Apple – Journey From A Polish Kitchen

Mince Pies with Apple Mincemeat

I make these with the pastry that I learnt from my mother – a variation on kruche & półkruche, pastry (a richer shortcrust pastry). Using the proportion of 2 parts flour to 1 part butter.

Rather than the classic mincemeat – these were made with Apple mincemeat, which is lighter and more tart.

Ingredients – Pastry

1500g plain flour
75g butter
1-2 tablespoons of icing sugar (optional)
1 egg yolk
Juice of 1 lemon (and maybe 1 tablespoon of cold water)
*
Glaze
Lightly beaten egg white
Caster sugar

Method for pastry

Rub the butter into the flour to make “breadcrumbs”.
Mix in the icing sugar.
First with a knife and then with your fingertips mix in the yolk & lemon juice (and maybe a tablespoon of cold water.)
You are aiming to get a dough which is not wet.
Rest for about 20 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to GM6 – 200°C
You need to grease the tins well in order to get the pies out successfully.
2 sizes of cutters are needed – 1 – 7cm diameter, plain, for the base, 1 – 6cm diameter, crinkle edge for the top.

My tins are anodised aluminium and have a gentle rounded shape, this I think make for the perfect balance between the pastry and the filling.
I put “tops” on my mince pies – but not fully covered ones.
*
The tops are brushed with beaten egg white and sprinkled with caster sugar.
Cut out the bases and place them in the tins.
*
Place around a tablespoonful of apple mincemeat on the pastry.
Place the smaller tops on.
Lightly beat the egg white and brush this on the tops
Sprinkle caster sugar over the egg white.
Bake for around 15 minutes – keeping an eye on them – so they do not burn.
Leave to cool slightly in the tins & carefully remove them onto a rack to fully cool.

Beetroots & Apples

This is a delicious way of serving beetroot warm with a roast dinner.

Ingredients

500g boiled or roast beetroots
2-3 cooking apples
60g of butter
Juice and grated rind of a lemon
2-3 tablespoons of creamed horseradish sauce
125ml of soured cream
Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Grate the beetroots using a medium grater.
Peel and core the apples and grate using a medium grater.
Mix the beetroot and apple together.
Mix in the lemon rind and juice.

Melt the butter in a large shallow frying pan.
Gently cook the mixture in the butter stirring often.
Cook for around 5-10 minutes.
Take of the heat.
Add the horseradish sauce and the soured cream.
Mix well together.
Season to taste and serve immediately.

Serve in Royal Doulton – Carnation – 1982 – 1998.

Note

Should you have any left you can serve it cold with cold meats.

Fruity Cabbage Salad

Here is a salad made with one of Poland’s favourite vegetables – cabbage.

It is a more fruity variation of a cabbage & orange salad I posted over three years ago!

Ingredients

A small white cabbage or sweetheart cabbage
2 oranges
3 eating apples – red skinned for colour contrast.
1 tin of pineapples
80g raisins or sultanas
A pinch of salt & pepper to taste
*
Dressing – Mayonnaise & pineapple juice

Method

Peel the oranges removing all the pith.
Cut them into slices, separate the segments and then chop these into small pieces.
Finely shred and chop the cabbage

Core the apples and chop them into small pieces.
Drain the pineapples from the juice.
Chop the pineapples into small pieces.
Mix the cabbage and fruits together.
Mix mayonnaise and some pineapple juice together to make a thin dressing.
Add the dressing and mix everything well together.
You can add salt and pepper here if desired.

Served here in my mother’s vintage glass bowl.

I tend to make this salad a while before it is needed as with the magic of osmosis – raisins become plumped up with the juice from the oranges and pineapple. The dressing becomes sweet from the sugars in the raisins.

This salad goes well with roast dinners, cold smoked meats and Polish style sausages.

Cinnamon Fruit Yeast Buns

These bułeczki – little yeast buns – are based on an English recipe for hot cross buns, which are made for Good Friday.

I love the addition of a chopped eating apple and grated orange rind.

These take most of the day to make – best done on a day you are in with other things to do in between.

