Let's Get "Saucy" - Polish Style

Witamy!

In Polish cuisine, sauces are not quite so prolific or complicated as in France.  This image is of a beautiful flounder recipe with a light lemon sauce, found on Page 50, of our cook book: Polish Classic Recipes.  The right Polish sauce can elevate your cooking to the next level.  The key to success is in the right proportions of fat, flour, liquids, flavorings, and patience.  Always cook your sauces on low heat, always stir vigorously.  Today’s immersion blenders are super for getting the lumps out.

Here are a few important tips:

Instant flour, such as Wondra, can be a big help because it yields a smoother and less lumpy texture with less mixing  It's not always easy to find, but worth a spot in your pantry.
Never add flour to a hot sauce but do add sauce to the flour, a spoon at a time while constantly stirring.

Never boil a sauce with sour cream because it will separate.  And if it does separate, you can often save it by cooling it down and adding some more sour cream to the sauce.

Chicken or beef stocks are easiest to work with; bouillon cubes can be dissolved and used but watch the saltiness.  Base stock (highly concentrated stock in a jar – beef, chicken, mushroom) is great for kicking up flavor but use it very sparingly because it can be very salty. 

Here are a few traditional Polish sauces with great versatility.

Dill Pickle Sauce

1 ½ tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons flour

½ cup beef stock

½ cup pickle juice from the jar

3 large dill pickles, shredded

½ cup sour cream

                                        Salt to taste

Heat the stock.  Mix the butter with the flour over low heat.  Stir in the hot stock gradually. Stir in the pickle liquid. Bring to a low boil while stirring constantly.  Add the pickles.  Add the sour cream very slowly while stirring.  Heat but do not let it boil.  Season with salt.   Serve over beef roast and boiled potatoes.

Dill Sauce

1 cup chicken or beef stock

3 tablespoons flour

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped dill (fresh has more flavor)

½ cups sour cream

Salt to taste

Put the flour in a small saucepan.  Stir in the stock (room temperature) into the flour gradually, while stirring. Bring to a low boil stirring constantly.  Add the dill and remove from heat. Add sour cream. Season with salt.  Serve warm over braised meats and dry casseroles. 

Dried Mushroom Sauce

1 ounce dried mushrooms

1 cup water

3 ½ tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons cold water

Salt & pepper

½ cup sour cream

Rinse the dried mushroom very thoroughly.  Rehydrate them by soaking in 1 cup hot water for about an hour.  Bring the soaking mushrooms in their water to a low boil for another 45 minutes, or until they are soft.   Rough chop the mushrooms. Combine the broth into the flour mixed with 4 tablespoons cold water.  Fold in the chopped mushrooms and bring to a low boil while stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool a bit and add the sour cream very slowly while stirring constantly.  Serve over meatloaf, meat balls or any braised meats.  

Cold Mustard Sauce

2 tablespoon prepared (yellow) mustard

Salt to taste

1 cup sour cream

¼ teaspoon sugar

Mix all the ingredients well; serve over cold ham, kielbasa, cold pork loin, or boiled eggs.  This sauce is very popular at Easter. 

Cold Green Onion Sauce

1 cup sour cream

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

4 tables finely chopped green onions (scallions) 

¼ teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients well; serve over cold ham, kielbasa, cold pork loin, or boiled eggs. 

Cold Horseradish Sauce

5 ounces prepared horseradish

1 large apple, peeled & shredded

1 cup sour cream

Salt to taste

¼ teaspoon sugar

Mix the horseradish with the apples. Add the sour cream. Season with salt and sugar.  Serve with fish, cold cuts, hard-boiled eggs. 

Smacznego! 

Lenten Filet of Sole - Polish Style

Witamy!

It is Lent and time for meatless meals. Polish cuisine is not just about kielbasa, pierogi, or stuffed cabbage rolls.  Polish comfort food is loved around the whole world, but in fact there are a great many traditional dishes in our repertoire that are healthier, lighter, and just as delicious.  For this year’s Lenten season, we’re sharing with you a delicious fish preparation from Peter's Mom, first posted a few years ago, that will please the whole family and especially the healthy eaters around the table.   

