Tag: Raisins

Szary sos – Grey sauce

  • This is a very old Polish recipe.
  • Szary is translated as grey but it can also mean dusky or dark, which sounds better.
  • Some books call it Polish Sauce.
  • Wine is not a Polish product.
  • I think you could use a sweet vermouth or sherry – will try that next time.
  • Maybe if you do not have any piernik – honey spice cake – you could use plain sponge and some peirnik spices such as cinnamon and cloves.
  • *
  • It is often served with fish such as carp, perch or pike.
  • I think it would go well with roast meats such as chicken or pork.

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion – finely chopped
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 tablespoon of plain flower
  • 50 – 70g piernik (honey spiced cake)
  • 300ml vegetable stock (can use chicken or fish)
  • 125ml red or rose wine
  • 50g sultanas or raisins
  • 20g flaked almonds
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Sugar & lemon juice to taste
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

  • Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan.
  • Add the onion and stir.
  • Cook until they are soft and golden.
  • Add the flour and cook with stirring for a few minutes.
  • Stir in the stock and cook till the liquid thickens.
  • Add the wine and stir and cook again.
  • Break up the piernik into small pieces and add this to the sauce.
  • Cook for a few minutes until the cake falls apart.
  • Add the sultanas and gently simmer for a minute or two.
  • When ready to serve adjust the thickness with a little more wine if needed.
  • Add the lemon juice.
  • Adjust the taste with sugar, lemon juice and seasoning.
  • Pour the sauce over the food.
  • Sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
Paragon – Hand Painted tea plate.

Apricot & Prune Fruit Cake

I have been going through my recipe cuttings and came across this one, which I have been meaning to make for ages as I wanted to try a fruit cake made with either dried apricots or prunes and this has both!

This could easily be described as a keks in Polish.

It is a delicious and moist cake, which can be eaten straight away – so could be a very late bake for Christmas!

The recipe was for a very large round cake but I thought a square would be better for cutting up and so I scaled down the ingredients and made it in a 24 centimetre square tin.

You have to start this cake the night before.

Ingredients

  • 120g dried apricots
  • 165g stoned prunes
  • 100ml hot Earl Grey tea
  • 100ml sherry
  • *
  • 115g currants
  • 115g sultanas
  • 115g raisins
  • 50g mixed peel
  • *
  • 150g soft brown sugar
  • 150g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • *
  • 185g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons of mixed spice

Method

  • Chop the apricots and prunes into small pieces.
  • Place them into a bowl and pour the hot tea over them.
  • Leave until this is cold.
  • Add the sherry, cover and leave overnight.
  • *
  • Add the other dried fruits to the soaked fruits and mix well.
  • *
  • Grease and line all sides of a 24 cm square tin
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM 1- 140°C
  • Mix the flour with the mixed spices.
  • Cream the sugar and butter till well blended.
  • Add the eggs and mix well together.
  • Fold in the flour mixture.
  • Add the dried fruits and mix well together.
  • Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth down the top.
  • Bake for 2 – 2¼ hours.
  • Leave to cool in the tin.

 

 

Tea set by Spencer Stevenson from the mid 20th Century

Note

Yesterday I baked this for the second time in a 21 centimetre square tin – this needed 3 – 3 ¼ hours.

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.

Pierogi with Chicken & Raisins & Walnuts

This is my 250th post!

So I have decided on this Polish classic with a new twist – one I will certainly be making again.

Last Easter time I was in Gdańsk and I got to eat many old favourites and several new dishes.

I tried pierogi in several restaurants, choosing some unusual fillings and have written about some of these already such as pierogi with duck. 

I did find that some of the meaty ones were too big – I use a 7cm diameter cutter, which for me gives a better filling to pasta ratio.

On one menu I noticed a filling of chicken, raisins and walnuts.  I did not get the chance to eat these but decided that this was a must to try out.

