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260 recipes

Makówki (Silesian poppy-seed bread pudding)

Makówki are a must on the Christmas Eve table in Silesia, around Katowice and Opole, made the day before so they are ready when the first star appears. Slices of stale white rolls are soaked in sweet milk and layered with a thick mass of ground poppy seed cooked with honey, butter, nuts, raisins and candied peel, then left overnight to settle into a soft, moist, spoonable pudding. It tastes of honey and nuts, rich and not too sweet. Serve it cold, scooped from the dish. Use plain eggless white rolls (kajzerki or a basic white loaf), not brioche or challah, which are enriched doughs. The pudding is otherwise naturally egg-free: the soaked bread and the sticky poppy mass bind each other as they chill, so nothing else is needed. Chef's tip: grind the scalded poppy seed twice until it looks like wet paste; the common mistake is grinding it once, which leaves it gritty and bitter.

330 minPolishDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bób z koperkiemBroad beans with butter and dill

All over Poland, from Kraków's market stalls to allotments outside Warsaw, the short broad bean season in June and July means bowls of bób z koperkiem: young beans boiled in their pale skins, tossed with melted butter, dill and salt, and eaten with your fingers on summer evenings. You squeeze each bean out of its skin with your teeth, or eat the skin too if the beans are very young. A generous bowl of 300 g beans gives about 22 g of protein, all from the broad beans. The most common mistake is overcooking: the skins burst and the beans turn grey and floury. Chef's tip: add a pinch of sugar to the cooking water along with the salt, as Polish cooks do; it keeps the beans sweet and bright.

15 minPolishSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Łamańce z makiem (wafers in sweet poppy-seed milk)

In Podlasie and across eastern Poland, Christmas Eve supper, Wigilia, is meatless, and among the twelve dishes on the table is a bowl of łamańce: thin, crisp wafers broken into milk that has been turned grey-blue with ground poppy seed and sweetened with honey. Poppy seed stands for plenty in the coming year. The wafers soften at the edges but stay crunchy in the middle, and the milk tastes nutty and gently sweet. Serve it at room temperature or slightly warm, at the end of the meal. Bakery łamańce are not always egg-free; these are, a simple dough of flour, water and oil with a pinch of baking powder that bakes crisp without any binding. Chef's tip: roll the dough paper-thin, almost see-through; the common mistake is leaving it thick, which bakes into hard crackers that never soak up the poppy milk.

60 minPolishDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Młode ziemniaki z koperkiem (new potatoes with dill)

In June, when the first new potatoes reach Polish markets, many families make a whole supper of them: thin-skinned potatoes boiled, tossed in melted butter and a fistful of chopped dill, with a glass or bowl of cold kefir or buttermilk alongside. It is simple, early-summer country food, and it also sits next to fried eggs or cucumber salad. The common mistake is peeling them or boiling them hard; new potatoes should be scrubbed only and simmered gently, or they split and go watery. Chef's tip: add the dill only once the potatoes are off the heat, so it stays bright green and fresh-tasting.

25 minPolishSidesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Algerian mkhabezIced almond and lemon diamonds

No Algerian wedding tray, and few Eid tables in Algiers or Constantine, is complete without mkhabez: soft, chewy diamonds of ground almond and lemon zest under a smooth white icing, each topped with a sugar flower or a silver ball and set in its own paper case. Making them is a social affair, with sisters and aunts icing and decorating hundreds the week before a celebration. The almond base is flourless and dairy free, sweet and lemony, and the icing sets to a thin shell; serve them with mint tea or strong coffee. Overbaking is the mistake to avoid: the diamonds should come out pale and soft, or they go dry and crumbly under the icing. Chef's tip: ice them when completely cold, and get the icing so thick it only just flows; runny icing slides off the sides and never sets glossy.

105 minAlgerianBakingGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gzik (Poznań quark with radish and chives)

Gzik is a Poznań favourite, so much a part of Greater Poland that the region's potato-and-quark supper, pyry z gzikiem, has its own festival. Soft white quark is beaten with sour cream, then mixed with chopped radish, onion and chives into a cool, tangy, crunchy spread that is spooned over hot boiled potatoes in their skins, or onto rye bread for breakfast. The most common mistake is using dry, crumbly quark without loosening it, which gives a pasty gzik; it should be smooth and just spoonable. Quark and sour cream are made without rennet, so this is a good vegetarian choice. Chef's tip: salt the chopped radish and onion only at the last minute, so they stay crisp instead of weeping into the cheese.