This recipe features filet of sole which is pretty easy to find in better grocery stores.  But it can also be substituted with any lighter and thinner white fish such as flounder or tilapia.  We like Basa quite a bit, which is actually a Vietnamese cousin to the catfish but often sold in thinner filets.  

In Virginia we see Basa, both fresh and frozen, in Asian grocery stores so we like to make a special trip and buy a larger quantity for the freezer.  It’s one of our favorite fish and much cheaper than sole or flounder. 

Filet of Sole with vegetables - Polish Style

Serves 6

1 ½ tablespoons butter

1 large onion, chopped

¼ small head of savoy cabbage, chopped

1 leek, finely sliced  (just the white part)

1 large carrot, finely sliced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 parsley root, finely sliced

3 tablespoons water

2 pounds filet of sole, or any white fish filets

Salt to taste

Sauce

1 ½ tablespoons butter

1 ½ tablespoons flour

2 bouillon cubes, vegetable or chicken

1 cup hot water

Salt & pepper to taste

3 tablespoons sour cream

In a large skillet, heat the butter, add the vegetables and the 3 tablespoons of water,  sauté over medium heat until soft - about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the fish lightly with salt.  Place on top of the vegetables and simmer until the fish is just cooked through – about 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness.  To test for doneness, pierce the filet lightly with a fork, turn it a bit to see if the fish is no longer opaque in color.  When done the fish should be somewhat flaky under your fork. 

To prepare the sauce,  heat the butter, add the flour, sauté while mixing until well blended.  Dissolve the bouillon cubes in hot water and add the broth to the pan.  Bring to a boil.  Stir until slightly thickened.

To serve, transfer the fish filets gently to a warm serving platter.  Add the sauce  to the vegetables. Remove from heat.  Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste.  Finish by stirring in the sour cream.  Pour over the fish.  

Serve with Polish dumplings, rice or egg noodles

                                                image courtesy of w.spodnicy.pl

Smacznego!  

Chicken In Lemon Sauce From Warsaw

Witamy!  Best wishes for the New Year!

We’ve been eating a lot more chicken lately, its lean, healthy, budget-friendly, and generally easy to prepare.  One of the smartest ways to get a chicken on the table these days, especially for dual wage-earner families, is to buy a rotisserie chicken from your neighborhood grocery store.  

Our challenge though, is that Peter really hates dried out white meat and he’s not a big fan of left overs.  Since there are only two of us most evenings, we can’t finish a whole chicken.  That means that Laura has to work hard to reinvent the leftovers into something delicious.

One of our favorite preparations is this “Chicken in Lemon Sauce from Warsaw.”   This was Peter’s Great-Grandfather’s favorite dish and for years it would always put him in a good mood.  However, Great-Grandmother used it for that purpose a little too often because over time he became suspicious, expecting bad news to follow after each time he saw Chicken In Lemon Sauce on the table.  

We love this recipe and not just for left-overs.  Often we will roast our own chicken, or buy one, specifically to debone and let the pieces swim in this awesome, light & bright lemon sauce.  We like to serve it over rice with fresh veggies and a salad on the side. 

Serves 6
One 3-pound chicken, cooked, skinned, de-boned, cut into pieces.
2 tablespoons soft butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons cold water
1 ¾ cups of chicken broth 
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped dill
Salt & pepper to taste.

Bring the broth to a boil.  In a separate pan, mix the butter with the flour well.  Stir in 5 tablespoons of the hot broth, one at a time.  Add this mix back to rest of the boiling broth.  Remove from the heat.  Add the egg yolks beaten with the cold water. Stir in half of the lemon juice. Taste.  The sauce should be bright and clearly lemony but not so tart that it puckers your lips.  Add more lemon juice if desired.  Sprinkle in the dill.  Taste again.  Season as needed but be careful with the salt since dill can add a salty back note to the sauce. 
Smacznego!