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Polish Heritage

March 31, 2018

Polish Easter Babka

Polish Easter Babka

A traditional, yeasted, Polish Easter Babka cake – Babka Wielkanocna 

Jump straight to the recipe

Polish Easter Babka

I have always found Easter to be full of mystery, tradition and ritual. In some ways, the signs and symbols all around us at this time of year are simple and universal; eggs, representing new life, buds bringing with them the promise of spring. However, dig a little deeper and you’ll find theories on how the Christian celebration of Easter is said to have been influenced by the early pagan celebrations and spring fertility rituals. The name itself, Easter, is a derivative of the German Ostern. However, the Greek and Latin name for Easter is Pascha, a celebration specifically celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, though there are also symbolic and historical links to the Jewish holiday of Passover. It’s fascinating how our cultures have adapted, acquired and assimilated various rituals and traditions.

Polish Easter Babka

Rebirth

There are many folk customs associated with Easter, especially evident in Slavic cultures and linked to the Slavic festivals of spring. The painting and gifting of eggs, the preparation of an Easter basket, as well as the slightly more peculiar traditions of hanging a herring on a dry branch (herrings are also traditionally eaten on Good Friday and by Poles, at the Easter Sunday table) or soaking one another with water on Easter Monday.

Polish Easter Basket

In Poland, Easter provides the opportunity for a big feast following six weeks of Lenten fasting; churches, homes and streets are decorated with displays of colourful flowers, palms and intricately painted eggs. On Easter Saturday, Poles prepare their baskets (read more about how to make an Easter Święcone basket over on Ania’s blog here) filling them with food such as boiled and coloured or painted eggs (pisanki), ham or cured meat (kiełbasa), salt (sól) butter (masło), bread (chleb) and a sweet cake, such as a Baba or Babka. The basket is blessed by the priest on Easter Saturday and then eaten together for breakfast on Easter Sunday. Each item within the basket has a symbolic meaning – Eggs: new life or Christ’s Resurrection, Butter (often shaped into a lamb): goodwill, Kiełbasa or ham: God’s generosity, joy and abundance, Salt: necessary for life, Bread and Babka: symbolic of Jesus who is the bread of life.

Easter table

The Easter traditions we look forward to the most as a family are our Polish Easter customs, particularly the preparation of the Polish Easter basket, which happens to also involve baking a traditional Babka, or a Mazurek cake, or perhaps a poppy seed roll or even a baked Easter cheesecake. Of course, in our home, the odd hot-cross bun is also consumed, the Easter bunny visits the children and even as adult, I look forward to collecting my very own stash of milk chocolate eggs – a ritual I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of.

A quote that I read today, shared by a friend, really struck a chord this morning:

“Rituals are how civilizations preserve their memory, keeping faith with those who came before us and handing on their legacy to the future.” R. Sacks 

I’d love to hear how you are celebrating and if you are in the mood for a spot of Easter baking, perhaps you’ll give my Polish Easter Babka a go.

In my cookbook Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes, you can also find a recipe for Mini Lemon Babkas.

Polish Easter Babka

This Polish Easter Babka (Babka Wielkanocna) enriched with eggs and studded with dried fruit and raisins, has a sort of brioche-like texture. This recipe is made with yeast (the rising agent) and therefore requires two periods of proving (though no kneading) and is a lovely project to have a go at over the Easter holidays.

Polish Easter Babka

1 vote

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Polish Easter Babka

Prep 15 mins

Cook 30 mins

Inactive 1 hour, 40 mins

Total 2 hours, 25 mins

Author Ren Behan

Yield 8

Almost every household in Poland will be enjoying a traditional Easter Babka this weekend. Usually, a small piece of the Babka (or even a whole Babka) is placed into the Easter basket, along with boiled and painted eggs, butter, ham or cured meat, salt and bread which is blessed on Easter Saturday and enjoyed for breakfast on Easter Sunday. I hope you’ll enjoy this tradition of making a Babka, and maybe even a basket over the Easter weekend. 

 

Ingredients

  • 125ml/ 1/2 cup milk
  • 115g/½ cup butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the tin
  • 2 tsp fast action/instant yeast + 4 tsp lukewarm water + 1 tsp granulated sugar  
  • 4 large eggs
  • 180g/½ cup caster/fine sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean extract
  • 120g/ 1 cup all-purpose flour, ideally ‘00’ pasta flour or fine cake flour 
  • 120g/ 1 cup potato flour (available at the Polish shop) or cornflour    
  • 150g/ 1 cup raisins
  • 1 orange, peeled
  • 1 lemon, peeled

Icing sugar, to dust

Instructions

  1. In a small pan, bring the milk to the boil then take off the heat and leave to one side. Add the butter to the milk and allow it to melt.
  2. In a jug, mix the yeast with lukewarm water and a teaspoon of sugar. Stir or whisk until dissolved and set to one side. It should begin to bubble. 
  3. In a stand mixer or a large bowl, beat the eggs for five minutes until creamy to incorporate lots of air. Add the caster sugar, a pinch of salt and vanilla and mix well. Add the milk and butter mixture, along with the dissolved yeast and mix well. Stir in the flour, raisins and orange and lemon peel and mix to combine.
  4. Cover the bowl with cling-film and leave in a warm place for an hour - first rise. 
  5. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Grease your cake tin well with plenty of butter.
  6. Carefully pour the dough into the tin, cover again and leave for 30-40 minutes - second rise. 
  7. Remove the cling-film and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. The Babka should be golden and a cake tester should come out clean.
  8. Leave the Babka to cool in the tin. Once cool enough to handle, transfer it out onto a plate and dust with icing sugar. The Babka will keep well in a tin for up to 2 days. 