Ingredients

330ml of milk (might need a little more)
50g butter
500g strong bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
75g caster sugar
7g sachet of dried yeast
1 egg beaten
75g sultanas
50g mixed peel
Grated rind of an orange
1 eating apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 + 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
*
For the glaze
2 tablespoons of apricot jam

Method

Bring the milk to the boil.
Add the butter and leave till hand-warm.
Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl.
Make a well in the centre, add the milk and butter and then the egg.
Mix with a wooden spoon.
Bring the mixture together with your hands to form a sticky dough.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for around 5 minutes.
Put the dough into an oiled bowl
Cover with a shower cap (very useful these!) or cloth.
Leave to rise until doubled in size.
*
In a bowl mix together the sultanas, mixed peel, orange rind, apple and cinnamon.
Add this mixture to the risen dough and knead until it is all well distributed.
Cover again and leave to rise until doubled in size.
*
Cover a large baking tray with greaseproof.
Divide the dough into 15 even pieces.
Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured surface.
Arrange the balls on the baking tray with some room for expansion.
Cover loosely with a cloth and leave to prove – for around one hour.
*
Preheat the oven to GM7 – 220°C.
Bake for around 20 minutes until the buns are golden brown.
*
Gently heat the apricot jam in a small saucepan.
Brush the jam over the tops of the small buns.

Delicious on their own or buttered!

More Celeriac Salads

My Polish friend who lives in Leeds, just came back from a visit to Poland and mentioned a celeriac salad with carrots and apples that she had enjoyed.

This started me thinking and I made this one and then I tried out a couple of other ones as well.

Ingredients -1

Half a celeriac – peeled

2 -3 carrots

3 apples

Lemon juice

2- 3 tablespoons of soured cream

salt & pepper

Optional

A little bit of sugar

Method – 1

Coarse grate the celeriac.

Peel and then coarse grate the carrots.

Coarse grate 2 of the apples.

Leave the skin on the other apples, remove the core and chop it into small pieces.

In a bowl mix the celeriac, carrots and apple together.

Add the juice of a lemon and the soured cream and mix well.

Add salt, pepper and sugar to taste.

Note

I think this tastes best when made a few hours before serving.

Ingredients -2

Half a celeriac – peeled

2-3 hard pears (Conference are good)

3-4 tomatoes

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt & pepper

A little bit of sugar

Method – 2

Coarse grate the celeriac.

Peel the pears and remove the core and chop them into small chunks.

Chop the tomatoes into small chunks.

Add the olive oil and lemon juice and mix.

Add salt, pepper and sugar to taste.

Ingredients -3

Half a celeriac – peeled

2-3 apples (Braeburn) are good

2-3 red peppers

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt & pepper

A little bit of sugar

Method – 3

Coarse grate the celeriac.

Chop the red peppers into small squares.

Blanch them with boiling water and leave to cool.

Strain and the dry the peppers – with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper.

Leave the skin on the apples, remove the core and chop them into small pieces.

Add the olive oil and lemon juice and mix.

Add salt, pepper and sugar to taste.

Three Celeriac Salads

Served in Carnation by Royal Doulton dishes from 1982 – 1998.

White Bean Salads

Having tried out this new honey dressing with a potato salad, I thought I would use it with white beans – the result was super!

Honey Dressing

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of runny honey

1 tablespoons of white wine or cider vinegar

1 tablespoons of made-up mustard

Salt & ground black pepper

Large handful of chopped dill

Method

Mix all the ingredients except the dill in a jug or bowl with a little whisk.

Stir in the dill.

Salad Ingredients – 1

1 tin of butter beans or Canellinni (white kidney) beans – drained

1 onion – finely chopped

1 eating apple – pink skinned eg Pink lady, rough chopped including the skin

Handfull of chopped dill to serve.

Mix all the salad ingredients together,except for the dill, in a bowl.

Pour the dressing over the salad.

Mix the salad with the dressing.

The salad is best made several hours before serving to let the dressing infuse into the beans. I often leave it overnight.

Add the extra dill just before serving.

Salad Ingredients – 2

1 tin of butter beans or Canellinni (white kidney) beans

1 red onion – finely chopped.

1 red pepper – cut into strips and then across – to give rough squares.

Handfull of chopped dill to serve.

Mix all the salad ingredients together, except for the dill, in a bowl.

Pour the dressing over the salad.

Mix the salad with the dressing.

