Zupa Czosnkowa (Garlic Soup)

Well, after a long and difficult winter I am back! It wasn't a very cold winter here, even by Australian standards, in fact it was surprisingly mild. That didn't stop me from getting a couple of colds/flu's and random viruses. The worst was bronchitis which left me very ill for three weeks, and then has taken another few weeks for me to feel like I am getting back to normal.

This Polish soup is one that ticks all my boxes when I am ill, It is easy to make, it is delicious, it is good for you (if you ignore the sour cream lol). It warms you up and makes you feel all cosy and loved. OK, maybe that's just me!

Though this may sound like a strange soup, with way too much garlic, give it a try. Cooking the garlic for such a long time takes away any heat and astringency and leaves a very sweet flavour. The egg and cream mixture further rounds out the flavour.

Ingredients

8 cups beef stock (use vegetable stock to make this vegetarian)

1 bay leaf
15 peeled garlic cloves
2 carrots, diced VERY finely
2 tablespoons oil
2 onions,diced finely
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream

Method

Cut 5 garlic cloves in half. Dice the remainder finely or put through a garlic sieve.

Saute onions in oil until translucent.Add the diced garlic and cook till softened. Add in remaining garlic, stock, carrots, and herbs.

Let simmer on a low heat for 1 hour. Season to taste. Leave to cool slightly (ie don't let it be near boiling or you may split the cream).

Mix egg yolks and sour cream together in a bowl, then slowly add a few tablespoons of hot stock to it to temper it (so it doesn't curdle when you add it to the soup). Whisk it into the soup.

Enjoy with hot bread, croutons, or shards of crispy bacon. (OK, so there goes the healthy part!!)

Cabbage and Pasta

I have to apologise at the lack of photo here. You see, we love this so much, that as soon as it was cooked we ate it all up!!!

Seriously wonderful, quick, easy, and delicious comfort food.

Ingredients

2 cups of cooked pasta (any sort will be fine - we usually use bowties or macaroni)
2 onions finely sliced
1 tbs caraway seeds
1/2 cup of sour cream
3 or 4 cups of finely sliced red cabbage
oil for frying + a small knob of butter for extra flavour
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Saute onions gently in the oil + butter until they are soft, sweet and translucent.

Stir in the caraway seeds. Add in the cabbage and cook until tender.

Add in the pasta, stir to combine. Then add in the sour cream, and stir through. If it is a bit "dry" and not saucy enough to coat add in a splash of water or milk. It should not be a runny sauce, but it should coat/cling to the pasta and cabbage.

Eat and enjoy!

Placki z jabłkami (aka apple pancakes)

I bought some yummy apples at the farmers markets a couple of weeks ago & figured I should use them up!
Apple pancakes are just delightful served warm, and are also nice served cold so they make a lovely snack to take to work/school/picnics. Very easy to make - if you can make a pikelet you can make these babies.

Ingredients

2 eggs
350ml milk
2 tbs sugar
2 1/2 cups of self raising flour
3 small or 2 large apples

bit of butter for frying
icing sugar to serve

Method

Whisk eggs, sugar, milk till frothy. Fold in flour.

Peel, core, half and finely slice apples.

Makes a generous amount for breakfast or morning tea :)

Heat pan, rub v lightly with butter. Put a spoonful of batter into pan, press two halves of apple into the batter. Cook till bubble appear. Flip over and cook till the bottom is brown.

Serve with icing sugar sprinkled over the top. They are also nice with a bit of cinnamon in the batter - a bit apple tea-cakey. :)

Note: You can also slice the apples into match-sticks or even grate them and just incorporate them into the mix instead. I just prefer this method because you get a little bit more crunch to the apple.

Chive Kluski with Garlic Cream

Love love love this. I was tired, and had only odd things in the fridge - leftover mashed potato, boursin, half a carton of cream, and a rubbery carrot. I really must go shopping... Anyway, mother is the neccessity of invention, so I took on the challenge, and came up with this dish. OMG it is really yummy. It's a take on a normal potato kluski (see my kluski recipe for more detail). Basically to the potato kluski recipe add 1 bunch of finely chopped chives. Then boil them and strain them. These kluski are soft, pillowy, and savoury. A great addition at this point to soups and stews... I can just imagine them in a chicken soup. The experiment was not to end here, though...

To a pan add a lug of olive oil with 1tsp of butter. Add in the kluski and cook until golden on the outside. At this point they are great as a side dish to steak etc - soft inside, slighty crunchy outside, with that lovely slightly oniony flavour. But, I wasn't yet done.