Courses Dessert

Cuisine Polish

Happy Spring!

You may also like:

Recipe: Polish Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce {+ more Polish Recipes to try}

Easy Easter Recipes by Ren Behan for the Good Food Channel

Hot Cross Buns

February 1, 2018

Polish Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce

Polish Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce

This is one of my favourite recipes from my cookbook Wild Honey and Rye for Polish Meatballs in a Mushroom Sauce, which you can find on page 118.

I serve my meatballs with a light cucumber, sour cream and dill salad and a grated beetroot salad. There’s no need for potatoes, although my Mama would serve hers with potatoes (the apple mashed potatoes on page 85 or  the new potatoes with butter and dill on page 89) both work really well. Small meatballs in Poland are known as kotleciki or pulpety, larger ones are called kotlety mielone.

Skip straight to the recipe here

Wild Honey & Rye - Meatballs with Cucumber Salad
Image Credit: Yuki Sugiura for Pavilion Books

Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes is available in the UK here, published by Pavilion Books. 

The first American edition is also available for in the US here and will be published by Interlink Books in March 2018.

Thank you for all your support!

 

 

You may also like:

The Happy Launch of Wild Honey and Rye – read here.

Polish Mushroom Soup

5 Polish Recipes from Wild Honey and Rye 

 

With thanks to Pavilion Books for the permission to share this recipe from Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes.

December 24, 2016

Open Sandwiches with Turkey [Recipe Video]

Open Sandwiches with Turkey [Recipe Video]

A cracking recipe to make with leftover turkey, but you can use chicken, too.

If you’re after some cocktail inspiration you can watch our second festive video here on You Tube too. And for dessert, why not have a go at baking my Lemon, Rose and Poppy Seed Cheesecake, find the recipe here.

July 27, 2015

Fresh Cherry Crumble Cake

Fresh Cherry Crumble Cake

We were lured by the huge crates of English cherries at St Albans Market over the weekend. By the time we arrived home, the children had eaten a whole bag of cherries between themselves – in the back of the car – and yes, there were cherry juice stains everywhere. The second bag I had earmarked for a cherry crumble cake, made to a recipe my mum had given me over the phone a few days earlier. This is an easy cake that you can either make in a rectangular tin – I’d go for a 12″ x 9″ traybake tin, or as we did, a deep round tin. It depends whether you are in the mood for a rectangular cake or a round cake. We were in the mood for a round cake. Get the kids to crack the eggs into a bowl, measure out the ingredients or make the crumble mix while you get on with stoning the cherries – mine (8 & 5) can manage the crumble mix on their own. It’s a bit messy, but messy baking is fun. If you can’t find cherries, lots of other stone fruits work in this recipe – plums or apricots chopped in half with the stones removed. You can also make this with blueberries. I love the mess that cherries make. Almost as much as the mess the children make.

Fresh cherries

I used some cardamom Spice Drops to flavour my cake in addition to a little vanilla but this flavour is entirely optional. My friend, Gouri, gave me a couple of bottles of Spice Drops to try – you can buy them on Ocado in the UK. Spice Drops are an interesting little invention – they are concentrated extracts of the natural spice and they come in lots of flavours – including cardamom, cinnamon, lemongrass, peppermint, rose and many more – you can see the full range here.

fresh cherry crumble cake

1 vote

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Fresh Cherry Crumble Cake

Prep 20 mins

Cook 60 mins

Total 1 hour, 20 mins

Author Ren Behan

Yield 8

An easy cake made with fresh English cherries and a crumble topping. I used some cardamom spice drops do give an extra dimension of flavour. You can also crush some fresh cardamom pods instead or leave the cardamom out and just use vanilla extract.

Ingredients

  • 400g fresh cherries, pitted (or other stone fruit)
  • For the crumble topping
  • 50g/ 1/3 cup plain/all-purpose flour
  • 50g/ ½ stick unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 30g/ ¼ cup icing/confectioners’ sugar
  • For the cake batter
  • 180g/1.5 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 130g/1 cup caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 drops cardamom Spice Drops (see notes) or the seeds of 6 green cardamom pods, crushed
  • 200g/1.5 cups self-raising or all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to fan 160C/180C/gas 4. Using a little butter, grease and line a 20cm round cake tin, about 5cm deep or a rectangular traybake tin 12" by 9"
  2. Remove the stalks from the cherries, carefully slice each cherry in half and remove the stone. Keep the cherries to one side.
  3. Make the crumble topping by sifting the flour into a large bowl. Add the butter and icing sugar or confectioners’ sugar. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour and sugar to make a crumb-like mixture, then set it to one side while you make the cake batter.
  4. Whisk the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy (around five minutes using a stand mixer or a whisk), add the eggs in, one by one, and continue to mix well. Add the vanilla extract and cardamom drops or crushed cardamom pods, if using. Mix together well again.
  5. Sift in the flour and baking power and using a spoon, carefully stir the mixture until all the flour is incorporated.
  6. Pour the cake batter into your lined baking tin and flatten with the back of a spoon.
  7. Scatter the halved cherries onto the batter and press down gently.
  8. Scatter the prepared crumble mixture over the top of the cherries.
  9. Bake for 55-60 minutes until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean.
  10. Leave the crumble cake in the tin to cool and then remove and place onto a wire rack until you are ready to serve.
  11. Before serving, dust with a little extra icing/confectioners’ sugar.
  12. The cake will keep well in a tin for up to two days.