The salad is best made several hours before serving to let the dressing infuse into the beans. I often leave it overnight.

Add the extra dill just before serving.

Note

I have found that some tinned butter beans are better than others – you can improve the absorption of the dressing by:

either tipping the beans into a saucepan, adding some water and heating them up for several minutes, then leaving them to go cold.
or pricking through the skins with a cocktail stick or similar.

Chicken Livers

Having written about liver in general in Lovely Liver! I thought I would also look at chicken livers in particular.

These would have featured in my shopping on a regular basic many years ago but have been somewhat neglected in recent years – this will now change!

I could not find any fresh chicken livers in my local shops but did find tubs of frozen chicken liver – they contain around 225g per tub and the cost was very reasonable.

20180513_155419

Soaking the livers

All my recipe books say to soak the livers for at least 1 hour – to help remove any bitterness.

I do not remember doing this in the past but decided to try this out – they tasted lovely – not sure how much was due to the soaking.

Buttery Chicken Livers with Onions

450 -500g of chicken livers

500ml of milk

3-4 tablespoons of plain flour

3 onions

4-5 tablespoons of butter

1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

Salt & pepper

Method

Put the chicken livers in a bowl with the milk and leave for at least an hour.

Drain them off and pat them dry and dredge them in the flour.

Cut the onions in half and cut them into thin slices.

Fry the onion gently in some of the butter until they are golden brown.

In a separate pan fry the floured chicken livers on all sides for 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle them with the Italian seasoning, mix well and cook for a further few minutes.

Add the livers to the onions and mix well.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

These are best served with something quite plain such as boiled rice or crusty rolls and maybe a tomato salad.

Chicken Livers with Apples

450 -500g of chicken livers

6 tablespoons of butter

2 to 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil

2 onions

2 eating apples (I used Pink Lady)

1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

Salt & pepper

Method

This really needs 3 frying pans!
I have described each as a separate stage but you can do these at the same time.
Cut the onions into half and then slice into thin half circles.
In one frying pan, fry the onions gently in 3 tablespoons of butter until they are golden.
Peel and core the apples and cut them into quarters.
In another frying pan, melt the 1 tablespoon of butter and heat the apples gently on all sides.

Add the tablespoon of sugar and continue to cook on a low heat for 2-3 minutes until the sugar starts to caramelise.
Add the apples to the onions and mix together.

In a separate pan melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
Fry the chicken livers in the butter, stirring and turning them for around 3-4 minutes.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Mix the livers with the apples and onions.

Good served with crusty bread.

Buraki – Buraczki – Beetroots – Beets

Beetroot is a very popular vegetable in Poland and is served both hot and cold and is the main ingredients of barszcz (The classic Polish beetroot soup).

Now this may just my imagination but the beetroot in Poland just tastes so much better than the ones I have had in England, maybe it is the variety that is grown there or the soil. I think you have to use home-grown or organic beetroot to get as good a taste.

In the following recipes I have used vacuum packed boiled beetroots – boiling or roasting raw beetroot should give a better flavour but when you only want to make a small amount or you have little time this will work as well especially if you adjust the flavour with lemon juice or a little sugar.

A popular variant is something called botwinka – this is very young beetroot – sold in bunches (rather like radishes) and consists of the small “bulb” and the young green leaves, which are all used. As I have not seen this for sale in England I will not be including any recipes – but if you are ever in a position to try this (often in the form of a soup) you will taste something very delicious.

Ćwikła is the most typical Polish accompaniment to roasted and smoked meats and sausage. This salad or relish is made from grated cooked beetroot which is mixed with grated horseradish – chrzan.

The first recorded recipe for ćwikła comes from the writings of Mikołaj Rej (1505 – 1569) who is known as the “Father of Polish Literature”. He was the first person to write exclusively in Polish.

He was born 59 years before Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

Ćwikła

Ingredients

2 or 3 boiled beetroots
Horseradish sauce
Soured Cream
Extra lemon juice – optional
Method

Grate the beetroots using a fine or medium grater and put this into a bowl.
In the past I always used a fine grater but now I prefer to use my medium grater.

Add a large dollop or two of horseradish sauce.
Below are two kinds, one with soured cream and one without.
I like the one with soured cream more.

