Category: Sauce

Leczo – 2

  • Having just recently come across my friend’s recipe for Leczo, I then found  another version marked in a book I bought in Poland around 10 years ago.
  • Smak Węgier (Taste of Hungary) by Robert Makłowicz.
  • This is a vegetarian version of leczo.
  • I thought I should give this a go.
  • I cut down the amounts used in half  – though Robert says he likes this served cold as well as hot.
  • In Poland many would make this for bottling.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 large onions – chopped
  • Around 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
  • 500g of yellow or red peppers – 5-6 peppers – chopped
  • 1 hot red chilli pepper – chopped
  • 500g of ripe tomatoes  – home grown are the best or
  • 3 tablespoons of tomato purée in 30ml of vegetable stock
  • 2 cloves of garlic – chopped.
  • Salt to taste

METHOD

  • Gently fry the onions and garlic in the sunflower oil without browning.
  • Add the peppers and chilli, stir and continue cooking.
  • Skin the tomatoes if using and chop these or add the tomato purée and stock.
  • Stir and cook gently for around 20 to 30 minutes, with a lid on the pan.
  • How cooked you want the vegetables is up to you.
  • Add salt to taste if needed.
  • *
  • Serve with boiled rice or
  • Eggs – gently fried or steamed above the sauce in a shallow pan.

The image from Robert’s book is titled – The getaway of the vegetarian.

Note – this tastes good cold and can be served with cold meats.

Jarosz – is an old Polish word for a vegetarian – there was no need to to invent a new word from English.

Jaroszewicz is a common surname – we had many friends with this surname.

Leczo

  • My Polish friend came round and talked about a sauce she had made the night before.
  • I had never heard of it!
  • Maybe it is more popular in different parts of Poland?
  • I did a bit of reseach – it was not in my “Polish Bible”.
  • But I now know it is comes from a sauce that is is popular in Hungary.
  • So of course you can expect red peppers.
  • The following is the recipe from my friend.
  • I will look at some different versions later.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 red peppers – chopped (yellow or orange – depending on availability).
  • 2 onions – chopped
  • 2 courgettes – chopped
  • 250g Polish sausage eg Silesian – chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes – chopped or 2 tablespoons of tomato purée
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  • A little vegetable stock.
  • Salt & pepper to taste (might not be needed)
  • *
  • 2 cloves garlic – chopped fine
  • 1 teaspoon hot paprika or chilli flakes

METHOD

  • Chop all the ingredients into cubes.
  • Use a large saucepan and add a little oil.
  • Lightly fry the onions.
  • Add the peppers, mix together and carry on frying on a low heat.
  • Add the courgettes and repeat.
  • You might need to add a little stock – do not let it boil dry.
  • Add the sausage, mix and add a little stock.
  • Add the tomatoes or the tomato purée and more stock.
  • With a lid on, simmer gently for around 20 minutes adding stock when needed.
  • Checking and stirring during this time.
  • Season to taste.
  • * 
  • Add the chopped garlic, hot paprika or chilli flakes before serving.

Usually served with pasta or rice or with Polish potato pancakes (This reminds me of gulasz with potato pancakes.)

I would think of this as a more winter dish in some ways but all the vegetables are around in the late summer.

Some people bottle the vegetable part of this recipe and add the sausage at the end.

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.

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.

Leeks & Apples

  • This recipe comes after a slight error when I was making leek & apple soup for the first time.
  • I left the kitchen whilst cooling the leeks and the apples in the apple juice.
  • These cooked so that most of the liquid evaporated (good that I did not burn the leeks).
  • I knew that I could not rescue the soup at this stage and would have to start again so I could have good instructions.
  • I tasted what I had and it was delicious.
  • It tasted great, hot with hot roast meats and also cold with cold meats and Polish sausage.
  • You could ask your “testers” what this is? – they might reply “rhubarb”!

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 leeks – the white part
  • 2 eating apples – peeled and cored
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 teaspoon of dried marjoram
  • 1 litre of apple juice – this can be from a carton of concentrate
  • Pinch of salt and pepper

METHOD

  • Chop the leeks into circles and then halve these.
  • Melt the butter in a pan and lightly cook the leeks – do not brown.
  • Cube the apples into small pieces and add these to the leeks and cook for a few minutes.
  • Add the marjoram.
  • Add the apple juice and simmer until the leeks are soft and you have evaporated the majority of the liquid.
  • Season with the salt and pepper.
  • *
  • Serve either hot or cold.

