Tag: Mushrooms

Dark Mushroom Soup

  • I have recently returned from a trip to the Netherlands to visit my old school friend.
  • We were invited out to dinner and had a lovely meal, which gave me several ideas for new recipes.
  • Our host had cooked venison and had used venison stock to make a soup.
  • Now I am unlikely to get any venison in the near future so I decided to used beef stock (from a cube) to make this soup.
  • Whilst eating this soup I thought it had ingredients, which could easily be a soup that would be very popular in Poland.
  • These were: fresh mushrooms, sauerkraut and smoked bacon. 
  • I did not have any flat leaved parsley on the day I made this or I would have used it to garnish the soup.

Ingredients

  • 200g mushrooms – white or brown caps.
  • 1 large onion 
  • 3-4 rashers of smoked bacon
  • 100 – 150g sauerkraut 
  • 1½ litres of beef stock (can be from cubes or concentrate)
  • Sauerkraut liquor – to taste 
  • Salt & pepper to taste.
  • *
  • Flat leaved parsley to serve

    Method

  • Chop the onion into small chunks.
  • Slice the mushroom caps into thin slices.
  • Add the onion and mushrooms to the stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then let it simmer with a lid on the pan.
  • Simmer for around 30 minutes.
  • Cut the bacon into thin long pieces.
  • Drain sauerkraut and chop it into smaller strands.
  • Add the bacon and sauerkraut and let these simmer for another 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Adjust the sourness with sauerkraut liquor to taste.
  • Season to taste.
  • *
  • Serve with flat leaved parsley if available.
Soup Plate by Royal Doulton – Carnation

Mushroom Sauce – Fresh Mushrooms

  • Nowadays you can get fresh mushrooms all year round so this sauce can be made at any time.
  • In Poland you can buy mushroom stock cubes which are very useful especially for making sauces.
  • Years ago I brought loads back to England – now you can find these in the many Polish food shops.
  • The ones I use are made by Knorr and contain a small amount of dried mushroom extract.*
  • * If you cannot get these maybe use a few drops of  Henderson’s sauce or Lea & Perrins – NOT TRIED.

Ingredients

  • 150g fresh button mushroom caps – white and/or chestnut
  • 500ml hot boiling water
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour
  • 3 tablespoons of milk
  • 2 large tablespoons of soured cream.
  • Butter to cook the mushrooms in.

Note

I rarely have to add any more salt or pepper as the stock cube has enough seasoning in it.

Method 

  • Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water.
  • Slice the mushroom caps into fine slices and fry them gently in some butter till they are soft.
  • Simmer gently for about 5 to 10 minutes.
  • In a little dish mix the cornflour with the milk.
  • Add the cornflour mixture to the cooked mushrooms and stir gently over the heat until the sauce thickens.
  • Remove from the heat and add the 2 large spoonfuls of soured cream and mix.

Note

None of these amounts are exact – they are a rough guide depending on what you have – you can use more water, milk or soured cream and so on.

Super served with boiled or creamy mashed potatoes – sprinkle chopped dill or parsley over them before serving.

Great for any roast dinner – especially on Christmas Day.

Served on Carnation (1982 – 1998) and Burgundy (1959 – 1981)  by Royal Doulton.

Mushroom Sauce using Dried Mushrooms

  • Mushroom sauce must be my favourite sauce.
  • I posted a long post with two versions of  mushroom sauce over a year ago.
  • As I have been posting lots of sauce recipes lately I thought I would re-visit mushroom sauce and have split the old post into two.
  • I looked through my Polish cookbooks and many of the mushroom sauces are made with only dried mushrooms.
  • These are delicious and have a strong flavour however it works out very expensive and are not available everywhere.
  • Dried & fresh mushrooms are used in this recipe.
  • The best dried mushrooms are Boletus edulis, in Poland they are called borowik or prawdzik (translates as the “the real thing”), in Italy porcini.
  • I recently got some other dried mushroom which are also good.

