Cabbage & Gherkin Salad

I had half a sweetheart cabbage left after a meal and not much else in the fridge.

I put together the ingredients I had and got a delicious new salad.

Use red onions if you can as these give a good colour contrast.

Ingredients

  • ½ a sweetheart cabbage
  • 4-5 medium sized gherkins
  • 2 small red onions
  • 3 tablespoons of gherkins liquid from the jar
  • 2-3 tablespoons of full-fat mayonnaise
  • Salt & pepper

Method

  • Cut the cabbage into fine shreds.
  • Cut the gherkins into round slices.
  • Chop the onions into small pieces.
  • Mix the chopped ingredients with the gherkin liquid and the mayonnaise.
  • Season with salt and pepper.

 

 

Ogórkowa – Gherkin Soup -2

I posted the recipe for ogórkowa – gherkin soup, which is a classic Polish soup, over a year ago.

It is sour, a taste much loved by the Poles!

It is traditionally made from brine fermented gherkins but you can also use pickled gherkins.

I was sorting out my cutting and notes the other day and came across this recipe from my aunt in Białystok and decided it was time I made this version.

Ingredients

  • 250g gherkins
  • 125ml gherkin liquid
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock (can be from cubes or powder)
  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled – boiled or steamed
  • 3-4 carrots whole – peeled – boiled
  • 125ml of soured cream
  • Chopped dill – some to add and some  to serve

Method

This is easiest to make if you have some potatoes and carrots boiled already.

  • Add the gherkin liquid to the vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
  • Rough chop the gherkins.
  • Drop the gherkins into the liquid and simmer for around 20 -25 minutes.
  • Chop the boiled potatoes into rough cubes.
  • Chop the boiled carrots into circles or half circles (depending on the size)
  • Add the potatoes and carrots, stir and simmer for around 5 minutes.
  • Stir in some chopped dill.
  • Stir in the soured cream.
  • Serve with extra dill sprinkled on top.

 

Served in Royal Doulton – Tapestry – 1966 – 1988.

 

Pierogi with Red Fruits

  • Pierogi  are  little semicircular parcels of pasta which are made with a multitude of fillings.
  • I wrote a very large post about them over 4 years ago.
  • Pierogi with sweet fillings are made in just the same way as savoury ones.
  • Circles of dough have a filling placed on them.  The dough is folded over and pinched to make a semi circle and these are boiled in slightly salted water.
  • Once boiled, sweet pierogi are dredged with icing, granulated or caster sugar and are often served with soured cream.  They are best eaten straight away.
  • I must admit that when I was younger I did not really like sweet pierogi but now I think they are utterly delicious especially when served with soured cream.

Red Fruits

In the summer and early autumn in Poland, when all the fruits of the forests and the garden  are ripe, that is when these pierogi are at their best.  However bottled fruit is available all year round and I often make my sweet pierogi with these.

You can also use defrosted frozen fruit.

My favourite are:

  • Morello(sour) Cherries  – fresh ones are not usually available in England – I use bottled ones.
  • Whinberries (bilberries) –  these grew in Lancashire near my home and also could be bought in baskets imported from Poland.  (I think the larger American Blueberry is nowhere near as tasty.)
  • When we went to pick these I know this always made my mother think of her childhood in Poland.

Some of the other options are:

  • Blackberries
  • Blackcurrants
  • Raspberries
  • Strawberries
  • *
  • Depending on the size of the fruit, you need about 3 or 4 per circle.
  • Do not add sugar to fresh fruit as this will make too much liquid and the pierogi will not seal.
  • If using bottled fruit you need to strain as much juice away as possible.
  • If using defrosted frozen fruit dab away any excess water.
  • Drench the cooked pierogi in icing sugar and serve with sour cream. The sugar contrasts with tartness of the fruit.

Ingredients – Dough

  • 250g pasta flour or plain flour & 2 tablespoons of fine semolina
  • 150ml water
  • 1 tablespoon oil – sunflower or light olive
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg yolk

