Saturday 16 February 2013

POLISH EASTER DINNER FOR 10

potato salad / salatka z ziemniakow
beets horseradish relish / cwikla z chanem
horseradish sauce / sos chrzanowy
boiled crayfish / raki gotowane
polish sausage / kielbasa polska
baked ham / szynka pieczona
roast turkey / pieczony indyk
shrimp 9or crayfish) stuffing / nadzienie z raczkow
raising stuffing / nadzienie z rodzynkami
chestnut stuffing / nadzienie z maronow
easter cake / babka wielkanocna
mazurek cake with date / mazurek daktylowy
mazurek cake with oranges / mazurek pomaranczowy
mazurek cake with raisins / mazurek rodzynkowy
gypsy mazurek / mazurek cyganski


Most Poles are Roman Catholics, and Lent is observed most strictly. So when Easter arrives, it is celebrated with gusto. All the forbidden meats of the past forty days are to sampled along with variety of other delicacies. Easter dinner, which occurs at midday, is a festive occasion and gourmets` delight.
The many dishes are prepared on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Everything is chilled , except for a barshch which can be quickly reheated on Easter Sunday after lunch.
Easter eggs are generally blessed by the priest in Polish communities. When brought home again, they are ahelled and quartered before they are served at the Easter dinner table.
The sasuage may be boiled, chilled, then sliced and served as an accompaniment to other dishes.


POTATO SALAD
salatka z ziemniakow

8 potatoes
1 finely chopped onion
1/2 to 2/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

Pare, peel and cook potatoes in a salted water. Drain and while still hot combine with the onion, olive oil and vinegar. Toss gently, or you`ll end up with mashed potatoes. The warm potatoes tend to absorb more oil than chilled potatoes. You may require another tablespoon or two of oil after the salad has cooled.



BEET AND HORSERADISH RELISH
cwikla z chrzanem

2 ponds cooked beets
2 tablespoons horseradish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

Whirl ingredients in blender until coarsely chopped. Cover and let stand in a fridge for 2 days to blend.


HORSERADISH SAUCE
sos chrzanowy

2 tablespoons horseradish, freshly grated
2/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
dash salt

Mix all ingredients and allow to stand several hours, tightly covered in the fridge to blend thoroughly.



BOILED CRAYFISH
raki gotowane

10 live crayfish
salt to taste
2 quarts boiling water
fresh dill

Wash the live crayfish and cook the same way as you would live lobster, that is by throwing them headfirst (to avoid any suffering) into rapidly boiling salted water. Add fresh dill and boil for 15 minutes. Serve hot with drawn butter.


BAKED HAM
szynka pieczona

MARINATE:

2 cups water
1 cup vinegar
1 sliced onion
3 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon

Combine all ingredients; boil for 10 minutes.

5 pounds uncooked ham
3 tablespoons bacon drippings

Marinate the raw ham in the vinegar mixture overnight. Turn ham over occasionally.
Bake ham at 450F for 20 minutes and baste with the bacon drippings. Reduce oven temperature to 300F and baste every 20 minutes for another 2 hours ( 25 to 30 minutes per pound).





<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000613802430570&pubid=21000000000621492&lsrc=17">FREE Wusthof Ceramic Knife Sharpener &amp; Cutting Board at CHEFS Catalog</a>


ROAST TURKEY
pieczony indyk

1 turkey ( 10 to 12 pounds)
salt to taste
turkey liver and gizzards (optional)
1 stick butter or
1/2 cup bacon drippings

Carefully rinse and dry the turkey inside and out. Rub skin with butter or bacon drippings. Lightly fill with one of the following stuffing and sew or skewer closed. The legs together and tuck wings behind back. Place the bird breast-side-up on a rack in roasting tray and roast for 4  1/2 to 5 hours at 325F (about 25 minutes per pound of weight before stuffing). Test for doneness by pricking the inside of the thigh with a fork. If pink juice trickles out, meat is not done yet.

SHRIMP (OR CRAYFISH) STUFFING
nadzienie z raczkow

20 baby shrimp or 10 crayfish, cooked, shelled and chopped finely
1/2 pound mushrooms
1/2 cup butter
turkey liver, sauted and mashed
3 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
broth to moisten

Clean the shrimp. Saute the shrimp or crayfish and mushrooms in the butter. Combine all remaining ingredients, and stuff the turkey

RAISIN STUFFING
nadzienie z rodzynkami

turkey liver
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs, separated
2/3 cup bread crumbs
grated nutmeg
salt to taste
3 whole cloves
2 tablespoons parsley
1/2 cup golden raisins
cream to moisten

Saute and mash the liver in the butter, then combine with the egg yolks. Mix in everything.beat the egg whites stiff and fold into the mixture. Loosely stuff turkey and roast. Allow an extra half an hour or so roasting time for the stuffing (which rises a little and should be well done).