Podgrzybki – Xerocomus badius

Mushroom sauce 

Ingredients

  • 150g fresh button mushroom caps – white and/or chestnut
  • 5g of  dried mushroom (around 3 slices)
  • 500ml hot boiling water
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour
  • 3 tablespoons of milk
  • 2 large tablespoons of soured cream
  • Butter to cook the mushrooms in
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

  • You need to start this sauce the night before or in the morning for use in the evening.
  • Cover the dried mushrooms with 500ml of boiling water and leave to soak.
  • The following day take out the reconstituted mushrooms and using a knife you can chop then up into tiny pieces or if the are soft enough you can  spread out the pulp on a chopping board.
  • Slice the mushroom caps into fine slices and fry them gently in some butter till they are soft.
  • Add the dried mushroom pulp and the liquor in which they were seeped.
  • Simmer gently for about 5 to 10 minutes.

  • In a little dish mix the cornflour with the milk.
  • Add the cornflour mixture to the cooked mushrooms and stir gently over the heat until the sauce thickens.
  • Add salt & pepper to taste.
  • Remove from the heat and add the 2 large spoonfuls of soured cream and mix well in.

Note

None of these amounts are exact – they are a rough guide depending on what you have – you can use more water, milk or soured cream and so on.

Super served with boiled or creamy mashed potatoes – sprinkle chopped dill or parsley over them before serving.

Served on Burgundy (1959 – 1981) and Carnation (1982 – 1998)  by Royal Doulton.

Cabbage & Mushrooms

  • Cabbage and mushrooms are a classic combination in Polish cookery.
  • Recipes abound for combinations  using fresh cabbage through to sauerkraut, cultivated or wild mushrooms – fresh or dried – the list is endless.
  • Recently I wrote about kulebiak a large Polish pastry, which had a filling of fresh cabbage and fresh mushrooms.
  • This filling  can be served hot as a side dish – it goes well with hot roast meats.

Ingredients

  • Small head of white cabbage or sweetheart cabbage.
  • 250 -300g of mushrooms
  • 1 large onion
  • 100g of butter
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Optional – 2-3 hard boiled eggs

 

Method

  • Shred and then chop the cabbage into small pieces.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
  • Melt half the butter in a large deep frying pan.
  • Slowly cook the onions and the cabbage but do not brown.
  • Cover with a lid and let them simmer till they are both soft.
  • Stir occasionally – you might need to add a little hot water.
  • In another pan melt the rest of the butter and fry the mushrooms.
  • Add the mushrooms to the cabbage and onion mixture and mix well.
  • Heat gently together to remove most of the excess liquid.
  • Season to taste.
  • Sprinkle the chopped hard boiled eggs on top – optional.
  • Serve hot.

Note

You might want to look at an earlier post for Sauerkraut & Mushrooms

 

 

Liver with Potato Topping

Here are a couple of super liver recipes.

I have also found that the potato topping is easy to make and is so delicious and will be using this for other recipes.

The first recipe is a version for liver and onions with sage and the second recipe does not use sage but has fresh mushrooms in the mixture.

Ingredients – version 1

450g pig’s or lamb’s liver

1 tablespoon of plain flour

3 onions

Large handful of sage leaves

250ml of chicken stock

500g of starchy potatoes

500ml of milk & water

1 tablespoon of butter

Butter & sunflower oil for frying

Salt & pepper

Method – version 1

Butter a rectangular ovenproof dish.

Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C.

Cut the potatoes into thin slices.

Par-boil them for 5 minutes in the milk and water.

Remove the potatoes from the liquid.

*

Slice the onions and fry them in a butter and oil mixture until golden.

Season and add to the buttered dish.

Slice the liver into small pieces.

Dip the pieces in flour.

Fry in the butter and oil mixture on both sides.

Season and add to the onions.

Mix the liver and onions together.

Add the sage leaves and stir.

Pour the stock over the liver and onions.

*

Arrange the par-boiled potato slices over the liver and onions.

Cover the whole of the dish.

Cover the dish with a piece of foil.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour.

Melt the butter.

Remove the foil.

Pour the butter over the potatoes.

Put back in the oven and bake for at least 30minutes.

Served on Royal Doulton – Carnation – 1982 – 1998

Ingredients – version 2

As in version 1 but without the sage

150ml stock – a mushroom stock cube is good

200g sliced mushrooms

Method – version 2

As in version 1 plus

Fry the mushrooms and add them to the liver and onions.