Ingredients

  • 150 -200g of cooked chicken or thighs – roasted or poached  – amounts are not critical.
  • 50g of raisins
  • 30-50g of walnuts
  • Pepper to taste

Method

  • Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover them with boiling water.
  • Leave for an hour till they swell up.
  • Place them into a small saucepan heat them slowly and simmer stirring with a wooden spoon.
  • Once you have a pulp of the raisins leave them to go cold.
  • Chop the walnuts into small pieces.
  • Chop or mince the chicken.
  • Mix the ingredients together.
  • Season with pepper.
  • *
  • Use this filling for the pierogi – instructions for the dough are given below.
  • *
  • Serve with melted butter.

I have written much previously about pierogi  – but have included the instructions for the dough again below to save you looking it up.

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 pierogi on this until they are all made, do not let then touch each other.
  • I cut them out using a 7 cm diameter cutter.
  • The excess dough can be re-mixed and rolled out again.
  • Around a half tablespoon of filling is put on  each circle and then they are folded over and the edges pinched 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 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.
  • 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 8 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 them into a colander above a pan for a few seconds to drain.
  • Continue boiling batches in the same water.
  • If you want to make all the pierogi to serve together then you need to get a large shallow dish and put melted butter into the dish.
  • Keep the dish warm in a low oven.
  • As you take out the cooked pierogi add them to the dish, mix them with the butter to prevent them sticking.
  • Keep on adding more as they cook and keep shaking the dish to coat and mix them.

  • Fried pierogi

  • All the butter coated pierogi that are not eaten can be fried up later – equally delicious!
  • Any that are not eaten should be spread out so that they cool with the melted butter around them.
  • Later, you can then fry them up gently so they are golden in parts.

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Salads – Radish & Cucumber

The inspiration for these salads are from recipes in a new book I bought recently in Poland and from one my Polish friend  in Leeds bought for me.

 

 

History of the Radish

Radish, in Polish –  rzodkiew,  Latin name  –  Raphanus sativus,    is a root vegetable that belongs to the Brassica family and is thought to have originated in South East Asia.  It is mentioned in Greece in the 3rd century BC and in Europe in pre-Roman times.

It was one of the first European crops to be taken to the Americas.

Some of the recipes used czarna rzodkiew – which translates as black radish.  Now I had never heard of this, so looked it up and found it is called Black Spanish radish and sometimes called winter radish. It is mentioned in Europe in the 16th century and in England in the 19th century.

It has white flesh and a black skin and  can be round or long and it  is much larger  than the radishes I have seen.  So when the recipes used one or two black Spanish radishes, I used 1 or 2 bunches of radishes.

Cucumber & Radish Salad – Version 1

Ingredients

  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 or 2 bunches of radishes
  • 1 tablespoon of oil
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • Salt & pepper
  • Chopped dill & flat leafed parsley

Method

  • Peel the cucumber or part peel lengthwise in stripes.
  • Cut the cucumber into thin slices  – you can cut these into halves.
  • Top and tail the radishes and then thinly slice them.
  • Add salt and pepper.
  • Add the oil and lemon juice and mix well.
  • Garnish with dill and flat leafed parsley.

 

 

 

Sweet Honey Dressing

A lovely sweet dressing made with honey is used on the following four salads.

Ingredients

  • 125ml soured cream
  • 1 tablespoon of runny honey
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Method

Use a little whisk to combine the ingredients.

Cucumber & Radish Salad – Version 2

As version 1 with sweet honey dressing

Radish & Red Onion Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 – 2 bunches of radishes
  • 1 red onion
  • Sweet honey dressing

Method

  • Top and tail the radishes and then thinly slice them.
  • Slice and chop the onion into small squares.
  • Mix the radishes and onion together.
  • Pour the sweet honey dressing over them and mix.

 

 

Radish & Raisin Salad

Ingredients

  • 1-2 bunches of radishes
  • 80g raisins or sultanas
  • Sweet honey dressing

Method

  • Put the raisins into a small bowl and boiling water over them to cover.
  • Leave them until they are cold.
  • Use a sieve to drain away the water.
  • Use kitchen roll or a clean tea cloth to dry the raisins.
  • Top and tail the radishes and then thinly slice them.
  • Mix the radishes and raisins.
  • Pour the sweet honey dressing over them and mix.

