Author: jadwiga49hjk

I love cooking and baking. I love trying out new recipes and currently am trying out many old favourites from my Polish cookbooks and family recipes. I am trying out many variations, often to make them easier but still delicious. I collect glass cake stands and china tableware, mainly tea plates, jugs and serving dishes, many of which I use on a daily basis. They are an eclectic mixture from the 20th & 21st century.

Breaded Liver

This is a very simple and easy way to cook liver but it is delicious.

Depending on how it has been prepared by the butcher,  you might have to remove some veins or membranes.

I used lamb’s liver for this.

Ingredients

  • 300g of sliced liver
  • 1 beaten egg
  • Dried breadcrumbs
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  • Salt & Pepper

Method

  • Slice the liver into thin equal sized slices.
  • Dip the liver slices into beaten egg.
  • Sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper.
  • Coat the slices in dried breadcrumbs.

Fry the slices in hot sunflower oil.

Served here with lettuce with a soured cream dressing.

Royal Doulton – Carnation – 1982 -1988.

Lovely Liver!

For many people  – liver is love it or loath it.

I think certainly for me and most Poles it is love it!

The Polish for liver is wątroba – which means “waste maker” – as the liver is the organ in the body where substances are broken down.

In Poland the most sought after livers  are calves liver & rabbit liver.

My aunty in Białystok- cooked some rabbit liver for me when I  was there last – I thought it was utterly delicious  –  but as far as I am aware it is not readily available to buy in England.

I  see calves liver for sale more and more here in England and I  buy this whenever I can.

My mother always cooked pig’s liver, never ox liver.

I usually cook lambs liver if I cannot get calves liver.

I think liver is best lightly cooked, even slightly pinky,  it becomes hard and tough if over cooked.

There is a restaurant in Krakow called Dom Polonii ( House of the Poles) just off  Rynek Główny (Main Square) it serves very traditional dishes.

Rynek Główny (Main Square)

I like to eat there very much and can never make up my mind which dish I want the most. Their fried liver is super and I will have that at least once when I visit Kraków.

Liver is the main ingredient of  pâtés and similar dishes which are very popular in Poland –  I will look at these in future posts.

Cooking Liver

These recipes are all  variations on a simple theme.

I use calves or lamb’s liver for these recipes .

Preparing the liver

  • Depending on how it has been prepared by the butcher,  you might have to remove some veins or membranes.
  • Slice the liver into thin equal sized slices.
  • Dip each piece into a mixture of plain flour and ground black pepper.

 Simple Style Liver

  • Lightly pan fry the liver slices in a mixture of butter & sunflower oil on both sides.
  • Sprinkle on some Italian Herbs.
  • Add around 150 ml of chicken or vegetable stock (can be from a cube, concentrate or powder) … depends on the size of your pan.
  • Put the lid on the pan (a glass lid is good for this) and simmer gently for 2 -3  minutes.  (The time will depend on the thickness of the slices)

Liver with Soured Cream

  • Follow the instructions for the simple style but only cook for 1 -2 minutes.
  • Take the pan off the heat and add 2 tablespoons of soured cream and mix well.
  • Return to the heat  and allow to simmer for  1 -2 minutes.

Liver with Onions 1

In my old Polish cookery book  (my bible in many respects) this simple recipe (without the herbs) is called  …. po angielskiu  which means  …. English style!

Kuchnia Polska – Polish Kitchen or Polish Cookery
  • Thinly slice 1 or 2 onions (I like lots of onions with the liver).
  • Fry the onions in butter & sunflower oil till golden.
  • In a separate pan lightly pan fry the liver slices in a mixture of butter & sunflower oil on both sides.
  • Sprinkle on some Italian Herbs.
  • Add the onions to the fried liver and mix together and serve.

Liver with Onions 2

  • Thinly slice 1 or 2 onions (I like lots of onions with the liver).
  • In a pan, fry the onions in butter & sunflower oil till golden. (You can fry a little longer to slightly char or caramelise them if you like)
  • In a separate pan, lightly fry the liver slices in a mixture of butter & sunflower oil on both sides.
  • Sprinkle on some Italian Herbs.
  • Add around 150 ml of chicken or vegetable stock (can be from a cube, concentrate or powder) … depends on the size of your pan.
  • Put the lid on the pan (a glass lid is good for this) and simmer gently for 2 -3  minutes.  (The time will depend on the thickness of the slices).
  • This will give a tasty sauce with the liver.
  • Place the fried onions on top and serve.

