Polish Recipes

Pierogi dumplings lead, followed by kiełbasa sausages, bigos hunter's stew, gołąbki cabbage rolls, kotlet schabowy (breaded pork cutlet), żurek sour rye soup, and barszcz beet soup. The cuisine is hearty and centered on pork, cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms, and fermented sour flavors, with sour cream and dill as constant finishing touches.

Pierogi and Ukrainian varenyky are close cousins — both larger dumplings with cooked fillings like potato, cheese, cabbage, or fruit, boiled and often buttered. Russian pelmeni are smaller, thinner-skinned, and filled with raw seasoned meat that cooks inside the dumpling, served with broth, sour cream, or vinegar. The 'ruskie' in pierogi ruskie refers to historical Red Ruthenia, not Russia.

Traditional celebratory dishes — bigos, breaded cutlets, sausage — are rich, but everyday Polish eating includes much lighter fare: clear rosół broth, cucumber and tomato salads (mizeria, surówki) at every dinner, fermented vegetables, kefir and buttermilk, and summer fruit soups. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, sour rye, and pickles give the cuisine a bright acidity that cuts the richness.

Potato pancakes (placki ziemniaczane) are nearly foolproof: grated potato and onion, egg, flour, fried crisp and served with sour cream. For a flagship project, make pierogi ruskie — the dough is just flour, water, and a little fat, and the potato-farmer's-cheese filling is forgiving. Boil, then brown in butter with onions.

Wigilia, the Christmas Eve supper, is traditionally meatless with twelve dishes: clear beet barszcz with mushroom-filled uszka dumplings, fried or jellied carp, herring in oil or cream, sauerkraut with mushrooms, pierogi, kutia or poppy-seed noodles, and dried-fruit compote. The meal begins when the first star appears and starts with sharing the opłatek wafer.