CHESTNUT STUFFING
nadzienie z maronow

2  1/2 cups chopped chestnuts
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
4 cups bread cubes
1/2 chopped onion
salt and pepper to taste

Slice a cross in each chestnut , then boil in salted water for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove shell and dark membrane, then chop the chestnuts finely. Saute the celery in butter. Combine all ingredients, stuff the bird , and allow about an extra 1/2 hour roasting time for the stuffing.


EASTER CAKE
babka wielkanocna

1 packet of dry yeast
1/2 cup light cream or half-and-half
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup raisins

Dissolve yeast in cream. Combine with half the sugar and flour and leave to double in size. Add all the remaining ingredients except the raisins and knead until smooth. Add raisins, while continuing to knead. Grease and dust cake pan with flour. Place dough in a pan, cover with a clean cloth, and leave in a very warm, draft-free place until doubled in size. Bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes. When cool, remove from the pan and drizzle with icing.

ICING CAKE
lukrowa babka

1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon rum or lemon juice

Mix well and lightly drizzle over the cake. Easter isn`t Easter without a selection of MAZUREK`S, which are sort of chewy cakelike cookie square. Choose on
ene  or several of the following recipes.




MAZUREK WITH DATES  I
mazurek daktylowy

DOUGH:

1 cup butter
3 cups flour
1 cup confectioners sugar
2  1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 eggs
4 tablespoons sour cream

Cut butter into flour. Combine with the sugar and baking powder. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the sour cream and knead dough for 10 minutes, or until smooth. Chill for 1 hour, or until firm, then roll thin and place on greased or stickproof baking sheet. Spread dough to cover entire pan. Bake at 375F for 10 to 15  minutes.

TOPPING:

1 whole lemon
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 cup pitted chopped dates
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup candied orange peel ( see recipe below).


Chop lemon and whirl in blender until pureed, or grate the rind and pulp, taking care to remove the seeds. Combine all ingredients and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until thickened. Spread the topping evenly over the cake. Frost with the following icing when cake has cooled.

ICING:

2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons juice

Combine and mix until smooth. Frost and slice into squares.



CANDIED ORANGE PEEL:

2 cups orange peel, sliced into thin strips
boiling water
1  2/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup water

Simmer the orange strips in boiling water for 2 hours. (After the first hour change the water to prevent from a bitter taste.) Drain the peel and let to dry. Combine the peels, sugar and 1/3 cup water and simmer for 15 mintes, or until thickened. Drain and dry the peels overnight. Save the syrup and reheat the next day until it forms a thread (about 230 to 234F). Coat each peel separately and dry in the oven with a low  temperature .

MAZUREK CAKE WITH DATES  II
mazurek daktylowy  II

7 eggs
2 cups sugar
2  1/4 cups ground or very finely chopped almonds
2 cups pitted chopped dates
1/2 pound grated, bittersweet chocolate

Beat the egg whites until stiff while slowly adding sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well. Grease and flour a cookie sheet and spread mixture over it evenly. Bake at 200F for 25 minutes. Cool and frost with the following icing

ICING:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cook sugar and water until syrup spins a thread (aboout 230 to 234F). Then whirl in blender or beat with a wooden spoon until mixture thickens. Cool, then blend in the lemon juice. Frost cake and let set before slicing into squares.


ORANGE MAZUREK
mazurek pomaranczowy

2 cups ground almonds
1 cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon

Grease and dust a cookie sheet with fllour. Mix the ingredients to form a paste that will spread. Place mixture evenly on a pan and bake at 200F for 15 minutes.

TOPPING:

1 lemon
2 oranges
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup orange juice

Grate both the pulp and the rinds of the lemon and oranges, removing only seeds, or chop coarsely, and puree in blender. Combine all ingredients and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Cool, then beat lightly with a wooden spoon until mixture begins to take on a pearlized, or frosted, coloration. Then spread on the cake and let set before slicing.



MAZUREK CAKE WITH RAISINS
mazurek z rodzynkami

2 cups golden raisins
2 cups finely chopped almonds
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons grated lemon rind

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Grease and flour a cookie sheet. Pour mixture evenly over tin bake for 25 minutes at 200F. Top with the same topping used for the ORANGE MAZUREK.


GYPSY MAZUREK
mazyrek cyganski

6 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
6 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped figs
1 cup pitted chopped dates
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup candied orange rind
1  3/4 cups crushed walnuts
3 tablespoons grated lemon rind
6 tablespoons cornstarch

Whip egg whites, gradually adding sugar until meringue form peaks. Beat the yolks and add vanilla, then combine with the fruit mixture, which has been blended with cornstarch. Place on greased and floured cookie sheet and bake at 325F for 30 minutes.

1 comment:

Ujan sharma said...

I would recommend my profile is important to me, I invite you to discuss this topic...

banana benefits for skin

facebook