Served on Royal Doulton – Tapestry – 1966 – 1988

Kulebiak with Cabbage & Mushrooms

  • Kulebiak is the nearest there is in Polish Cookery to a pie or a pasty.
  • It can be made with a yeast dough, a short crust type of pastry or puff pastry.
  • It is very much a large version of   paszteciki – the small savoury pastries,  which I posted in November 2019.
  • Popular fillings include cabbage & mushrooms of various sorts, hard boiled eggs and fish.
  • Many people serve this for Wigilia –  the Christmas Eve meal.
  • Sometimes the several fillings are put in as layers.
  • Here I have made it with a yeast dough with a fresh cabbage and fresh mushroom filling.
  • It is best served hot.
  • *
  • In the early part of the 20th century Auguste Escoffier, the French chef, wrote about this dish and called it Coulibiac.
  • Was this the start of dishes such as Salmon en croute?

Ingredients – Yeast Dough

  • 250g plain flour or a mixture of spelt & plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon of dried yeast
  • 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
  • 125-150ml of milk
  • 1 egg & 1 yolk
  • 40g butter – melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 egg white & water for a glaze

Method – Yeast Dough

  • Put 50g of the flour into a bowl.
  • Add the yeast and sugar.
  • Add enough of the milk to make the mixture as thick as double cream.
  • Leave in a warm place to bubble and froth up.
  • *
  • Place the rest of the flour into a bowl.
  • Add the salt and mix.
  • Lightly beat the whole egg  and the yolk together.
  • Add the egg mixture to the flour.
  • Add the yeast mixture to the flour.
  • Start to mix together using a wooden spoon.
  • Slowly add as much milk as needed.
  • Bring the dough together using your hands until it leaves the side of the bowl.
  • Knead the dough lightly until it is smooth.
  • *
  • Flatten the dough into a rectangle.
  • Slowly pour on the butter and fold over the dough.
  • Keep kneading the buttery dough until it is all incorporated.
  • Knead a little longer until you have a nice glossy ball.
  • Put the dough back into a bowl.
  • Cover with a cloth or a shower cap and leave to rise in a warm place.
  • *
  • Grease a baking tray.
  • Take the pastry and shape into a rough rectangle.
  • Roll out into a large rectangle around a finger width in thickness.
  • Place the cold filling in the centre lengthwise.
  • Fold the two long sides over the filling so the pastry just meets and is not too thick.
  • Fold over the short sides.
  • Turn the roll over so the “seams” are underneath.
  • Place on the baking tray, cover and leave to rise.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 180 °C.
  • *
  • Lightly beat the egg white with a little water and brush this on the top.
  • Bake in the oven for around 1 hour.
  • *
  • Best served hot – but still good cold
  • Cut into thick slices to serve.

Ingredients – Filling

  • Small head of white cabbage or sweetheart cabbage.
  • 250g of mushrooms
  • 1 large onion
  • 100g of butter
  • 2 or more hard boiled eggs
  • Salt & pepper to taste

 

Method

  • Shred and then chop the cabbage into small pieces.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
  • Melt the half the butter in a large deep frying pan.
  • Slowly cook the onions and the cabbage but do not brown.
  • Cover with a lid and let them simmer till they are both soft.
  • Stir occasionally – you might need to add a little hot water.
  • In another pan melt the rest of the butter and fry the mushrooms.
  • Add the mushrooms to the cabbage and onion mixture and mix well.
  • Heat gently together to remove all the excess liquid.
  • Leave to go cold.
  • Rough chop the hard boiled eggs and add them to the mixture.
  • Season to taste.

Note – this might be more filling than you need – you can always freeze what is left 

Served on a vintage Pyrex platter and Royal Doulton – Carnation plates – 1982-98

 

 

Łazanki with Mushrooms

  • I have adapted a recipe for  łazanki with mushrooms from there.
  • I used ready bought flat pasta – tagliatelle.
  • Break up the dry pasta or snip it up at the end.
  • Boil the pasta as per the instructions – do not over cook it.

Ingredients

  • 250g flat pasta (such as tagliatelle) (broken up)
  • 1 onion – diced
  • 250g button mushrooms – sliced
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 125ml soured cream
  • 40g cheese eg Gouda – grated
  • Butter
  • Salt & pepper to taste.