IMG_20160209_132054534

A few years ago I thought it would be a good idea to grow my own horseradish – that was a mistake! It starts to take over with the roots spreading underground. However the dark leaves are very attractive and the air does smell of horseradish when you walk up to it. You just need to be able to contain it.

Mix the grated beetroot and horseradish sauce together.
Add soured cream – if using the sauce with this in already you might not need as much.
You can add lemon juice as well.

Carnation Serving Dish by Royal Doulton

Beetroot & Apple Salad

Ingredients

2 or 3 boiled beetroots
1 eating apple with a good flavour such as Jazz, Braeburn or Pink Lady.
Juice of half or a whole lemon
Sugar – optional

Method

Grate the beetroots using a medium grater.

Peel and core the apple and grate this using a medium grater.
Mix the two together.

Add lemon juice to taste.
You can add some extra sugar to taste.

IMG_20160210_174100401

NOTE

This tastes much better if it is left so all the ingredients mingle together for a few hours.
I make this in the morning if I want it for the evening or I make it the night before for lunch time the next day.

Creamed Beetroot

This is a delicious way of serving beetroot warm with a roast dinner.

Ingredients

3 or 4 boiled beetroots
Large tablespoon of butter
1 or 2 tablespoons of flour
Juice of a lemon & some extra water
3- 4 tablespoons of soured cream
Salt & pepper to taste
A little sugar to taste – optional

Method

IMG_20160209_133049454

Grate the beetroots using a medium grater and put them into a saucepan with the lemon juice and a little water.
Put a lid on the saucepan and gently simmer the beetroot – taking care not to let it dry out or burn.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan and add the flour – let it colour slightly.
Add 2 tablespoons of soured cream and a little water and combine this well.

Add this mixture to the simmering beetroots, once again combining well.
Let this simmer for 5 to 10 minutes – keep checking, and stirring and adding more soured cream, lemon juice or water if it looks like it is going to dry out.
Add salt & pepper and a little sugar to taste.

Serving dish is Topic designed by Alan Rogers in 1967 for J & G Meakin.

Sauerkraut Salads

When cooking was much more seasonal this salad was extremely popular in winter when many other vegetables were unavailable.

Using bottled sauerkraut you can make this salad all year around. You can also buy vacuum packed sauerkraut in many Polish shops.

Preparing the sauerkraut

There are two ways of preparing the sauerkraut. It all depends on the actual sauerkraut which varies with the home-made or vacuum packed being milder usually than the bottled & how sour you like it to be.

Sour is indeed a well loved taste in Poland and sour is a description you can apply to many Polish dishes. There will be more posts on this on the future.

These salads could be considered sweet & sour.

IMG_20150711_183051570_HDR

For all the following salads I have used roughly 200g of sauerkraut which is easily enough as a side-dish for two people.

I think all the following salads benefit from being made a few hours ahead and left to allow the flavours to interact and mellow.

Preparation Method 1

Just take some of the sauerkraut and sieve of some of the liquor.

IMG_20151126_070444950 — Sieve off some of the liquor

Preparation Method 2

Put the sauerkraut into a jug or bowl and add some water to rinse off the liquor.

IMG_20151126_070120128

Use Water to Rinse the Sauerkraut

My personal preference is to use method 1 with the sauerkraut just drained and not rinsed.

Sauerkraut & Apple Salad

Ingredients

Around 200g of Sauerkraut

1 tasty eating apple such as Jazz or Braeburn

2 to 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil

1 to 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

Method

Prepare the sauerkraut and put it in a dish.

Grate the apple, skin and flesh using a coarse grater and add this to the sauerkraut. Mix the two together.

Add the sunflower oil and sugar and mix well.

Leave in a cool place for a couple of hours before serving.

IMG_20151126_071637240

Serving Dish by J & G Meakin – Topic – designed by Alan Rogers in 1967

In the restaurant in the Polish Centre in Leeds they serve a wonderful sauerkraut and carrot salad – secret recipe of course! – the following is the nearest I can get to it.

Sauerkraut & Carrot Salad 1

Ingredients

Around 200g of Sauerkraut

1 carrot

1 tasty eating apple such as Jazz or Braeburn

2 to 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil

1 to 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

Method

Prepare the sauerkraut and put it in a dish.

