Poland: Recipes and Cuisine
Both Central European and Slavic in character, Polish cooking centers around braised and roasted meats, homemade noodles and a wide variety of cabbage dishes. Polish food is hearty and filling. Many types of sausages, but especially kielbasa, are popular. Dumplings called pierogi are stuffed with both savory and sweet fillings and are boiled and sometimes fried. Sour and heavy cream enrich soups and stews.
Polish Recipes
Gołąbki
(Polish, stuffed cabbage rolls)
Golabki (pronounced ga-WUMP-kee) means "little pigeons" in Polish and is a reference to their size and shape. These stuffed cabbage rolls simmered in a tomato sauce are popular throughout Eastern Europe. In Russia, where they are known as golubtsy. In Ukraine they are called holubtsi. Hungarians refer to them as töltött káposzta. Read more »
Kwas Chlebowy
(Polish fermented rye beverage; see Kvas recipe)
Makowiec
(Polish poppy seed torte; see Makovy Kolac recipe)
Mizeria
(Polish cucumber and sour cream salad)
Mizeria is a nice cooling salad of cucumbers, dill and sour cream that is very popular in Poland. The name means "misery" in Polish, and legend has it that the dish was first served by poor (miserable?) peasants. Read more »
Pieczeń Wieprzowa
(Polish roast pork; see Schweinebraten recipe)
Pierogi
(Polish stuffed dumplings)
Pierogi is the Polish name for this popular East European stuffed dumpling. But they are known as vareniki to Russians. Jews of Eastern European origin call them pirogen, or piroshke. Pierogi come in both savory and sweet versions. Potato and cottage cheese fillings are the most common, but mushroom, meat, cabbage and fruit-filled versions are popular in different areas and countries. Read more »