Optional

Serve this on top of a bed of shredded lettuce.

 

 

 

Served here with liver & rice

Cucumber & Raisin Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 cucumber
  • 80g raisins or sultanas
  • Sweet honey dressing

Method

  • Put the raisins into a small bowl and boiling water over them to cover.
  • Leave them until they are cold.
  • Use a sieve to drain away the water.
  • Use kitchen roll or a clean tea cloth to dry the raisins.
  • Peel the cucumber or part peel lengthwise in stripes.
  • Cut the cucumber into thin slices  – you can cut these into halves.
  • Mix the cucumber and raisins.
  • Pour the sweet honey dressing over them and mix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Served here with liver & mushrooms and rice.

 

Radish & Apple Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch of radishes
  • 1 large apple – Braeburn is good
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
  • 2 pinches of salt

Method

  • Top and tail the radishes and then thinly slice them.
  • Cut larger slices into two
  • Put them into a bowl with the sugar and salt and leave these for around 10 minutes
  • Core the apple and cut into rough cubes
  • Place the apple into a bowl and our the lemon juice over them.
  • Mix the radishes and apple together
  • Mix in the yoghurt.

 

 

 

 

Fruity Ribs

My Polish friend who lives in Leeds often goes back to Poland to visit relatives and to have a holiday.

This summer she brought me back a recipe book which covers  a year of meals (365 meals) divided into 4 sections – namely the 4 seasons.

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There are lots of lovely recipes in the book and I am sure I will be trying many of them.

Here are two I have tried already – adapted slightly to make life easier!

Recipe 1 (autumn)

1 or 2 racks of pork ribs

2 tablespoons of raisins or sultanas

120g of ready to eat prunes

120g of ready to eat apricots

3-4 tablespoons of plain flour

3 large onions – chopped

500ml dry red wine ( more might be needed or some extra water)

4 peppercorns

4 grains of allspice

4 cloves

1 teaspoon of  dried marjoram or Italian herbs

1/2 teaspoon of salt

3 – 4  eating apples (best if quite tart – such as Granny Smiths)

Sunflower oil for frying

Method

Place the apricots & raisins in a bowl and cover them with hot water and leave for around 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to GM3 160°C.

Chop the ribs into 2 rib portions.

Put the flour onto a plate and then flour the ribs on both sides.

Fry the ribs lightly in hot oil on both sides.

Place the ribs in the bottom of a oven proof dish which has a lid.

Fry the onions until golden.

Slowly add some of the liquid from the soaked fruit and cook together mixing it well.

Add this to the ribs in the dish.

Add the peppercorns, allspice, cloves, marjoram and salt.

Pour the red wine over the rib mixture.

Place in the oven for around 45 minutes.

Cut the soaked apricots into strips and add these, the prunes and the raisins to the dish and give the mixture a stir.

Place back in the oven and cook for around 90 minutes to 2 hours until the meat is tender.

Check on the liquid level during this time and add wine or water if needed.

Remove the core from the apples and cut them into quarters (leave the skin on).

Place the apples, skin side down, on top of the ribs and place the lid back on.

Put the dish back in the oven for around 20 minutes.

When serving, place the cooked apples on top of the ribs and sauce.

Serve with boiled potatoes or rice.

 

 

Recipe 2 (spring)

Start this the evening before

Ingredients

1 or 2 racks of pork ribs

4 -5 tablespoons of runny honey

750 ml of apple juice (more might be needed)

Juice & finely grated rind of 1 lemon

100g of ready to eat prunes

3 -4  large tart apples (I used Bramleys)

3 cloves

Piece of cinnamon bark – around 10cm long

Method

Chop the ribs into 2 rib portions.

Coat both sides of the ribs with the honey and place them in a non-metal dish and sprinkle the lemon rind on the top.

Cover the dish and place it in a fridge overnight.

Next Day

Pre-heat the oven to GM3 160°C

Place the ribs into an oven proof dish which has a lid.

Add the cloves and cinnamon bark to the dish.

Peel, core and thickly slice the apples & sprinkle lemon juice on them.

