The general word for pasta in Polish is makaron .. from the Italian macaroni or maccheroni which is thought to originate from the Greek makaria – food made from barley!
If you use home-made noodles or chopped tagliatelle – you could call this łazanki with fruit.
Amounts of pasta and apples are not that critical.
Ingredients
250g cooked small sized pasta
500g cooking apples
100g & 100g granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
3 eggs separated
50g butter
Method
Peel and chop the apples.
Partly cook them with 100g of sugar.
Leave then slightly chunky.
Add cinnamon and stir.
Leave to cool.
*
Melt the butter.
Grease an oven proof dish with some of the butter.
Pre-heat the oven to GM4 180°C.
Mix the pasta with the rest of the butter.
Whisk the egg yolks with 100g of sugar till pale and frothy.
Lightly whisk the egg whites.
Mix the whites with the yolk mixture and whisk again.
Mix the buttered pasta with the egg and sugar mixture.
Spread out half the pasta as a layer at the bottom of the dish.
Put the cooked apples on top of the pasta.
Spread the rest of the pasta on top of the apples.
So it is fitting that this one is a Polish classic.
Rosół – Chicken Soup – must be the most well know of Polish soups and can be the basis for many others.
It is a clear soup which is known as a bouillon – bulion in Polish. The word consommé which I thought was interchangeable with it, in fact denotes a clear soup which has been cleared with egg whites cooked in it.
Rosół is usually served with cooked pasta, often fine noodles and is the origin of chicken noodle soup.
In times gone by the chicken used would have been an old broiler – these are not as available here as much. Nowadays for taste it pays to use the very best free range chicken you can get.
A whole chicken is simmered for around 2 hours with Wloszczyzna – Soup Greens.
I was talking with my Polish friend who lives in Leeds and she told me that the addition of Lubczyk – Lovage – Levisticumofficinale leaves enhances the flavour.
I have this herb, which belongs to the celery & parsley family , growing in a pot in my garden but as it was still a bit early in the year when I made this, I have not been able to try this out – I must do so later!
Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1 onion – halved (leave some dark skin on to add colour) or 2 leeks – trimmed
3 whole peeled carrots
2 whole peeled parsnips
Half a celeriac – peeled
8 peppercorns
2 -3 allspice grains
1 bay leaf
Leaves & stalks of fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley and lovage
1 tablespoon of salt
Chopped parsley to serve
Method
Place all the ingredients into a large stock pot and cover with boiling water.
Bring it all to the boil and put on the lid.
Either lower the heat to let it all simmer or put the pot into an oven at around GM 2 – 150°C.
Leave to simmer for around 2 hours until the meat is tender.
Remove the chicken.
Strain the soup.
Leave the liquid to cool and then place in a cold place or fridge preferably overnight.
Remove as much fat as possible from the top of the liquid.
Note
The soup should have some oczka – little eyes on the top – these are the fat droplets – tastes have changed somewhat and less fat is prefered by many now.
To Serve
Heat up the soup gently to boiling and simmer for a few minutes.
Pasta & Noodles
This is the classic way of serving.
Very small pasta shapes or larger pasta cut into small pieces or noodles are all cooked beforehand and a small amount is placed in the soup dish and hot rosół poured over them to serve.
Chopped flat-leaved parsley is added on serving.
Served in Royal Doulton – Carnation – 1982 – 1998
You can add some of the cooked carrots, sliced, to the soup and/or some of the cooked chicken meat, chopped.
Uszka (Polish filled pasta) can be added and the convention is to add three or five uszka to each soup serving.
Note
The cooked chicken can be used in many dishes which require cooked chicken such as in the filling for pierogi.
I find that the meat is really tasty and succulent and makes super sandwiches with some mayonnaise.
Note
Rosół is often used as the base of many other soups.
Soup plays such huge part in Polish meals and I will be writing much on the subject soon (I could write a huge book on Polish soups alone).
Soups are usually served with some sort of accompaniments or garnish.
Some soups have traditional accompaniments but every cook will improvise with what they have.
These accompaniments include a wide variety of pasta and noodles, dumplings, rice, potatoes, croutons, hard-boiled eggs, pulpety (little meatballs) chopped, cooked sausage and crispy fried bacon and so on …. the list is endless.
Many of the soups to which these are added are of the clear consommé type.
Pasta, Noodles & Rice
Very small pasta shapes are used or larger pasta is cut into small pieces.
The pasta, noodles or rice are all cooked beforehand and a small amount is placed in the soup dish and hot soup poured over them to serve.
Often a small amount of pasta, noodles or rice is kept back from when they are being cooked for another dish – these are best kept in the fridge.
The chopped eggs are sprinkled on top of the soup or several pieces ‘floated’ on top of the soup when serving.
Krokiety
These are made using pancakes which are filled with sauerkraut & mushrooms, meat or cheese then folded and rolled, then dipped in bread crumbs and fried.
I have found a firm that has these ready made for frying and I think they are good.
I fry them in quite a lot of oil on both sides and then put them in the oven at GM4 – 180°C for around 20 minutes.
I have not made them from scratch myself – I must do this soon .
Photo below from my Kuchnia Polska book,1971
Kuchnia Polska, 1971 – Polish Kitchen or Polish Cookery
Pasztecik
This is similar to an English sausage roll, often made with a yeast dough pastry, and filled with pasztet (paté), meat, sauerkraut & mushrooms or cheese.
Photos below from my Kuchnia Polska book, 1971
I have eaten these in Poland in cafes and restaurants but not made these myself – something else to try out soon.
