Dishes in Poland

Polska kielbasa i wedliny • Polish sausages and charcuterie

Kielbasa is very well-known product from Central and Easter Europe. In general kielbasa is made from pork and some special spices. Many kinds of sausages exist – both in terms of composition, appearance, as well as way of processing. E.g. smoked and dried sausages are very popular in Poland and considered exclusive. The easy way to recognize good quality sausage is by the amount of meat used for the production (usually producers are supposed to inform you about this on the package).


Poles also love their coldcut, which is offered in a great variety in Polish butcher's ('sklep miesny' which means 'meat shop'). Coldcuts are an everyday staple as far as appetizers go. It is eaten with bread, as sandwiches, when one wants to eat something fast, easy and ordinary.



Twarozek
Twarozek is made of white cheese (curd cheese) mixed with chives, radish, cream and spices ('spicy twarozek') or with sugar, fruit and/or jam ('sweet twarozek'). In Poland this is a popular ingredient for breakfast sandwiches.

Photo on the left shows one of my favorite 'spring breakfasts' – twarozek with chives, dill, pepper and a pinch of ginger. I eat it with thin, dry, smoked, Polish sausage called 'kabanos' (it looks like pepperoni, but in my humble opinion, it tastes much better). On the right you can see sweet twarozek simply made by mixing curd cheese with a bit of milk and sugar. Served as sandwiches covered with jam. All of that is of course extremely simple to make.

 


Makowiec • Poppy-seed cake / loaf

Poppy-seed cake, also known as poppy seed loaf, is a traditional Polish dessert – a yeast cake stuffed with ground poppy. Some raisins, almonds or walnuts are the most typical additions. The baked cake is decorated with icing and (usually) orange peel.

In the distant times this poppy-seed cake was a traditional dessert prepared for Easter and Christmas. In the Christian tradition poppy, containing thousand of seeds in one poppy head, is a symbol of harvest and fertility. Therefore, in the past, the Poles and other Slavs believed that eating poppy-seed cake during the holidays will bring them luck in life.





Zurek

Zurek or zur is a very traditional Polish soup. A distinctive feature of this exclusive food is its sour taste. However, this is not like the sour taste of lemon. Zurek is much more delicate and extremely palatable. The taste of this Polish soup comes from so-called sour leavening, originating from fermentatedrye flour and bread crumbs.





In many Polish homes zurek soup is a traditional food eaten during Easter holidays. The dish is very nutritious and quite lavish. Oftentimes, Polish zurek soup is dished up in a special hollowed out loaf of bread (see photo below). Compulsory additions to zurek soup are hard-boiled eggs and a peculiar Polish raw sausage. The sausage is called white sausage by the Poles (biala kielbasa in original) and is boiled in water before being added to zurek soup. Since the Central European region of Poland and Germany is the homeland of many kinds of sausages, white sausage is quite unknown outside borders of these countries. To sum up, both egg and Polish kielbasa are thrown into a plate with zurek soup. Smoked bacon or ribs are another popular extra. This great Polish soup is often eaten with some bread or roll. It is worthwhile mentioning that the white borscht is a closely related soup. You can find some information about it in the next paragraph.
Golabki • Polish cabbage rolls in tomato sauce


Golabki or stuffed cabbage is one of a traditional food of Central and Eastern Europe. Polish golabki is a cooked knob of forcemeat wrapped up in a leaf of a white cabbage. Important ingredients are: groats (nowadays rice is much more popular), onion and an appropriate blend of spices. Sometimes mushrooms are added to the filling. Also some other variants of the filling exist in the traditional Polish cuisine, e.g. fowl, mutton or even with no meat at all (some vegetable-based golabki, but these are less common). This Polish food is stewed or fried before eating. When laid on plates golabki are poured over with a delicious dense home-made tomato sauce. Polish cabbage rolls are eaten with bread, sometimes with boiled potatoes.