Tag: Smoked Bacon

Brussel Sprouts with Horseradish

  • Although I usually serve Brussel Sprouts with buttered breadcrumbs (à la Polonaise), I am always looking for other ways to serve them.
  • This recipe uses two often used in Polish ingredients – crispy smoked bacon pieces – skwarki and soured cream.

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g of Brussel sprouts
  • 6 slices of smoked bacon
  • 3 tablespoons of horseradish sauce
  • 6 tablespoons of soured cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

METHOD

  • Steam the Brussel sprouts in the usual way.
  • Chop the bacon into small squares and cook in a frying pan to release all the fat and give you crispy bits – skwarki 
  • Mix the horseradish sauce with the soured cream.
  • Mix the cooked Brussel sprouts, first with the bacon – season to taste –
  • Then add the horseradish soured cream mix.
  • Serve straight away.

White Bean Soup – Ułańska

  • I made this soup recently and it was delicious.
  • I am very curious about the name – maybe one of you knows the history?
  • The ułani are the Uhlans – The Lancers.
  • A cavalry regiment famous in many patriotic folksongs such as  
  • ‘Hej, Hej ułani’
  • *
  • What is the relationship between them and this soup?
  • I cannot envisage them having these ingredients on their travels!

Ingredients

  • 200g thick cut bacon – cut into small pieces
  • 2 onions – chopped fine
  • 2 cloves of garlic – chopped
  • 1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 tin of cannellini beans – drained
  • 60g ‘big’ dried pasta
  • 250 soured cream
  • Pinch of paprika
  • Ground pepper to taste
  • Sunflower to fry the onions

Method

  • Gently fry the onions in sunflower oil till soft.
  • Add the garlic, mix and fry a little more.
  • Add the bacon and fry for a few minutes more.
  • Add the pinch of paprika.
  • Add the chicken stock and simmer for around 30 minutes.
  • Add the beans and the pasta and simmer until the pasta is cooked.
  • Add ground pepper to taste.
  • Stir in the soured cream and serve.
  • *
  • Option – you can omit the soured cream – still nice.

Served in Royal Stafford – Blossom Time

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

Pancakes with Bacon

  • These are the thick American style pancakes not the thin crepes.
  • A good way of serving the bacon.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs – beaten
  • 180 – 200ml of milk
  • 180g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 6 rashers of streaky smoked bacon
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  • *
  • Fried eggs, maple syrup or sugar, butter – to serve

Method

  • Chop the bacon into small squares.
  • Fry till crisp & strain of any fat.
  • Keep to one side & warm.
  • *
  • Mix the flour and the baking powder together.
  • Make a well in the centre of the flour.
  • Mix in the eggs.
  • Mix in enough milk to make a thick batter.
  • *
  • Fry large tablespoons of the batter on a hot griddle or frying pan.
  • Add some bacon bits to the top.
  • Turn over the pancakes and fry on the other side.
  • *
  • Serve as savoury with scrambled or fried eggs or more sweet with butter and maple syrup.
  • This Pyrex design from the 1970s is called Carnaby.

Gulasz myśliwski

  • Having made sos myśliwski – Hunter’s sauce. 
  • I thought how good this would be to make into a gulasz.
  • Cubed braising beef or shoulder pork would be super for this.

Ingredients 

  • 400g cubed braising beef or shoulder or spare rib pork
  • 4 slices of  thick cut smoked bacon – chopped
  • 150g – 220g  of fresh mushrooms – sliced or quartered
  • 3 large gherkins – chopped into cubes
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons of plain flour.
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato purée
  • 2 onions – chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic – chopped
  • 3 grains of of allspice
  • 5 peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon of of ground paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of hot ground paprika
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 teaspoons of made mustard.
  • 500ml of vegetable or chicken stock
  • Salt and pepper
  • Sunflower oil for frying