Liver with Mushrooms

  • Thinly slice mushrooms around 100g of button mushrooms
  • Fry them gently in a mixture of butter & sunflower oil.
  • Add the mushrooms to the fried liver as in the simple style above and mix together.
  • Add around 150 ml of chicken or vegetable stock (can be from a cube, concentrate or powder) … depends on the size of your pan.
  • Put the lid on the pan (a glass lid is good for this) and simmer gently for 2 -4  minutes.  (The time will depend on the thickness of the slices).

Liver with Mushrooms & Soured Cream

  • Follow the instructions for the Liver with Mushrooms but only cook for 1 -2 minutes.
  • Take the pan off the heat and add 2 tablespoons of soured cream and mix well.
  • Heat up slowly and allow to simmer for  1 -2 minutes.

Served here on Royal Doulton – Carnation, 1982-1998

Serving suggestions

Sprinkle liberally  with chopped parsley.

All of the above go well with boiled potatoes, creamy mashed potatoes, boiled rice, noodles or pasta such as tagliatelle.

Kotlety with Sauerkraut

Having made kotlety mielone (minced meat burgers ) with first fresh and then cooked cabbage,  I started to think of a variation which in a way is more Polish!

I decided to use sauerkraut and also some fresh mushrooms  – though dried ones might even be more Polish.

Ingredients

500g beef mince

Half a 900g jar of sauerkraut *

150g of mushrooms

1 onion – chopped fine

2 -3  tablespoons semolina

2 eggs

Butter & sunflower oil for frying

Dried breadcrumbs  

Salt  and pepper

* I often freeze the other half of the jar in a plastic tub for another time.

Method

Drain the sauerkraut and rinse with cold water.

Place the sauerkraut in a pan of water and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes.

Drain the sauerkraut and leave to cool then dry  it with a tea towel.

Chop the sauerkraut into small pieces using a sharp knife.

Fry the chopped onion in a little hot oil and butter.

Chop the mushrooms into small pieces and add them to the onions and continue frying until the onions are lightly browned – leave the mixture to cool.

In a large bowl mix the minced meat,  the sauerkraut and onion and mushroom mixture until they are evenly mix.

Add the eggs and mix.

Add the semolina, salt and pepper and mix until you get a uniform mixture.

Try to make each one the same size, take a handful of the mixture and press it between your hands to make a flattened circle and then place this in the dried breadcrumbs and turn it over to cover both sides and edges.

Once coated place them on a tray dusted with breadcrumbs until you have used all the mixture up.

Pre-heat the oven to GM3 – 160°C

Shallow fry the kotlety in hot oil, depending on the frying pan size,  you can do 4 to 5 at a time, turning them over so that both sides are done.

Place them on a  metal tray  and put in the oven and keep adding to these as you keep frying the batches.

 

Served here with gherkins

20180422_200309

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were voted as delicious!

Note

Should you have any left,  you can reheat them in sauce made with chicken or vegetable stock.

 

Bean Salad

Bean Salad with Apple & Hard-boiled Eggs

As I was trying out some herring salads I came across the following mixture which worked so well together.  I decided it would make a good salad mixture on its own.

Originally this would have been made with soaked and then boiled haricot beans  – for ease I use a tin of baked beans from which the sauce has been washed off.

Ingredients

1 tin of haricot beans (tinned beans (410g) with the tomato sauce washed off , rinsed and patted dry).

1 thinly sliced then chopped onion

2 chopped (red skinned) apples

3- 4  chopped hard-boiled eggs

2-3 tablespoons of  mayonnaise ( full fat is the best here)

Salt & pepper to taste

 

 

 

 

Method

Prepare all the ingredients

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

You can sprinkle chopped flat-leaved parsley on top when serving.

 

 

 

 

 

Caraway Yeast Buns

Whilst doing some research on caraway,  I found that in 2011, Finland  produced over 25% of the worlds caraway.

So I thought why not a recipe from Finland!

This is a based on a recipe for pulla –  in Poland they would be called  bułeczki  – they are yeast buns and in Finland they are served with coffee.

These buns  are originally flavoured with crushed cardamon seeds – I have adapted this for caraway.

In Poland caraway is often added to rye bread but not usually added to wheat flour buns.

