All recipes

Vegetarian, or something you can't eat? Set your diet once and we'll hide recipes that don't fit.

Filters (6)

30 recipes

Biała kiełbasa z cebuląWhite sausage baked with onions

Biała kiełbasa is a fresh, unsmoked white sausage of pork seasoned with garlic and marjoram, and on Easter Sunday morning in Poland it is the star of the breakfast after the blessed basket (święconka) is shared. It is also the sausage that goes into żurek, the sour rye soup. Buy it raw from a Polish butcher, then poach it gently and bake it with onions until golden. Serve with horseradish, mustard, rye bread and Easter eggs. Chef's tip: never boil it, as the casing bursts; keep the water just below a simmer.

60 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Piernik staropolskiHoney spice cake with plum jam

Piernik staropolski is the grand Polish Christmas gingerbread, and the old tradition is to mix the honey dough in November (once even at a child's birth) and leave it to mature for weeks in a cool place, which deepens the spice and makes the cake tender. It is baked a few weeks before Christmas, split into layers with powidła (thick plum butter), glazed with chocolate and left to soften again. This home version rests the dough for at least 3 days. Chef's tip: wrap the baked layers and let them sit for 3 days before filling; fresh piernik is hard, and it softens as it absorbs moisture from the jam.

90 min

Polish Baking

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Placek ze śliwkamiPlum and crumble yeast cake

When the węgierki plums ripen in late August, Polish grandmothers from Kraków to Gdańsk bake placek ze śliwkami on the big oven tray and cut it into squares for Sunday coffee or for the neighbours. Under a buttery kruszonka crumble the plums melt into jammy, sharp pools on a soft, slightly sweet yeast dough. It is best on the day, still faintly warm, with a mug of coffee or a dollop of whipped cream. Laying the plums skin side down is the classic mistake: the juice floods the dough and leaves it raw, so set them cut side up and close together. Chef's tip: toss the plum halves with a spoonful of semolina or breadcrumbs before arranging; it soaks up the juice and keeps the base light.

150 min

Polish Baking

by KrazyBadal 0 views

JagodziankiBlueberry crumble buns

When the forest blueberries (jagody) arrive in July, Polish bakeries start selling jagodzianki by the trayful, and queues form for them warm. Each oval bun is soft, buttery yeast dough wrapped around a juicy pocket of blueberries, topped with a crunchy butter crumble and sometimes a drizzle of icing. They are a summer treat for the beach, the train or an afternoon with coffee, and children eat them by the bagful, staining their fingers purple. Berries tossed in sugar alone burst through the seams; the potato starch thickens the juice so it stays inside. Chef's tip: pinch the seams very firmly and set the buns seam side down, then press the crumble on with your palm so it sticks to the egg wash.

145 min

Polish Baking

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kaszanka z cebuląFried buckwheat blood sausage

Kaszanka is Polish black pudding, a pork sausage of buckwheat groats, pork blood, liver and fat seasoned with marjoram, and fried with onions it is the classic grill-night, pub and milk-bar snack from Podkarpacie to Warsaw. It comes ready-cooked from the butcher, so all you do is fry it until the outside crisps and the inside turns soft and spoonable. Serve with rye bread, mustard and sour dill pickles. A common mistake is frying it in its skin over a high heat, which bursts the casing and burns the outside before the middle is hot. Chef's tip: slice it thickly, fry gently, and don't stir; turn each slice once so it keeps a crust.

20 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pulpety w sosie koperkowymMeatballs in dill sauce

Soft, poached and bathed in pale green dill sauce, pulpety are the meatballs Polish mothers in Toruń and Bydgoszcz give small children and anyone feeling poorly, and milk bars serve them on ordinary weekdays with boiled potatoes and grated beetroot. They are made from minced pork (or a pork and veal mix) bound with soaked roll and egg and simmered in broth, which then becomes the sauce. A common mistake is boiling them hard, which makes them tough and splits them; the water should barely tremble. Chef's tip: add the dill right at the end, off the heat, so it stays bright and fresh.

50 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pierogi z mięsemMeat dumplings

Pierogi z mięsem are the thrifty heart of Polish cooking: the meat left from Sunday rosół or a pot roast is minced with fried onion and folded into soft dough. In Lublin and Podlasie families make a hundred at once for Christmas week or a name day and freeze the rest, and milk bars serve them topped with onion fried in butter or crisp skwarki. This version uses pork shoulder and beef, cooked first, then minced. A common mistake is a dry, crumbly filling; moisten it with a few spoons of broth so it holds together. Chef's tip: pinch the edges twice, once to seal and once to crimp, and the pierogi won't burst in the pot.

