Polish cooks take pride in being subtle and their food shows this skill and care.
This food that is perfectly suited to entertaining : it is delicious, unusual, and is mostly prepared ahead of time so that the host or hostess can enjoy the party as much as the guests. Menus are given here to let You explore the delights of Polish food while following the cycle of the seasons because the freshest foods in season are best - and usually the most economical as well.
So, plan a party , ask your friends over, and have a wonderful time :)
TO START : Special Soup Recipes and Spring Menu for 4 which inludes:
Soup recipes:
homemade chicken stock / rosol domowy z kury
beet soup / zupa buraczana
cold beet soup with beet greens / zupa z lisci burakowych na zimno
easy barshch / lekki barszcz
beetroot soup / barszcz czerwony
basic beet broth / rosol wolowy
hot beer barshch / goracy barszcz na piwie
hot beer soup / zupa z piwa na goraco
Spring menu for 4
spring barshch / barszcz wiosenny
lettuce and sliced eggs salad / salatka z jajkami
Chicken Paprika / paprykarz z kury
new potato dumplings / knedelki z kartofli
masurka royale / mazurek krolewski
SPRING BARSHCH
Barszcz wiosenny
3 bunches young beets , washed and chopped
3 cups of water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 cups chicken stock or
6 cups water and 6 bouillon cubes
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup water
salt to taste
3 teaspoons dill
3 teaspoons chopped parsley
1 finaly chopped onion
2 tablesppons butter
1 cup sour cream
3 quartered hard-cooked eggs
Simmer beets with the lemon jujice in water for 1/2 hour. Add the broth and flour/water mixture. Simmer while stirring continously for 10 minutes. Season with salt , herbs and butter. Served garnished with sour cream and sieved or riced , hard-cooked egg yolks.
Note Hard-cook enough eggsfor both the barsch and the Lettuce and Sliced Egg Salad.
"Bouillon cubes and water , or canned broth , work just as well as your own broth, but are much faster.
The following recipe for chicken stock is for the purists.
HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK
rosol domowy z kury
1 whole chicken or 3 pounds necks and wings
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 onions , each stuck with a whole clove
4 stalks celery
4 scallions ,sliced
2 carrots, sliced
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/8 teaspoon thyme
2 bay leaves
salt to taste
4 peppercorns
2 quarts water
Baste meat with lemon juice . Place in kettle and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then skim. Add the rest of the ingridients and simmer for 2 and a half an hour, or until meat is tender. Remove the chicken ; put meat aside for another use and replace the bones and skin in stock.Simmer for 45 minutes. Strain through a sieve or cheesecloth. Chill and skim fat from the top.
BEET SOUP
zupa buraczana
1/2 cup dried lima beans
8 beets, peeled and quartered
1 cup stewing beef, cubed
soup bone (optional)
1 cup stewed tomatoes
12 cups water
1 head cabbage , shredded
1 apple , peeled and qartered
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream
Soak beans overnight. Cook in the same water for 2 hours and drain, then set aside. Mix beets, beef tomatoes and water. Bring to boil, then skim. Simmer for 1 and half an hour. Add the cabbage , apple, salt, pepper, and bone, then simmer for another hour . Remove and grind the beets, then return to the soup. Mix with the beans. Serve with sour cream.
CLEAR BEET SOUP
cienka zupa buraczana
2 cups beets, peeled and shredded
1 pound shank beef
2 soup bones
2 quarts water
1 cup diced celery
salt to taste
4 peppercorns
2 chopped onions
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon allspice
2 crushed cloves garlic
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup sour beet juice (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream
Simmer beets until tender , about 15 minutes. Drain and put aside the liquid. ( Use the beets for another dish). Boil the meat, bones and water, then simmer for 1/2 hour. Add the vegetables and spices; simmer until the meat is done. Strain; set meat aside. Add the juices to the sour beet juice and 1 cup of the water the beets were cooked in. Heat to the boilling point. If desired , garnish with sour cream.( An excellent accompaniment to this soup is stuffed dumplings or potaoes.)
COLD BEET SOUP WITH BEET GREENS
zupa z lisci burakowych na zimno
1 1/2 pounds veal with bone
2 quarts cold water
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup grated carrot
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
6 large shrimp or 6 crayfish
1 cup beets with greens
1 cup dill pickle juice
3 coarsely chopped hard-cooked eggs
1 teaspoon chopped, fresh dill
1 chopped cucumber
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sugar
Combine the veal and water; bring to boil, then simmer for 1/2 hour. Add the celery, carrots, garlic and bay leaf and simmer for 1/2 hour more. Clean the shrimp ( if using a crayfish be sure to scour well) and simmer in a separate pan for 10 minutes. Peel and shred the beets and greens; simmer until tender with veal and vegetable mixture. Shell the fish, dice, and add to soup. Add the chopped eggs, dill and cucumber.
Remove the meat from the stock and dice. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Mix sour cream with the flour and add to stock with the pickle juice. Bring to boil; add veal and simmer for 5 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients with the mixture. Chill and serve with extra sour cream for a garnish
EASY BARSHCH
lekki barszcz
3 cups beef stock (either homemade or canned)
1/2 cabbage chopped
3 beets, peeled and cubed or 1 1-lb can beets
1/2 lemon, sliced
3 chopped onions
1 spring fresh dill, chopped
1 potato , peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups sour cream
Place all ingredients in a pot and simmer for 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Remove the lemon. After soup has cooled a bit, add the sour cream.
BEETROOT SOUP
barszcz czerwony
3 strips crumbled bacon
1 sliced leek
1 onion , thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
2 raw beetroots, slivered
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 cups beef stock
2 tablespoon wine vinegar
salt to taste
3 peppercorns
Saute the bacon slowly with the leek and onion until golden. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 hour. Garnish with sour cream.
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