Method – Dough

  • In a jug or bowl mix together the water, oil and the yolk.
  • Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
  • Pour in the liquid from the jug and initially use a knife to mix this into the flour and then use your hands to mix the liquid and flour to get a ball of dough.
  • Turn this out onto a floured board and knead the dough for a few minutes until you have a smooth ball.
  • Cover and leave to rest for about ½ an hour.
  • *
  • Cut the dough into half.
  • Prepare a large tray and cover it with a clean cotton or linen tea towel and sprinkle this with flour.
  • On a floured board roll out the dough a half at a time until you have a sheet of thinly rolled dough.
  • Cut out circles using a 7 cm diameter cutter.
  • The excess dough can be re-mixed and rolled out again.
  • Depending on the fruit and size place 3 to 4 on each circle.
  • Folded them over and pinch the edges together to make a good seal.
  • You learn from experience how much filling to put in as too much will make it hard to seal them and if not properly sealed they will burst on boiling.  Do not worry if you have a few mishaps – it still happens – even with experience – it is hard to salvage one that has gone wrong – just accept that there will be a few that you do not cook.
  • Place the sealed pierogi on the prepared tray until they are all made, do not let then touch each other.
  • *
  • To cook the pierogi, use a large pan of boiling water to which you have added some salt and a drizzle of oil.
  • Drop the pierogi in one by one and allow them to boil.  I usually do about 6 to 7 at a time.
  • As they cook they will float to the surface, let them boil for 2 minutes and then remove them with a slotted or perforated spoon and put into a colander above a pan for a few seconds to drain and serve.
  • Continue boiling batches in the same water.
  • If you want to make all the pierogi to serve together then you need to get some oven proof plates.
  • Keep the plates warm in a low oven.
  • As you take out the cooked pierogi add them to the plates, trying not to make them touch.
  • Keep on adding more as they cook.

To Serve

Sprinkle with icing, granulated or caster sugar and some soured cream.

Pierogi with Sour Cherries

Served here on La prune by Jet for Ter Steege

Pierogi with Whinberries

Served on Royal Doulton – Carnation  1982 – 1998

Orange Biscuits

This recipe for these very crisp orange biscuits was given to me by one of my cousins (British born like me) who lives in Wembley.  They are super!

You have the flesh of 2 oranges left over – to just eat whist baking or to use in something else – maybe the cabbage & orange salad – another super recipe from the same cousin.

Ingredients

  • 250g self raising flour
  • 150g butter
  • 120g caster sugar
  • Grated rind of 2 oranges
  • 1 egg seperated
  • 1-1½ tablespoons of milk
  • *
  • 30g caster sugar for sprinkling

Method

  • Rub the butter into the flour to make breadcrumbs.
  • Mix in the sugar and the fine grated orange rind.
  • Add the egg yolk and milk to make a firm dough.
  • Chill for 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5- 190°C.
  • Grease several baking sheets.
  • Roll out the dough thinly.
  • Use a 7cm diameter cutter to make rounds.
  • Brush the rounds with beaten egg white.
  • Lightly sprinkle the rounds with caster sugar.
  • Place the biscuits onto the baking sheets a little apart.
  • Re-form the the dough and repeat.
  • Bake for 8-9 minutes till golden.
  • Leave to cool for a couple of minutes before removing from the baking sheet and  placing them on a wire rack to cool.

 

 

Coffee Set – Elizabethan – Fleure bleue from the 1970s.

Leek Soup

This is a simple soup, which I make using vegetable stock although you can use chicken stock if you prefer.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 Leeks
  • 1 litre of vegetable stock (I use Marigold powder)
  • 125ml soured cream
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Butter to fry leeks
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • *
  • To serve – chopped chives or a little grated Gouda style cheese.

Method

  • Chop the leeks into fine rounds.
  • Fry the leeks gently in butter to soften then.
  • Add them to the stock.
  • Bring to the boil and put a lid on the pan.
  • Simmer gently until the leeks are soft.
  • Take the pan off the heat for a few minutes.
  • Purée the soup – a stick blender is good for this.
  • Season to taste.
  • In a small bowl mix the soured cream and egg yolks.
  • Bring the soup back up to the boil and then take take of the heat.
  • Add the soured cream mix and whisk in.
  • *
  • Serve with some chopped chives or around a tablespoon of grated Gouda style cheese.

 

Served in Soup Dishes by Midwinter – Spanish Garden – 1966 – 1982.

Chocolate & Raspberry Cake

I decided to make a chocolate cake I had not made for a while. Raspberry jam is used in the cake and in the butter cream. The best results are with a jam that is not too sweet – a slight tartness is best.

I used raspberry jam that was made by my friend in Leeds from raspberries that  were grown on her allotment.

Ingredients

  • 150g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 30g cocoa
  • 90g caster sugar
  • 120g butter
  • 4 level tablespoons of raspberry jam
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 2 tablespoons of milk

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 5 – 190°C.
  • Grease and line the bottoms of 2 – 18cm diameter baking tins.
  • Mix the flour, baking powder and cocoa together.
  • Cream the butter, sugar and jam together.
  • Add the eggs bit by bit .
  • Fold in the flour mixture with the milk to make a soft dropping consistency.
  • Divide the mixture between the two tins.
  • Bake for 25 minutes.
  • When cold, sandwich together with the raspberry butter icing.
  • Dust the top with icing sugar to serve.

Raspberry Butter Icing

Ingredients

  • 60g butter
  • 2 tablespoons of raspberry jam.
  • 120g icing sugar.

Method

  • Cream together the butter, jam and around ¾of  of the icing sugar.
  • Add more icing sugar until the required consistency is achieved.