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5 – 200°C
  • Have ready a large shallow oven proof dish.
  • Mix the egg yolk and the soured cream in a little dish.
  • Cook the pasta as per the instructions – do not over cook.
  • Fry the onion in quite a lot of butter until soft and golden.
  • Add the mushrooms and cook these together.
  • Add the mixture to the drained pasta.
  • Mix well together.
  • Season to taste.
  • Put the mixture in the oven proof dish.
  • Pour the yolk and soured cream mix over the pasta
  • Stir lightly.
  • Scatter the cheese on top of the dish.
  • Bake in the oven for around 10 minutes until the cheese has melted.

 

 

Mushroom Sauce

Mushroom sauce must be my favourite sauce.

  • I looked through my Polish cookbooks and many of the mushroom sauces are made with only dried mushrooms.  These are delicious and have a strong flavour however it works out very expensive and are not available everywhere.
  • I am going to  give instructions for a sauce using fresh mushroom and just a small amount of dried mushroom and
  • Another versions of this mushroom sauce using a mushroom stock cube.
  • The best dried mushrooms are Boletus edulis, in Poland they are called borowik or prawdzik, in Italy porcini.
  • I recently got some other dried mushroom which are also good.

Podgrzybki – Xerocomus badius

  • In Poland there are now mushroom stock cubes which are very useful especially for making sauces.
  • Years ago I brought loads back to England – now you can find these in the many Polish food shops.
  • The ones I use are made by Knorr and contain a small amount of dried mushroom extract.

Mushroom sauce 1 – using dried mushrooms

Ingredients

  • 150g fresh button mushroom caps – white and/or chestnut
  • 5g of  dried mushroom (around 3 slices)
  • 500ml hot boiling water
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour
  • 3 tablespoons of milk
  • 2 large tablespoons of soured cream.
  • Butter to cook the mushrooms in
  • salt & pepper to taste

Method

  • You need to start this sauce the night before or in the morning for use in the evening.
  • Cover the dried mushrooms with 500ml of boiling water and leave to soak.
  • The following day take out the reconstituted mushrooms and using a knife you can chop then up into tiny pieces or if the are soft enough you can  spread out the pulp on a chopping board.
  • Slice the mushroom caps into fine slices and fry them gently in some butter till they are soft.
  • Add the dried mushroom pulp and the liquor in which they were seeped.
  • Simmer gently for about 5 to 10 minutes.

  • In a little dish mix the cornflour with the milk.
  • Add the cornflour mixture to the cooked mushrooms and stir gently over the heat until the sauce thickens.
  • Add salt & pepper to taste.
  • Remove from the heat and add the 2 large spoonfuls of soured cream and mix well in.

Note

None of these amounts are exact – they are a rough guide depending on what you have – you can use more water, milk or soured cream and so on.

Mushroom sauce 2 – using a mushroom stock cube

Ingredients

  • 150g fresh button mushroom caps – white and/or chestnut
  • 500ml hot boiling water
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour
  • 3 tablespoons of milk
  • 2 large tablespoons of soured cream.
  • Butter to cook the mushrooms in.

Note

I rarely have to add any more salt or pepper as the stock cube has enough seasoning in it.

Method 

  • Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water.
  • Slice the mushroom caps into fine slices and fry them gently in some butter till they are soft.
  • Simmer gently for about 5 to 10 minutes.
  • In a little dish mix the cornflour with the milk.
  • Add the cornflour mixture to the cooked mushrooms and stir gently over the heat until the sauce thickens.
  • Remove from the heat and add the 2 large spoonfuls of soured cream and mix.

Super served with boiled or creamy mashed potatoes – sprinkle chopped dill or parsley over them before serving.

Served on Carnation (1982 – 1998)  by Royal Doulton.

Paszteciki – little savoury pastries

Paszteciki are little savoury pastries often served as a soup accompaniment. They are made with with a pre-cooked filling which sometimes contains meat but vegetable versions are very popular and mushroom or sauerkraut & mushroom ones are very often made for Wigilia – Christmas Eve.

They are shaped like little sausage rolls or diagonal slices cut from a large roll.

I think they are best served warm.

You can make these using many sorts of pastry doughs – the following yeast dough is one that is often used.

