My Culinary Journey: Episode 4 - Poland

I have some prior knowledge of Poland, so this excited me quite a bit. I was hoping that I could honor the country and its people by doing an extra-special job on these recipes. In 2022 when I was serving in Ukraine with the International Legion (I often refer to as the Legion), we had many Polish men serving in our mixed units. We even had a special primarily Polish squad we called "Kurwa Squad) because their leader Falcon was always saying the word "Kurva". From my best understanding of the word, it means "whore/slut" but it's kind of used like shit/fuck, as in it is very versatile and can be used in seemingly any context. Think of the George Carlin skit about the word "fuck". It wasn't uncommon to hear something to the effect of "Kurwa, what in the kurwa are you doing, kurwa? You kurwa, don't kurwa know what you're kurwa doing. Kurwa! Kurwa! Kurwa!". Got it? Us neither. As the battalion's only machine gunner, I was rotated a lot and would sometimes gun for them, giving me more exposure to them than most English speakers did. I digress.

On the front lines, we didn't have much choice as to what or when we ate. We would talk endlessly about our motherland's cuisine and what we missed and couldn't wait to have once again. I would hear all the stories and even make notes of things in my war journal. Would I ever use that information? I certainly didn't think so then. On my rotation out of the country and subsequently my time in service, I stopped in Warsaw Poland and once again was confronted with cuisine. In some boneheaded genius powerplay, I opted for the asparagus soup and bacon burger. Noob. Well let's make up for it then, shall we?

As always, we start by narrowing down recipes. And, as always, consulting Leah the Oracle, we make our menu. Gołąbki (cabbage rolls), Kopytka (Polish-style gnocchi), Goulash (meat stew), and Paczki (donuts with fruit filling). One thing I remembered extensively from my time in the region was the cabbage rolls in tomato sauce, so I wanted to make that a priority. I didn't want to do the boring pierogi, as it seemed overplayed. We compromised on a gnocchi style dish instead (Kopytka). Goulash was something I hadn't had any true experience with, but the recipes sounded mouthwatering, and I had to try it. When it came to desserts there were too many to choose from, but one stood out from the rest and that was the donut (Paczki), primarily because my research indicated that the most prevalent flavor for the filling was strawberry rosewater. I was intrigued. I could almost smell the filling and couldn't wait to taste it.

Kopytka (Potato dumplings; gnocchi)

Dumplings

• 2 1/4 lbs. potatoes - (I used Russett)

• 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 eggs - beaten

• pinch of salt

Topping

• 3 tbsp butter

• 3 tbsp breadcrumbs

• pinch of dried thyme (optional)

• pinch of pepper

1. Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes until soft.

2. Drain and mash the potatoes. Place the mash on the countertop to cool.

3. Sift the flour and salt together and mix with the eggs and potatoes to form a dough.

4. Divide the dough into 4 - 5 portions and roll each portion out in a long snake-like rod about the thickness of your thumb. Cut each roll into inch-long pieces (longer if desired). (I cut them into pieces closer to 2" and wasn't even mad about it.)

5. Boil water in a large pot, add salt. Put the kopytka into the boiling water one by one, stir gently and cover with a lid.

6. When the water begins to boil, remove the lid. Wait for the moment when the kopytka start to float. Reduce the heat and cook for another 4-5 minutes until they're soft. Gently stir with a wooden spoon from time to time, so they won't stick to the pan. (This is paramount as they won't float if they're stuck to the bottom.)

7. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove cooked dumplings from the pan and onto a sieve. Drain them off thoroughly and set aside. (I honestly couldn't tell if they were cooked enough, they didn't have a noticeably different appearance before and after their bath.)

8. On a small frying pan, melt the butter (on low heat, don't burn it!). Add breadcrumbs and fry them until golden. (I used a four-cheese blend of breadcrumbs. This was sinfully delicious, and I shamelessly tripled the recipe.)

9. Serve the kopytka topped with the breadcrumb topping. Sprinkle with pepper and dry thyme (optional). (I paired it with a dollop of sour cream. I remembered how the Poles loved their sour cream.)