Courses Dessert

All you need once the cake is baked is a nice cup of tea and you’re all set for the afternoon.

Crumble Cake

If you have a go at baking this cake (and I hope you do) don’t forget to let me know.

Tag me on instagram @renbehan or on Twitter @RenBehan or on Facebook Ren BehanFood so I can see how it turned out.

I’m linking my bake up to Simple and in Season July and August.

Other fruity bakes that you may like to try:

  • My Poppy Seed and Plum Cake Recipe 
  • My Cherry and Almond Traybake
  • Sarah’s Five Minute No Butter Chocolate Cherry Cake
  • Nazima’s Plum Crumble Tart 
  • Becca’s Blueberry Shortbread Bars

Crumble Cake

Happy Baking!

Crumble Cake

What’s your favourite fruit-inspired bake?

June 15, 2015

A Polish-Inspired Beetroot Salad with Apples, Radish and Dill

A Polish-Inspired Beetroot Salad with Apples, Radish and Dill

Polish Beetroot Summer Salad

A Polish-inspired beetroot summer salad with apples, radish and dill

I was interested to read this week about the four distinct waves of Polish migration to the UK. I tend to only think of my parents’ generation, resettling to the UK after the Second World War and of course, of the most recent wave. In fact, there have been Poles in Britain since around 1830, following the November Uprising of 1830-1831, with a second wave happening between 1880 and 1920.

Both my mother and father’s family settled in England during the third wave, shortly after the war. My father left Poland at the tender age of sixteen, having first undertaken a forced and perilous journey of approximately 1700 miles from Poland to northern Russia. Aged eighteen, my father and his twin joined the Polish Army in Exile formed by General Anders. They formed in Buzuluk, and travelled via Tashkent, Bukhara and Moynaq. They were then part of a brigade that went to Suez and Durban in South Africa, before arriving in Scotland. Once in Scotland, they trained with a Polish tank brigade, later taking part in the Battle of Falaise, going on to liberate the towns of Ypres, Ghent and Passchendaele, amongst many others. After the war, they were kept on as peacekeeping troops.

Polish collage

Family history book, my father in the Polish army, Polish folk art.

It wasn’t until many years after the war my father formed a business with his brothers, who had all fortunately survived the war, and they employed my grandmother, my mother and her brother, who had also resettled in England from Poland during the war. My dad later married my mother and they had five children, of which I am the youngest. The family business employed many fellow Poles and their families creating new industry in Manchester for a period spanning three decades. Their contribution to society, like that of many migrant Poles, was not insignificant.

Polish radish

By the time I was born, my grandmother had her own house and a small garden here in England. I remember her garden being full of all the things that she used to grow in Poland. In fact, most Poles had a little allotment patch either at the front or at the back of their house. I remember playing in her garden and seeing plenty of beetroot, runner beans, cabbages, carrots, potatoes, radishes and lots and lots of dill. Babcia kept chickens, too, so there were always plenty of eggs. She never quite came out of war mentality, so there were lots of jars of pickles and preserves. Cooking Polish food would make her feel closer to home; it was the only cuisine she knew. Taught by my grandmother, my mother also cooked Polish food for our family and so I knew little else. As a baby my mama tells me I was weaned on beetroot soup and that I loved it.

Migration means many things to many different people. I personally am always fascinated by stories of resettlement and relocation. They are rarely clear-cut and often there is also an element of history involved, too. I know that my parents were always incredibly grateful for the Polish community church hall, where we would often spend time marking significant occasions in Polish history, or folk dancing or fundraising with the Polish Scouts. It still exists to this day, now welcoming new Poles, arriving with predicaments of their own.

These days, of course, communities are often formed online, too. With strong links to the migrant communities around the world, Lebara, a UK-based telecoms group, are bringing together a collection of stories and articles, examining migration and offering a place for people to share collective memories; a community platform, of sorts, aimed at bringing together rather than dividing. It’s an initiative that I’m keen to support, particularly in light of my own family history and my keenness to promote positivity and inclusivity towards those who find themselves far away from home.

As well as thinking about my story and that of my parents’ migration all those years ago, I’m sharing today a recipe inspired by my grandmother’s garden, which by this time of year would be brimming with summer salad ingredients, ready to provide a colourful addition to our family table. The recipe should shortly be featured on the Lebara Community Site, too.

Polish Beetroot Summer Salad

There are plenty of other interesting articles and recipes being added to the Lebara Community Hub all the time – pop over and have a read here.

I’m also linking this recipe up to Simple and in Season June, Extra Veg June 2015, hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Meat Free Mondays hosted by Jac at Tinned Tomatoes.

For more Polish recipes, see www.renbehan.com/mypolishkitchen 

Polish Beetroot Summer Salad

4 votes

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Prep 10 mins

Total 10 mins

Author Ren Behan

With many thanks to Lebara UK for commissioning this recipe and for creating the migrant community hub. 

March 23, 2015

Recipe: Mama’s Bigos – Hunter’s Stew

Recipe: Mama’s Bigos – Hunter’s Stew

Bigos

I’d like to promise that the recipes I include under my new ‘My Polish Kitchen‘ banner won’t be all about cabbage! Polish food is so much more than that, yet it would be wrong not to pay homage to Poland’s national dish – Bigos, or Hunter’s Stew.

