Eating in Poland
Tim and I recently had the opportunity to connect with Tim's ancestral roots by spending two weeks traveling through Poland. While we took in many moving historical sites, significant religious places, and beautiful architecture and countrysides, what we might have done most of all is eat.
We get some odd looks when we tell people that the food in Poland is amazing. The problem is, if you live outside of the highly Polish areas in Chicago or Milwaukee, we just don't know much about Poland.
But we should.
After a long and grueling history of being fought over and divided up by outsiders, the Polish people finally have a country to themselves. Even though their history is tragic, they are proud that they were able to make it through. And, it is truly amazing that they have made it through with their own, unique and vibrant culture still shining strong.
And a big part of that culture is their food. Food so hearty and comforting that, as Tim's co-worker put it: " is like European soul food."
We started our trip in Warsaw, the city that was completely leveled during WWII. It has been rebuild with a central part in the old style, but mostly in a more modern style, fitting of the business and commerce industries that have sprung up there.
While there, we enjoyed our first taste of Pierogi.
Pierogi are basically Polish Ravioli, with a soft and light dough. Traditional fillings include mixed meat, cabbage and onions, potatoes and cheese. But, we did experience some more unique ones filled with orange-seasoned duck, and ones with lentils and cranberries.
We've made Pierogi before, but the dough we found in Poland was softer and lighter than any dumpling we have tried in the States.
The Polish people love their soups and hearty stews. Every meal starts with a soup. Beet soup, sour rye soup, cream of vegetable. Heartier stews like Goulash and Hunter's Stew might be served as a meal or a light lunch.
We were delighted to find that the White Borscht (or Zurek) that we made before the trip, tasted spot on to the Zurek we were served!
We have made a traditional Beet Borscht too, but we kept the veggies in the soup, varying a bit from the traditional. In Poland, they like their Borscht clear and strained of any vegetables. It is served with a potato croquette or little dumplings.
Main dishes in Poland feature a lot of meat, particularly pork in many forms. We even had one meal, served family style, where a huge basin of meat was plopped in the middle of the table!
To accompany the meat, you will often find potatoes, boiled, mashed, or roasted in duck fat - which may sound strange, but is incredibly delicious! Kapusta (sauteed cabbage) and dumplings (either in the form of Pierogi or alone) are also incredibly common.
And we can't forget dessert!
Polish deserts are beautiful, but very different from dessert here in the States. Sweets tend to be less sweet, letting the flavors of the other ingredients shine through, which was perfect for us!
Our favorites were the Apple Cake and Poppy Seed Cake. Both layered cakes with incredibly flavorful fillings.
But, no conversation about Polish desserts would be complete without a tribute to Kremówka, now known as Pope's Cake. This tower of flaky pastry and cream was Saint John Paul II's favorite dessert when he would return home to Wadowice. It's no wonder why!
I could continue, but, we will save more for future posts. The trip has inspired us, so you will be seeing a series of our favorites from each food category starting this summer.
If there are any Polish foods you are curious about, leave a comment or drop us n email. We'll do our best to answer questions and recreate those tasty dishes!
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
recipes from Poland brought back really great memories of my Grandmother and Mother, Their versions differed slightly but were basically the same, They also saved grease from cooked meat dishes to use as grease and flavoring in others not Healthy but boy what great tastes. while they did not use bacon the did use something called fat back, it was prepared the same as bacon.
Thanks for sharing Ed! We're glad to bring back some good memories!
I live in Ukraine and some of the dishes that you tried in Poland, we cook at home very often, such as borsch). You wrote a great review! Thanks!
Thanks Tori!
Wonderful to find this recipe !
I grew up eating Perogi but we pronounced to Petd-OR-A and as a Russian version, per my dad's side of the family.
This makes me miss them as I have not made them in a long time. Thanks again for the recipe....look forward to looking through your blog to find more tasty morsels from around the world !!
Leticia Warwick Justus
How interesting! Thanks for sharing your pronunciation! We hope you enjoy our recipe!
top recipes and comments some of the foods mentioned bring back memories that of my late father's naming the items and cooking them!! wow!! We live in Australia after arriving here from Holland and this year in July visited Warsaw for the first time
So glad these foods bring back memories for you! Warsaw is such a wonderful place, isn't it?
I have tried one recipe. Please let me explain. I had 2 strokes on June 8, 2014. Since then, my husband has done the cooking. Fast forward 4 years, and we still have him doing the cooking, but I'm moving around (well half around, my left leg is slow and my left arm is practically nonexistent). He bought me a bread machine. I love it! I love cinnamon, and tried the cinnamon babka recipe. I'm hard pressed to try any new recipes... I keep thinking cinnamon babka!
Hi Kelly. Thanks for your note. That is wonderful that your husband does the cooking to help you out. We're so glad you enjoyed the cinnamon babka! Bread machines are so handy. There is nothing like fresh bread, and they make it so easy!
Mum used to make a spread called smulitz (not sure if it is spelt right) cooked bacon fat, chopped bacon, combine the bacon fat and bacon together let set overnight in the pantry, spread it on fresh Vienna bread, it's defenatly a heart stopper!
Yes!! We had this while we were in Poland! Definitely not heart friendly, but oh so tasty!
Great post:) I do agree that Polish food is amazing. I visit Warsaw quite often and I always try to discover some new culinary spots. My favorite so far is actually a bar called Bubbles. The specialize in champagnes and wines, but the food they serve is just delicious. I plan my next visit to Poland soon and I will for sure visit Bubbles during my stay!
Thanks for stopping by Lara! If we're ever back in Warsaw, we'll have to check out Bubbles! Cheers!
Polish food is incredible, I could eat it every day. I visit Poland at least few times a year and I always go to restaurants with Polish cuisine. I usually stay in Warsaw, and my favourite place there is called the Akademia. They have Polish cuisine with modern, European twist to it. Everything is freshly made and so delicious!
That sounds wonderful! We'll have to check it out if we find ourselves in Warsaw again!
I love Polish food. They are delicious and hearty. Whenever I'm in Europe, I make my way to Poland as I just love the atmosphere there and the people. I love seeing posts like this as it always brings back lovely memory of Poland!
Glad we could bring back good memories! Poland is such an amazing country!