Polish

With dramatic choux layers and fruit-rippled cream, it’s the drag queen of Polish desserts.

This psychedelic purple sauce has all the earthiness and tang of sour-cream-topped borscht.

Apteka is changing the game. 

You and 14 of your closest friends.

This Polish hunter’s stew features kielbasa, smoky bacon, melty cabbage, and lots of delicious broth that can be sopped up with bread.

To make this vegetarian, omit bacon and add 4 Tbsp. olive oil for browning mushrooms. 

These sweet pierogies help balance out the savory fillings from Kielbasa, Sauerkrat, and Potato Pierogies, Beef, Onion, and Cheddar Pierogies, and Bacon, Mushroom, and Spinach Pierogies, making them perfect for any pierogi party.

Why choose between boiled or fried? The key to these pierogies is doing both. 

This rich and cheesy broth is satisfying on its own, but goes main course with the addition of seared kielbasa sausage. Recipe by Chris Shepherd, Underbelly, Houston

These savory potato pancakes are fried in butter and oil for a crisp, golden brown crust. Serve with applesauce or sour cream at your next holiday gathering.

Fasolka po bretońsku, as these beans are called in Polish, are earthy and full of flavor, delicious eaten with fresh, crusty bread and nothing else.

This late-night snack, popular in outdoor kiosks across Poland, is an Eastern European cousin to French-bread pizza, built on a savory base of sautéed mushrooms.

This classic Polish soup is the ultimate in summer refreshment.

Serve up the Polish pair as a hearty soup.

Wiśniówka "Life is dandy, cherry brandy!" So goes a line from a poem by Russian writer Osip Mandelstam—meant to be ironic, of course, as he lived in the darkest days of Stalinism and died in the Gulag. Cherry brandy, cherry vodka, cherry liqueurs: These are the obvious consequence of Eastern Europe's famous and abundant cherry orchards, of which there are just as many in Poland as there are in provincial Russia. Do note that this recipe works for any kind of fruit that is not too sweet. In particular it is worth trying with black currants or Polish jagody—wild blueberries—if you can find them. The quantities given here are for a 34-oz/1-L jar, but do reduce them (or increase them!) in proportion to the bottle you are using.

The familiar Polish sausage known as kielbasa was introduced to American cuisine in the neighborhoods of Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, where many Polish immigrants settled during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Nowadays, kielbasa is widely produced commercially and is marketed to food purveyors nationwide. It is usually smoked and sandwiched in a hot dog bun, tucked into a hearty cabbage borscht, or added to a robust sauerkraut dish (page 46). That is not the whole story, however. Kielbasa is actually the generic term for sausage in Polish and there are many versions. I prefer a fresh, not smoked, sausage, but with a hint of ham to suggest a smoky flavor.

These leaf-shaped chrusciki (khroost-CHEE-kee) are adapted from Martha’s mother’s classic Polish recipe. The dough is kneaded for a while, to incorporate lots of air into it and keep the finished cookies light and delicate. If you’re storing fried cookies, wait until just before serving to dust them with confectioners’ sugar.

We tend to associate dried mushrooms with France and Italy, but of course they’re used wherever mushrooms grow wild, and that includes almost all of central Europe. In fact, some of the best (and least expensive) dried porcini (cèpes) sold in this country come from Poland. Make this a day in advance if you like and refrigerate, covered; reheat when you’re ready. Serve this with boiled potatoes, buttered noodles, or a rice dish, along with a vegetable or salad. This is also good served with grated fresh horseradish or Creamy Horseradish Sauce (page 608). Other cuts of meat you can use here: lamb, veal, or pork shoulder, all of which will cook more quickly than the beef.

“Hunter’s stew” is probably one of the oldest and most popular dishes in Eastern Europe. Like cassoulet and bouillabaisse, it is one of those preparations that can be made with whatever is on hand—you most often see it with venison—and may be a casual dish that can be stored and reheated many times (and can accommodate leftovers) or something served to beloved guests on holy days. Traditionally, bigos took three days to make, but there’s no need to stick to that tradition; it’s just as good when made all at once. Inexpensive dried black or shiitake mushrooms (sold at most Asian markets) are good here; pricier porcini are better. Or use a combination of dried and fresh mushrooms. Serve with rye bread. Other cuts of meat you can use here: anything—pork, veal, lamb, venison, duck, goose, or a combination; it’s a mishmash.

Not unlike the better-known Middle Eastern and Indian combinations of yogurt and cucumbers, this Polish version is more tart than its Eastern cousins, making it especially refreshing as a part of a meal with heavy dishes.

If you think sauerkraut is only for hot dogs or choucroute garni (page 404), think again. Here’s a vegetable stew from Poland that demonstrates quite nicely that sauerkraut has roles beyond garnishing meat. Buy sauerkraut from packages or barrels, not cans, and make sure it contains just cabbage and salt. That’s all it takes.

When my grandmother was a girl, this was a staple winter dish, and it still is in Poland and much of the rest of Eastern Europe. You might think of porcini as Italian or French, but good dried mushrooms, including porcini, come out of Poland to this day.

This is all about the dough: there is none better. My earliest appreciation for it came from a cookie my grandmother made. I could never get over how delicious they were, but it was only years later that I realized they were a variation on the standard kolacky. These are most easily filled with thick preserves, or you can make your own fillings from stewed dried or fresh fruit as long as the mixture is thick. Some people add enough flour to make a stiff dough, but it’s really preferable to leave the dough sticky, which translates to tenderness, and refrigerate it for a few hours, which makes it easier to handle. If you’re in a hurry, however, make the dough a little stiffer and roll it out right away. These are fun to make with kids, as the ultimate shape really doesn’t matter.