Goulash

• 2 - 2 1/4 lbs. pork - shoulder/loin/leg/ham

• 1 medium yellow onion - diced

• 2 garlic cloves - peeled/rough chopped

• 2 tbsp lard - can sub with canola/olive oil (I used the bacon grease)

• Salt - 2 pinches

• Black pepper - 2 pinches

• 7 oz (200g) smoked bacon (about 4 thick slices) - chopped

• 3 allspice berries (whole) - (roughly 1/8 tsp ground allspice by my research)

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tsp smoked paprika powder

• 1/2 tsp paprika or chili powder

• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram

• 2 cups beer/ale/lager/cider (optional) - (I omitted due to my recovery.)

• 1 cup (plus 2 cups if not using alcohol) chicken/veg stock (unsalted/low-sodium)

• 1 - 2 carrots - sliced into rounds or half-moons

• 200g fresh mushrooms or chestnuts (optional but recommended) - thin sliced (I didn't use either)

• 3 tbsp tomato concentrate

• 1 tbsp butter

• 1 tbsp potato flour - can sub for all-purpose flour

• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour (in addition to above tbsp) (I used 2 tbsp total of AP flour)

1. Cut meat into bite-sized chunks of my choice.

2. Add lard to a deep pan and melt on medium heat. (I pre-cooked my bacon and used the bacon grease for this step.)

3. Add onions and fry until they're translucent about 15 minutes.

4. Add in the garlic and meat chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Increase to high heat and sear the meat brown on all sides. Pink is ok still, as there is plenty of cooking time.

5. Move the contents to a large pot.

6. Add bacon, allspice berries, bay leaves, smoked paprika, paprika, and marjoram. Stir and fry for a few minutes, allowing the bacon fat to render a bit (turn golden).

7. If using alcohol, pour it in the pan now and increase heat to bring the pan to a near boil. If not using alcohol, pour in 2 cups of the chicken/veg stock instead. Scrape the fried bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour the liquid into the pot with the meat. Pour the remaining stock into the pot as well. Cook covered on medium/low heat for 1 1/2 hours.

8. Add the carrots, mushrooms, tomato concentrate, and butter. Stir together and cook covered for an additional hour. The meat will turn very tender.

9. Add the mixture of flour to the sauce to thicken it to the desired consistency.

This dish was a HUGE surprise for us all, and we instantly wanted more. I actually made the dish again a day or two later because we had leftovers from the original recipe. We loved this so much that it is officially the number one dish I have made across this journey. It prompted us to add a new feature to the blog (top dishes). We're working out the details of what will be included in this list, but it will be coming soon, back to the dish. The meat was supremely tender, melting away in your mouth with each bite. For that reason, they felt less like "bites". The rich flavors were smoky and meaty. It looked and tasted like a hardy dish, and it was nearly impossible to stop eating it. I am admittedly writing this about 6 weeks post-meal and have made it a total of 2 additional times. It's that good.

Gołąbki (Stuffed cabbage rolls)

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

• 1 head white cabbage (3 lbs.)

• 1 3/4 lbs. (800 g) ground pork - (I used pork shoulder)

• 1 large onion (yellow or white) - diced

• 2 tbsp neutral oil (like canola)

• 3 garlic cloves - chopped

• ½ cup cooked rice - cooked ‘al dente’; (that’s roughly 1.2 oz/33 g of uncooked rice) (Cooking the rice beyond 'al dente' will result in mush rice once inside the roll as a finished dish. It's important to adhere to the integrity of this step.)

• 1 tbsp marjoram

• 1 qt (1 liter) chicken stock

• Salt - to taste

• Ground black pepper - to taste

• Handful of chopped dill or parsley (optional - garnish)

Tomato Sauce

• ⅓ stick butter

• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

• 1 cup (250 ml) stock - remaining from cooking Gołąbki / Gołąbki juices; or meat stock

• 2 cups (500 g) tomato passata/purée - (I researched and made my own passata)

• 1 tbsp tomato paste/concentrate

• A pinch of sugar

• Salt, to season

• Ground black pepper, to season

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

1. Wash the cabbage under running water. Even though the inside is usually clean (the outer leaves protect the inside), you might want to clean it anyway. Remove the tough outer leaves and discard them. Separate the inner leaves and wash them under running water.