30 minPolishChutneys & DipsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Jajecznica (Polish scrambled eggs)

Jajecznica is what a Polish household cooks when there are ten minutes and a box of eggs: soft, large curds stirred slowly in plenty of butter, sometimes with a little onion softened first and always with a shower of chives. It turns up at weekend breakfasts with bread and sliced tomato, and just as often as a light supper after work. The usual mistake is a pan that is too hot, which turns the eggs rubbery and weepy before they have had a chance to go creamy. If you are cooking for anyone pregnant, very young, older or otherwise vulnerable, cook the curds until no liquid egg remains. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly underdone; they finish setting on the way to the plate.

10 minPolishBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Placki z cukinii (Polish courgette fritters)

Every Polish allotment produces more courgettes in August than anyone can eat, and placki z cukinii is how the glut becomes a weeknight dinner: grated courgette bound with egg, a little flour and plenty of dill, fried into golden, soft-centred fritters. They are eaten hot with a spoon of sour cream or a garlicky yogurt dip, and leftovers go into lunchboxes the next day. The mistake that ruins them is skipping the squeeze: courgette is mostly water, and unwrung it makes a loose batter that spits in the pan and fries up soggy. Chef's tip: salt the grated courgette and leave it for 10 minutes while you get everything else ready, then wring it hard in a clean tea towel.

30 minPolishVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tcharek el arianeAlmond crescents with orange blossom

On the last nights of Ramadan, kitchens across Algiers and Constantine fill up with trays of tcharek el ariane, the 'naked' tcharek: crescents of thin, buttery dough wrapped around almond paste with cinnamon and orange-blossom water. Unlike their sugar-coated cousins they are left bare, so the fine dough with its pinched, lace-like pattern shows. Families give them to neighbours on Eid morning and set them out at weddings with mint tea and coffee. The dough is traditionally made with smen (aged butter); plain melted butter works well. Overbaking is the common slip, because they turn hard and dry; they should stay pale with only golden tips. Chef's tip: keep the dough under a damp cloth while you shape, as it dries in minutes and then cracks along the curve.

120 minAlgerianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mauritian cassava biscuits

In Mahébourg, on the south-east coast of Mauritius, a family biscuit works has made thin cassava biscuits on hot iron plates for more than a century, and biscuit manioc has become the island's signature tea biscuit. They are pale, square and so crisp they snap cleanly, with a gentle sweetness and flavours such as plain, coconut, vanilla or cinnamon. Mauritians eat them with a cup of vanilla tea, spread them with butter, or crumble them over a bowl of fruit. Made with cassava flour, they are naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: mix the dough with very hot water, which partly cooks the starch and makes the dough pliable; cold water is the common mistake, and the dough cracks and crumbles as you roll it.

55 minMauritianBakingGluten free
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 minPolishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cebularz lubelskiOnion and poppy seed flatbread

Lublin's bakers have topped flat rounds of yeast dough with onion and poppy seed since at least the nineteenth century, when the city's Jewish bakeries sold them as "cebulnik"; today cebularz lubelski is a protected regional speciality and a street snack sold warm from bakery windows across eastern Poland. The base is a soft, slightly sweet enriched dough, the centre thin and the rim puffed, and the onion bakes until tender, sweet and just catching at the edges. Eat one warm on its own, with a glass of kefir, or alongside a bowl of soup. Wet onion is the downfall here: salt it, wait, then squeeze out the juice, or the middle turns soggy. Chef's tip: press the centres really thin with your fingertips just before topping; if they puff back up, the onion slides off.

143 minPolishBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kisiel (Polish fruit jelly drink)

Kisiel is a Polish childhood staple served in school canteens and at home after school, warm in winter and chilled in summer, somewhere between a thick drink and a soft jelly. Home-made versions use fruit or juice thickened with potato starch, without the bright colours of packet mixes. This one uses mixed berries and only a little sugar. None of the common allergens are in it. Chef's tip: always mix the starch with cold water first and pour it into the boiling fruit while stirring; added dry, it forms lumps that never dissolve.

15 minPolishDessertsVeganGluten free
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 minPolishBaking
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 minPolishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Krokiety z kapustą i grzybamiCabbage and mushroom croquettes

In Kraków's milk bars krokiety are ordered with a mug of hot clear barszcz to dip them in, and at Christmas Eve tables across Lesser Poland the same rolls sit beside the beetroot soup. Thin pancakes are wrapped around a filling of chopped sauerkraut, fried onion and dried and fresh mushrooms, then dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried until crunchy. If you use wild mushrooms, buy from a reliable source only. A common mistake is leaving the sauerkraut wet, which steams the rolls from inside and makes the crumb soggy. Chef's tip: make the pancakes a little thicker than for sweet naleśniki and fold the ends in firmly so no filling leaks into the oil.

