Summer Salmon Salad - Polish Style

 Witamy!

Canned salmon!  Yes indeed, canned salmon has a place in every pantry. It has more flavor than canned tuna and offers a world of options for a light healthy meal when time is short or you’ve had a hard day and your energy tank is running on fumes. 

This was a favorite dish of Peter’s Mom’s and it really should be in your file of favorite recipes.  It's a perfect summer plate when you don’t feel like preparing a more complicated or involved meal.  

The fishing industry in Poland is growing rapidly as eating fish is 

becoming even more popular.  Baltic salmon is a unique Polish specialty item.  Unlike fatty farm-raised salmon, its firm flesh is only slightly pink (after cooking it is nearly white).  Whether cooked or smoked, wild salmon provides amazing taste sensations far superior to the farmed varieties.  It is available in cans and can be also eaten raw when salted.  Have you ever tried Polish canned salmon and what did you think of it?  We’ve not tried it in the U. S. but will look for some on the next visit to our favorite Polish Deli.  Laura likes the Kirkland brand canned salmon (packed in water) from Costco but any brand will work. 

Serves 8
16 ounces canned, wild salmon, drained and crumbled
2 cups young potatoes, boiled & sliced thinly
1 cup mayonnaise
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 tablespoon scallions or green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

This is not one of those recipes where you mix everything in a bowl and serve.  This is prettier.  The only prep is to arrange all the ingredients in layers, so how easy is that?  On the bottom of a serving platter, spread the potatoes in a flat layer.  Second, spread a healthy layer of the crumpled salmon over the potatoes. Third, spread a very light layer of the mayonnaise over the salmon.  Cover with alternating slices of tomato and the egg – show off your wild side and be creative!  

Sprinkle the chopped green onions, and lastly sprinkle generously with chopped dill. Dill is so important in Polish cuisine!  And now you can find it as fresh as can be  at many Farmers Markets. Chill for an hour and serve on lettuce leaves.  A glass of dry white wine or fresh iced tea would pair very nicely with this beautiful salad.   
Smacznego!

Summer Fruit Soups - Polish Style

 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!

Sour Milk - A True Polish Delicacy (For Real!) "Zsiadłe Mleko"

 Really?  Sour Milk?  Oh yeah, for sure and for real!   Keep reading: 

One of my favorite childhood food memories was a summer delicacy called Zsiadłe Mleko or in English, Sour Milk.  Now before you scroll away or hit the delete key, just hang in there with me because there is nothing spoiled or sour about it and it is a genuine Polish delicacy.  I just devoured a bowl of it and it was an absolutely refreshing and tangy summer lunch.

Close your eyes and think slightly thin or loose yogurt…with a similar tang of buttermilk and the texture of a light pudding or flan.  It's served with buttered baby potatoes and fresh dill.   I promise that it really tastes fantastic and there’s nothing sour about it.   

There was a great story told by my Mom, who was active in the Polish resistance, that during World War II, there was a small band of Polish resistance fighters who found themselves in France behind enemy lines. They were lost and exhausted from dodging the enemy.  A French farmer took them in and let them hide in his cow barn. That farmer, seeing that they were also famished, apologized and said that all he had was some potatoes in the field, a few left-over sprigs of dill in the garden, and a bucket of soured milk which he was planning to feed to his pigs.  The Polish soldiers, hearing this, started laughing hysterically and pounced on the bucket of sour milk.  You see, where they grew up in Poland this was a delicacy known as “a dish for kings” -- a bowl of sour milk enjoyed best with a small plate of buttered potatoes and dill.  Amazing!

In Poland you can buy it commercially prepared but back in the day, this dish was made at home with unpasteurized milk.  But these days there is risk of germs or disease from consuming raw milk, so we strongly suggest that only pasteurized milk be used.

The Recipe:  First, the milk has to be “cultured” to become thick and tart.   Pour  a quart of whole milk into a glass or ceramic bowl (anything but metal).  Add ½ cup of sour cream OR 1 cup of cultured buttermilk.  Whisk or blend the mixture thoroughly.   Place the bowl into a warm spot (80 °F is great) and let it stand for 24 hours or until thick.  Do not move or disturb the bowl while the milk is setting up.  When it thickens to the consistency of flan or a light pudding, place the bowl into the fridge and cool for half a day or so.  To serve, spoon it into serving bowls and serve with young white potatoes that have been sprinkled with butter and fresh chopped dill.  

PS:  I had a bowl it for lunch – I started it two days ago with a quart of 2% milk and 3 tablespoons of sour cream.  The bowl just sat in our kitchen for a day and a half before it set up.  A little clear liquid separated in the bowl but I just poured that off.  I boiled a few baby white potatoes, sprinkled them with melted butter and dill.  My lunch was so refreshing on this hot day and just so delicious that I’ve got another bowl started.  

Smacznego!