Yeast Dough

Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour or a mixture of spelt & plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon of dried yeast
  • 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
  • 125-150ml of milk
  • 1 egg & 1 yolk
  • 40g butter – melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 egg white used for glaze

Method

  • Put 50g of the flour into a bowl.
  • Add the yeast and sugar.
  • Add enough of the milk to make the mixture like double cream.
  • Leave in a warm place to bubble and froth up.
  • Place the rest of the flour into a bowl.
  • Add the salt and mix.
  • Lightly beat the whole egg  and the yolk together.
  • Add the egg mixture to the flour.
  • Add the yeast mixture to the flour.
  • Start to mix together using a wooden spoon.
  • Slowly add as much milk as needed.
  • Bring the dough together using your hands until it leaves the side of the bowl.
  • Knead the dough lightly until it is smooth.
  • Flatten the dough into a rectangle.
  • Slowly pour on the butter and fold over the dough.
  • Keep kneading the buttery dough until it is all incorporated.
  • Knead a little longer until you have a nice glossy ball.
  • Put the dough back into a bowl.
  • Cover with a cloth or cling film and leave to rise in a warm place.
  • ***********************
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM7 220 °C.
  • Grease several baking trays.
  • Take the pastry and shape into a rough rectangle.
  • Roll out thinly into a large rectangle.
  • Cut the rectangle into two lengthwise so you have two long thin rectangles.
  • Place the cold filling in the centre lengthwise.
  • Fold the two long sides over the filling so the pastry just meets and is not too thick.
  • Turn the roll over so the seam is underneath.
  • Cut the roll into diagonal slices about 5cm thick.

  • Place the pieces on the baking trays.
  • Glaze the pieces with beaten egg white.
  • Leave for around 30 minutes.
  • Bake for 14-15 minutes.
  • Allow to cool a little and then remove from the tray and place on a cooling rack.

Served on Royal Worcester  – Evesham – tea plates –  a design from 1961

Fillings

A variety of  fillings can be used such as ones that you would use for pierogi – Polish filled pasta, for example mushroom or sauerkraut & mushroom or you can  use pre-cooked vegetables, meats and also include hard boiled eggs.

All fillings should be cold when used.

Below are two fillings that I made for my paszteciki.

Fresh Cabbage & Mushroom Filling

Ingredients

  • Small head of white cabbage or sweetheart cabbage.
  • 150-200g of mushrooms (I used the chestnut ones)
  • 1 large onion
  • 100g of butter
  • 2 or more hard boiled eggs
  • Salt & pepper to taste

 

Method

  • Shred and then chop the cabbage into small pieces.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
  • Melt the half the butter in a large deep frying pan.
  • Slowly cook the onions and the cabbage but do not brown.
  • Cover with a lid and let them simmer till they are both soft.
  • Stir occasionally – you might need to add a little hot water.
  • In another pan melt the rest of the butter and fry the mushrooms.
  • Add the mushrooms to the cabbage and onion mixture and mix well.
  • Heat gently together to remove all the excess liquid.
  • Leave to go cold.
  • Rough chop the hard boiled eggs and add them to the mixture.
  • Season to taste.

Note – this might be more filling than you need – you can always freeze what is left.

Mushroom Filling

This is a new filling for me using just fresh mushrooms.

Ingredients

  • 250 -300g mushrooms(I used chestnut)
  • 1 onion
  • Around 50g  of butter
  • 3-4 tablespoons of soured cream
  • Salt & pepper to taste.

Method

  • Slice and chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Fry the onion in butter till they are soft – do not brown.
  • Add the mushrooms and fry together.
  • Keep stirring and cook gently till the mushrooms are soft.
  • Add the soured cream and stir together.
  • Heat for a little while to remove excess liquid.
  • Leave to go cold.
  • Season to taste.

Note – this might be more filling than you need – you can always freeze what is left.

 

Uszka – Little Ears – Re-visited

I wrote a long post on pierogi and uszka   over two years ago and this has lots of details on Polish pasta.

This post is an update on how to make uszka in advance and open freeze them.

Uszka –  means ‘little ears’ and traditionally  mushroom uszka are made for Wigila – the Christmas Eve meal  to serve either on their own with butter or floating in barszcz (clear beetroot soup).

I usually make around 250 to 300 uszka on the morning of Christmas Eve.

Last Chritmas I was going to be taking the uszka to my sister’s to cook there and also needed some on another day to cook at home.

I knew that I could make them in advance and open freeze them; so decided that this year I would make them in small batches and freeze them up over the few weeks before Christmas Eve.

