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.

Regional Cookery Book

  • I saw this book advertised for sale as second hand.
  • I ordered it straight away.
  • I did not realise how big it was until it arrived.
  • I was very pleased as there are over 600 pages!
  • It was published in 2010.
  • It is divided onto 11 regions.
  • Lots of research for me to do.

Walnut filling for Rogaliki

  • Several recipes mentionned using a walnut filling rather than poppy seed or jam for Polish pastries.
  • It was hard to find a definative recipe so I had to think up the amounts myself.
  • The ingredients were: walnuts, milk, sugar and butter; I experimented to find the right propotions.
  • The amounts given are not set in stone, you need the milk to heat the nuts in but the butter and sugar can be adjusted to taste.
  • This mixture can be used for rogaliki   – 
  • Or for other pastries similar to poppy seed roll.
  • The mixture is usually used with pastry that is not sweet so can be quite sweet – depends on you liking.

INGREDIENTS

  • 150g walnuts – chopped fine or even part ground
  • 250 ml of milk
  • 3 -4 tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar
  • 1 – 2 tablespoonfuls of butter

METHOD

  • Place all the ingredients into a small saucepan.
  • Heat gentley whilst stirring all the time.
  • Heat until all the milk is absorbed.
  • Check the sweetness – add more sugar if needed.
  • Leave to cool completly before using.
  • *
  • This mixture can be frozen for later use.

Honey Loaf

  • I got this recipe from an English friend who lives in Harrogate.
  • It is easy to make and is a bit different to my Polish honey cakes – miodownik or piernik.
  • But I think it could be served over the Christmas period.
  • This recipe does NOT use any eggs nor butter nor oil.

Ingredients

  • 225g plain flour
  • 115g granulated sugar
  • 115g runny honey, plus around a tablespoon to glaze
  • 150 ml hot water
  • 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
  • Zest of 1 lemon

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM3 – 160ºC.
  • Use a liner to line a 1lb loaf tin.
  • Use a little oil or butter on the liner as the cake is quite sticky.
  • Mix together the flour and the sugar in a large bowl.
  • In a saucepan melt together the honey and the water.
  • Sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda over the honey mixture and stir.
  • Add this to the dry ingredients.
  • Add the lemon zest.
  • Mix everything well together till all is uniform.
  • Turn the mixture into the loaf tin.
  • Bake for 50 – 60 minutes.
  • Check at 50 minutes and cover the top of the loaf with greaseproof or foil  so it does not burn.
  • Remove the loaf from the tin and allow it to cool.
  • Heat the honey (with a little but of water if not so runny) slightly.
  • Brush the top of the loaf with the honey.

  • Option – different size.
  • Use a 26 x 16 cm baking tray.
  • Grease and line – 3 sides with one piece of greaseproof.
  • Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

Ribs Revisited

  • I ate pork ribs in two restaurants on my visit to Gdańsk this year.
  • Previously I have posted about ribs cooked with Ribs with Cabbage and Ribs with Sauerkraut, the first inspired by the recipe from my late cousin Krystyna. 
  • I have also posted a recipe for ribs cooked with fruit.
  • *
  • This recipe is inspired on the ones I had in Bowkie  –  a restaurant by the Motlawa river quayside in Gdańsk.
  •  The ribs are slow cooked in a little stock with onions.
  • Then they are finished off in an oven and served with an oniony gravy. 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1-2 racks of pork ribs
  • 2 onions
  • 4-5 peppercorns
  • 4 -5 allspice grains
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cloves of garlic – chopped.
  • 250ml chicken stock
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  • I cooked this using a slow cooker.
  • Chop the onions into thin slices.
  • Put in the base of the slow cooker and add the peppercorn, allspice grains, garlic and the bay leaves.
  • Put the ribs on top.
  • Add the chicken stock.
  • Cook until the meat is tender.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM 6.
  • *
  • Put the ribs on a grid in a roasting pan and cook for around 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Meanwhile make  gravy/sauce with the contents of the slow cooker.
  • Sieve the onions from the liquid.
  • Use a stick blender to purée the onions.
  • Put the purée into a saucepan and add some of the cooking liquor.
  • Heat and stir until you have thick sauce.
  • Season to taste
  • *
  • Pour the sauce over part of the ribs to serve.