 

 

  • Coffee set – Greenway – by Hostess Tableware – 1960 – 1979
  • Designed by John Russell

 

Chłodnik- 5- with Gherkins

Here is another classic, chilled starter for a summer’s day.  It will be the last for this summer –  I will be looking out for more for next year!

Ingredients

  • 3 -4 gherkins
  • Spring onion – green parts or chives
  • 500ml of yoghurt
  • Handful of dill
  • Gherkin liquor and cold water
  • Salt & Pepper & Sugar to taste
  • *
  • Hard boiled eggs to serve

Method

  • Chop the gherkins into small pieces.
  • Chop the spring onions or chives into small pieces.
  • Chop the dill into small pieces.
  • Thin down the yoghurt with gherkin liquor and water to suit.
  • Mix with the chopped gherkins.
  • Add dill and spring onions or chives.
  • Adjust the seasoning to taste.
  • Chill in the fridge for several hours.
  • *
  • Sprinkle with chopped hard boiled eggs to serve.

 

Served in Royal Doulton – Carnation – 1982 – 1998

Pear & Ginger Cake

Having recently made a lovely apple cake loosely based on an English Victorian recipe I thought I would adapt it using pears and ginger.

Ingredients

  • 4 pears (Conference are good) – peeled & cored and cut into rough 2.5cm chunks
  • 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
  • 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 230g of plain flour
  • ½ tablespoon of baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • 125ml of sunflower oil
  • 200g granulated sugar
  • 2-3 drops of vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs

Method

  • Pre-heat oven to GM4 – 180°C.
  • Use a 22cm loose bottom tin with a cake liner – (like a huge bun case).
  • Mix the pears, ginger and sugar in a small bowl.
  • Leave whilst you prepare the cake mixture.
    *
  • In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • In another bowl whisk the oil, sugar, vanilla extract and the eggs until they are thoroughly mixed.
  • Add the flour mixture to the oil mixture and mix thoroughly.
  • Place half the cake batter into the cooking tin.
  • Place half the pear mixture and juices on top of the cake batter.
  • Cover with the rest of the cake batter.
  • Place the rest of the pear mixture evenly over the surface of the cake.
  • Bake for 60 – 65 minutes – cover and maybe another another 10 minutes if not done.
  • Leave to cool in the tin before turning it out.

Served on Burleigh Ware, Burgess & Leigh Ltd, Blue Mist, stoneware tea plates from the 1930s.

Variation

Having made this, I thought about the French dessert Poire belle Hélène, which has a chocolate sauce poured over poached pears.

I made the cake again and when it was cool, I drizzled a chocolate sauce made from 40g of melted dark chocolate and 20g of butter over it.

Tea plates by Midwinter – Queensbury from the 1970s.

Chłodnik – 4 – Cucumber

This chłodnik is a simple cool starter for a hot summer’s day.

 

Ingredients

  • Half  a cucumber
  • Spring onions – green parts or chives
  • 500ml of yoghurt
  • Handful of dill
  • Lemon juice and cold water
  • Salt & Pepper & Sugar to taste

Method

  • Part peel the cucumber length-ways to give stripes.
  • Chop the cucumber into small cubes.
  • Chop the spring onions or chives into small pieces.
  • Chop the dill into small pieces.
  • Thin down the yoghurt with lemon juice and water to suit.
  • Mix with the chopped cucumber.
  • Add dill and spring onions or chives.
  • Adjust the seasoning to taste.
  • Chill in the fridge for several hours.
  • Sprinkle with chopped chives to serve.

 

Served in Soup Dishes by Midwinter – Spanish Garden – 1966 – 1982.

Asparagus Soup

 Asparagus officinalis was popular in Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.

It was called sparagus in Medieval Latin  – szparag in Polish and was known as sparrow grass in some parts of England.

Nowadays asparagus is cultivated in Western Poland – you will find both green and white asparagus for sale.

Ingredients

  • 500g fresh asparagus (green)
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock (can be from cube or concentrate – Marigold powder is good)
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 125ml soured cream
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

  • Cut the tips off the asparagus spears.
  • Cut the very dried ends of the stalks off and discard.
  • Cut the stalks into several pieces.
  • To a large pan of stock add the stalks and butter and bring to the boil.
  • Turn down the heat, put a lid on the pan and simmer gently for around 10 minutes until the stalks are tender.
  • Take a little of the hot stock out of the pan.
  • In a smaller pan, poach the asparagus tips lightly in the stock so they still have a bite.
  • Add the liquid back to the pan with the stalks.
  • Take the large pan of stalks off the heat, cool slightly (to avoid hot splashes).
  • Use a stick blender or similar and purée the stalks carefully.
  • In a small dish mix the soured cream and egg yolks together.
  • Add the soured cream mixture to the puréed soup.
  • Bring back up to just before the boil and use a balloon whisk to mix it all together.
  • Season if necessary (often not needed – depends on the stock).
  • Add the asparagus tips.
  • Serve immediately making sure there are tips in each serving.