Friday 15 February 2013

Polish Spring lunch for 4 , part 2







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sour cream cucumbers and onion rings on the crispy spinach leaves / ogorki z cebula w smietanie na lisciach szpinakowych
endive with fresh mayonnaise / endywia z majonezem
hard-cooked egg flowerettes / rozyczki z jajek
coddled fish fillets in schrimp sauce / ryba duszone w sosie krewetkowym
potato pancakes / placki kartoflane
fruit cream with wine / przetarte owoce z winem


Polish food hes been influenced by many countries. Geographically, Poland has been situated at the cross-roads of East and West. Poland has seen many regimes and many alliances with foreign royalty : French, Czech, Saxon, Hungarian and Italian.
The Sforza princess, who became Queen Bona, introduced green vegetables and tomatoes to Poland. Her own cooks and chefs taught the native royal staff to cook the greens, and eventually the novel fare found its way to the peasants cottages and gardens. Even today the Polish word for green vegetables is wloszczyzna, which means, "things Italian".


SOUR CREAM CUCUMBERS AND ONION RINGS ON THE CRISPY SPINACH LEAVES
ogorki z cebula w smietanie na lisciach szpinakowych

1 cucumber, peeled
1 medium-sized onion, peeled
1/2 sour cream
salt to taste
4 hard-cooked eggs
spinach leaves, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
fresh ground pepper

Slice the cucumber and onion as finely as possible. Toss with the sour cream and salt and set aside. Shell the eggs, and slice the eggs into halves with ridges to resemble flowerettes. Arrange the spinach leaves on a chilled platter. Mound the cucumber and onion salad in the centre of the leaves and flank with the flowerettes ( see next recipe). Combine the olive oil and lemon juice, and pour over all. Grind fresh pepper over the top for an added fillip.


ENDIVE WITH FRESH MAYONNAISE
endywia z majonezem

6 heads endive
1/2 cup freshly made mayonnaise
salt to taste
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons celery vinegar, or other vinegar
lettuce leaves
6 cherry tomatoes
egg flowerettes (see below)

Rinse endive, and slice diagonally into 1-inch segments. Prepare the mayonnaise. Combine and toss the endive, salt, mayonnaise, honey and vinegar. Arrange the endive mixture on a crispy bed of lettuce leaves. Garnish with the cherry tomatoes and egg flowerettes.



HARD-COOKED EGG FLOWERETTES
rozyczki z jajek

For the recipe, use 6 hard-cooked eggs. Make the flowerettes by shelling the chilled eggs, then slicing each egg in half in zigzag pattern.



CODDLED FISH FILLETS IN SHRIMP SAUCE
ryba duszona w sosie krewetkowym

1/2 cup butter
7 cups light cream ( or half-and-half)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped
parsley (optional)
1/2 cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon paprika
2 pounds fish fillets
1 pound med. shrimp, parboild or 1 pound crayfish, parboiled


Make a roux of the melted butter and flour in the bowl on top of the pot ( or a pot with double deck) with boiling water. Add cream slowly, stirring  continously. Mix in the spices, and simmer for 5 minutes. Do not boil.
Slice fish fillets down center. Begin at the widest end  of the fillet and roll up. Secure each fillet with a toothpick. Place rolled-up fillets in sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes,covered. Shell and devein the shrimp ( or crayfish). Add mushrooms and shrimp to the sauce and heat through. Remove toothpicks, arrange fish and sauce on a warmed platter, and garnish with parsley and serve imediatelly.


POTATO PANCAKES
placki kartoflane

1.

6 potatoes
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
3 eggs, separated
dash nutmeg
salt to taste

Boil potatoes and mash. Combine with milk and egg yolks. Sprinkle in nutmeg. Whip egg whites until stiff and fold into potato mixture. Saute in butter until golden brown

2.

1.2 cup bacon drippings
8 large grated potatoes
2 eggs
salt to taste
1 large minced onion
4 tablespoons flour

Heat the bacon drippings, until sizzling. Combine the other ingredients well; mixture will be thick. Roll into balls in the palm of your hand. Flatten each ball into a "cake" with a fork. Saute in the bacon drippings until golden.



*****

Fruit cream is a traditional fruit dessert that is similar to a pudding or fruit pie filling consistency. It can be made with almost any kind of berry; strawberries, gooseberries, currants, cranberries, and even cut-up fruit, such as apples, can be substituted.

FRUIT CREAM WITH WINE
przetarte owoce z winem

6 cups berries
5 cups water
2 cups sugar or honey
1 cinnamon stick
3 tablespoon cornstarch or potato flour
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
1 cup white wine

Whirl berries with water in a blender (or mash) to puree.(Its desirable at this point to strain the juice to remove seeds.) Combine with sugar, cinnamon and cloves and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the spices. Mix the flour or starch with the wine until smooth, then add to the berry mixture along with the lemon rind. Stir continously over medium heat until thickened; about 5 to 7 minutes. Moisten your pretties mold, sprinkle the inside with sugar and fill with the berry pudding. Chill several hours, or overnight.
Note: When cooking with whole spices it is easier to remove them if they`ve first been placed in a cheesecloth packet.

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