In Poland these will have been made with just dried mushrooms, here in England my mother made them with fresh mushrooms with the addition of dried mushrooms when she could get them.  I like them like this the best.

Ingredients – Mushroom Filling

20g dried mushrooms

250g mushrooms – older open ones are better than button mushrooms.

1 onion

1 egg yolk

1 to 2 tablespoons of home-made dried breadcrumbs

Butter to fry the mushrooms

Salt & ground black pepper to taste

Method

Pour a small amount of boiling water into the dried mushrooms and leave these overnight.

You can remove the stalks from the older fresh mushrooms as these tend to be ‘woody’ and then cut the caps into thin slices.

Chop the onion into small pieces.

Fry the mushrooms and onions together in the butter.

Chop the reconstituted dried mushroom (You can save the liquor for other recipes) and add these to the mixture and heat them together for a few minutes more.

It does depend on the mushrooms and the way they are fried as to how much liquid is produced, if you get a lot, then let them simmer gently to evaporate as much as possible or strain some of this excess off (again you can use this liquor in soups or sauces).

Allow the mixture to cool.

The mixture then needs to be minced which used to take me a long time and much effort.  I now use a hand blender which works really well indeed. 

To the minced mixture add the egg yolk and enough breadcrumbs to make a stiff filling.

Add salt and lots of ground black pepper.

You can divide up the mixture into 3 or 4 portions and freeze these in plastic bags or tubs to use at a later date.

Uszka Dough

The dough is made from flour, egg yolks and water and I have  seen many variations of the recipe.  The following is my mother’s and I think it is the best I have ever used and tasted.

She never used whole eggs, just the yolks and this gives a dough which is soft and not tough and can be easily rolled out.

My mother originally used plain flour and added a tablespoon or two of fine semolina but now that strong flour or even pasta flour is readily available this is what I use the most.

Flour does vary and it is possible to add more flour to the dough as you are mixing it but you cannot add more liquid if it is too dry!

As you mix the ingredients in the first few minutes you should be able to tell if it will be too dry and you can add some more water initially but once it is all mixed together you cannot – if it goes wrong – just start again!

The quantities that I have given work well and but you should allow for extra flour if needed.

Depending on how thinly you roll out the dough, this amount should make around 70 uszka.

Ingredients – Dough

250g pasta flour or strong 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

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.

Cut the dough into quarters.

On a floured board roll out a quarter at a time until you have a sheet of thinly rolled dough.

Now prepare a large tray and cover it with a clean tea towel and sprinkle this with flour.

Have a large surface such as a tray covered with a cotton or linen cloth which has been lightly floured ready  and place the sealed uszka on this until they are all made, do not let then touch each other.

I usually make the uszka from squares of dough, about 4cm square, which are folded.

This time,  I made the shape in a slightly different way – so that I got a much more uniform shape and size.

I cut them out using a 6cm diameter cutter. (I also tried a 5cm diameter cutter which was good as the uszka were smaller but much more time consuming!)

The excess dough can be re-mixed and rolled out again.

Around a small teaspoon of filling is put on  each circle and then they are folded over and the edges pinched together to make a good seal.

The two ends are the brought together and pinched to make a round “ear” shape.

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 to me 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.

As you are making them place them on the floured cloth.

Open Freezing

You need to have a fairly empty freezer to do this

If you have a extra chill button on you freezer, switch that on.

You will need around 3 baking trays – sprinkle flour on these.

Place  the uszka apart on floured baking trays so they are not touching and place the trays in the freezer for several hours – or even overnight – making sure the trays do not squash each other.

Once they are frozen, pack the uszka into boxes.

Cook them  straight from frozen by dropping them individually straight into boiling salted water – 8 to 10 at a time.

As they cook they will float to the surface, let them boil for 2 to 3 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.

Uszka are served with melted butter or they can be served floating in a clear soup such as rosól – clear chicken soup or in barszcz – beetroot soup.

The convention is to serve three or five uszka in each dish.

Any that are not eaten should be spread out so that they cool with the melted butter around them.

P1040527

later, you can then fry them up gently so they are golden in parts.

A new tradition which was stared by my mother is on Christmas Day morning to have uszka fried with bacon and eggs, we always make sure we have some saved!

The Verdict

So much easier making the uszka in advance, so I will continue to make them like this, slowly over the weeks before Wigilia.