Ingredients

500g plain flour

50g butter

80g of granulated sugar

300ml tepid milk

1 teaspoon of dried yeast

1 egg beaten

1 tablespoonful of caraway seeds

1 teaspoon of salt

1 egg white, beaten, for glazing (does not burn as easily as whole egg).

Optional

Crushed sugar cubes.

Method

In a small dish start the yeast off with 2 tablespoons of the milk and 1 tablespoon of the sugar until it is bubbling.

Rub the butter into the flour.

Add the salt, caraway seeds, sugar, yeast mixture, milk and egg.

Mix thouroughly with a wooden spoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cover the dough with clingfilm or a cloth and leave to rise.

I left mine over night in a cool cellar and then followed by a few hours in the morning in a warmer kitchen.

Grease 2 baking sheets.

Take the dough out of the bowl – a special dough scraper is very good for this.

20180320_063137

 

 

 

 

 

Divide the dough into 12 pieces  – a dough cutter is most useful for this  and shape each one into a ball using floured hands – do not over work the dough or add flour – keep the mix as soft as possible.

Place the balls on the sheets – leaving room for expansion.

Cover and leave to rise.

Pre-heat the oven to GM 6 – 200°C

Brush the top of each bun with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with the crushed sugar if desired.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden – brown.

 

Getting ready for morning coffee

 

 

Enamelled coffee pot by the Cathrineholm ironworks in Norway  –  Lotus – from the 1960s,

Coffee cups and saucers by Elizabethan  – Carnaby – from the 1970s

The buns are on a hand-decorated  cake stand made by Fairmont & Main who were established in Huddersfield in 1994.

The pattern is Carnival and this is a recent birthday present from one of my friends.

Note

As with all yeast buns these will go stale quickly – if I have any left – I cut them in half and pack into bags and freeze them.

On de-frosting I toast them and serve with butter.

Podpłomyczki – Polish Unleavened Bread

This is a very old recipe for an unleavened, flat bread  – that is one made without yeast.

In Polish, bread has to contain some rye flour, so these are not called bread as  they are made from wheat flour.

Podpłomyczki – płomyczek means flame  and pod means under – these would have originally been baked on stones placed on a camp fire.

The most original recipes are made with just flour, water and salt* and are cooked on a cast iron griddle – these I think are delicious.

I think podpłomyczki are cousins of  the  rotlis from Gujarat that my friend taught me how to make!

  • As well as this recipe I tried out two other versions.
  • The first had an egg added to the mixture – I do not think it was any better.
  • The second used eggs and milk rather than water and were made slightly thicker and one suggestion was to bake them in the oven.
  • I tried baking in the oven,  on a griddle, both thick and thin.  I thought they were all horrible!
  • So I am only writing up this one recipe which was really good.

Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour
  • 200ml water
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Method

  • Mix the flour and the salt.
  • Add the water and mix to form ball of soft dough.
  • Place the dough into a plastic bag and leave it for 30 minutes.
  • On a floured board flatten the dough into a thick circle.
  • Cut the dough into eight.
Dough Scrapers & Cutter

 

  • Form each piece into a ball and then roll this out thinly using a rolling pin.
  • Cook these using a cast iron frying pan or griddle.
  • Do not use any fat or oil.
  • Turn then over to cook both sides.
  • Bamboo tongs are very useful.
  • Watch as they puff up as the water in the dough turns to steam !
  • They are best eaten straight from the pan.
  • Otherwise wrap them in a tea towel to keep them warm.

I ate them with butter and with butter and honey – delicious!

* Salt – Polish Salt Mine &  Legend

In southern Poland there is one of the oldest salt mines in the world – the Wieliczka salt mine. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has produced salt since the 13th Century until 2007.

Legend has it that when Princess Kinga, a Hungarian Princess, became betrothed to Bolesław V,  Wstydliwy  (Bolesław V, the Chaste), Prince of Kraków, she asked for salt as her dowry and then threw her betrothal golden ring into a Hungarian mine.

On her arrival in Poland she asked a miner to dig in the ground and there he  found her golden ring inside a rock of  salt and that place became the site of the Wieliczka salt mine.

Because of her good works, Princess Kinga became Saint Kinga after her death.

Photos taken at Wieliczka

 

Entrance ticket showing the Underground chapel
Doors of the lift cage
Princess Kinga

 

 

Caraway Biscuits

Caraway is such a popular herb/spice in Poland and is used in breads, meat & vegetable dishes.  So it is quite surprising that it is not used  in cakes or biscuits there.