Bavarian china

Sour Cherry Sauce – 2

  • This sauce is good for desserts.
  • It can be served hot or cold.
  • Use it with pancakes – hot
  • or cold to pour over baked cheesecake when serving
  • or add to Greek style yoghurt

Ingredients

  • Jar or part jar of sour cherries
  • 4 cloves
  • Small stick of cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon of potato or cornflour
  • *
  • Optional – a little sugar to taste

Method

  • Put the cherries and the juice into a saucepan.
  • Add the cloves and cinnamon.
  • Simmer gently for around 10 minutes.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Remove the spices.
  • Mix the potato or cornflour with a little of the juice.
  • Stir this into the cherries.
  • Bring up to the boil, stirring often.
  • The sauce will thicken.
  • Leave on a low heat if serving hot or
  • Leave to cool.

Sour Cherry Sauce – 1

  • This was first made for my recipe for duck pierogi with sour cherry sauce.
  • Make this with around 5 tablespoons of sour cherry jam heated up with the juice of 1 lemon and leave to cool. 
  • If you want to make a larger quantity then use the juice of 2 lemons with 1 jar of jam.
  • This would be good with roast duck or pork.

Brown Onion Gravy – 2

  • I came across this simple English recipe for onion gravy or sauce, which appeared in a cookbook of 1852.
  • The gravy was served with roast poultry.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 onions
  • 3-4 sprigs of thyme
  • 3 tablespoons of butter
  • 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar
  • 500ml of water
  • Salt & pepper to taste

METHOD

  • Chop the onions into small pieces.
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onions and thyme.
  • Fry with stirring until the onions are brown.
  • Sprinkle over them the sugar.
  • Stir and cook for a couple more minutes.
  • Add the water and mix well.
  • Stir and cook for a few more minutes.
  • Sieve the gravy and season to taste.
  • *
  • Pour the gravy over the cooked bird/roast meat and serve.
  • *
  • NOTE
  • A roast chicken was used for testing the gravy.
  • *
  • Or you can serve the gravy separately.

Horseradish Sauce

  • Recently I posted kotlety mielone – meatballs with a mustard sauce.
  • I was then inspired to make a similar dish but this time with horseradish sauce.
  • Make your favourite meatballs – making them a bit smaller than usual.
  • I used a beef and pork mixture for mine.
  • You could also make pulpety – very small meatballs.

METHOD

  • Make your smaller style meatballs 
  • Keep warm – whilst you make the sauce.
  • *
  • Pre-warm the oven to GM 4 – 180°C.

INGREDIENTS – for sauce

  • 500ml of chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon of potato or corn flour
  • 1-2 tablespoons of made horseradish sauce

METHOD – for sauce

  • In a saucepan bring the stock to simmer.
  • Mix the potato flour with a little cold water.
  • Add this to the stock – stirring with a wooden spoon until it thickens.
  • Stir in the made horseradish sauce.
  • Heat together gently until it thickens.
  • Adjust the thickness with water or stock  if necessary.

METHOD – Overall

  • Put  a layer of meatballs in an oven proof dish.
  • Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
  • Cover with a lid or foil.
  • Put the dish in the pre-heated oven for at least 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Serve with mashed potatoes, boiled rice, pearl barley or buckwheat.
  •  
  • Served on Royal Doulton – Burgundy plate

Mustard Sauce

  • I had a meal in a local restaurant  where roast pork loin was served in a mustard sauce.
  • This inspired me to make this dish but easier with meatballs.
  • Make your favourite meatballs – making them a bit smaller than usual.
  • I used a beef and pork mixture for mine.
  • You could also make pulpety – very small meatballs.

METHOD

  • Make you smaller style meatballs 
  • Keep warm – whilst you make the sauce.
  • *
  • Pre-warm the oven to GM 4 – 180°C.

INGREDIENTS – for sauce

  • 500ml of chicken or vegetable stock
  • 125 ml milk
  • 1 tablespoon of potato or corn flour
  • 1-2 tablespoons of made mustard ( Polish or French style rather than English)
  • 125ml soured cream – optional

METHOD – for sauce

  • In a saucepan bring the stock to simmer.
  • Mix the potato flour with the milk.
  • Mix the milk mixture with the stock – stirring with a wooden spoon.
  • Stir in the made mustard.
  • Heat together gently.
  • Adjust the thickness with milk if necessary.
  • Stir in the soured cream if using.

METHOD – Overall

  • Put  a layer of meatballs in an oven proof dish.
  • Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
  • Cover the dish with a lid or foil.
  • Put the dish in the pre-heated oven for at least 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Serve with mashed potatoes, boiled rice, pearl barley or buckwheat
  • *

  • Spanish Garden plate by Meakin
  • Mustard