150 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Herbata z sokiem malinowymTea with raspberry syrup

In Polish homes a bottle of sok malinowy, the raspberry syrup made each July from garden or forest raspberries, waits in the pantry for winter. When someone comes in from the frost, or lies in bed with a cold, it goes into a glass of hot black tea, sometimes with a slice of lemon; grandmothers insist it makes you sweat the chill out, and the drink is traditionally given at the first sign of a sniffle. It also appears simply after a winter walk or with a slice of cake. The tea turns ruby, tastes of summer berries with a light tannic edge, and is sweet enough without sugar. The usual mistake is pouring syrup into boiling tea straight from the kettle: the fresh raspberry aroma cooks off and only sweetness is left. Let the tea cool for a minute or two first. It is ready when the tea is deep amber, the syrup has fully swirled through and it smells clearly of raspberries. No homemade syrup? Use a good shop-bought raspberry syrup, or make the quick one in the optional steps. Chef's tip: brew the tea weaker than usual, about two minutes, so the fruit stays in front.

7 min

Polish Drinks

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kawa zbożowaRoasted grain coffee

In Polish kindergartens, school canteens and grandmothers' kitchens, kawa zbożowa is the breakfast "coffee" everyone can drink: a blend of roasted rye, barley, chicory and sometimes sugar beet that tastes toasty and malty with no caffeine at all. It is usually drunk milky and a little sweet alongside bread and butter. The common mistake is brewing ground grain coffee like espresso: it needs a few minutes of simmering to give up its flavour, or it tastes like weak tea. Chef's tip: let the pot stand off the heat for 2 minutes after simmering so the grounds sink, then pour gently and you won't need a filter at all.

7 min

Polish Drinks

by KrazyBadal 0 views

MaślankaChilled buttermilk

Maślanka, the tangy liquid left after churning butter, is sold in cartons all over Poland and drunk ice-cold with breakfast, with boiled new potatoes in summer, or blended with fruit for children. On its own it is thin, sour and refreshing; with strawberries and a spoon of sugar it becomes a light pink breakfast smoothie. The mistake is buying "buttermilk" that is really thickened yoghurt drink with added flavourings; look for plain cultured buttermilk with nothing else on the label. Chef's tip: chill the glasses as well as the buttermilk, and blend for no more than 20 seconds so it stays light and doesn't separate.

5 min

Polish Drinks

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Babka wielkanocnaEaster yeast cake

A golden babka standing tall in the Easter basket used to be a matter of family pride, and old cooks whispered while it baked, convinced a slammed door would make it sink. The dough is soft and rich with egg yolks and butter, beaten until it is elastic, then baked in a fluted ring tin into a cake with a fine, feathery, saffron-yellow crumb. Raisins are often soaked in rum; this version uses orange juice, but a couple of spoons of rum work if you prefer. The usual slip is adding too much flour to a sticky dough, which makes the babka dry; it should stay soft and almost batter-like. Chef's tip: cool the babka on its side, turning it now and then, so the delicate crumb doesn't collapse.

185 min

Polish Baking

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Drożdżówka z kruszonkąSweet yeast bun with crumble

Every Polish bakery window has a row of drożdżówki, and the bun with sweet cheese under a sandy butter crumble is the one schoolchildren buy on the way to class. The dough is soft, milky and lightly sweet, the vanilla twaróg filling is thick and tangy, and the crumble bakes into crisp, sugary nuggets that scatter everywhere when you bite in. Fruit versions use plums, blueberries or apple. A common mistake is overfilling, so the cheese bursts out and the buns lose their round shape. Twaróg is usually rennet-free, but check the label. Chef's tip: brush the dough with egg before adding the crumble; it glues it on and gives a shiny edge.

110 min

Polish Baking

by KrazyBadal 0 views

FafernuchyHoney and carrot Christmas cookies

Old Masurian and Warmian households baked fafernuchy weeks before Christmas and kept them in tins, where they slowly mellowed; children found them in their stockings and on the Christmas plate. They are small, hard, pebble-like biscuits, sweetened with honey and given a gentle colour and moisture from finely grated carrot, with a little spice in some homes. Expect a proper crunch, made for dunking in tea. A common mistake is expecting them to be soft straight from the oven; they are meant to be firm and soften only a little in the tin. Chef's tip: grate the carrot on the finest side of the grater so the dough stays smooth and holds its shape.