…

Read more

March 20, 2014

Kopytka – Polish Gnocchi for Tenderstem ®

Kopytka – Polish Gnocchi for Tenderstem ®

Hurray! Today officially marks the first day of spring. March has already been an incredibly busy month for me recipe-wise and I have lots of great things to share with you over the next few days. Firstly, I wanted to tell you about a new recipe up on the Tenderstem ® broccoli website, which I was asked to create as part of their focus on inspiring recipes from around the world. I created my Polish version of a gnocchi recipe, known as ‘kopytka’ – meaning ‘little hooves’ – made in a similar way to Italian gnocchi, with leftover mashed potato, flour, an egg and a little seasoning. I also added some small pieces of Tenderstem ® to the dough itself, to brighten things up a bit and then served them with more healthy Tenderstem ®, shallots and Polish ham. It’s a really easy recipe to bring together and I’ve already had lots of positive comments on Twitter, from readers letting me know how they’ve got on trying it. I’d love to here from you, too, if you fancy this for a spring supper one evening!

Photograph copyright Tenderstem
Photograph copyright Tenderstem

Print

Kopytka (Polish Gnocchi) with Tenderstem ®

Author Ren Behan

Ingredients

  • 200g pack Tenderstem
  • 500g mashed potatoes, cooled
  • 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • A small knob of butter
  • 2 shallots, peeled, chopped
  • 200g Polish ham or bacon, such as Sopocka or Wiejska, or use pancetta.

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drop in the Tenderstem. Boil for five minutes, remove with a slotted spoon (keep the water, turn off the heat) and drain under cold water. Chop five sprigs of Tenderstem very finely. Put to one side to add to the dumplings.
  2. Put the mash potato into a large bowl. Add the finely chopped Tenderstem, the flour, egg and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Using a metal spoon at first, bring the mixture together. Then tip it out onto a board and knead it until all the flour is incorporated into the potato.
  3. Sprinkle a little extra flour onto the board and cut the dough into four quarters. Roll each piece into a long cylinder and cut at an angle into one inch pieces. Repeat until you have used up all the dough.
  4. Bring the salted water back to the boil and in batches, drop in the dumplings. Gently boil for three to four minutes.They will rise to the top once cooked. Take them out with a slotted spoon, drain and cook the rest.
  5. Once the dumplings are cooked, add one tablespoon olive oil and the butter to a large frying pan. Gently fry the shallots and the chopped ham. Add the rest of the pre-cooked Tenderstem and add the dumplings to the pan to colour them slightly. Cook for a further two minutes and serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size Serves 4

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

There are also lots of other globally inspired recipes to be found on the site, here.

With many thanks to Tenderstem ® for this recipe commission. 

Happy Spring!

Linking up to Simple and in Season – March

January 9, 2014

Polish Apple Pancakes

Polish Apple Pancakes

Polish Apple Pancakes

Happy New Year! I’m back. I’ve indulged in a long break. In fact, the longer I took, the harder it became to throw myself back into blogging and recipe creating. This year I’ve buried my head in the sand a bit too when it comes to ‘diet’ food or New Year’s resolutions. I make resolutions throughout the year. I constantly try and stick to things, and I fail, so I set new goals and targets and start again. It’s never just a January thing. Besides which, it’s far too grey and cold outside to think about salads or healthy things or fresh starts. I still want to hibernate and eat pancakes and wrap myself up in a big blanket. The funny thing is that the two most popular recipes on my blog so far this year have been my Healthy Hot Chocolate Breakfast Smoothies and my Nutella Bread Pudding with Leftover Christmas Panettone. So I’m thinking, that whilst half of you are searching for the good stuff to help you along with diets and food resolutions, half of you (like me) want to prolong the festive sweet-fest, invoking the excuse of finding ways of using up all the tempting treats lurking in our cupboards….

Read more

December 19, 2013

Polish Apple Cake – BBC Good Food Magazine

Polish Apple Cake – BBC Good Food Magazine

It’s almost time to wish you all a wonderful Christmas break. There are presents to wrap and people to see – we’ll all be getting busy. Without doubt, I’m ending the year on a food writing high and this particular feature in BBC Good Food Magazine couldn’t have come at a more special time. If you are able to get your hands on a copy of the January edition of BBC Good Food Magazine – out now – you’ll see an exciting feature called Global Kitchen, with some vibrant ideas for New Year cooking. The BBC Good Food team love to spot new trends and they’ve picked out six cuisines they think we’ll be eating more of and hopefully cooking more of in 2014. Favourites include Pakistani food, aromatic Lebanese, the food of Vietnam, homely Polish food, the Inca-inspired Peruvian kitchen and fresh Korean flavours. What a line up!

GlobalKitchen (1)_01

To celebrate these ‘up-and-coming’ cuisines, BBC Good Food selected six recipes – including my very own Polish apple cake (Szarlotka) – for us all to try our hands at. I’m incredibly excited to be featured alongside some of my favourite food writers of the moment, including Bethany Kehdy (author of The Jewelled Kitchen highlighted here), cookery teacher and writer Sumayya Jamil. entrepreneurs Van Tran and Anh Vu, Martin Moore (author of Ceviche:Peruvian Kitchen) and Judy Joo, who is about to begin a new series of Korean Food Made Simple.