Fruit & Sweet Cheese Cake

  • I tried this recipe from one of my recently bought Polish magazines.
  • I have not make a cake dough with twaróg/yoghurt cheese before.
  • I would only make a small alteration to the amounts in the ingredients next time – a little more sugar with the topping of twaróg/yoghurt cheese which is how I have written this up.
  • It was huge success.

INGREDIENTS

  • 250g plain flour
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • 120g – melted butter – allowed to cool.
  • 3 eggs
  • 125g + 125g twaróg/yoghurt cheese (very well strainned)
  • 1½ – 2 tablespoons of icing sugar
  • 300g of fruit – around 150g of apples – the rest blackberries/raspberries or fruits of the forest (can be frozen – defrosted and dried with kitchen roll).
  • *
  • Sieved icing sugar to serve.

METHOD

  • Grease and line on 3 sides  a 20 x 26cm baking tin.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM3 – 160ºC.
  • Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
  • In another bowl mix lightly whisk together the eggs and 125g of the twaróg/yoghurt cheese
  • Mix the contents of the 2 bowls together.
  • Add the cooled, melted butter and mix to get a soft dough.
  • Press the dough into the tin.
  • *
  • In a bowl mix the other 125g of the twaróg/yoghurt cheese with the icing sugar.
  • *
  • Peel and core the apples
  • Slice them into very thin slices.
  • *
  • Spread the sweetened twaróg/yoghurt cheese over the dough nearly up to the edges.
  • Sprinkle the apple slices over this.
  • Then sprinkle on the black fruit (I used fresh blackberries).
  • (I should have used more – did not have enough).
  • Bake for 55 to 65 minutes .
  • *
  • Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.
  •  

Ciasta i Ciasteczka – magazine inspirations

  • Whenever I go to Poland I try to get some magazines and books to add my collection and to give me new ideas.
  • This time I bought two magazines which have recipes for cakes and biscuits/ small cakes or cookies.
  • Known in Poland as ciasta and ciasteczka.
  •  
  • Do you get excited by new cookery books and magazines?
  • I bookmark all the ones I think I will try.
  • As this is autumn many are for nuts, chocolate and spices.
  • Also a few fruity one and there is one that contains twaórog (curd cheese) .
  • Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be trying out many of these.

Waffles – Revisited

  • The last time I went to Gdansk, I had savoury waffles in the Gvara Restaurant.
  • On coming home I made them here and posted about them in June 2019 under the title Waffles.
  • Once more in the Gvara Restaurant in October 2024, waffles were on the menu for breakfast.
  • This time you got 3 toppings – called 3 ways – in one order:
  • Bacon and Eggs
  • Spinach and Eggs
  • Curd cheese and smoked salmon
  • Note – the salmon was whole cooked salmon smoked – thick chunks.
  • If you did not like the curd cheese and smoked salmon – they would do another topping.
  • A really filling breakfast.

Baking Powder Waffles

This recipe is based on the one in the recipe book that comes with my Salter waffle maker.

I used whole milk and found this worked very well.

Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour
  • 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 4 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 egg
  • 90g of butter
  • 350ml of whole milk

Method

This amount made eight waffles in my maker.

It is best to make all the waffles at once and either keep them warm in a low oven or you can pop then in a toaster later.

  • Mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together in a bowl.
  • Melt the butter.
  • Beat the eggs until they are fluffy.
  • Add the eggs and then the milk to the flour mixture and mix well.
  • Add the melted butter to the mixture and mix well.
  • I made the waffles as per the instructions of the waffle maker.
  • Pre-heat the maker for around 5 minutes.
  • Brush some oil or butter onto the plates for the first batch.
  • Use a ladle to pour on the mixture – filling the plate till around 3/4 full.
  • Cook for around 5 minutes – all steam should have finished being given off by now.

Duck Pierogi with Apple Sauce

  • Duck is often paired with apples in Poland.
  • I have previously posted recipes for Duck Pierogi  and also for apple sauce.
  • One of my fillings used duck and apple.
  • At Gvara (yes this spelling) restaurant in Gdańsk, I had duck pierogi with apple sauce.
  • Decided I had to made this on my return.
  • I think the duck on its own filling is best – you then have the contrast between the savoury and the sweet.
  • My original recipe for apple sauce is served chilled – here it should be warm.
  • I would also serve with a lot more apple sauce!