2. Cut out the stalk from the head. 

3. Grab a large cooking pot, large enough for the whole cabbage head to fit. Pour water in and bring it to a boil. Add a solid pinch of salt and sugar and stir.

4. Blanch the cabbage head in the boiling water, core side down. After a few minutes (2-3), the leaves should peel off easily. If not - cook it for a few more minutes.

5. Remove the cabbage to a baking tray but keep the water in the pot. (Optional) To keep a more vibrant color, you can place the leaves into ice water - that will slow down the cooking process.

6. Set the ten best leaves (largest, unbroken) aside. Using a paring knife, cut the main ‘vein’ out from each cabbage leaf and trim from the bottom with a knife. (I left the veins in out of fear of destroying the leaves. Also, save the remaining leaves for later steps.)

7. Heat up a tablespoon or two of oil and add in the onion. When it turns golden-brown, add the garlic and fry for another 1-2 minutes. Set aside to cool.

8. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, cooked rice, a tablespoon of marjoram, and cooled down onion/garlic.

9. Season with salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly - no special tools are necessary, you can use your hands. This will be our stuffing for the rolls.

10. Lay the cabbage leaf flat. Place about ¼-⅓ cup of meat mixture in the center of a cabbage leaf. Gather the edges of the cabbage inwards and roll it tightly. Continue until you have 10 decent-sized rolls.

11. Line the bottom of the large cooking pot with some of the remaining pre-cooked leaves - this prevents the dish from burning. (Also a pro-tip as the bottom of the dish, a dutch oven in my case, gets very hot and will easily latch on to the leaves.)

12. Place the cabbage rolls in the pot, in layers, one on top of another. Cover with a layer of remaining leaves. (Also, important!)

13. Pour the stock in. Cook on medium heat, covered for about 40-50 minutes until the cabbage is tender. Not every cabbage is the same, you’ll have to check how soft it is as you go.

14. When the cabbage rolls are nearly done, make the tomato sauce.

Tomato Sauce

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. When melted, add in the flour. Whisk together and cook for a bit until it gains some color.

2. Pour in around a cup (250 ml) of the stock that was made from cooking the cabbage rolls. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. 

3. Pour in 2 cups of tomato passata/purée and add a tablespoon of tomato paste. Bring to a boil yet again, then reduce the heat to a minimum. 

4. Season with salt and ground pepper. If the tomatoes are too acidic, add a pinch of sugar to balance the flavors. 

5. Continue cooking until you reach the desired thickness.

6. Add tomato sauce on top of the cabbage rolls and serve.

This was my most highly anticipated dish on this stop of our tour of the countries. I was so excited to try to recreate what I had eaten in Ukraine and heard so much about from the Polish soldiers. I was particularly fascinated by the process of cooking and blanching the cabbage, as well as the entire tomato passata experience. This didn't disappoint, and I ended up eating about 90% of this dish to myself over the next week. It never ceases to amaze me how delicious and how relatively simple so many of these dishes are. I will definitely revisit this dish.

Paczki (Jelly filled donuts)

Donuts

• 1/3 cup (80 g) whole milk

• 1 tsp active dry yeast

• 1 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1 1/2 cup (180 g) bread flour

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 egg - room temperature

• 4 tbsp (56 g) unsalted butter - sliced/room temperature

• Veg oil for frying

  
  

Strawberry Rose Jam

• 2 cups (160 g) strawberries fresh or frozen - sliced

• ¼ cup + 2 tbsp (75 g) sugar

• zest of 1 small lemon

• 2 tbsp (16 g) cornstarch

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp rose water

• 1 tbsp dried rose petals (optional) - (I did not use these. I found them to be too expensive for the purchase of a single-use application item. Risk/reward; not worth it)

Donuts

1. In a microwave-safe measuring cup, heat the milk to 100°F / 38°C. Whisk in the yeast and the sugar. Set aside until the mixture begins to foam. (~5 minutes) (I've found from my short baking career that yeast mixtures can be up to 115F without issues.)