Polish Apple CakeSpot my Polish apple cake recipe…

Credit: Photograph by Will Heap for BBC Good Food Magazine

So, what do you all think about the cuisines that have been highlighted by the feature? Whilst I am of course biased and hope that Polish and Eastern-European food may make its mark on global cuisine (Poland recently achieved it’s first Michelin star via Chef Amaro in Warsaw.) I am also intrigued by Korean food and I would also love to explore more Lebanese food in my own kitchen as well as trying out some Vietnamese dishes.

I also spotted a recipe in the previous edition of BBC Good Food Magazine for Piernik – a Polish gingerbread cake, by Edd Kimber, which is stuck to my kitchen cabinet with a ‘must-make’ post-it note attached.

I’m more hopeful than ever that I can tempt you all with more Eastern-European baking here on my blog and elsewhere next year.

In the meantime, I’m signing off now for a festive break. Please do leave me a comment in the box below if there are any particular recipes you’d like me to share in 2014, or cuisines you think I should be exploring in my kitchen!

With thanks to Sarah, Helen, Will and the BBC Good Food Team for inviting me to be a part of this feature and for styling and photographing my cake so beautifully. 

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

April 17, 2013

Blueberry Pierogi with Cinnamon Cream

Blueberry Pierogi with Cinnamon Cream

Blueberry Pierogi

Pierogi are one of the most well-known, traditional Polish dishes and can be found around the world. They are small dumplings, also known as Pierożki, similar to Italian ravioli or Asian dumplings or gyoza.

If you live in, or have ever visited America, particularly New York or Chicago, you might also find them sold as street-food, as you would do in Poland. Pierogi can also be found in most traditional Polish restaurants or in a ‘Milk Bar’ or Bar Mleczny as they are called in Poland, prevalent during the economic struggles of the 1930’s and throughout the war. They have recently made something of a comeback, offering cheap and affordable eats or as something of a nostalgic alternative to fast-food.

You’ll find Pierogi on almost every respectable Polish restaurant menu abroad, too – try them! I recently tried them filled with Buckwheat and Bacon at Malina restaurant in Hammersmith, London.

Pierogi are made from a simple dough of flour and water (sometimes with an egg or a little oil added) before being filled and enclosed (shaped into a semi-circle) and boiled. They can be made with savoury or sweet fillings. If you are making sweet Pierogi, you can add a tablespoon of icing sugar to sweeten the dough; for savoury pierogi, add a pinch of salt.

My kids love making Pierogi – there’s all manner of measuring, mixing, pouring and rolling to get involved in.

Making Pierogi

I was lucky enough to have this recipe for sweet Blueberry Pierogi, given to be by my Mama, featured in one of the UK’s top culinary publications, delicious. magazine in an Inheritance Recipe feature. Finally, the joys of Pierogi have been introduced to the UK!

Hospitality is second-nature to a Pole, with food always the central feature of any gathering. I learnt how to cook by watching and helping my grandmother and mother preserve memories of their past through the food they placed on our table. I would love seeing my mother make traditional Polish dumplings called Pierogi on an almost-industrial scale ~ Ren Behan, My Inheritance Recipe, delicious.magazine

Polish Pierogi

[recipe id=”12460″]

Smacznego!

This recipe is also featured on LoveFood.com

February 25, 2013

Recipe: Polish Wild Mushroom Soup

Recipe: Polish Wild Mushroom Soup

Wild Mushrooms

Today is a mushroom soup day. The half-term school break was really busy, added to which, I’ve been flu-fighting. Polish wild mushroom soup reminds me of home. I crave warmth, and a strong, earthy flavour when I am sick.  A hearty bowl of soup, a thick blanket and a book. This is a lovely, simple family recipe, rich, yet simple to bring together allowing the mushrooms to speak for themselves.

Wild Mushrooms

A a really good, Polish mushroom soup is very often made with foraged mushrooms, since mushroom hunting is a national pursuit in Poland. I used some beautiful winter chanterelles (kurki in Polish) from Natoora UK, but you could very easily use a mixture of dried forest mushrooms (boletas/borowki/prawdziwki or porcini are the best) with a few fresh chestnut mushrooms thrown in. My mother adores mushroom hunting, just as her mother did, and the throw-back to my childhood is almost instantaneous whenever I cook with mushrooms. I’m very much looking forward to going foraging again when it’s time.

Mushroom Soup

I also separately cooked and added some kasha or kasza, which are pearl or hulled barley groats, which you’ll find in any Polish deli or shop. They added extra substance, and also made this meal stretch much further, since wild mushrooms can be expensive, particularly when out of their usual season. If you can’t find kasza, you could add whole pearl barley, or even some wild rice. You’ll also see instructions below for making a fresh stock (with or without pork ribs) but you can also use a porcini mushrooms cube stock or any vegetable stock as an alternative.

There’s also a Mushroom Soup recipe in my book on Modern Polish Recipes called Wild Honey and Rye, as well as recipes for Rosoł (Polish Chicken Soup), Sour Gherkin Soup, Beetroot Soup and my Mama’s Tomato Soup.

Mushroom Soup

5 votes

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Polish Wild Mushroom Soup

Prep 10 mins

Cook 1 hour, 30 mins

Total 1 hour, 40 mins

Author Ren Behan

Yield 8

A a really good Polish wild mushroom soup is very often made with foraged mushrooms, since mushroom hunting is a national pursuit in Poland. I used some beautiful winter chanterelles (kurki in Polish) but you could very easily use a mixture of dried forest mushrooms with a few fresh mushrooms thrown in. It's worth the extra step making the stock, but if you are short on time, you could use shop-bought stock, too. 