Bread
Bread can be served with soup – it is usually not buttered.
There was a heat wave this summer (2018) in England and Europe and during my recent trip to The Netherlands, I had lunch in the sunny garden of my friend’s older sister.
One of the dishes was a pasta salad and included an ingredient which you would find as a garnish in many Polish dishes – skwarki – small, crispy, fried, bacon pieces.
This was a wonderful addition and I think would go well in other salads too.
I recreated this dish when I got home – the exact amounts are not so important.
Ingredients
400g of cooked Penne or Macaroni
1 small tin of sweetcorn – drained
3 celery stalks
125g of smoked bacon
3 tablespoons of mayonnaise (I used full fat – which I prefer for cooked salads)
Ground black pepper
Method
Chop the bacon into small squares and place on a heavy frying pan on a medium heat until all the fat comes out and you are left with small, crispy squares.
Drain the bacon pieces from the fat and place them on some kitchen roll and leave them until they are cold.
Chop the celery into fine pieces.
You can cut the pasta into smaller pieces if you wish.
In a large bowl, mix the pasta, sweetcorn, celery and the skwarki together.
Add the mayonnaise and the ground black pepper and mix well together.
Note
You are unlikely to need to add any salt as this is provided by the bacon.
This salad will go well with cold meats and barbecued meats.
The general word for pasta in Polish is makaron .. from the Italian macaroni or maccheroni which is thought to originate from the Greek makaria – food made from barley.
You need some cooked pasta – small shapes are the best – I often use Fiorelli – little tubes with lacy edges.
When I am cooking some pasta for a meal, I often do a bit more so I have some left to make a salad the next day.
Try not to over cook the pasta.
The weight of dry pasta will result in around double the weight of cooked pasta eg 250g of dry pasta will result in around 500g of cooked pasta.
I find that mayonnaise or mayonnaise based dressing are best with these salads.
Cooked vegetables work well with these salads and also tinned or bottled vegetables and so it is a good store cupboard dish.
Below are several ideas – but you can do many variations – I always use a few different colours to make it look attractive.
Pasta, Peppers & Sweetcorn Salad
400 – 500g cold cooked pasta.
1 small tin of sweetcorn, drained (or frozen loose sweetcorn – cooked)
1 or 2 fresh red peppers or 2-3 pieces of bottled peppers.
1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Salt & ground back pepper
Method
In a large bowl mix the pasta and sweetcorn together.
If using fresh peppers then remove the stalk and the seeds and chop the flesh into small pieces.
Blanch the peppers by putting them in a dish with boiling water and letting them stand for about 10 minutes then drain and pat dry.
If using bottled peppers then drain them from the liquid and cut into small pieces.
Add the peppers to the salad mixture.
Mix in the mayonnaise.
Add salt & pepper to taste.
Pasta, Peas, Peppers & Sweetcorn Salad
Ingredients
400 – 500g cold cooked pasta.
1 small tin of sweetcorn, drained (or frozen loose sweetcorn – cooked)
1 or 2 fresh red peppers or 2-3 pieces of bottled pepper
150g of cooked frozen peas
1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Salt & ground back pepper.
Method
Make the salad as above then add the cooked peas and mix well
Pasta, Peppers & Sweetcorn Salad with Tuna
400 – 500g cold cooked pasta.
1 small tin of sweetcorn, drained (or frozen loose sweetcorn – cooked)
1 or 2 fresh red peppers or 2-3 pieces of bottled peppers.
1 x 145g tin of tuna chunks in oil or brine – drained
1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise (variation – add half a teaspoon of tomato puree or even hot pepper sauce)
Salt & pepper to taste – you will need less salt if you are using the tuna in brine.
Method
Make the salad as in Pasta, Peppers & Sweetcorn Salad up to the addition of the mayonnaise.
Break up the tuna into smaller pieces and add this to the salad and mix it in.
Add the mayonnaise.
Salt & pepper to taste – (you will need less salt if you are using the tuna in brine).
Variations
Add some chopped chillies to the mixture – I use green ones to differentiate them from the red peppers.
Pasta, Peas, Peppers & Sweetcorn Salad with Tuna
Ingredients
400 – 500g cold cooked pasta.
1 small tin of sweetcorn, drained (or frozen loose sweetcorn – cooked)
1 or 2 fresh red peppers or 2-3 pieces of bottled pepper
150g of cooked frozen peas
1 x 145g tin of tuna chunks in oil or brine – drained
1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Salt & ground back pepper.
Method
Make the salad as in Pasta, Peas, Peppers, & Sweetcorn Salad
Break up the tuna into smaller pieces and add this to the salad. and mix it in
Salt & pepper to taste – (you will need less salt if you are using the tuna in brine).
Pasta, Peas, Peppers & Sweetcorn Salad with Polish Smoked Sausage.
Ingredients
400 – 500g cold cooked pasta.
1 small tin of sweetcorn, drained (or frozen loose sweetcorn – cooked)
1 or 2 fresh red peppers or 2-3 pieces of bottled pepper
150g of cooked frozen peas
200g of Polish smoked sausage or ham
1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Salt & ground back pepper
Method
Make the salad as in Pasta, Peas, Peppers & Sweetcorn Salad.
Slice the sausage into thin slices and then chop these into halves and quarters.
Add this is to the salad and mix in
Salt & pepper to taste.
Hard Boiled Egg Garnish
1 or 2 hard boiled eggs can be chopped and used to garnish the tuna or smoked sausage salads.
Journey From A Polish Kitchen 