with Cucumbers. 

Taste to see if any Salt is needed.  Serve with bread and Chicken or Pork.

Smacznego!

* If cucumbers tend to upset your stomach, peel and also remove seeds,as this works for some people.

My First Guest Post: Nachinka by Dine and Write's

In my search on Twitter a few days ago for fellow Poles and other Slavs and Eastern Europeans who blog, I discovered Liv from Dine & Write.  Her blog is about cooking, her background is Polish and Danish, and she also speaks English.  All in all, she's very interesting to talk to and of course, a member of Ze Bloc Blog.

Here is her guest post:

The ultimate Slavic comfort food

There are some heavy hitters in terms of Slavic comfort food: perogies, cabbage rolls, nalesnyky... These are all very well and good, but for me, nachinka trumps all of these. Nachinka, for those who are yet uninitiated, is a thick, baked cornmeal pudding. It may be thought of as the Slavs' answer to polenta, and many versions exist. My version is traced to my maternal grandmother's mother. As I write this, I just finished eating the last few bites of the nachinka I prepared earlier in the day, taking care to scrape up the delicious browned bits at the bottom of the pot. It's remarkably easy to prepare; detailed instructions follow. Smacznego!

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup yellow cornmeal

5 cups warm milk

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

4 eggs, well-beaten

1/2 whipping cream or half-and-half

1 tsp baking powder

Assemble your ingredients (cute whisk is optional).

Saute onion in oil over medium heat until translucent.

Slowly and thoroughly stir in cornmeal.

Constantly stir over medium heat until cornmeal thickens (~10 min).

Continue stirring until mixture is very thick.

Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, cream and baking powder. Reserve 4 tbsp for topping.

Stir egg-cream mixture into cornmeal until thoroughly mixed. Remove from heat.

Scrape cornmeal mixture into a deep, well-buttered casserole. Pour reserved egg-cream mixture over the top. Bake at 325 deg F for 45-60 min, or until nicely browned.

Enjoy as a stand-alone dish or as an accompaniment to ham or chicken.

 And that, dear readers, is nachinka.  Each golden forkful is a trip to my grandmother's sunlit kitchen, where a well-worn gravel road runs past the sizable garden, something always smells delicious, and peace is found.

********

After reading this recipe, I recall having this as a child and cannot wait to go to the store to buy cornmeal and whipping cream, my two missing ingredients.  Smacznego is right!

Spinach in the Polish Style or Szpinak po Polsku

I love cooking with what I have.  Going to the grocery store, seeing what is fresh, on sale, or just appealing to me, and taking it home to make something different.  Something tasty.  And preferably, something traditional.

Sometimes, though, I don't know exactly what to do with the produce.  But I have, without exaggeration, 17 cookbooks, 6 of which are in Polish and I am always looking for more.  This time, I looked up Szpinak (pronounced "Sh-pee-nahk" and meaning "Spinach") in my Kuchnia Polska tradycyjna book. 

And found Szpinak po Polsku (pronounced "Poh Pohl-skoo" and meaning "in Polish style"), which struck me as being very much like Creamed Spinach.  I wasn't sure if I had ever had it this way before.  My father wasn't sure either, his response was "I should have but I don't know."  Of course, once I made it, everyone thought it looked and tasted delicious. 

And the kids?  They gobbled it up.  My older child said it was "now officially on her list of favorite foods."  Here is the way I made it, based on the recipe from the book.  Next time, I think I will use less milk, and maybe try a small amount with white vinegar, just to see.


Ingredients:

2 bunches of Spinach (or roughly 4 lbs.)
1 Tablespoon Flour
A few Tablespoons Milk (I used about 8 this time)
Salt
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Butter

Optional:  A Tablespoon of White Vinegar or Lemon Juice



Wash Spinach, sort, and tear off stems.  Toss into a boiling pot of water and allow to cook for a minute.  Remove.  Allow water to return to a boil.  Toss back in and cook for a minute.  Remove.  Do this a few times.  This is according to the recipe.  I'm not exactly sure the purpose of doing it this way but it might be to cook the spinach and remove bitterness without overcooking or losing the shape, texture, or color of the spinach and turning it into mush.

The last time (I did it about 6 times), take out and drain well, allowing to cool.  Use a sharp knife to cut up Spinach into smaller pieces.

In a large saucepan, mix Flour with cold Milk well.  Heat for a few minutes until thickened and cook for an additional couple of minutes, stirring constantly.  (Can you say "Country Gravy"?)

Add Salt to taste.  Add Spinach and mix in.

At this point, if you like, you can add an Egg and mix in, heating gently until protein is cooked.  I really liked the addition of the Egg in this, personally.