Pour in some cream and crumble in 1/2 a pat of boursin (a lovely creamy garlicky cheese). Stir till melted and the sauce thickens. Eat with cries of pleasure at just how delicious it is. I would have sprinkled some herbs on top, but I had used all the chives and it was too dark and cold to go outside and find any herbage... but I think a little bit of parsley or thyme would be lovely on top.

Sorrel Soup (Zupa Szczawiowa)

French Sorrel - you can get some at
Four seasons herbs

The Polish have been foragers for many generations, and our family is no exception, as you might have gathered from the excitement over mushrooming or the collection of - ahem - windfall apples! Sorrel grows wildly in much of Europe, and you can occasionally find patches in Australia as well - though it is not a native here.

To make my foraging life easier, when I found some "French sorrel" at the nursery I just had to get some.  This is a lovely large leafed plant, with leaves that resemble that of English spinach. To look at anyway - the taste is quite different. Sorrel has a slightly lemony tanginess that I adore. There are many other varieties of sorrel - my grandmother used to grow wood sorrel under her trees and I have fond memories of chomping on its tart stalks on summer days.

Gołąbki (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)

Gołąbki

Serves .... about 12 ... ish

I used to love it when my babcia would make gołąbki. It was usually in autumn, when the cabbages were big and beautiful, and the days were cool enough to light the wood stove. Making gołąbki is not exactly difficult, but it is time-consuming - all that steaming of cabbage takes time - but I think the end result is worth it. When I saw a beautiful organic perfect cabbage at the wholefood coop last week I knew what I had to do. I still have the pot that my mother and grandmother used to make gołąbki, so it feels a little like they are still here with me in some way.

You could make a smaller amount of these cabbage rolls. That would lessen the cooking time. With all the effort that you go to, however, I think it makes as much sense to make a whole batch. I find that they freeze surprisingy well, so I make as much as I can out of one cabbage. Then as winter progresses, I can pop them out of the freezer to defrost in the fridge either the the night before or in the morning, and then heat them either in a frypan or in the oven for an easy dinner whenever I feel like it!

Ingredients

1 whole head of cabbage (large leafed, not savoy)
2 onions chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic finely diced
800g beef mince
500g pork mince
3 cups cooked rice
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 cups beef stock
1 cup of tomato sauce

Method

Take off the outer leaves of the cabbage and lay half of them in some water on the bottom of a large pot.
Bring it to a steady simmer.

Core the cabbage. lay it on the leaves, cover with the rest of the leaves and put the lid on the pot. Steam until the leaves come off easily. With some cabbages this may mean steaming, pulling off half the leaves, and then steaming again.

My lid did not fit easily... I laid it on top of the leaves, though!

While the cabbage is steaming mix the garlic, onion, rice, beef mince, and pork mince, and 1 tin of tomatoes until they are combined. When the cabbage leaves have been separated it is time to fill the leaves. You may need to cut peel the stem of the cabbage in order for it to roll more easily. 

Lay the cabbage leaf down. Place a ball of the stuffing into the centre. Fold the bottom up to cover it, then fold the sides in. Lift the leaf and stuffing and roll it onto the top of the leaf to close it. Continue filling until you run out of mixture or out of large enough leaves. I find most cabbages make between 20 to 30 rolls.

The following vid shows you how it is done... don't laugh, it's really hard to roll these with one hand!!

Discard the water from the pot you steamed the head of cabbage in. Replace half the outer leaves of the cabbage on the bottom. Place the cabbage rolls in the pot, filling each layer, until you have filled the pot to capacity. (I have never not been able to fit all the gołąbki into the one pot, but you never know - that day may come!). Pour in the tomatoes, beef stock, and tomato sauce into the pot. Cover with the rest of the leaves, put the lid on the pot, and put the pot on a slow heat. Leave it for 40mins to 1 hour - until all the gołąbki are soft and cooked.

Gołąbki in a serving dish, ready to be put on the table

Serve - my grandmother always served them with mashed potato and green beans. I like them like that too, but tonight I just had them with some crusty rye bread. It was cooked at home, but came out of a packet... still, it looks good, right? And there is no better bread than bread straight out of the oven...

Light rye bread hot out of the oven...
perfect for sopping up those leftover juices...

Pączki

These are a bread doughnut, not a cake doughnut. They are not anywhere near as sweet as the ones that you buy at doughnut stands.