Ingredients

To make the fresh stock:

  • 1 kg pork ribs (omit for vegetarian version)
  • 2 carrots 

  • 2 onions
  • 2 stick celery
  • 10g fresh parsley 
 

  • 2 litres of water 

  • 1 bay leaf 

  • 2– 3 allspice berries

Or, use 1.5 litres of shop-bought or stock made with chicken or mushroom stock cubes

  • 40g dried mixed forest mushrooms, soaked in 1 cupful hot water
  • A handful of fresh mushrooms, such as chanterelle, chopped
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 tsp olive oil 
  • 1 large onion, very finely chopped
  • 150 ml double cream 

  • 100 g wide egg noodles or kasza (barley groats)
  • 3 tsp cornflour (optional) mixed with a little cold water 
  • Fresh parsley to garnish

Instructions

  1. To make the stock: Roughly cut up the carrots, celery and onion. Add them to a large pot with with the pork ribs (if using) and pour over 1.5 litres of cold water. Add the parsley, bay leaf and allspice berries. Simmer the stock on a very gentle heat (barely boiling) for an hour. Skim any foam that forms with a large spoon and discard. Strain the stock. You can use the pork ribs to make these roasted ribs. 
  2. For the mushroom soup: Strain the soaked mushrooms to remove grit. Chop the mushrooms finely. In a large pan, add the butter and olive oil. Cook the onions for 5-10 minutes until soft.
  3. Add the mushrooms and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Pour in the strained rib stock that you made earlier (or 1.5 litres of bought stock) and bring to a boil. Add the liquid from the soaked mushrooms too, avoiding the grit. Simmer for 25 minutes.
  4. To finish: Cook the pasta or kasza/grains according to instructions and drain.
  5. Stir in the cream. If you would like a thicker texture to the soup add the cornflour and stir well. Simmer gently for a further 5 minutes. 
  6. Place the pasta or kasza in the serving bowls and ladle over the soup.
  7. Garnish with parsley. Smacznego! (Bon appétit!)

Courses Soup

Cuisine Polish

February 11, 2013

Polish Sweet Cream Cheese Pancakes (Nalesniki)

Polish Sweet Cream Cheese Pancakes (Nalesniki)

Polish Pancakes Nalesniki

I’m excited to share this recipe with you as it’s really delicious and probably quite different to anything you may have tasted before. It’s Shrove Tuesday tomorrow, or Pancake Day here in the UK and this is one of my favourite pancake fillings. Imagine eating a soft and creamy cheesecake, but then imagine that flavour folded inside a thin and delicate crepe or pancake. This is a very well-known dish in Poland, called Naleśnik z Serem or Polish Sweet Cream Cheese Pancakes. They are traditionally made with farmer’s cheese, or curd cheese, which I have seen in the shops. But if you can’t find any, use full fat cream cheese.  You can use any crepe or pancake recipe you like. My favourite is a recipe called Make Ahead Pancake Mix from Vanessa Kimbell’s Prepped. You can store the leftover dry mix in a container and then use it for quick suppers.

Polish Pancakes Nalesniki

I mentioned ‘Fat Thursday’ recently in a post, the day when Poles eat lots of doughnuts and sweet things to mark the start of Lent. We don’t have  a pancake day, specifically. Naleśniki can be eaten sweet, filled with plum jam, fruit, or sweet cheese,or even savoury, perhaps with wild mushrooms.  I’ve shared quite a few Polish recipes recently, which I hope you’ve all liked. I’m currently working on setting up a new site just for my Polish recipes, so that they can have a home of their own. I’ll keep you posted!

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Polish Pancakes

I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to pancake day tomorrow. I’ll be back with some more ideas tomorrow, too.

What’s your favourite filling?

December 28, 2012

Wigilia – A Polish Christmas Eve

Wigilia – A Polish Christmas Eve

Another Christmas has come and gone…I hope you all had an enjoyable time. It’s been wonderful to relax, see family and friends and of course, enjoy plenty of good food and cheer. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas for me without starting it all off with a Polish Christmas Eve meal at home with my family. My mother spends almost the whole week preparing and cooking for Christmas Eve – traditionally known as Wigilia, or the Vigil meal – (from the Latin term vigilare meaning “to await”)

It is a meal full of symbolism, for example, we always set an extra place at the table for the unknown visitor (it’s amazing how someone always knocks at the door during the meal and this year was no exception!) we lay hay under the tablecloth to represent the manger, we eat when we see the first star and we begin our twelve course meal (representing the twelve apostles) by breaking bread or a wafer called Opłatek and exchanging good wishes.

Wigilia Christmas Eve

During this meal, no meat is eaten – all the courses are either fish or vegetarian dishes, such as Barszcz (beetroot soup) Uszka (mushroom filled dumplings) Szledzie (cured or pickled herrings alongside smoked salmon) Ryba (fish, traditionally carp, although any white fish can be eaten) Pierogi (dumplings filled with cream cheese and potato, or sauerkraut and mushrooms) and then desserts, Sernik (Polish baked cheesecake) and Makowiec (Poppy Seed Cake). Other courses could include Kompot, compote made with dried fruit, salads, stuffed cabbage parcels and noodles with poppy seeds. After the meal, Christmas carols are sung and then we usually make our way to Midnight mass, called Pasterka or “the Mass of the Shepherds.”