Ingredients – Duck Filling

    • 150g – 250g of cooked duck meat
    • 1 onion
    • 1 – 2 egg yolks
    • 2 tablespoon of dried breadcrumbs
    • salt & ground black pepper to taste
    • *
    • butter & sunflower oil to fry the onion

  • Method

    • Chop the onion and fry in the butter/oil till golden.
    • Finely chop or mince the duck meat or user a stick blender.
    • Mix together the chicken, onion, egg yolks and bread crumbs to get a uniform mixture.

Make pierogi in the usual way – see my posts or page on this.

Keep the pierogi warm, but without butter (or just a little) and serve with warm apple sauce.

Ingredients for apple sauce

  • 2 large Bramley apples
  • ½ – 1 tablespoon of potato flour
  • 50g granulated sugar
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon
  • Water

Method

  • Peel and core the apples.
  • Cut them into small pieces.
  • Cover them with water and cook till soft.
  • Use a stick blender to purée them.
  • Add the sugar and lemon rind.
  • Mix the potato flour with a little water.
  • Add this to the apple mixture.
  • Heat gently stirring all the time until thickened.
  • Keep warm for serving with duck pierogi.

Fish Soup – Gdańsk inspired

  • I read that fish was very popular in the Gdańsk region.
  • Fish soup was one of the most expensive starters on several menus.
  • I tried it in the Motlava (yes that is the spelling!) restaurant in Gdańsk.
  • It was a clear soup with carrots and celery – not a lot different from my fish soup with celery.
  • Personally – I thought it was a bit too salty.
  • This one is based on the soup in the restaurant.
  • The menus said it used a fish stock – I have used a vegetable stock.
  • You have to chop the vegetables into very small pieces.
  • The soup in the restaurant did not have many pieces of fish – I have increased the amount.

Ingredients

  • 2-3 carrots
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1 onion
  • 250g of fish – Cod/Haddock/Salmon
  • 1 ½ litres of vegetable Stock/ or fish stock
  • 6 allspice grains
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

Method

  • Peel the carrots and chop them into very small pieces.
  • Cut the celery stalks into very small pieces.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Add the allspice and peppercorns to the stock.
  • Add the onion to the stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for around 5 minutes.
  • Add the carrots and celery, bring back to the boil.
  • Simmer for around 5 minutes.
  • Chop the fish into small chunks and add to the soup.
  • Bring back to the boil then simmer for around 5 minutes.
  • Season to taste and serve.

Gdańsk soup on the left – mine in a Royal Doulton Carnation soup plate on the right.

Blackberry Sauce

  • In Gvara (yes this spelling) restaurant in Gdańsk, I had wild boar tenderloin with blackberry (jeżiny – in Polish) sauce.
  • Wild game and similar is very popular in this region.
  • It was delicious – the sauce being just slightly sweet and the berries fresh tasting.
  • I just had to try this out now that I am back home.
  • The blackberries were on sale in a local supermarket and were English grown.
  • Slightly earlier in the year I might have been able to pick some from local hedgerows.
  • You might find some frozen in shops –  I will have to see.
  • *
  • I decided to make this sauce and serve it with a pork tenderloin – It would also be good with pan fried loin or chops.
  • I cooked my tenderloin, wrapped in foil with some mixed herbs.
  • *
  • You can also serve the sauce with yoghurt or budyń or ice cream etc.

Ingredients

  • The quantities are approximate
  • The sugar will depend on the sweetness of the blackberries.
  • *
  • 200g of blackberries
  • 125ml of water
  • 2-3 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

Method

  • In a small saucepan add the water to the blackberries.
  • Heat slowly for a few minutes.
  • Sieve out the berries and keep to one side – this is to keep them fresh tasting.
  • Reduce the amount of liquid by heating for a few minutes.
  • Put back the blackberries and stir and heat a little.
  • Add the sugar (maybe 1 tablespoon at a time) and taste.
  • The sauce does not want to be too sweet.
  • *
  • Serve straight away.
  • *
  • Can also be served cooled with yoghurt for example.