Ingredients

1 tsp instant yeast
6 tsp caster sugar
230 ml lukewarm milk
450-500 g plain flour (start with 450, add in more flour if they dough is too sticky)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 whole egg and 4 yolks
50 g butter


Oil for frying.


Jam of your choice for filling.
Cinnamon sugar, castor sugar, or icing sugar for dusting/glazing.

 

Method

Place the yeast and 1 tsp of the sugar into the warm milk, stir, and leave for 10-15 minutes until the yeast has gone frothy.

Place the flour, salt, vanilla extract and the rest of sugar in a bowl. Add in the egg, yolks and butter and combine. Start kneading the dough slowly adding the yeast mixture and the rest of milk.

Knead the dough until it is shiny and more easily handled. It will be a soft dough. Cover and leave to rise for an hour.

Roll out the dough to make 15-20 flattish balls. Leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil to 175°C. Use enough oil for the doughnuts to float freely.  Fry doughnuts around 1-2 minutes on every side (or until golden brown). Don't overcrowd the pan, as the oil temperature will drop down. Flip them using wooden skewers (I use chopsticks - probably not so traditional!).

Take them out of the oil and put it on a plate covered with paper towel to absorb extra oil.A jam syringe is best but if, like me, you don't own such a thing then use an icing bag, insert a tip into the side of the doughnut and gently squeeze the jame of your choice in. BE GENTLE. Don't ask why I thought that required capitals... she said, looking at the jam spatters on the counter... lol!

Pączki with strawberry jam... mmmm....

To finish either dust with cinnamon sugar, castor sugar, or glaze with a thin icing made with icing sugar and hot water. I just dusted with castor sugar for a little hit of extra sweetness.

UPDATE: These do indeed freeze very well. I wrapped rows of four doughnuts in foil, and then popped them in the freezer. They defrosted well and were fine eat cold, but also were very nice warmed in the oven. Not as good as straight out of the deep-fry but nothing to pass up either :)

Kapuśniak a.k.a Cabbage Soup

This is a warming soup that my babcia would whip up every now and then. I haven't made it in years, but this autumn afternoon seemed to call out for it - and I had all the ingredients in the kitchen, which always helps! This soup always seemed to me to be the epitome of peasant food - hearty, filling, tasty - and cheap to make!  It has a whole sweet-sour-salty vibe going on that just elevates it from boring to sublime. Then again, I might just be a little bit biased!

Kapuśniak a.k.a Cabbage Soup

1/2 white cabbage
4-6 potatoes
2 onions
200g smoked pork (you can use bacon, leftover pork roast etc) ** Vegetarians - just omit this or replace with a smoked tofu :)
1 litre of chicken stock + 1 litre of water
1 cup of saurkraut (if you don't have any handy a tablespoon of white vinegar or the juice of 1 lemon can be substituted).

Saute the onion until translucent. Add in the pork and saute until any fat renders off. Add in the remaining ingedients, bring to boil, then simmer until the potatoes are cooked and the meat is falling apart.

Season to taste, then serve with crusty bread.


This recipe easily serves 8.

Smacznego!

pierogi grzybowe - mushroom Pierogi

This is the first time I have made pierogi since my mother died a few years back. Making pierogi is one of the happiest memories I have of my dear babcia (my grandmother) and my mother. We usually favoured a sweet cheese pierogi, but there are many different varieties and fillings.  This one is a good one for Lent (which is starting soon) as it contains no meat - but is so tasty you don't miss that at all!

Pierogi Dough

1 egg yolk

Pierogi grzybowe - lightly refried the next day

2 cups of white flour, sifted

1/2 cup water

Mix the flour with the egg yolk and water, and mix together. Knead until it is a smooth dough that doesn't stick to your fingers. Pop it into a container, cover with plastic, and leave in fridge until ready to use.

Mushroom Filling

450g fresh mushrooms, finely chopped

olive oil for frying (add in 1tsp of butter for a hint of extra flavour)

1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

lightly saute the onion until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook gently for 10-15 minutes until all the moisture has been sweated off. Stir breadcrumbs and parsley through the mushrooms.

Assembly & Cooking

Look at all that mushroomy goodness!

Roll out walnut sized pieces of dough into circles, place a spoonful of mushroom filling in the centre. Fold the dough over, and crimp to close. The dough should be elastic enough to stretch easily over the filling.