Method

  • Pre heat the oven to Gas Mark 3 – 1600C
  • Mix the tomato purée, allspice, paprikas and mustard into the stock.
  • Cut the meat into cubes and coat the pieces in a mixture of flour, salt and ground pepper.
  • In a frying pan heat the oil until it is hot and fry the meat until all the sides are sealed.
  • Place the meat into a casserole dish.
  • Fry the garlic and onions in the frying pan, adding some oil if necessary but trying not to use too much or the dish will be greasy.
  • Add the onions to the meat then add the bay leaf and some more ground pepper.
  • Melt the butter and fry the mushrooms for a few minutes.
  • Add the mushrooms to the meat.
  • Add the gherkins,
  • Pour the stock mixture into the casserole dish and put on the lid.
  • Cook in the oven until the meat is tender, this could be about 3 ½ hours  to  4 ½ hours but often I find it needs  longer.
  • *
  • I find that this is better cooked on one day and then reheated on the next.
  • *
  • Serve with boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes or rice.
  • *
  • Note – As the gherkins cook down – next time I would add them in the last hour of cooking.
  • *
  • Of course, this is reminiscent of Bigos, which is usually called Hunter’s Casserole – but here without the cabbage and sauerkraut.

Sos myśliwski – Hunter’s Sauce

  • Sos  myśliwski  – this translates as Hunter’s sauce.
  • I can understand the name if wild mushrooms are used but otherwise I do not know why it gets this name.
  • Gherkins are used in the sauce and this addition verges on “magical”.
  • I had never made this before but will now be making it often as it is so delicious.

Ingredients 

  • 2 slices of smoked bacon – chopped
  • 100g of fresh mushrooms – sliced
  • 2 large gherkins – chopped into cubes
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 tablespoon of plain flour.
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato purée
  • 1 onion – chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic – chopped
  • Large pinch of allspice
  • 1 teaspoon of of ground paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of hot ground paprika
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon of made mustard.
  • 500ml of vegetable or chicken stock.

Method

  • Melt the butter in a saucepan.
  • Fry the mushrooms, onions and garlic.
  • Add the bacon and fry together for a few minutes.
  • Add the flour and stir and cook for a few minutes.
  • To the stock add the tomato purée, allspice, both paprikas and mustard. 
  • Stir it all together.
  • Slowly add this to the fried ingredients and stir whilst it thickens. 
  • Add the bay leaves and gherkins.
  • Simmer for around 20 minutes till the ingredients soften.
  • Serve the sauce hot with roast meats.

Lentil Soup

  • This recipe is based on Lentils-Polish style.
  • As autumn is approaching I thought I would share this warming soup recipe.

Ingredients

  • 150g – 200g dried Puy lentils
  • 100g smoked bacon – chopped into small squares
  • 1 large onion or 2 leeks – chopped.
  • 1 courgette – chopped into small pieces
  • ½ tube of tomato purée
  • 1½ litres of chicken stock (can be from a cube or concentrate)
  • 5 grains of allspice
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika (not smoked)
  • 2 tablespoons of butter for frying
  • Ground black pepper
  • Salt might not be needed because of the bacon

Method

  • Cook the lentils in water until they are soft.
  • Fry up the bacon and the onions in the butter.
  • Add the courgettes and put them into a large saucepan.
  • Add the stock, tomato puree and lentils.
  • Add the bay leaves and allspice.
  • Bring to the boil and then let simmer for around 30 minutes.
  • Season with the black pepper to taste.
Here served in Royal Doulton – Carnation (1982 – 1998)

Łazanki with Fresh Cabbage

  • I came across a photograph of a dish of  łazanki  with fresh cabbage and decided to have a look at recipes for this.
  • I read that this is a dish very popular in Eastern Poland – strangely enough my mother never made this!
  • Łazanki are a type of Polish pasta often made with buckwheat with the dough being rolled thin and then cut into triangles or rectangles.
  • When the Italian Princess Bona Sforza married the Polish King, Zygmunt I Stary (Zygmunt the Old) in the 16th century, she brought with her many Italian chefs.
  • Łazanki are thought to have originated from that time.
  • The name łazanki comes from the Italian for large flat rectangles of pasta – lasagna(singular) lasagne(plural) – the –ki ending indicates a diminutive in Polish – so these are small and rectangular.
  • I tried out a recipe for wheat łazanki with spelt flour- they were so-so – I bet my babcia (grandmother) made much better ones!
  • I could try using my pierogi dough recipe with wheat flour next time.
  • I tried out a dough for buckwheat łazanki – this was quite reasonable – I might make these again.
  • *
  • Many people now just use ready bought flat pasta such as tagliatelle or pappardelle.
  • 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)
  • ½ head  white or sweetheart cabbage – shredded
  • 1 onion – diced
  • 250g Polish kiełbasa (sausage) or smoked bacon – chopped
  • Butter
  • Salt & pepper to taste.