2. While waiting, add the flour, salt, egg, and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. When the yeast mixture begins to foam, add it into the rest of the ingredients.

3. Knead the dough on low speed for 1 minute to allow the ingredients to come together. Increase the speed to medium-high and knead for an additional 10-20 minutes, or after the dough has cleaned the sides and bottom of the bowl.

4. Once the dough is done kneading, butter the inside of the bowl, form the dough into a ball, and place it back in the bowl. Then cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap. At this point, you could set the dough in the fridge to rise overnight or continue with completing the recipe in one day. If doing this in one day, set the dough in a warm area and wait for it to double in size (~1 hour.)

5. While the dough is resting, make the jam.

   
   

Strawberry Rose Jam

1. In a medium sized saucepan set over medium heat, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir frequently, mashing the strawberries down as much as you can as they soften.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and lemon juice. Add it to the jam, and stir continuously until the mixture thickens. (My cornstarch failed to properly blend during this step and resulted in an annoying clumpy white cottage cheese-like jelly mix. The end result didn't negatively affect anything, as you can't taste the cornstarch, and you can't see the jelly on the inside.)

3. Remove the jam from the heat and transfer it to a heat safe bowl. Mix in the rose water and dried rose petals (optional), then set the jam in the fridge to chill until you're ready to fill the donuts.

Frying / Assembling

1. Cut out 6 parchment squares that are ~4" each and place them onto a baking tray.

2. Once the dough is done resting, transfer it to a clean, lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces (roughly 60g per piece.)

3. Transfer the donuts to their own parchment square, then cover them loosely with a towel. Allow them to rise in a warm environment for ~30 minutes, or until they have slightly puffed up.

4. Fill a large saucepan with at least 2" of vegetable oil. Heat the mixture to 365°F / 185°C.

5. Carefully place the donuts into the fryer with the parchment paper (2-3 at a time, depending on what your pan can fit). After ~5-10 seconds, remove carefully remove the parchment from the donuts using metal tongs.

6. Fry the donuts on each side for 3-4 minutes, or until they are a deep golden brown. You can also check if they are done by making sure the internal temperature is at least 190°F / 87°C.

7. Remove the donuts from the oil with a metal slotted spoon and immediately toss them in the rose sugar (carefully!)

8. Once the donuts have cooled down to room temperature, fill them with the strawberry rose jam. Use a knife to poke a hole in the top of each donut. Transfer the strawberry jam to a piping bag fitted with a round tip, insert it into the hole in the donut, and fill it. (This was the hardest part of the ordeal. My donuts were less light and fluffy and denser and doughier. This made it difficult to find real estate inside for the jelly. I also have no idea how to use a piping bag with the screw-on tip, so that was a mess. In the end I bore a hole using a chopstick and squeezed all the jelly in. I plugged the jelly hole with a clump of rose sugar. Next time I will invest in an injection syringe.)

These donuts, in all their struggles, were amazing! They didn't look picturesque, and won't win any awards, but they opened up my palette to the flavors of rose/rose water. I now want to mix rose water with tons of different frostings and batters. It really is fun and exciting to try new things. I spend so much of my culinary time recreating other people's dishes that it makes me want to try some things of my own. Maybe that's what this journey is shaping up to be about in the long run. It certainly evolves daily, and I'm here for it. I will revisit this recipe, or the strawberry rose water jelly flavor profile at some point, probably when I'm more well versed in baking techniques. Poland was a blast, and the dishes instantly jumped to the top of my lists. The goulash is a standalone winner thus far, and the strawberry rose water is at the tops of my dessert flavors. I hope I did my Polish counterparts some culinary justice. What's next?

Consulting the Oracle...

Belize. Again, another culture I know very little about. This will be fun, sounds tropical and south of the border. Is that the country that specializes in barbacoa? I guess we'll see soon.

Belize. Coming soon...