Pierogi Ruskie

Polish Pierogi – dumplings filled with cream cheese and potato 

I always feel incredibly lucky to be able to celebrate and mark this Polish tradition with my family. And, we are fortunate to be able to spend Christmas Eve with my Polish side of the family and Christmas Day with my husband’s side of the family – so there are never any arguments about where to spend Christmas. Christmas Day involved a sumptuous roast turkey and gammon lunch, with all the trimmings, rounded off with two Christmas puddings!

I’d love to know what your Christmas traditions are and how you celebrated…I’m guessing it won’t have involved herrings or beetroot soup…!

Find my Polish recipes at My Polish Kitchen

December 1, 2012

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Soup

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Soup

A cold winter’s day really only demands one thing – a warming bowl of chicken soup. My favourite word this week when describing soup was ‘restorative’ – exactly what this soup is. This is my mother’s Polish recipe for a soup called Rosół z Kury, a clear soup, usually served with homemade egg noodles or dumplings. It can be made on the stove, in which case it just needs to simmer very, very gently for up to two hours, but I discovered this week that it’s even easier to make slow cooker chicken soup, which needs hardly any babysitting at all. The trick to making a very clear stock soup is to never  let it boil rapidly, which is why it works so well in the calm and consistent heat of a slow cooker. Usually I make my own plain, poured noodles, or Lane Kluski, but this week I tried it with some tiny egg gnocchetti, similar to Spatzle, I found in the fresh pasta section of the shops.

Chicken Soup

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Chicken Soup

Lots of you have been getting in touch to say that you’ve been trying my recipes – the Chorizo, Chicken and Chickpea Soup was a big hit, as was the Slow Cooked Beef Brisket. Keep letting me know how you’re getting on. I’d love to see you photos on my facebook page, too.

Happy slow cooking.

September 20, 2012

Hidden Apple, Cinnamon and Honey Cake

Hidden Apple, Cinnamon and Honey Cake

If you are lucky enough to have apples in your garden this year, this is the perfect recipe to have up your sleeve. This year has been a bad year for our Bramley apple tree, but I managed to collect a few small apples and we’ve had the tree pruned so finger’s crossed for a better crop next year. Anyway, cooking apples are usually on offer at this time of year and make for a good cake, so there’s no excuse not to make this. It’s homely, perfect as an after-school treat or for visitors with a nice cup of tea…

The smell of apples stewing with cinnamon instantly brings memories of my mother making apple cake using the apples from our garden at home. It would usually be a tray bake and she would use a glass to measure out the ingredients instead of scales. The apple cake would always be large enough to feed the whole family and any visitors. I call it a hidden apple cake, as you can gently push the apples down into the batter and pour any remaining batter over the top.

I’ve made this cake to the same recipe, using a round tin instead of a tray. I’ve also added golden honey to the apples and a touch to the cake batter to give a little extra comfort.

Print

Hidden Apple, Cinnamon and Honey Cake

Prep 20 mins

Cook 40 mins

Total 60 mins

Author Ren Behan

Yield 8

A simple but very tasty apple cake, with cinnamon and honey.

Ingredients

  • For the apples
  • 4-5 medium-sized cooking apples
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon runny honey
  • For the cake batter
  • A small knob of butter to grease the tin
  • 110g/ 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 125ml/ 1/2 cup runny honey
  • 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 240ml/one cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
  • 240g/2 cups self-raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Icing sugar to dust
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Instructions

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius/gas mark 4. Grease and line a 23cm spring form tin.
  2. Peel and core the apples and slice into thin slices. Put them in a pan with the cinnamon, brown sugar and honey and cook very gently for around five minutes. Leave them to one side to cool.
  3. In a clean bowl bowl (or stand mixer) add the caster sugar, honey, eggs, vegetable oil, cinnamon and vanilla and beat for around three to four minutes until pale.
  4. Sift in the flour and baking powder and gently fold or mix the flour in with a metal spoon.
  5. Pour 2/3 of the cake batter into the lined tin. Take a slotted spoon and spoon over the apples (drain away and juice and drink it!) Push the apples down a bit, then pour the rest of the cake batter over the top to cover the apples.
  6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake. Keep an eye on the cake, if it starts to look too golden, place a piece of foil over the top half way through cooking.
  7. Leave to cool before serving and dust with icing sugar. The cake will keep for up to five days in a tin.

Cuisine Polish

Do you have an apple tree laden with apples this year? What’s your favourite recipe to use them all up?

September 7, 2012

My Mum’s Polish Potato Salad

My Mum’s Polish Potato Salad

I made my mum’s Polish potato salad the other day. It was one of my favourite salads growing up and it’s perfect for a barbecue party or a pot luck party. The key is to chop the potatoes and eggs (once cooked) as well as the pickles into little tiny cubes, the smaller the better.

It looked so pretty and it is so tasty. Do you know what Mama said? “Looks nice, but I serve it in a bowl and you forgot the dill.”

So, if you make it, don’t forget the dill!

