Polska: New Polish Cooking

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I appreciate that Zak offers a couple different methods to shape and fill pierogies, and since these varied slightly from how I learned to make varenyky, I was keen to learn other ways. Her first method (and now my preferred way) is to roll the dough out then place heaping teaspoons spaced out along the dough. She then folds the dough over and creases where the filling ends and to press out the air bubbles (this step is crucial as trapped air will cause the pierogi to burst while it cooks in boiling water). Using a cutter or the rim of a waterglass, she cuts out half-moon shapes. Once the shapes are cut out, she crimps the edges to seal them. Zak also provides different pinching and sealing techniques for every level of pierogi maker. Beginners can start with using the tines of a fork to seal the edge and, since I have prior experience, I used the fold over technique. There are photos of each of the steps throughout the beginning sections of the book which are helpful to home cooks. To make the syrniki mixture, add the twaróg, eggs and salt to a large bowl and mash together with a fork. Add half of the flour and all the sugar and vanilla extract and continue mashing until the ingredients are well combined (if you’re using twaróg, the mixture will retain some texture). Cover and leave to chill in the fridge. Strain the broths through a sieve and into one pan (you would add the soured beet juice at this point), season well with salt, pepper and marjoram and simmer for another 15min or so. This is my second book by Zuza Zak and I enjoyed it just as much as the first one. She has a way of bringing together interesting ideas and recipes, history, and traditions that make me very happy as a reader and this one was no different. It has just what it promises on the cover: nourishing herbal remedies, magical recipes, and folk wisdom. It also has gorgeous pictures and illustrations, which I feel like should be promoted a bit more. I call myself a Storyteller-Cook, my aim is to inspire the world to cook and eat more food from Eastern Europe. I am interested in the culture and history of food, therefore I use storytelling as a medium for delving into another cuisine and through it, into another culture.

Each season comes alive with a cornucopia of recipes for natural remedies, nourishing foods, beauty products, and much more. The author’s meticulous attention to detail ensures that every aspect of these recipes is carefully explained, making them accessible to both beginners and seasoned practitioners. Every household has their own version of Little Pigeons. Some very meat heavy, others entirely vegetarian. This is a recipe I have cooked many a time for vegetarian friends and is always well received. Wild mushrooms are always preferable in my eyes, yet they can easily be replaced with a combination of chestnut and shitake mushrooms in this recipe. This recipe makes a whole casserole dish full of gołąmbki, enough for 4 or 5 people. Ending the meal with a dried-fruit soup is always a good idea after a day-long feast – it’s incredibly good for your digestive system. Children love its sweetness too and my nine-month old daughter, Delfi, can’t get enough of it. The oldest pierogi dough recipe is very simple – just plain flour, oil, salt and hot water. A lot of babushkas still use this recipe today. Perogi are traditionally half-moon shaped, either boiled with butter and soured cream on top or boiled, then fried, with some crispy fried onions (and sometimes bacon bits). Sweet dumplings can have honey, toasted almonds and soured cream. Nowadays, we are becoming more creative with pierogi and experimenting with various fillings and toppings, often including eggs which enrich the dough and is probably a culinary influence that has come from Italy."

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Zuza Zak has written an incredibly special book here, and she has taken the pierogi passed being thought of as “just dumplings.” Pierogi is full of accessible and delicious recipes which highlight both traditional and modern doughs and fillings. I’ve already started to make them with my daughter – we’re both excited to give more of the recipes a try.

Food is a way that we structure our lives – we all eat certain meals at certain times. With fervent recipe testing in the mix, it can get a bit confusing though, so I want to be more structured in my cooking, especially since I’m pregnant. . In my first trimester, I ate too much sugar and carbs and my health has been suffered as a result. I realised that I am now craving salads. While Nusia eats most things, including plenty of fruit and veg, somehow having everything mixed up in a salad doesn’t appeal to her, but that shouldn’t mean that I don’t eat them! I can make salad every day for lunch when she’s at pre-school. This will also leave room in my tummy for recipes that I need to test. Breakfast, on the other, needs to be warm at this time of year, so porridges and kasza will set us up nicely. That brings me to semolina porridge or kasha manna. semolina: Semolina porridge with gooseberries and raspberries Polish parties are family-orientated and inclusive. There’s always a spare seat at our Christmas table for an unexpected guest. And this is the true spirit of zakąski, whether the party is crowded and riotous or quiet and intimate. You can prolong any occasion for a very long time while trying new dishes, drinking vodka or champagne, and talking.