60 min

Polish Baking

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fasolka po bretońskuWhite beans in tomato with sausage

Despite its name, nothing about fasolka po bretońsku is French; this is pure Polish canteen and milk-bar food, the thick, brick-red bean stew that has fed Warsaw students, soldiers and hungry families for generations. White beans simmer in tomato with smoked pork sausage, smoked bacon, onion and plenty of marjoram until creamy, smoky and slightly sweet. It is filling enough on its own with a hunk of bread and even better reheated the next day. Under-cooked beans are the most common disappointment; they must be soft right through before the tomato goes in, because acid stops them softening. Soak the dried beans overnight beforehand. Chef's tip: mash a ladle of the cooked beans against the side of the pot before serving to give the sauce its typical velvety body.

90 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Grzybki marynowanePickled forest mushrooms

After an autumn morning of mushroom picking in the forests of Podlasie or the Bieszczady, the smallest, firmest boletes and slippery jacks are set aside for jars of grzybki marynowane. They come out at Christmas and on name days as a zakąska, sharp and sweet with allspice and mustard seed, sliced onion and firm, slightly slippery mushrooms. Only use wild mushrooms you bought from a trusted seller or had checked by an expert; cultivated chestnut or button mushrooms work well too. A common mistake is skipping the first boil in salted water, which leaves the pickle cloudy and the mushrooms soft. Chef's tip: cook the mushrooms until they sink, then pack them while hot under boiling marinade.

40 min

Polish Basics

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Roast goose with apples

On 11 November, St Martin's Day and Poland's Independence Day, roast goose comes back to tables from Poznań to Gdańsk, and Pomeranian and Kujawy farms still raise their own white geese for it. The bird is rubbed with marjoram, garlic and salt, left overnight in the fridge, then stuffed with sharp apples and roasted slowly so the fat renders out and the skin turns crisp and mahogany. The meat is dark and rich, the apples collapse into a tart sauce. Serve with braised red cabbage, potato dumplings and the pan juices. Most people forget to drain the fat as it roasts, and the bird ends up frying in its own puddle; pour it off every half hour and save it for roast potatoes. Allow an extra night for the marinade. Chef's tip: prick the skin all over, especially under the wings and thighs, without piercing the meat, so the fat has somewhere to escape.

240 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

PrażonkiLayered potato, cabbage and sausage

Come late summer, villages around Kraków, the Jura uplands and the Beskid foothills hold prażonki parties, where a heavy cast-iron pot called a kociołek sits in the embers of a bonfire and everyone waits for the lid to come off. Inside are layers of smoked pork belly, onion, potato, cabbage and smoked pork sausage that steam in their own juices with only a splash of water, so the potatoes turn buttery and the cabbage sweet and smoky. It is eaten straight from the pot with buttermilk or kefir and a pickle. The usual slip is adding too much liquid: the pot should hiss and steam, not boil, or you end up with soup. A heavy casserole on the hob works just as well as a campfire. Chef's tip: put the bacon and onion at the very bottom; they protect everything above from burning and season the whole pot as their fat melts.

120 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pyzy z mięsemPork-filled potato dumplings

Old Warsaw's Praga district made pyzy famous: at the Bazar Różyckiego market, traders once ladled them hot from jars wrapped in blankets. These are large, soft balls of raw and boiled potato, filled with seasoned minced pork and topped with fried onion and crisp pork crackling (skwarki) that drips its fat over the plate. The outside is silky and slightly chewy, the middle savoury with marjoram. A glass of kefir or a bowl of sauerkraut salad cuts the richness. The pitfall is leaving too much water in the grated raw potato, so the dough is sticky and the dumplings fall apart. Chef's tip: let the squeezed potato liquid stand for 10 minutes, pour off the water and scrape the white starch at the bottom back into the dough; it binds everything for free.