 

Recipe: My Mum’s Polish Potato Salad

 

Ingredients:

500g maincrop or new potatoes, washed and peeled

2 free range eggs

2 sweet pickled cucumber spears, finely chopped

3 spring onions, finely chopped

100g mayonnaise

50g sour cream

2 tablespoons liquid from the cucumber spears

Salt and pepper to season

Fresh dill, to decorate

 

Method:

  1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Chop the potatoes and half and put them in the pan and boil for seven minutes. After seven minutes, add the two eggs and boil in the same pan for a further ten minutes. Check the potatoes are cooked and drain the potatoes and eggs under cold water. The eggs will be hard boiled.  
  2. Chop the potatoes into small cubes. Peel the hard boiled eggs and chop them into small pieces. Put the potatoes and eggs into a large bowl. Add the finely chopped sweet pickled cucumbers and most of the spring onions – save a sprinkle to use as a garnish.
  3. In a separate, smaller bowl, add the mayonnaise and sour cream and add a couple of tablespoons of the liquid from the sweet pickled cucumber spears to loosen. Whisk together well and pour over the potatoes.
  4. Mix everything together well. Season with salt and pepper and decorate with fresh dill and the rest of the spring onions. You can serve the salad immediately, but it tastes better the next day – leave it to cool down completely before refrigerating.

 

Simple and in Season Blog Event

I’m linking this up to Simple and in Season hosting this month by Katie Bryson at Feeding Boys and a Firefighter – maincrop potatoes and spring onions are both in season now.

Are you a dill or pickled cucumber fan?!

June 12, 2012

Vodka and Honey Braised Ribs

Vodka and Honey Braised Ribs

Well, the summer (ahem, excusing the miserable weather) of sport has begun with the start of the Euro 2012 football contest hosted by Poland and Ukraine. Eight matches have already taken place and tonight, the vodka is at the ready for Poland’s game against Russia. If you are watching any of the games and fancy making some Eastern European-style snacks, here’s my tasty recipe for Vodka and Honey Braised Ribs. In Poland, spare ribs are called Żeberka and it’s very common to have Żeberka w miodzie, or Ribs in Honey. My twist is to add a little shot of vodka (or two) to the mix. The method comes from my brother, who makes the best ribs in town. His trick is to simmer them slowly in some stock or water first before braising them in the oven. Try them, and then say ‘Nazdrowie!’ with a shot or two of the liquid ingredient! Oh, and don’t throw anything away; use the stock that you’ve simmered your ribs in to make a flavourful soup. 

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Enjoy the football!

Which sporting event are you looking forward to the most this summer? 

 

 

June 6, 2012

Polish Carrot and Apple Salad (Surówka z Marchewki)

Polish Carrot and Apple Salad (Surówka z Marchewki)

There comes a point at which you have to stop eating cake. It is a sad point, but one that is necessary and as we come into summer, now is the perfect time to switch from baking to salad eating. I can see me holding out for, hmn, let’s see, about a week!

On the plus side, I have plenty of tasty Polish salad recipes to encourage me (and hopefully you, too) to eat some healthy food. My first point of call is usually a Polish potato salad  (you still get some carbs) with hard boiled egg, pickled cucumber (optional) and a bit of mayo. My second favourite is one called Surówka, literally meaning raw, and you can make it with lots of things. Grated cabbage (red and/or white) mixed with carrot, for example, is similar to coleslaw. My mum makes the best homemade coleslaw, replacing the raw onions with apple. Much better. Then there is a traditional Carrot and Apple salad (recipe below), which is even lovelier. You can add in a few sultanas and a squeeze or two of lemon juice and even a sprinkle of caraway seeds. I also have great recipes for a cucumber salad, with sour cream and dill to share, as well a Ruska Salata, or Russian Salad, made with lots of vegetables, adopted by the Poles. This salad is eaten by everyone, everywhere in Poland!

To make my Carrot and Apple Salad, I used the Russell Hobbs fine slicing disk on the Desire food processor that I am currently testing (and giving away a second one here) but, of course, you can grate your carrot and apple using a traditional grater, too. Extra calories expended! Sprinkle over a little feta cheese and you have a lovely lunch box or main salad. I have mine with potato salad served alongside.

 

Salads are a fab way to get kids involved in the kitchen – not with the grating – but with the mixing. And you might find they will even pick at some of it, too. Double bonus.

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I’m sending this leafless salad (ignore the pea shoots, they are not really leaves) across to Jacqueline who is hosting the No Croutons Challenge this month. Thank you so much to Lisa who hosted the May round and very kindly let me know that my British Asparagus, Mozarella and Egg Salad won!

I’m also very pleased to be able to send this simple salad across to Laura at How to Cook Good Food who is hosting this month’s Simple and in Season. You should be able to find some tasty English carrots and heritage apples around at the moment.


What’s your favourite salad?! How long do you think I’ll last for?!

November 9, 2011

Pierniczki: Polish Spiced Christmas Cookies

Pierniczki: Polish Spiced Christmas Cookies

I know, I know, Christmas is getting earlier and earlier each year, but for some reason, this year there is an extra bit of excitement in the air. I can’t quite put my finger on why the anticipation is building up already.  Perhaps it’s panic setting in early, pretending to be excitement. It could also be something to do with the fact that we’ve all noticed prices creeping up and up and so we’ve all been trying to find ways of cutting back as much as we can. Christmas kind of blows a raspberry in the face of austerity as we all gather together to celebrate, over-eat and gift swap. However, Christmas doesn’t have to be about excess, we can do just fine without blowing the budget and hammering the credit cards. Simple things can give just as much, if not more, pleasure.

…

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