Try this recipe from the book

First, sterilise your jar and lid. Either put them through a hot dishwasher cycle or hand-wash in hot, soapy water. Half-fill the jar with boiling water, put the lid loosely on top and leave for 5 mins, then pour out the water and allow to air-dry. The book is filled with things to create in your kitchen, such as natural remedies, foods for wellness, and even beauty products. However, it also includes seasonal crafts, rituals, and folktales and mythology. While the author’s focus is on folk-healing rather than magic, she does include rituals that might be seen as a type of magic. She’s also very clear that folk medicines are meant to complement and not replace modern medicine.

Take the bay leaf out of the sauerkraut and mushroom pan and blend the filling to a rough paste, then add it to the onion and fry for just 5minutes altogether whilst stirring. There are lots of different shapes to experiment with – half-moon, round, envelope or rectangles are common, or uska (little ears), and the way they are sealed can differ, from crimping with a fork to folding over the edges, pleating or pinching. The book is divided into seasons, with the recipes tailored to what was available during that time of the year and/or what people were experiencing and how nature could help them. For the most part, the recipes are for remedies and “medicines”, only a few are true food recipes. Just about all of the ingredients can be found in nature, although those of us living in urban areas or other continents might have to make do with shopping over the internet. I have written three cookbooks on Eastern European cuisine – Polska, Amber & Rye and Pierogi. I am currently working on a food focused PhD and my fourth book, which will be something a little different… It’s seems very simple but it does not come naturally for me. Introducing structure into every area of my life requires a change in the way I perceive myself. I have always thought of myself as a flighty, creative, bohemian type, so I’m going to have to change my story and allow myself to be “an organised person”. I’ve realised that when I am organized, for example when I run my supper clubs, I can relax and enjoy the process more. In a way, the structure allows for more creativity, because I don’t need to stress about the details. So how do I go about it? I’ve started the year by just thinking about structure – about what it means to me. I will never be one of those super organized people who will structure every hour of every day, every meal, every post… for some, this is normal, but I need some spontaneity and flexibility, otherwise my soul feels stilted. From experience, I know that if I take it too far with structure, I will rebel and go the other way. I need to do this carefully.In addition to the recipes, there are also directions for creating various herbal soaks, skin tonics, cleaners, clothes dyes, decorations, and many more useful and crafty items, focused on wellbeing and natural products. The first recipe I tried was for the Sauerkraut and Mushroom Christmas Eve Pierogi. This recipe used the more traditional way of making dough: to rub the oil into the flour before adding any water. The filling consisted of mushrooms, onion, and sauerkraut with flavour boosts coming from bay leaf, allspice berries, and white wine. While making the filling I committed the cardinal sin of home cooking – I didn’t read through the recipe before hand. The ingredient list asks for twenty medium-sized mushrooms (I assumed they were fresh) but when I went to prepare the filling the first step is to cover them with boiling water to allow them to “open up.” This is where I realized I should be using dried mushrooms. Since I didn’t have dried mushrooms, I went ahead and used the fresh ones, skipping the hot water soak. I really loved this combination for the filling – sweet and tangy with a bit of umami. Once boiled I tossed them in butter and fried onions.

Pour the vinaigrette over the millet, then combine with the chopped up tomatoes and roasted vegetables. Dried fruit soup

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Being of Polish descent myself, a lot of Ms. Zak’s stories and experiences rang true to what I had gone through with my parents and grandparents; I still have older relatives in Poland who provide me “nalewki” or make me do an “inhelacja” whenever I am feeling under the weather over there. This book is a great resource that collects a lot of the wisdom that is slowly being lost (and now rediscovered) to modern ways. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review. To make the summer berry salad, combine the berries with the mint leaves. If you’re using marigold flowers, pull off some of the petals and mix them into the salad, saving a few whole flowers for decoration. Set aside. A little treasure of a book, “Slavic Kitchen Alchemy” by Zuza Zak provides exactly what its subtitle promises: Nourishing Herbal Remedies, Magical Recipes & Folk Wisdom.