Just before serving, add a Tablespoon of Butter and mix in gently.

Smacznego!

Carrots in Cream or Marchewka w Smietanie

Marchewka (pronounced "Mar-hev-kah" and meaning "Carrot") w Smietanie (pronounced "v Shmee-eh-TAH-nee-eh" and meaning "in Cream") is one of those dishes I remember as a child, have had at quite a few traditional Polish restaurants and which I give my kids.

This is a great side dish for a lot of different meals.  It is seasoned to compliment the natural sweetness of carrots, much like the wellknown Carrots in Brown Sugar.  Carrots in Cream is an easy way to get in Vitamin A with adults and children alike in my house.


Ingredients:

6 larger Carrots, or about 2 lbs.
Water
1 Tablespoon Sunflower Oil (a very commonly used oil in Polish kitchens)
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1/2 Tablespoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Flour (I use unbleached)
1/2 cup Cream
Salt & Sugar to Taste
3 Tablespoons chopped Dill



Wash, peel and chop the Carrots.  You can do this diced or julienne cut.  I tried them julienne cut this time just to try but I think diced is better.  Place the Carrots in a saucepan and just enough cool water to cover them.  Add the Sunflower Oil, Sugar, and Salt.  Bring to a boil and cook on medium until all the water has evaporated, leaving only the oil behind.

Sprinkle the Flour on top.

Stir in.  Add Cream.  Heat up and allow to cook for an additional couple of minutes.  It will thicken up.  Turn off from heat.  Add Salt and Sugar to taste.  Add Dill.  And serve. 

Smacznego!


Related Posts:


Polish Herbed Meatloaf or Klops Wolowy

"Polish" Roasted Chicken



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Barszcz Czerwony Another Way

I recently wrote about making Barszcz Czerwony one way, with lots of delicious vegetables and spices.  But it doesn't have to be made that way every time.  Barszcz Czerwony is one of those Polish family recipes with lots of different variations.  This is one of the most simple ways to make this simple winter soup.



Ingredients:

Beets (with or without Leaves)
2-3 Bay Leaves
1 liter Broth (any kind you prefer)
Water
Salt
Pepper
2-3 tablespoons Marjoram
Barszcz Czerwony Concentrate (buy in Polish stores)


Scrub Beets well and boil in water until tender.  Peel and slice.

Put in large Soup pot.  If using Leaves, rinse, chop up into bite sizes and place in pot.  Pour in Broth and enough water to cover Beets with an additional inch of liquids.  Add Bay Leaves, Salt, Pepper, and Marjoram.  Bring to boil and cook for a few minutes so that flavors can blend together. 

Take off heat, add Barszcz Czerwony Concentrate to taste.  For storage, can be placed in jars which have been rinsed in hot water & sterilized.  Allow to cool on counter and keep in refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks.  For tips on safe canning methods

 

Smacznego!

Rubbed Beets or Buraczki Tarte

I made Barszcz Czerwony the other day, which was amazing by the way.  But I don't like to eat it with vegetables, I prefer to enjoy it clear, or "Czysty", as traditional Barszcz Czerwony is enjoyed.

But what to do with all those fantastic, and already seasoned, vegetables at the bottom of the pot?

Let me first explain something about my blog.  I am not a Chef.  I am a Mama.  I have x amount of money, food, and time to feed my family.  Everything needs to have more than one purpose. 

That being said, I turned the vegetables into Buraczki Tarte, or Rubbed Beets.  This is perfect to top Polish Meatballs, Kotlety Schabowe, or a myriad of other Polish meat dishes, in place of gravy, ketchup, or other toppings the typical American diet would include (not that there's anything wrong with that, I eat that way as well).  It's healthier, packed full of nutrients, and delicious.

I scooped out all the vegetables with a slotted spoon into a sieve above a bowl to strain out the maximum amount of soup broth, being sure to take out the bay leaves from the vegetables.

The vegetables were put into a food processor and I pulsed the buttons until it was the desired texture.

In a (gasp) reused jar which I had sanitized, I put the Buraczki Tarte, tightened the lid, and placed it in my refrigerator.  I got 3 large jars worth, which saved me about $10-14 total.  I hope this inspires you to cook with more than one purpose in mind, saving you time and money, and feeding your family with more nutritional homemade food. 

Smacznego!

Busia's Mushrooms

My husband loves mushrooms. We both love bacon. So, this basic Thanksgiving day recipe is one of our favorites. And it’s easy to make.

Another added bonus, since it was a recipe handed down from his departed "Busia", we can remember her on this special day.  My husband in fact, does not get excited about Thanksgiving until he walks into the house a couple of days prior when I am cooking this dish, and says "Now, it smells like Thanksgiving in here!" and proceeds to steal a few mushrooms from the pot when I am not looking. 