Peel and grate the carrot using a coarse grater.

Grate the apple, skin and flesh, using a coarse grate.

Add the grated carrot and the apple to the sauerkraut.

Mix them all together.

Add the sunflower oil and sugar and mix well.

Leave in a cool place for a couple of hours before serving.

IMG_20151125_175325600 — Mid 20th Century Pyrex Dish

Serving Dish is Carnation by Royal Doulton 1982 to 1998

IMG_20151125_183717288 — Meat Loaf and Sauerkraut & Carrot Salad

Sauerkraut & Carrot Salad 2

Ingredients (as salad 1 but less carrot)

Around 200g of Sauerkraut

Half a carrot

1 tasty eating apple such as Jazz or Braeburn

2 to 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil

1 to 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

Method

Prepare the sauerkraut and put it in a dish.

Peel and grate the carrot using a coarse grater.

Grate the apple, skin and flesh, using a coarse grate.

Add the grated carrot and the apple to the sauerkraut.

Mix them all together.

Add the sunflower oil and sugar and mix well.

Leave in a cool place for a couple of hours before serving.

IMG_20151126_071833315

Tip

Once you have opened a jar of sauerkraut if you are not going to make something else with it in the next day or so you can portion it up and freeze it for later use.

Red Cabbage

A few years ago on one of my visits to The Netherlands to stay with my Dutch friend, we had a super meal which included a delicious dish of red cabbage that had been cooked with apples.

I thought then that I did not remember my mother ever cooking red cabbage. When I came home I found recipes in both my Polish and English cookery books and tried out many of these.

The following recipe has been refined and altered and this one with lots of apples and spices is the one I now use all the time.

As it takes a long time to cook in a low oven or in a slow cooker, I tend to make a lot at once. It freezes and reheats well, so once made I divide it into small portions to freeze.

I think it goes well with roast pork loin and I usually make some before Christmas and serve it with roast pork loin during the holiday period.

Tip 1

Have a lemon ready after handling the chopped red cabbage as you will find your hands become stained blue/purple. Lemon juice will clear the stains away. Another reason to make this dish in advance.

Tip 2 – Also Excellent as a Salad

I have discovered that this dish is also delicious when it is cold! I now also serve this with cold meats and Polish style sausage.

Ingredients

1 head of red cabbage
3 or 4 large cooking apples
1 onion – chopped fine
1 or 2 garlic cloves – chopped fine (optional)
6 tablespoons of soft brown sugar
1 level teaspoon of ground cinnamon
¼ level teaspoon of ground cloves
Salt & ground black pepper
3 tablespoons of cider or wine vinegar
3 tablespoons of water

Method

Pre heat the oven to GM 2 or get your slow cooker ready..
You need a large oven-proof dish with a lid to make this. I either use a very large oval enamel dish or I have now started to use a slow cooker.
I mix the ingredients in a large bowl first and then put them in the cooking dish.
Mix together the sugar, spices, salt and pepper, vinegar and water.

Remove the core from the cabbage head and cut the cabbage into fine shreds and add these to the spice mixture.

Peel, core and then coarse grate the apples and then add these to the cabbage mixture. Mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon.

Put the mixture into the cooking dish (or slow cooker) and put in the oven (or switch on the slow cooker).

It should take about 3-4 hours – it may take longer in the slow cooker.

IMG_20151206_165436551 — Red Cabbage Ready to Serve

IMG_20151206_165429509 — Serving Dish is Cadiz by Meakin from the 1970s

Ingredients – Pastry

Method for pastry

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Ingredients

Method

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Ingredients

Method

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Ingredients -1

Method – 1

Ingredients -2

Method – 2

Ingredients -3

Method – 3

Three Celeriac Salads

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Honey Dressing

Ingredients

Method

Salad Ingredients – 1

Salad Ingredients – 2

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Soaking the livers

Buttery Chicken Livers with Onions

Method

Chicken Livers with Apples

Method

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Ćwikła

Beetroot & Apple Salad

Creamed Beetroot

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Preparing the sauerkraut

Sauerkraut & Apple Salad

Sauerkraut & Carrot Salad 1

Sauerkraut & Carrot Salad 2

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Ingredients

Method

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