Arrange the apples and prunes over the ribs.

Pour the apple juice over the contents.

Place the lid on top of the dish and put in the oven.

Cook for around 2 – 3 hours until the meat is tender.

You might have to add more apple juice when you check on the progress

 

Variation

Instead of ribs you might want to use slices of shoulder pork (750g  – 1kg) the method is just the same.

I tried this with recipe 2 – the one with the apple juice.

 

Served here with boiled new potatoes and brussel sprouts à la Polonaise.

Serving dishes  are Carnation by Royal Doulton, 1982 – 1998

 

 

 

Drożdżówka – Yeast Cake

  • The Polish word for yeast is drożdże and drożdżówka is any sweet cake or bun made using yeast.
  • Often the cake is a large flat cake ( placek) made in a large roasting tin.
  • This yeast cake is made with plain flour not strong flour and the mixture is mixed with a wooden spoon to form a soft mixture and is not kneaded.
  • My late father has two cousins living in Białystok, North East Poland, they are both wonderful cooks.
  • This yeast cake is based on a recipe given to me by one of these aunties.
  • As with any recipe made with yeast, timings are so unpredictable depending on many variables including the room temperature.
  • I always bake with yeast when I am at home for most of the day with other activities to do whilst waiting for the dough to rise etc.

Ingredients

Yeast Cake

  • 400g plain flour
  • 250ml of tepid milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
  • 150g of raisins or sultanas
  • 10g of fresh yeast or 5g of dried yeast

Crumble Topping

  • 2 tablespoons of plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

Method

  • Mix the yeast with 2 tablespoons of the milk and 1 tablespoon of the sugar and leave this till it starts bubbling.
  • In a bowl whisk together the egg  and 1 tablespoon of the sugar.
  • Add the oil and whisk again.
  • Add the milk and the raisins or sultanas and mix well.
  • Add the flour and mix this all together with a wooden spoon to form a very loose, soft dough.
  • Cover the bowl with clingfilm or a cloth and leave in a warm place to rise.
  • Make the crumble topping by rubbing the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs and then stir in the sugar.
  • Grease and line a large roasting tin.
  • 25cm x 34 cm or 22cm x 32cm.
  • Put the risen dough into the tin – use a spatula to spread it out.
  • Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top and leave to rise again.

 

 

  • Pre-heat the oven to  GM6 – 200°C.
  • Place the risen cake into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
  • Then lower the temperature to GM5 – 190°C and bake for another 10 minutes – keeping an eye on this and cover with foil if it looks like it is burning.
  • You might want also want to move it down a shelf for the last 5  minutes.
  • Leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes then take it out and remove from the greaseproof paper – so it does not go soggy on the base.

 

Served on Sonnet by Royal Doulton, 1971 – 1998.

As with most yeast cakes this is best eaten as soon as possible as it will soon go stale – you might need to invite round lots of friends and family!

If all is not eaten on the day of baking, I cut the cake into slices and pack into a plastic container and freeze – these are then toasted and served with butter at a later date.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toasted and buttered yeast cake served on Las Palmas by Aynsley from the 1960s.

Variations

The dried fruits added can be varied  and I have made this with raisins, mixed peel and 1 teaspoon of mixed spice.

 

 

 

 

Served on Counterpoint by Royal Doulton, 1973 – 1987.

Other dried fruit options can be used, such as apricots, cranberries, pears or prunes and so on,  chopping larger fruits into small pieces.

I made this with apricots, sultanas and a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla essence.

 

The dried fruits add sweetness to the cake and I think the small amount of sugar works well – you can if you like add a few extra tablespoons of sugar.

 

 

 

 

Cabbage & Orange Salad

Here is a salad made with one of Poland’s favourite vegetables – cabbage –  and is one I have been making for many, many years since it was given to me by one of my cousins (British born like me) who lives in Wembley.

However it is not a classic Polish salad because it contains oranges which would have been a luxury item in times gone by and certainly in communist times when nothing was imported that was not strictly necessary.

There are just 3 main ingredients & a couple of options for the dressing.