One quick note, this recipe is best made one to two days prior to serving.

Ingredients:
Mushrooms (I buy at least 10 lbs worth but you don’t need that many)
Thick Cut Good Bacon
Sweet Onion

Clean your mushrooms. Cut any larger mushrooms in half to allow them to cook in same time as the smaller mushrooms and allow them to soften up more as well.

Slice up the bacon into small pieces and cook in a large pot until all the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon and keep to the side for later.

Carmelize diced onions in some of the bacon fat in another pot.

Add the mushrooms to the bacon fat. Close lid and cook on low flame for however many hours it takes until the mushrooms have released their water and then the water has been cooked until almost completely gone (or if you have the patience, cook until the water is completely gone), stirring occasionally.

Once this has been done, stir in the bacon bits and carmelized onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Let it sit in the refrigerator one to two days prior to serving so that the flavors all blend together.

If you are interested in cooking down the liquids, there are some tips you can use:

One, as soon as the mushrooms have begun heating up enough to start releasing the water, crack the lid. This allows the steam to come out. I take the lid off as soon as all the liquid is released from the mushrooms.

Also, once the mushrooms are a beautiful dark brown color and have shrunk considerably in size, I remove at least half of them to the side. This way, the liquid cooks down faster. Then, I mix all the mushrooms back together again. I did not do this one year and I was cooking mushrooms from 8 am until 9 pm and the liquid still had not reduced by much. The following morning, I tried this trick and it worked within an hour.

Last, you can use a little of the liquid to add into other dishes for added flavor, such as soups, sauerkraut, etc.

This recipe is so beautiful, I couldn’t help but take several photos. Mushrooms are so gorgeous to look at. I use Button whites with some Criminis mixed in. You can use Crimini Mushrooms or Button Whites or , if you feel adventurous, any wild mushrooms you pick in the forests that are safe to eat. Of course, if you do decide to go Mushroom picking, you must be extremely careful, bring a guide who is very knowledgeable in the subject, and perhaps even a mushroom picking guide complete with color photos.


Smacznego!




Related Posts:

My Meatless Golabki

Mushroom Soup or Zupa Pieczarkowa

Mushroom Picking in the Polish Mountains

My Mushroom Sour Cream Sauce




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Thanksgiving and Remembering Our Past with Sauerkraut

Busia’s Sauerkraut

This recipe is from my husband’s side of the family, who are Polish American by a couple of generations. I believe it is a rudimentary Bigos. It is best made one to two days prior to serving.

What You Need:
Sauerkraut (Busia used bagged Sauerkraut but I use Sauerkraut from Jars as there is less plastic or additives and is more authentic)

Good Thick Bacon

Sweet Onion
Water or Chicken Broth

Drain the Sauerkraut through a sieve. You can reserve this first juice for those who like their sauerkraut, well, sour. Add cold clean water back into the jar and drain again. Add more water, let sit for a while while you do other things around the house. Drain. Again, add water, and this time after it soaks a while, drain it while squeezing the sauerkraut to get the sour flavor out. The liquids from all this draining are really useless so you can just toss it down your drain.

Dice the bacon and cook until all the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon and reserve for later.

Add some diced sweet onion, your preference how much, I use ¼ of an onion. Caramelize in the bacon fat.

Add the drained sauerkraut, bacon bits, and either water or Chicken Broth, enough to come to the top of the sauerkraut. Cook on low and slow for about an hour to help flavors to blend together, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can also add crushed (with mortar and pestle) caraway seed, if you like.

Refrigerate for one to two days prior to serving. On the day of serving, heat it on low and slow for at least a half hour to allow the flavors to blend even more.

A Side Note:  The first drained liquid has vitamins and minerals in it from the sauerkraut, which is beneficial to eat. Assuming that you purchased a true sauerkraut that has no artificial flavorings, colorings, preservatives or other nasty additives.

Also, I wanted to explain why it's called "Busia's" Sauerkraut.  Modern day Poles call their Grandmothers "Babcia", however, as my husband's family is Polish by a couple of generations, prior to The Great War, in the Ukraine, Grandmothers were called "Babusia", shortened to "Busia", and sometimes twisted by accent and time to "Buzia" (which actually means "mouth" but I am just glad that they try and are close)...



If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to check out my post about "Busia's Mushrooms" http://polishmamaontheprairie.blogspot.com/2010/11/busias-mushrooms.html

Also, please check out my post about the Polish word for Grandmother and all it's variations in the American language http://polishmamaontheprairie.blogspot.com/2010/12/polish-grandmother-babcia-busia-buzia.html


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