Polish cuisine is very eclectic and has many similarities with the neighboring countries such as German, Slovak, Czech, and Silesian culinary traditions. It also has many similarities with other cuisines. For instance, it is similar to the Central European cuisine Austrian, Hungarian, and French, Italian, and Turkish.
Polish food includes a lot of meat, cabbage, potatoes, and dairy and packs a lot of flavor, nutrition and is just plain delicious. If you haven’t tried it before, then now is the time to savor its authentic flavors. We will tell you exactly which dish to try.
Pierogi Ruskie
Pierogi are thin rolled-out dough stuffed with filling and then poached in water. In some cases, they fry it until it’s crisp. And then, you can fill it with either sweet or savory fillings. They fill it with meat, cheese, sauerkraut, wild mushrooms, bilberries, and strawberries.
Pierogi ruskie originates from Ukraine and Poland. It has an interesting topping of crispy onion, pork crackling, and the sour cream. It makes the whole flavor of the dish come through.
Rosół
Soups are very popular in Poland, and most Polish meals will invariably have soup as one of its courses. Rosół is one of those hearty soups which you cannot miss. The ingredient list includes chicken or beef, and you get to eat it with noodles and chopped parsley.
Rosół is many parts of one meal. So if you begin with soup to start, you follow it up with the meat in which it was cooked. And you can serve it with potatoes, vegetable salad, and mustard. It is not only delicious but also said to be great for your health and can also battle the flu.
Gołąbki
Gołąbki is popular as ‘little pigeons.’ But we have no idea why they are popular as little pigeons, but they are just cabbage rolls. Usually, cabbage leaves have a filling of minced pork shoulder and rice. They braise the rolls in the stock. They serve it with clear broth, tomato, and sour cream sauce.
Gołąbki is also stuffed with poultry, mutton and if it is vegetarian, it is made out of potato, buckwheat, and lentil base. It has a beautiful, robust aroma, and the flavor hits you with each bite you take.
Bigos
Bigos or Hunter’s Stew is a traditional meaty dish. Here you mix it with sauerkraut and various meats such as smoked sausage, wild mushrooms, also adding a few spices and a few prunes.
It is a one-pot dish, and you cook it slowly over the fire. It is a meal in itself, and you can eat with chunky pieces of sourdough bread and a generous dollop of butter. Bigos tastes great even after storing it for a few days.
Sernik
Sernik is a dessert that includes sweet curd cheese, and you add ricotta or quark and combine it with plenty of egg yolks. There are many kinds of Sernik that you can try.
Make the base half-crispy. You can omit it if you want. Next, add orange peel, raisins, crumble, or chocolate. Sernik is then baked in the oven, and you can enjoy it all year round. But it is particularly enjoyed during festivals such as Christmas, weddings and other important celebrations.
Makowiec
Poppy seeds have a robust flavor and are very much part of Christian traditions. These seeds are the epitome of harvest and fertility. Poppy seeds cakes are an absolute favorite of Poles and Slavs. And they believe that eating poppy-seed cakes during the holidays of Easter and Christmas will bring them luck.
Makowiec is a strudel-type of yeast-based cake. It has finely ground poppy seeds, butter, raisins, honey, and walnuts. Next, the cake is glazed with icing and topping with orange peel. In some more traditional Polish dishes, make the cake with poppy seed mix only, skipping the dough.
Conclusion
The more traditional Polish dishes take several dishes to make. The Poles allow themselves a lot of time to serve their festive meals. This is especially true during the festive season, such as Christmas Eve supper or Easter breakfast. Some of the dishes have an exotic touch. Some dishes take a few days to cook. It adds flavor and taste to the authentic, delicious Polish dishes. Have you ever tried Polish dishes? Tell us, which one is your favorite?