The amounts here are just a guide  – for example – I just usually add a handfull  of raisins – this time I weighed them.

Ingredients

  • Around half a small white cabbage
  • 2 Oranges
  • 80g Raisins
  • Dressing – mayonnaise or yoghurt  or a mixture of the two
  • A pinch of salt & pepper to taste.

Method

Peel the oranges, cut them into slices, separate the segments and then chop these into small pieces.

Finely shred the cabbage

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Mix the oranges, raisins & cabbage together.

  • Add the dressing (see below) and mix well together.
  • You can add salt and pepper here if desired – I find just a tiny amount is needed.

Served here in Royal Doulton, Carnation, 1982 – 1998

Dressing

  1. Mayonnaise – I use Hellmann’s – original or light
  2. Greek yoghurt
  3. Mayonnaise & Greek Yoghurt
  4. Any of the above with some extra orange juice.

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 & the dressing becomes sweet from the sugars in the raisins.

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

 

 

 

 

Seler – Celeriac – Celery

Today,  4 July 2016, is the first Anniversary of my blog!

What an interesting year it has been for me with all the reading & research, cooking & photographing  and the writing.

I do hope you are all enjoying reading my posts & God willing this is the start of another interesting year.

This will be my 58th post &  I am going to  write about  a  very popular vegetable in Poland.

Seler – Celeriac – Celery

  • The word seler in Polish is used for both celeriac and celery and in fact celeriac is a just a variety of celery (Apium graveolens).
  • Celeriac is mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey where it is called selinon.
  • Now for a little plant biology – in English the stems of the plant are known as celery and they  are long with leaves at the top.
  • Whereas in the variety known as celeriac – it is the hypocotyl – the swollen enlarged stem above the root and below the leaves  – which is eaten. The leaves come off the top of this swollen stem. (Celeriac is often classed as a root vegetable but it is not the root.)
  • Celeriac has not been around in the shops in England for that long and last week I bought one in Marks & Spencer’s and it had a label on it saying “NEW“.
  • Years ago when I looked at my Polish cookery book and it talked about grating seler – celery I used to think “oh, how very odd – I wonder how that comes out“ – I now realise  that they  were referring to grating celeriac.
  • In Poland you are much more likely to be served celeriac than celery  and it is a very popular vegetable which can be eaten both raw and cooked and is used in a variety of salads.
  • I have been trying out some salads both with raw & cooked celeriac including some old favourites.  Celeriac has a delicate flavour and easily picks up the flavours of the other ingredients.
  • Dressings for the salads include mayonnaise, soured cream, natural thick yoghurt & my favourite grated horseradish (I use a bought sauce.)

I have given details of the dressing I have used in the following recipes but they are easily interchangeable.

Salads Using Raw Celeriac

  • For the following recipes you will need to peel the celeriac – use a peeler if you can as using a knife can take too much off. You then need to grate the celeriac.
  • Lemon juice is needed to prevent the grated celeriac discolouring.

Simple Celeriac Salad

Ingredients

  • Grated celeriac – around half of one
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 small tart apples such as Granny Smith – grated
  • Mayonnaise
  • Soured cream

Method

  • Make the dressing by mixing mayonnaise and soured cream together, I tend to use equal amounts.
  • Mix the grated celeriac & grated apple together.
  • Pour the lemon juice over them.

Add the dressing bit by bit – you want to coat the ingredients but not have lots of excess dressing.

Celeriac with Raisins & Walnuts Salad

  • Grated celeriac – around half of one
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 small tart apples such as Granny Smith – grated
  • Raisins – approx 1/2 a cup
  • Chopped walnuts – approx 1/2 a cup
  • Mayonnaise
  • Soured cream
  • Horseradish sauce

Method

  • Make the dressing by mixing mayonnaise and soured cream together – equal amounts – and then add 1 to 2 large tablespoonfuls of horseradish sauce.
  • Mix the grated celeriac & grated apple together.
  • Pour the lemon juice over them.
  • Add the raisins & the chopped walnuts
  • Add the dressing bit by bit – you want to coat the ingredients but not have lots of excess dressing.