Drawing from Wikipeadia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to try out some biscuits with caraway seeds.  I found that the biscuts were better if not too sweet.

These are the results – they are semi-sweet and are really delicious  with cheese.

Caraway Seeds

Ingredients

225g self-raising flour

100g butter

50g caster sugar

1 egg – beaten

6 teaspoons of caraway seeds

Grated rind of a lemon

1 – 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Method

Pre-heat the oven to GM 4 – 180°C

Grease 2 or 3 baking sheets.

Rub the fat into the flour until it is like fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in the sugar, caraway and lemon rind.

Mix in the egg and lemon juice to form a soft dough.

Roll out the dough on a floured board.

Cut out circle using a 7.5cm  diameter, fluted cutter.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes till lightly browned (take care not to burn them).

Leave them to cool on the tray and then move them off on to a cooling rack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Served on Las Palmas by Aynsley, from the 1960s, with some soft Brie.

Variation

Use 75g of caster sugar instead of the 50g to make a slighly sweeter biscuit which is delicious just nibbled on its own with tea or coffee.

Herring Salads

Salted herrings are very, very popular in Poland, they have been a staple in Northern Europe since Medieval times as this was the way to preserve and transport fish – usually in barrels.

Śledź is the Polish word for herring.

Matjes herrings (matjasy in Polish) are young herrings which are caught throughout May and June before they start spawning in July.

The way that they are prepared originated in The Netherlands and the name comes from the Dutch word maagd which means maiden(because they are young fish).

Often you will see the phrase à la matjas – this means that they are in the style of the matjes herring but they will be a slighty older fish and not as expensive .

Salted herrings need to be soaked, often for up to 24 hours, in water to remove some of the salt.

I have used already prepared à la matjas herrings and I think they are still too salty – so I take the fillets out of the oil they are packed in and put them in milk for 10 to 15 minutes (you can do longer) and then pat them dry and slice them.

 

These herring salads are often served as an hors d’oeuvre (zakąska in Polish – something to bite after), appetizer, entrée or starter.

They are usually one of the dishes served at Wigilia (Christmas Eve).

Thinly sliced onions are a must to serve with the herrings!

Simple Herrings 1

Ingredients

  • Thinly sliced herrings
  • Thinly sliced onion
  • A little lemon juice

Simple Herrings 2

Ingredients

  • Thinly sliced herrings,
  • Thinly sliced onion
  • Chopped gherkins (ogórki).
  • A little liquor from the gherkin jar

Simple Herrings 3

Ingredients

  • Thinly sliced herrings,
  • Thinly sliced onion and
  • Sliced (red skinned) apple
  • A little lemon juice

Herring Salads

The dressings used are: lemon juice, mayonnaise (full fat is best here), soured cream and horseradish – on their own or as a mixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have not given quantities – exact amounts are not critical.

Herring & Apple Salad

Ingredients

  • Thinly sliced herring
  • Thinly sliced onions,
  • Chopped (red skinned) apples
  • Dressing

Herring & Potato Salads

The following salads are variations on  classic Polish potato salads.

Herring, Potato & Gherkin

Ingredients

  • Thinly sliced herring
  • Thinly sliced onions
  • Cold boiled or steamed,chopped potato,
  • Chopped gherkins
  • Dressing

 

Herring, Potato, Gherkin & Hard-boiled Eggs

Ingredients

  • Thinly sliced herring
  • Thinly sliced onions
  • Cold boiled or steamed,chopped potato,
  • Chopped gherkins
  • Chopped hard-boiled eggs
  • Dressing

 

Herring, Potato & Peas

Ingredients

  • Thinly sliced herring
  • Thinly sliced onions
  • Cold boiled or steamed, chopped potato,
  • Cooked peas
  • Chopped hard-boiled eggs
  • Dressing

Herring, Potato, Peas & Hard-boiled Eggs

Ingredients

  • Thinly sliced herring
  • Thinly sliced onions
  • Cold boiled or steamed, chopped potato,
  • Cooked peas and dressing
  • Chopped hard-boiled eggs
  • Dressing

Herring, Apple, Bean & Hard-boiled Eggs

When I first saw this recipe I was not sure how the beans would go with the rest of the ingredients.  Having tried it,  I think the taste combination is wonderful!