Method

  • Cook the pasta as per the instructions.
  • Steam the cabbage.
  • Fry the onion in quite a bit of butter until soft and golden.
  • Add the Polish kiełbasa (sausage) or smoked bacon.
  • Fry gently.
  • Add the steamed cabbage and stir well.
  • Add the mixture to the drained pasta.
  • Mix well together.
  • Season to taste.

Spelt flour
Buckwheat flour

If I have to choose I would say I prefer the dish with bacon.

With Polish Sausage
With Polish Sausage
With Bacon
With Bacon

Bean Soup

  • This is a lovely winter soup.
  • It would once have been made with reconstituted dried beans but now it is easy to open tins of beans.
  • Any white beans are good such as Haricot, Cannellini or even Black-eyed beans.
  • This can be made in a stock pot on the cooker or in the oven however I find that using a large slow cooker to cook it makes life a lot easier.

Ingredients

  • 2 tins of white beans such as Haricot, Cannellini or Black-eyed beans.
  • 3 large carrots
  • 2 onions
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock – can be from a cube or powder
  • 150g smoked bacon.
  • 8 peppercorns
  • 3 allspice grains
  • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram  or 1 tablespoon of fresh
  • Butter to fry the onions.
  • Salt & pepper to season – may not be necessary depending on the bacon and stock.
  • Chopped flat-leaf parsley or chives to garnish when serving

Method

  • Chop the onions into small pieces.
  • Gently fry the onions till golden.
  • Chop the carrots into circles and halve or quarter them.
  • Chop the bacon into small pieces.
  • Drain the beans from the cans.
  • Put all the ingredients into a pot.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer – or use a slow cooker.
  • Cook until the carrots are soft.
  • Allow the soup to cool slightly.
  • Remove about half of the beans and carrots with a slotted spoon and put them in a bowl.
  • Purée the soup left in the pan – using a stick blender is good.
  • Put the beans and carrots back into the soup and stir.
  • Bring back to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes.
  • Garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley or chives.

 

Royal Doulton – Tapestry soup plate – 1966 to 1988.

Kapuśniak- Hunter’s Style

I am continuing on the theme of  the Polish classic kapuśniak – cabbage soup made with sauerkraut.

I would call this a “posh” version – Kapuśniak myśliwski – Hunter’s style  and it could  also be called po staropolsku – in an old Polish style.

Half a large jar of sauerkraut  is enough for this soup, I often freeze the other half to use at a later date.

Ingredients

  • 400g Sauerkraut
  • 200g Polish smoked sausage
  • 200g Smoked bacon
  • 1 large onion
  • 10g dried mushrooms
  • 3-4 grains of allspice
  • 4 juniper berries.
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 litres of vegetable stock (can be from powder or cubes)
  • oil for frying (originally pork fat/lard would have been used)

Method

  • Put the mushrooms into a little bowl and cover with boiling water.
  • Leave to reconstitute for at least 30 minutes.
  • Remove the mushrooms and  chop into small pieces.
  • Chop the sauerkraut into shorter strands.
  • Into a large pot of vegetable stock add the sauerkraut, the mushrooms and the liquor from the mushrooms.
  • Bring to the boil, then cover the pan and allow it to simmer until the sauerkraut is tender.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces and fry till nearly charred.
  • Chop the bacon into squares around 2.5cm in size.
  • Fry the bacon on both sides.
  • Chop the sausage into small pieces.
  • Fry the sausage .
  • Add the onion, bacon and sausage to the sauerkraut.
  • Add the allspice, bay and juniper.
  • Continue simmering for around 30 minutes.
  • I do not usually have to adjust the seasoning or sweetness of this soup.

To Serve

  • This soup is served with a  bowl of hot boiled potatoes topped with skwarki *and the fat poured over them or with fried charred onions.
  • You can have the potatoes on the side or add them to the soup.
  • *
  • Or for an even more olden touch serve with slices of rye bread with skwarki * and the fat poured on top.

Potatoes in a dish by J & G Meakin – unknown design name.

Soup in my late mother’s plates – 3 only left – Crown Devon Fielding – Glenwood from 1939. (Where my mother got these I do not know).

 

Plate by J & G Meakin Topic by Alan Rogers 1966 – 1979.

 

*Skwarki – very small pieces of smoked bacon, heated in a pan until all the fat has rendered out.