Celeriac & Orange Salad

Ingredients

  • Grated celeriac – around half of one
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 small tart apples such as Granny Smith – grated
  • Raisins – approx  1/3 of  a cup
  • 2 oranges
  • Thick yoghurt
  • Soured cream
  • Horseradish sauce

Method

  • Squeeze the juice from 1 orange & pour this over the raisins.
  • Leave this for a couple of hours so that the raisins plump up.

Make the dressing by mixing equal amounts of yoghurt and soured cream together and then add 1 or 2 large tablespoons of horseradish sauce.

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  • Mix the grated celeriac & grated apple together.
  • Pour the lemon juice over them.
  • Peel & then chop the other orange and mix this with the soaked raisins.

 

Add the dressing bit by bit – you want to coat the ingredients but not have lots of excess dressing.

Salads Using Cooked Celeriac

  • You can cook the celeriac by boiling it in water but I have found that it is much easier to steam it.
  • If there is still any soil on the celeriac then wash this away with water first.
  • If your celeriac is large you might want to cut it in half and just use half & use the other half for something else.
  • Steam the celeriac – it will need at least 20 minutes.
  • You can use a cake tester to see if it is cooked.
  • Leave it to cool – I leave mine in the steaming pan with the lid on.
  • When it is cold peel away the outer “skin”

Chop the celeriac into rough cubes or chunks.

These cooked cubes are then the basis of many different salads.

You can use the cooked celeriac in many salads instead of boiled potatoes as in the classic  Polish Potato Salad with peas & carrots in mayonnaise.

The potatoes in the above salad can be replaced with celeriac.

Celeriac & Gherkin Salad

Ingredients

  • Chopped cooked celeriac  –  around half of one
  • 1  tart apple such as Granny Smith – grated
  • Lemon juice
  • 1 chopped gherkin
  • 1 chopped onion – red looks good.
  • Mayonnaise

Method

  • Mix the chopped cooked celeriac and the grated apple together and some lemon juice.
  • Add the chopped gherkin and onion.

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Add a couple of large tablespoons of mayonnaise and mix it all together.

Celeriac Salad with Hard Boiled Eggs

Ingredients

  • Chopped cooked celeriac  –  around half of one
  • 1  tart apple such as Granny Smith – grated
  • Lemon juice
  • 2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs chopped
  • Large handful of raisins or sultanas
  • 1 chopped onion – red looks good
  • Thick yoghurt
  • Horseradish sauce.

Method

  • Mix the chopped cooked celeriac and the grated apple together and some lemon juice.
  • Add the chopped onion.
  • Add the raisins (or sultanas)
  • Add  the chopped hard boiled eggs.
  • Mix a dressing using 2 to 3 tablespoons of thick plain yoghurt  and 1 or 2 tablespoons of horseradish sauces and mix the other ingredients.
  • Leave this for around half and hour so that the flavours can mingle.

 

NOTE

If you hard boil very fresh eggs they are very difficult to peel -it is easier to use older eggs.

 

Celery, Peanut & Sultana Salad

This recipe is one I got for one of my sisters many years ago and although this is not a traditional Polish salad it has become one of my trusty recipes as it is so easy and as it is best  to make it sometime ahead there is no last minute stress when making it.

Ingredients

  • 4 long celery stalks
  • Around 1/3 cup of salted peanuts
  • Around 1/3 cup of sultanas
  • Mayonnaise

Method

  • Chop the celery into fine slices.
  • Mix with the peanut and sultanas.
  • Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise.
  • peanuts
  • Leave for at least  half an hour before serving – I usually make this several hours beforehand.

Now for a little science to explain why the dressing taste so sweet  and is more runny than when it started.

  • Osmosis is the movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of high water concentration to an area of low water concentration to try to equalise the concentrations on both sides.
  • Cells in the plant ingredients have semi-permeable membrane.
  • The salt on the peanuts causes water to leave the celery and go into the mayonnaise, this water then enters the sultanas causing them to plump up.
  • The above is true when you mix many salads but especially here with the salt on the peanuts and the dried fruit.