Duck Blood Soup (Czarnina) …One More Time!

Witamy!  This Blog has been on the web for almost four years and this is our 100^th post.  During that time, and during all of the visits we have made to Polish Heritage Festivals, the most frequently asked questions revolve around Czarnina – the classic Polish Duck Blood Soup.  So many folks remember it from their childhood and this is one dish that you either love or hate – there’s no in between.   Over the years Czarnina has become one of legendary memories that grows with age (just like that huge fish that got away) but I suspect the legend has overshadowed the actual taste…duck’s blood??  Really? 

Even though I can’t get my head (or taste buds) comfortable with the notion of sipping the blood of a duck, even cooked, we would have included it in our book, if the ingredients were easier to find.  I called our favorite butcher and was told that fresh ducks were readily available, but only cleaned and dressed.  I checked in the local international grocery stores, and found frozen cow’s blood but no duck blood.  With all the regulations on commercial food handling, I’m guessing that no one will guarantee the freshness and safety of the blood.  I suppose one could get fresh blood directly from a farmer...if one knew a farmer…but I don’t. 

A couple of years ago we posted this recipe for “mock” Czarnina which was adapted from a very old traditional recipe and it generated a lot of hits on this website.  So we’re posting it again for your pleasure and culinary enjoyment.  The recipe avoids real duck blood but it still gets a lot of flavor from prunes and from fresh or smoked neck bones, either pork or some variety of fowl – whatever you can get.  Try it and let us know how it worked. 

Ślepo Czarnina – Bloodless (or Blind) Duck Blood Soup

Serves 8

·        3 pounds meaty fresh or smoked neck bones, pork, turkey, duck, etc.

·        1 pound dried prunes, pitted

·        1 stalk celery

·        1 sprig parsley

·        1 bay leaf

·        5 whole allspice

·        2 whole cloves

·        ¼ cup raisins

·        1 small tart apple, chopped

·        1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice

·        ½ to 1 tablespoon sugar

·        2 cups light cream

·        4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·        Salt and pepper to taste

1.     If using fresh neck bones, blanch, drain and rinse them.  Place blanched or smoked neck bones in a large pot or Dutch oven. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the top.

2.   While the bones are coming to a boil, make a small bag from cheese cloth (or a clean cotton hankie) and place in it the celery, parsley, allspice and cloves.  Add it to the soup pot, reduce heat, add vinegar and bay leaf and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour.

3.   Add prunes and season slowly with sugar, salt and pepper (go easy on the salt if using smoked neck bones).  Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly, partially covered, for 1 hour or until meat falls off the bone.  Remove the neck bones from the pot.

4.   Taste again and adjust the seasonings, plus vinegar or lemon juice, to your own palate.  Add the seasonings slowly, and keep tasting.  The broth should have a slightly sweet note from the plums and sugar, but with a soft contrasting tartness from the vinegar or lemon juice.  Remove meat from bones and return the meat to the pot.

5.   Turn off the heat, cool soup and then refrigerate until fat is congealed on top for easy skimming and removal. 

6.   Just before serving, in a medium bowl, “cream” the cold soup by adding a few ladles of cold soup and slowly whisking in the flour and cream; and whisking (or blending) until very smooth and all the flour lumps are gone.  Pour this mixture back into the soup pot and heat gently until soup is thickened and any raw flour taste is cooked out.

  Serve over noodles, if desired.   Smacznego!

PS: there are several regional versions that make great use of fruit in the soup.  Pictured is one such version with pears and fresh plums.

Classic Apple Raisin Cake

Witamy!  Many classic Polish baked goods trace their roots to the country and farms where the harvest bounty and seasons often dictated what landed in the kitchen and on the table every week.  In our modern world of upscale grocery stores, most recipes can be prepared the year round.  Ingredients are transported from wherever on our planet they are plentiful to wherever they are scarce.  So, seasonality has become less of an issue.  Of course if you wish to “buy local,” farmers’ markets are the way to go for freshly harvested and locally grown items.  And yes they often do taste better – at least to this writer. 

There are few better combinations of flavors than apples, cinnamon and walnuts.  This is one of our absolutely favorite desserts and one that we often prepare for sampling at book signing events. Then, Laura makes it in a mini-cupcake size and it works beautifully.  It’s very easy to prepare and the recipe is almost goof proof.  And it doesn’t hurt that it’s super popular with all our friends.

½ pound butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups sifted flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ cups raisins

4 cups cooking apples, peeled & coarsely shredded

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Beat the butter with the sugar until creamy. A standing mixer is perfect for this job but a hand mixer will work just as well.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat five more minutes (less if using a standing mixer).  Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and beat three more minutes.  Fold in the fruit and walnuts. 

Butter and flour a high 10-inch round spring form cake pan.  Pour in the finished batter and shake it around for even distribution.  Bake at 350 degrees for an hour to an hour and a half (60 to 90 minutes).  Test at 60 minutes for doneness with a toothpick.  The cake is done when the toothpick comes out dry.  Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before releasing the pan.

Yields 12 to 16 portions, depending on size of slices and how hungry your guests are.  Smacznego!

Mama's Favorite Summer Salads -- Totally Polish & Totally Awesome

Witamy!
Peter's Mother loved the fresh salads of summer because they were so light, refreshing, and paired well with almost any meal.  She would make enough to last several days and we all loved it.  

Now that the hot weather is here, there’s not much better than a chilled salad to accompany lunch or supper. We get our vegetables fresh off the farm from a nearby  farmers' market, and they are always bright, crunchy, and delicious.  These salads are healthy, and with a slight tang of the sour cream, they are totally Polish.  The sour cream is a theme running through these recipes because sour cream is a very popular element of classic Polish cuisine. Used in moderation, sour cream is a great flavor enhancer and a very popular ingredient in Polish preparations - especially when topped with fresh chopped dill or parsley.   Smacznego!

Radishes With Sour Cream  (Serves 5)

3 bunches fresh radishes, sliced thinly

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

Lettuce leaves

1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill

Sprinkle salt over the radishes and combine with sour

 cream.  Spread artfully over lettuce leaves and sprinkle

dill on top.

Carrot, Apple & Horseradish Salad  (Serves 4)

6 medium carrots, peeled and shredded

2 apples, peeled, cored and shredded

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Salt and sugar

2/3 cup sour cream

Green parsley, chopped

Combine the carrots, apple and horseradish.  Season with both salt and sugar, fold in the sour cream.  Chill for 15 minutes, garnish with parsley for color.

Carrot & Rhubarb Salad  (Serves 4)

4 medium carrots, peeled and shredded

2 stalks of rhubarb, finely sliced

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sour cream

Lettuce leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Sprinkle the sugar on the rhubarb.  Mix with the carrots. Season with salt to taste, mix in the Sour cream.  Arrange on the lettuce leaves.  Sprinkle parsley over the top for garnish.