80 minPolishSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RosółChicken broth

Sunday lunch in Poland, from Gdańsk tenements to Silesian family houses, still starts with rosół: a golden, crystal-clear chicken broth served with fine egg noodles, sliced carrot and parsley. It cooks for hours at the barest simmer with a charred onion, parsley root, celeriac and leek, and the leftover meat goes into pierogi or a salad. It is also the soup for colds and new mothers. A common mistake is letting it boil, which clouds the broth and makes it greasy. Chef's tip: start the chicken in cold water and skim carefully as it comes up to heat; the clearer the first 20 minutes, the clearer the finished rosół.

195 minPolishSoups
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 minPolishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zupa mlecznaMilk soup with noodles

Ask anyone who grew up in Poland about zupa mleczna and you will hear about winter mornings before school, or about the steaming bowls ladled out at breakfast in Warsaw milk bars long before cafés served porridge. It is simply warm milk with small noodles or rice, sweetened lightly and sometimes finished with a knob of butter or cinnamon. Kids like it with lane kluski, egg drops poured straight into the milk. A common mistake is boiling the noodles in the milk over a high heat, so it catches and tastes scorched; cook them in water first. Chef's tip: warm the milk with a strip of lemon peel and a pinch of salt, which makes it taste rounder without adding more sugar.

15 minPolishBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Naleśniki z seremSweet cheese crêpes

Order naleśniki z serem at a bar mleczny on Warsaw's Nowy Świat and they arrive two to a plate, folded into tight parcels, browned in butter and finished with a spoon of soured cream and a dusting of sugar. Students, pensioners and office workers have eaten them this way since the 1950s, and at home they are a Friday supper or an after-school treat. The filling is twaróg, Polish curd cheese, beaten with egg yolk, sugar and vanilla, so it stays soft and a little tangy inside the thin pancake. A common mistake is a thick, rubbery batter: it should pour like single cream and coat the pan in one thin swirl. Chef's tip: rest the batter for 20 minutes so the flour softens and the first pancake doesn't tear.

45 minPolishBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Makaron z truskawkamiPasta with strawberries

When the first Kashubian and Mazovian strawberries flood the stalls in June, Polish children get makaron z truskawkami for lunch: warm pasta tossed with crushed sweetened strawberries and cream. Milk bars in Kraków and Łódź put it on the summer board too, and it surprises visitors who expect pasta to be savoury. The berries are mashed with sugar until they turn into a loose pink sauce, then folded through hot ribbon pasta or bow ties with soured cream or yoghurt. A common mistake is crushing the strawberries too far ahead, so they turn dull and syrupy; mash them while the pasta cooks. Chef's tip: let the drained pasta cool for a minute before adding the cream, so it coats the pasta instead of splitting into thin streaks.

20 minPolishPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zupa owocowaFruit soup with pasta

On a hot July afternoon in a Mazurian village or a Warsaw allotment, a pot of zupa owocowa sits cooling on the windowsill: sour cherries or strawberries simmered with sugar, lightly thickened, and served cold over little pasta shells or bow ties. Polish children often get it as the first course of a summer lunch, and it tastes like a drinkable fruit compote. A common mistake is thickening it too much, so it sets into jelly in the fridge; it should stay pourable. Chef's tip: stir a spoon of soured cream into each bowl, not the pot, so the colour stays bright.

30 minPolishSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kotlet jajecznyBreaded egg cutlets

Kotlet jajeczny was born of thrift, a meat-free Friday cutlet that milk bars in Warsaw and Poznań could make from eggs, stale bread and dill, and it is still a Lent and weekday favourite at home. Chopped hard-boiled eggs are bound with soaked bread roll, raw egg and lots of dill, shaped into patties, breaded and fried until crisp outside and soft inside. They go on the plate with boiled potatoes, a spoon of soured cream and mizeria, the cucumber salad. A common mistake is a mixture that is too wet; squeeze the soaked roll hard so the cutlets hold together in the pan. Chef's tip: chill the shaped cutlets for 15 minutes before breading and they won't crack when you turn them.

40 minPolishVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ryż z jabłkamiBaked rice with apples

Every Polish school canteen and milk bar from Gdańsk to Rzeszów has served ryż z jabłkami, and many grown-ups still bake it on a cold Sunday afternoon when autumn apples fill the market. Rice is cooked slowly in milk until creamy, layered in a dish with grated sharp apples, sugar and cinnamon, then baked until the top turns golden and the apple juices soak into the rice. It is eaten warm with soured cream or cold the next day from the fridge. A common mistake is using sweet dessert apples, which go mushy and bland; tart apples like Antonówka, Bramley or Granny Smith keep their bite. Chef's tip: squeeze a little of the juice out of the grated apples, or the bottom layer turns watery.

60 minPolishDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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