Cookbook. Polish traditional Christmas recipes
POPPY SEED CAKE
Makowiec
FILLING:
1 lb. poppy seeds,
1c. sugar,
4 Tb. honey,
2 rounded Tb. butter,
2 egg whites,
1 vanila sugar,
3/4 c. raisins.
1 c. chopped walnuts,
1 Tb. finely chopped candied orange peel.
DOUGH:
1 lb. flour,
1 c. sugar,
3/4 c. margarine,
4 egg yolks,
1 c. milk ( lightly warm)
1 oz. yeast,
pinch of salt,
butter and bread crumbs to grease the cake form.
BRUSHING:
1 egg
GLAZE:
1 c. icing sugar,
1-2 Tb. lemon juice,
1-2 Tb. boiling water.
Preparation:
1) Rinse poppy seeds, scald with hot water and let sit overnight. The next day drain the poppy seeds in a sieve, grind at least two, three times. Melt butter in a pot, add sugar, poppy seeds, honey, raisins, nuts, (candied orange peel, optional) and fry a few minuts on a low flame, still mixing. When slightly cooled, add egg whites whisked into a froth and mix. Divide the poppy seed mixture into 2 parts.
2) Mix yeast with 2 Tb of sugar, 2 Tb of flour, about 100 ml. of lightly warm milk. Mix well and let it rise.
3) Grind the yolks well with the remaining sugar, and to this add the raised yeast, milk, salt and flour. Make a dough. At the end add melted margarine and lemon juice. Mix well again. The dough must not stick to your hands. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise.
4) Divide the dough into 2 parts. Roll out each part of the dough, lightly sprinkled with flour. Evenly spread the poppy seed mixture on the dough, roll up the dough and place in long, app. 18 -inch loaf pans. Close the edges of the rolls so that the poppe seed mixture doesn't come out during rising. Let the rolls rise again in a warm place covered with a towel, then brush with an egg mixed with 1 tsp. milk.
5) Preheat oven to 360 F and then place the rolls in for ~ 40 minutes. Check if ready with toothpick, which should remain dry. When slightly cooled, take out of the pans and glaze.
HONY CAKE
Piernik
Pour into saucepan:
1 cup (240ml) honey
1 cup strong coffee
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon (5ml) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Mix together and bring to a boil. Then set aside and allow to cool down to a warm temperature.
In a mixing bowl, beat 3 large eggs with 1 cup (240ml) of brown sugar and 3 teaspoons (15ml) of baking powder.
Slowly add the warm liquid to the beaten eggs, mixing at slow speed.
Add 4 cups (950ml) of plain white flour (NOT self-raising), and mix thoroughly.
Pour the final mixture into the loaf pans and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Remove pans from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
Cut each loaf into 3 layers, spread jam (strawberry, raspberry or apricot) and then reassemble.
Prepare chocolate frosting as follows:
Place into saucepan:
2½oz (70g) semi-sweet chocolate
3oz (80g) sweet (unsalted) butter
1/3 cup (80ml) water
½ teaspoon (2.5ml) vanilla extract
1 cup (240ml) white granulatd sugar
Stir the chocolate, butter, vanilla and water together, gradually adding sugar. Bring it slowly to a boil, stirring constantly. Let it boil for 5 minutes.
Let it cool until it becomes a thick mass, easily spreadable with a knife.
Place cakes with flat side down and spread chocolate frosting evenly on top and sides.
Cool completely in refrigerator, until the frosting is hard.
Wrap in aluminum foil, then in plastic. May be stored in refrigerator, or cold place for four weeks before serving.
Set oven temperature to 350°F (175C) and preheat.
Grease three loaf pans.
CARP IN ASPIC
Karp w galarecie
Ingredients:
3 lbs. carp
4 cups vegetable stock
4 peppercorns
3 bay leave
1 T gelatin
2 T water
1 egg white
Clean fish. Remove head and clean it. Cook head and spices in vegetable stock for half hour. Strain. Place whole fish in a pan. Cover with strained stock and simmer for half hour until tender. Remove fish and place on a serving platter. To clarify stock, add slightly beaten egg white and bring to boiling point, stirring lightly. Strain through napkin twice. Dissolve gelatin in water, add stock. Pour over the cooled fish. Garnish with carrot rings, hard boiled eggs, and lemon slices.
MUSHROOM SOUP
Zupa Grzybowa
2 qt. vegetable stock
6 large dried mushrooms
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
Dill or parsley
Soak dried mushrooms overnight. Simmer dried and fresh mushrooms in vegetable stock for 1 hour. Take out mushrooms, cut into strips and put back into the pot. Add some parsley or dill.
MARINATED HERRING
Sledzie Marynowane
Ingredients:
3 whole salt herrings
2 large onions chopped
1 cup vinegar
4 peppercorns
4 whole allspice
1 tsp. sugar
Soak herrings in cold water for at least 24 hours changing it every 8 hours or more often. Remove the milt, skin, bones and cut each herring into 4 pieces. Arrange onions and herring in layers in a jar, pour boiled vinegar mixed with sugar. Keep in cool place overnight.
FILLINGS
SAUERKRAUT AND MUSHROOM
Pierogi z kapustą i grzybami
Ingradients:
2 cups of sauerkraut
1cup mushrooms
1 onion chopped
butter, salt, pepper
Cook sauerkraut for 10 minutes. Drain and chop well. Fry onion and chopped mushrooms in butter, add sauerkraut and fry until flavors are bFlaxded. Cool and fill dough circles.
