Witamy!
Classic Polish cuisine embraces a huge variety of delicious, cool & crunchy summer salads that pair really well with just about any entree. We love them especially with meats off the grill, whether your favorite kielbasa (Polish sausage) or burgers ‘n dogs, or just about anything you’ve pulled out for tonight’s dinner. They’re quick and easy to prepare.
And now that all the neighborhood farmers markets are going strong, their ingredients are so fresh and flavorful. Can there be anything better that biting into a juicy tomato or crisp cucumber just picked that morning and prepared for tonight’s dinner?
The second salad takes advantage of cabbage and dill pickles, both staples of classic Polish cuisine. Using a food processor it will take just moments to prepare. Its tang will be sure to delight the whole family. Tip: Imported Polish dill pickles are a bit sweeter than what’s usually found in American grocery stores.
Tomato Cucumber Salad
Serves 6
1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced
4 medium tomatoes, sliced
¼ teaspoon salt, or a bit more to taste
¼ teaspoon sugar, or a bit more to taste
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill (dried is OK)
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
1 teaspoon white vinegar
Arrange the tomato and cucumber slices, alternating each, on an oblong serving platter. Sprinkle with the salt, sugar and dill. Top with a sprinkle of green onions and finally sprinkle everything lightly with the vinegar, just to give it all a slight tang. Serve chilled or at room temp.
Cabbage and Dill Pickle Salad
Serves 6
2 cups, shredded cabbage
2 medium dill pickles, coarsely shredded
¼ teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
½ teaspoon sugar (reduce by half if using imported Polish dill pickles)
2 tablespoons pickle juice
2 tablespoons salad oil
1 small tomato, sliced
Mix the cabbage and shredded pickles thoroughly. Season with salt, sugar, pickle juice, and oil. Arrange on a serving dish and garnish with the tomato slices. Serve chilled.
For three more delicious summer salads check out our blog post from 7-14-14.
Smacznego!
Witamy!
Polish cuisine is comprised of a very wide variety of dishes and flavors. They come from the influences 14th century French and Italian royalty, from the worldly wives of 18th and 19th century Polish gentry, and from the flavors left behind by the invading armies of neighboring lands.
Among the most original Polish dishes are the soups, such as Sour Soup, Dried Mushroom Soup, Dill Soup, or Pickle Soup. And among the best of Polish soups are the chilled fruit soups. Served cold on a hot summer day, they are refreshing, full of flavor, and always enjoyed by entire families, regardless of age.
Fruit soups are not too sweet and Poles eat them as a first course for supper or as the main, or for a heartier course with noodles. Sometimes they are served after the main course, as a healthier replacement for dessert.
Chilled Strawberry Soup
Serves 6
1 quart ripe strawberries, washed and hulled
1 quart buttermilk
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup sour cream
Using a blender, mix the strawberries and 1 cup of the buttermilk for a few seconds until smooth. Add the sugar and remaining buttermilk and mix well. Chill thoroughly. Serve with home-made buttery croutons.
Chilled Blueberry Soup
Serves 6
1 quart blueberries
1 slice white bread
4 cups water
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup sour cream
Croutons
Add the blueberries and bread to one cup of boiling water. Bring back to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Mix in a blender for just a few seconds until smooth. Add remaining 3 cups of boiling water, spices and sugar, blend well until smooth. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Just before serving, add sour cream to the soup tureen and mix. Garnish each serving with croutons.
For two delicious varieties, substitute 1½ pounds of pitted Italian plums or 3 pints of pitted cherries, and increase the sour cream a bit to 2/3 cup.
Smacznego!
Witamy!
Poles love to bake with fruit and they always have. This particular recipe was an old favorite of Peter’s Mother’s and it calls for canned pineapple. But for us, today, this classic dessert is an attractive opportunity to take advantage of seasonal harvests and what is best in the grocery stores and farmer’s markets.
The canned pineapple is a time saver but it can easily be substituted for any fresh fruit that has been chopped, diced, and drained well. Right now we’re seeing peaches, apples, nectarines, and apricots at our farmer's market. And just yesterday we saw bags of beautiful cherries at Wegmans. The key, is to drain the fruit well, otherwise the bottom layer of dough will get soggy.
Yields 32 squares
Dough
3 cups flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup butter
3 egg yolks
½ cup milk
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the flour with the baking powder and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer. Cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Mix the egg yolks with the milk and add to the flour. Knead the dough until all ingredients are incorporated well and the dough forms a ball.
Filling
5 cups crushed pineapple, drained
6 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup sugar
In a medium saucepan, mix the pineapple, cornstarch and sugar and cook on low heat until the mixture thickens. Set aside to cool.
Line a 10x15-inch baking pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll out the pieces of dough into rectangles, each large enough to fit in the prepared baking pan. Place one rectangle in the baking pan. Spread the pineapple mixture over the dough.
Cut the second dough rectangle into strips and arrange on top in a lattice design.
Topping
1 egg white, beaten
1 cup walnuts, chopped
Brush the top dough layer with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with the walnuts. Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven. Cool on a baking rack. Cut into squares and serve.
Smacznego!