You can make the pieces as small as desired (little dumplings for soup) or larger ones.  

Drop the pierogi into boiling salted water. They are cooked when they float to the top. Pierogi can be eaten straight from the pot, re-fried or baked the next day, or added to soups (if you make little dumplings!).

 

buraczki ze smietana (Beets with sour cream)

This is great served either warm or chilled. I personally love the little hits of dill and pepper against the sweet creamy beet. Some recipes add horseradish to taste, and this adds a lovely sharpness and bite to it which makes it a spicy side to meat dishes. Personally, I like it creamy, with a hint of lemon to add just a hint of acidity.

buraczki ze smietana

4 beetroots
3/4 cup of sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon
a couple of fronds of dill to stir through (reserve some for garnish)

Cook the beets in boiling water until just done. Cool until able to be handled, then peel and grate them.
Stir the sour cream through (and horseradish if you are using it), season to taste. Sprinkle with dill, squeeze the lemon juice over, and stir till combined. Garnish with extra dill. Serve warm, or chill in the fridge for 2 hours if you are wanting to serve cold.

Zupa Grzybowa (Mushroom Soup)

If you google the web for Zupa Grzybowa you'll find that there are probably as many recipes for this yummy soup as there are Polish cooks. Some start off by cooking a roux which will later thicken the soup. Others thicken at the end with a clever combo of sour-cream and flour. Some add barley. All would probably agree that the best mushrooms for that are those that are grown in Poland... but I really have no access to them fresh or dried, so I can't comment! The addition of dried porcini, however, does add a lovely depth of flavour to it. Perhaps one day I will be able to use Polish mushrooms - if so, I'll tell you what they are like. :)

I'm giving you my version which does not use a roux, and is usually not thickened at the end. It freezes well at that point. You can thicken it with sour cream and flour if you wish when re-heating - instructions will be given below. Or you can simply serve with some sour cream on the table for people to add to their liking.

You can very easily make this soup either vegetarian or vegan by using vegetable stock and omitting the sour cream

Zupa Grzybowa

500g mixed fresh mushrooms
100g dried porcini (or if you happen to be able to get dried Polish mushrooms give them a whirl!) - soak these for about an hour before use.
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 litres good quality vegetable or beef stock - use the fresh kind, not one made up from stock powder!
1 cup pearl barley (optional)

cook onions in olive oil until translucent. Add in fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms, and the water the mushroms were soaking in (run through a sieve to catch any grit). Stir through. Pour in the stock, add in 1 cup of rinsed pearl barley. Put a lid on it and cook at a medium-slow heat for about an hour. If using the pearl barley make sure you cook it long enough so it is soft - the hour usually suffices.


for thickening...
2tbs cornflour
2 cups of sour cream
mix the cornflour and sour cream together. Whisk in a wee bit of the hot soup to loosen it and bring it to the same temp as the soup (so it doesn't curdle when added). Pour into the soup, whisking until it comes to a boil.

Delicious served with toasted sourdough.

As the Polish say smacznego! or Bon apetit!

Kluski

Pumpkin kluski with red cabbage

Kluski is a kind of generic name for dumplings or thick noodles in Polish. There are different types of kluski, but the ones my babcia and mum used to make most of the time were made of mashed potato and were oh-so-good.  Especially in soups, or just simply fried in a little butter the next day...

Babcia'sKluski
Peel 5 medium potatoes and cook in boiling salted water until tender. Mash them with a small amount of milk. While they are still warm mix in 1 egg, and enough flour from a cup of plain flour so that the dough comes together and is malleable and not sticky. The quantities of the flour will depend on how much moisture is in the potatoes, and even on the humidity of the room. Add it slowly until it comes together. Roll out thick snakes of the dough, cut pieces off, and shape them so they have a little indentation. Ok, I have to admit - I never shape them because I am lazy! But Babcias were always perfect and beautiful!

Cook in large pot of boiling salted water without crowding the kluski. As they float up to the surface remove with a slotted spoon. Serve them with soups, stews, fried with cabbage - or bacon, which was my mums favourite.!

My Pumpkin kluski
My version of kluski uses mashed pumpkin instead of potato - you need to add more flour, and usually another egg to get a good non-sticky dough. It is always softer and more sticky than the potato kluski. Instructions for making it are the same as for the potato. These are a little sweeter because of the pumpkin, and I find they go really well with red cabbage as a wonderful autum dish - the flavours work well, and the dish is just beautiful to look at!