Polish food: pierogi is only the beginning

Ready for a quest to reveal all the tasty secrets of traditional Polish cuisine? Being in Poland for a weekend, month or longer, you will encounter pierogi for sure, but what else is worth trying? This article will leave you with useful tips, facts and advice about Polish food. Equipped with all this information, you will not miss any delicacy during your stay. 

Taste much more than pierogi with Polish food 

If you are planning to move to Poland, you surely thrive for vital information about entertainment, language and traditional Polish food. Poland is famous among food lovers. If you order a meal in a restaurant, be prepared for a delicious, wholesome dish in generous servings. What is the secret? Numerous influences have made Polish cuisine inimitable. In Polish food recipes, you will find Lithuanian, Ukrainian, French, German and Russian imprints. Poles boast about numerous dishes based on potatoes or flour and eggs. The fame of Polish bread and delicious sausages goes far beyond geographical borders.  

Modern Polish food is a mixture of past and present. In a Polish food restaurant, you can find pizza, kebab, pierogi and sushi. Poles are open to new tastes, and culinary trends, but are respectful to tradition as well. A large percentage of people prepare meals at home with customary spices and local ingredients from ecological regions. Pierogi is undoubtedly typical Polish food, but this is only the tip of the iceberg.  

Famous Polish food 

The most recommendable dishes in Poland are: bigos, kotlet schabowy, pierogi and gołąbki. Let’s focus on pierogi, because it is easy to prepare and modify, depending on your taste or available ingredients. It has so many variations, that it never gets boring. The dough for pierogi is made from flour, water, salt and eggs. Then it is kneaded, rolled out and cut in circles. Finally goes the stuffing: 

• minced poultry or pork meat with sautéed onions
• potatoes and cottage cheese
• sauerkraut and wild mushrooms
• lentils
• spinach. 

Pierogi can be eaten straight from the water with fried onion or can be fried to crispness. Pierogi with sauerkraut and mushrooms is a traditional Polish Christmas food served on Christmas Eve, next to uszka – mini dumplings stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms and served in a beet soup called barszcz (borsch). They also have their sweet modifications, especially loved by kids: stuffed with sweet farmer’s cheese, wild blueberries, strawberries or plums.  

Traditional Polish meals aren’t fatty 

Traditional Polish food is not just pork, dough and lard. There are a lot of vegetables, fish and groats. The basic ingredients used in a Polish kitchen are beetroot, cabbage, cucumbers, potato, parsley, carrot and onion. Different herbs and species like marjoram, dill, cumin and pepper are often used for better digestion. 

The most popular Polish soup is rosół. It is a chicken soup, which is humorously believed to have healing properties. It is usually served on Sundays or special occasions. This popular Polish nourishing broth is clear, served with vermicelli pasta, some chopped carrots, and garnished generously with parsley. 

A Common Polish food prepared for all gatherings, holidays and New Year’s parties is salatka jarzynowa. It contains potatoes, carrots, green peas, corn, celery, parsley, pickles, eggs and onion. Everything is mixed with good quality mayonnaise and seasoned to taste – little drops of heaven in your mouth. 

Poles are real potato fans. If the only way of eating potatoes you can think of is French fries, then you clearly have no knowledge of Polish cuisine. Poles eat potato soup, potato salad, mashed potatoes, Silesian dumplings, crispy potato pancakes, pyzy, kopytka and knedle. You may wonder why potatoes? They are cheap, easy to grow, versatile, filling and rich in nutrients like vitamin C, B6, Magnesium, Potassium, Manganese and Phosphorus. 

Nice recipes to discover 

If you want to recreate some simple, yet stunningly tasteful polish dishes, give these a try. 

Kotlet schabowy 

The king of Polish dishes served in every household, bar and restaurant in Poland is kotlet schabowy (schnitzel). Pounded pork chops until very thin, seasoned with salt and pepper are dredged with flour, dipped in whisked egg and coated with breadcrumbs on both sides, then are fried over medium-high heat until crispy and golden brown. Are you getting hungry now? 

Żurek 

There’s no more famous Polish soup than żurek, a rich soup soured with fermented rye starter, served with a boiled egg and a spicy white sausage. I t is a traditional Polish Easter food. The recipe is quite simple if you have zakwas at home. 

Place the sliced onion halves, carrot, parsnip, and celery root in a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 40 minutes. Strain the broth and discard the vegetables. Meanwhile, fry the chopped onion, garlic, bacon, and sausage, and add the broth, bay leaf, marjoram, peppercorns, and horseradish. Cook at a low boil for 20 minutes. Pour in the zakwas and the cream. Traditionally it is served with fresh, crispy bread. 

Placki ziemniaczane 

This is one of those recipes everyone needs to try. It requires only 6 ingredients and 30 minutes of your time.  

In a large bowl, mix grated potatoes, onion, eggs, salt, and pepper. Add 1- 2 tablespoons of flour. Fry by dropping potato mixture into the pan and spread out to form a 3-inch circle. Fry for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side until it is golden and crisp. Potato pancakes are typically served with sour cream, beef goulash, or mushroom sauce. Kids are crazy about them sprinkled with sugar only. What is your personal favourite? 

Polish food is also online 

If you don’t have the time or ability to cook, there is a wide range of restaurants, where Polish food can be ordered online. If you see “obiady domowe”, “polska kuchnia”, be prepared for amazing dishes like schnitzel, cabbage stews, goulash, meatballs, chicken roulades, famous polish soups – żurek, flaki, rosół. Remember to leave someplace for pączki, faworki and racuchy. Polish food delivery is a great opportunity to try out as many unique Polish food specialities as possible. Prices are relatively low, and you will be surprised by the size of the dish. 

Polish cuisine is diverse, delectable and rich in flavours. There are no words to express its character. It must be experienced in order to be fully appreciated.