Ingredients

  • Thinly sliced herring
  • Thinly sliced onions
  • Chopped (red skinned) apples
  • Haricot beans  – tinned beans  with the tomato sauce washed off , rinsed and patted dry
  • Chopped hard-boiled eggs
  • Dressing

Chopped parsley & chives

All of the salads can have chopped flat-leafed parsley and/or chives sprinkled on top.

Flat Leaved Parsely

 

Updated April 2020

Sauerkraut & Mushrooms

Sauerkraut & Mushrooms  is often one of the dishes  for Wigilia (Christmas Eve) when meat is not eaten.

Ingredients

  • 1 large jar  of sauerkraut – around 800 – 900g.
  • 20 – 30g of dried mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 onion – finely chopped
  • 2-3 tablespoons of plain flour
  • Butter or oil for frying the onion
  • Ground black pepper
  • *
  • The acidity of sauerkraut varies very much and homemade is often not as acid.
  • Rinsing bottled sauerkraut before use will lower the acidity.
  • *
  • The amount of  sugar  you add to the dish is a personal preference – if rinsed 1 tablespoon should be enough – if not rinsed you might need around 3 tablespoons.

Method

The evening before you want to make this dish place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover them with boiling water and leave them overnight.

  • Cut the reconstituted mushrooms into strips.
  • Put the strips and the liquor into a saucepan and simmer them for around 5 minutes.
  • Drain the sauerkraut and keep the liquid (you might want to use it to adjust the acidity of the dish).
  • Rinse the sauerkraut with cold water.
  • Place the sauerkraut in a large saucepan and pour boiling water over it until it just covers it.
  • Add the sugar.
  • Bring to the boil and then cover the saucepan with a lid and let it gently simmer for around 10  minutes.
  • Add the mushrooms to the sauerkraut and mix together.
  • Continue heating either gently on top of the stove or put the pan with the lid into a low to medium oven.
  • Cook until the sauerkraut is soft.
  • Fry the onions until they are golden.
  • Sprinkle the flour over the onions and heat gently to brown the flour.
  • Add spoonfuls of liquid from the sauerkraut mixture to the onion mix.
  • Stir and heat to form a thickening roux/paste.
  • Add this to the sauerkraut mixture and mix throughly .
  • You can then serve this straight away or put it back in the oven for around 5 minutes.
  • Sprinkle ground black pepper on the top before serving.
  • Served here in Carnation by Royal Doulton, 1982 – 1998.
  • Serve with rye bread or boiled potatoes and hot roast pork or cooked Polish sausages.
  • For Wigilia (Christmas Eve ) this  would just be served as a separate dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caraway Seed Cake

Caraway is such a popular herb/spice in Poland and is used in breads, meat & vegetable dishes.  So it is quite surprising that it is not used  in cake.

Caraway – Image from Wikapedia

 

Caraway Seeds

I have looked in all my recipe books and I have not found any use of caraway in Polish cake.

So I have gone to what by many is seen as an old-fashioned  quintessential British cake – Seed Cake – which is  Caraway Seed Cake.

This cake has been popular since the 17th century and especially  in Victorian times  and the 1920s and 1930s.

Caraway Seeds are thought to aid digestion – so this is a good cake to have at the end of a meal.

I have found several variations – this is one that has worked for me & I am sure it would be well received in Poland!

I have tried this out in 2 different shapes of tins.

Ingredients

110g butter

110g caster sugar

2 eggs – beaten

150g self-raising flour – sifted

25g ground almonds

3 tablespoons of milk

3 rounded teaspoons of caraway seeds

Several crushed sugar cubes or 1 level tablespoon of Demerara sugar for the round cake and 1/2 a tablespoon for the loaf.

 

Version 1

Method

Pre-heat the oven to GM 4 – 180°C.

Grease a 19cm round cake tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper.

Mix the flour, ground almonds and caraway together in a little bowl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a larger bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until they are pale and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs a little at a time.

Using a metal spoon fold in the flour mixture.

Add the milk to give a good dropping consistency.

Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and level off the top.

Sprinkle the top with the sugar.

 

Bake for between 35 – 40 minutes.

Cool in the tin for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

Version 2

Method

Pre-heat the oven to GM 4 – 180°C.

Line a “1lb” loaf tin with a tin liner or grease and line the tin with greasproof paper.

Make the mixture as in version 1.

Sprinkle the top with the 1/2 tablespoon of Demerara sugar.

Bake for between 45 to 50 minutes.

Cool in the tin for 15 minutes.

Once cold, wrap in foil and keep in an air tight container.