90 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rogal świętomarcińskiPoppy seed crescent pastry

Every 11 November, St Martin's Day, Poznań eats well over a million of these heavy crescents, and only certified local bakeries may sell them under the protected name. Our home version follows the same idea: a flaky laminated yeast dough wrapped around a rich filling of white poppy seed, nuts, dried fruit and cream, glazed with icing and scattered with chopped nuts. Each rogal is large, sweet and almond-scented, best shared with coffee. A common mistake is letting the butter get warm during folding; it then melts into the dough and the layers disappear. Chef's tip: white poppy seed is milder than blue; ask for it at Polish shops or online, and grind it fine.

175 min

Polish Baking

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rolada śląskaBeef rolls with bacon and pickle

Sunday lunch in Upper Silesia follows a fixed and much-loved pattern: rosół first, then rolada with kluski śląskie dumplings and braised red cabbage, a trio known locally as the 'holy trinity'. Thin slices of beef topside are spread with mustard and rolled around smoked pork bacon, a strip of pickled cucumber and onion, then browned and braised until meltingly tender in a deep brown gravy that soaks into the dumplings. The pickle gives a sour, salty bite in every slice. Skimping on the browning is what most often lets cooks down; that crust is where the gravy gets its colour and depth. Chef's tip: pound the beef evenly to about 5 mm thick and roll tightly from the narrow end, so the filling stays sealed inside and every slice shows a neat spiral.

120 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Easter pâté

A thick slice of homemade pasztet belongs on the Easter breakfast table after the blessing of the food basket, next to ham, eggs, ćwikła and white sausage. This baked loaf combines pork shoulder, chicken thighs and pork liver, simmered with root vegetables and allspice, minced twice and baked until firm, so it slices cleanly yet stays moist and spreadable. Marjoram and nutmeg give it the classic Polish flavour; serve it cold with horseradish, beetroot relish and pickles. Overbaking dries it out, but underbaking is the bigger risk with poultry and liver, so always check the centre with a thermometer. Bake it two days ahead: it needs to chill overnight to set, and it keeps for five days in the fridge. Chef's tip: save the cooking stock and add it a ladle at a time as you mix; the mixture should be as soft as thick porridge, which keeps the finished loaf juicy.

180 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kołocz śląskiSilesian cheese yeast cake

Silesian weddings once had kołocz delivered to every neighbour as a thank-you, and the wide trays still appear at christenings, harvest festivals and church fairs in Opole and around Katowice. The base is a soft, lightly sweet yeast dough, spread with a thick layer of vanilla twaróg and covered with a buttery crumble that bakes into craggy golden lumps. It keeps well for two days and cuts into neat squares for coffee. A common mistake is baking it before the dough has had its second rise under the topping, which gives a dense, bready base. Twaróg is usually rennet-free, but check the label. Chef's tip: keep the crumble in the fridge until the last moment so it stays in distinct lumps in the oven.

150 min

Polish Baking

by KrazyBadal 0 views

KrupniokBlood and groat sausage

Every Silesian butcher's counter has a tray of krupnioki, plump sausages of pork, pork blood, liver and buckwheat or barley groats, sold ready-cooked and eaten fried for a quick supper, often with sauerkraut, mustard and a slice of bread. Heated in a pan the filling loosens into a soft, peppery, marjoram-scented crumble under a crisp skin, while onions fried alongside add sweetness. This is a pork dish through and through. Because the sausage contains blood and offal, buy it ready-cooked from a butcher you trust, keep it cold and use it within its date. The trap many fall into is frying it too hot: the skin splits and the filling spills before the centre is warm. Chef's tip: for neat slices, chill the sausage well, cut it with the skin on, then fry the rounds; peel the skin away at the table if you prefer.

25 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Maczanka po krakowskuPork roll in caraway juices

Long before burgers reached the Rynek, Kraków's taverns sold maczanka, a soft bread roll split, dunked in the cooking juices of slowly braised pork shoulder and stuffed with sliced meat. The name comes from maczać, to dip, and the dipping is the whole point: the roll should drip, so eat it over a plate with a knife and fork or a stack of napkins. The pork is braised with plenty of onion, caraway and marjoram until it slices like butter, and the juices go glossy and savoury. Serve it with a pickled cucumber and a sharp beetroot and horseradish relish (ćwikła). Where most people go wrong is rushing the braise at a boil, which tightens the meat instead of softening it. Chef's tip: braise the shoulder the day before, chill it in its juices and slice it cold; it cuts neatly and reheats beautifully in the liquid.

150 min

Polish Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 24 of 30 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 1 of 2