HERRING IN OIL
Śledź w oleju
Into a jar pour a little salad oil, add a layer or herring, then a thin layer of chopped onion, and keep layering until ingredients are used up. Top layer should be chopped onion. Top up with oil, seal and refrigerate. Let stand in fridge at least 24 hrs before serving. They will keep in the fridge a week or longer.
CREAMED HERRING
Śledź w śmietanie
Arrange pieces of herring on serving dish. Drizzle with juice of 1 small lemon (through a sieve to catch the pits). Slice 2 small onions wafer thin and place on the herring. Fork-blend 1/2 - 1 c sour cream, 1 t confectioner's sugar and 1 T mustard. Pour over herring. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. When ready to serve, dust with a little paprika if desired.
SAUERKRAUT & PEAS
Kapusta z grochem
Soak 1 c dried, whole yellow peas overnight. Drain and cook in fresh unsalted water until tender. Soak 1 oz dried mushrooms overnight or several hrs and cook in same water until tender. Drain, rinse in cold water, redrain and coarsely chop 1 to 1-1/2 qt sauerkraut, cover with cold water, bring to boil, reduce heat, add 1 bay leaf and cook about 1 hr. Dice the mushrooms and add to sauerkraut with their liquid. Drain cooked peas and add to pot. Cook on stovetop on very low heat, stirring frequently with wooden spoon, or in 350į oven 60 - 90 min. In saucepan brown 1 chopped onion in 3 T butter or oil until tender and lightly browned, stir in 3 T flour and brown lightly, add several T liquid from sauerkraut and stir into a smooth paste. Add to sauerkraut and cook on low another 30 - 60 min. Season with salt, pepper, about 1 t sugar and (optional) 1/4 t caraway seeds.
KUTIA WIGILIJNA
Christmas Eve Kutia
Ingredients:
1 c Cracked wheat or bulgur
2 c Water, hot
1/2 cpoppy seeds
1 c Hony
2 c Water
1 ts Salt
Preparation:
1. Soak wheat in 2 cups of hot water for 30 minutes. Bring to a boil and cook covered until tender. 2. Mix in poppy seed. 3. Cook honey with remaining 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Cool and serve with wheat and poppy seed mixture.
FRIED CARP
Karp smażony
Ingredients:
1 carp (about 1,2 kg)
juice from 1 lemon
3 tablespoon flour
40 ml oil or tablespoon butter
salt, pepper – black
Preparation:
Scratch clean and Hash carp. Cut it to pieces (shape from bell). Sprinkle carp inside and outside lemon juice, add salt anel pepper and wait about 20 min. Then sprinkle carp inside flour and fry on oil as carp be gold colour. Serve carp with horseradish. We can also prepare carp another way. Before fry we sprinkle carp salt and pepper and cover carp anion slices. We wait about 24 hours in fridge. Before fry we remoce onion.
BEATROOT SOUP
Barszcz czerwony
Ingredients:
1 kilo of beets
few dried mushrooms
Soup vegetables (carrots, parsleys, celery)
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Preparation:
Wash the mushrooms and pour vegetables. Boil the mushrooms. Get them out and in this same water boil the soup vegetables. In the meantime cook beets at separate pot. Add salt and lemon juice to the borsch and next strain. Combine stocks. Serve it with eggs or raviolis.
GINGERBREAD CAKES WITH HONEY
Pierniczki z miodem
Ingredients:
1 kilo of flour
300 g of honey
300 g of sugar
4 eggs
about 50-75 g of walnuts (it's about 6-9 nuts)
2 gingerbread spice (1 for a half kilo of flour)
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
Preparation:
Pour honey into a pot, add sugar, gingerbread spice and cook them all together on a low heat for about 15 minutes (mixing all the time). Then pu it off to cool. Peeled walnuts chop into small pieces - you can also use a mixer to do it. Flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder sift into a bowl. Next add eggs, honey and walnuts to form dough. It's comfortable to separate a few portions, about 6 small balls. If the ough is too dry (what makes it harder to form the ball) you can add little milk. But when the dough sticks to hands, add more flour. On a table top with flour, roll out the dough to make it 0,5 cm thick, but personally I prefer thinner. Remember, if you you pour little flour, the dough will not stick. Cut different shapes of gingerbread cakes and put them on a baking tray (2-3 cm distant) with baking paper. Bake the cakes about 15 minutes in the temperature of 180 degrees (in the oven with thermocirculation - 170 degrees). When you bake the first tray, check whether the time and the temperature are proper. Before baking, you can paint the cakes with egg white, they will have beautiful and shining surface, then. After baking the cakes are tough, but the more time goes by, the softer they become. They should be left for 2-3 weeks before eating.
CHRISTMAS EVE STEWED FRUIT FROM DESICCATED FRUIT
Kompot z suszonych owoców
Ingredients:
6 glasses of water
50 g of desiccated apricots
100 g of desiccated plums
100 g of desiccated apples
100 g of desiccated pears
2 cloves
a small piece of cinnamon bark
peel of 1 lemon
peel of 1 orange
sugar
alternatively 1 glass of sweet or semi-sweet white wine
Preparation:
Wash all fruit carefully and pour with cold water, boiled water. Leave it for a few hours, best for the whole night. Then boil it with the water adding peels and cloves. Add sugar at the end.
Cool it, alternatively add the wine.
Good appetite!
