Food and Recipes

Paczki's (Pounchki) Day; Delicious Food for Fat Thursday &Tuesday

Poles celebrate the time of a carnival with balls and dances. The culmination of a carnival is a last week before Ash Wednesday. Poles do not organize street parades like people in Brazil or in New Orleans. I guess it is just too cold in winter. But they eat pounchki ( pounczki ). The other sweet food for the last days of carnival include Angel Wings, Chrusciki (Chruschiki) and Poppy seed rolls ( Makowiec ).

Read more: Paczki Day: Delicious Food for Fat Thursday and Tuesday

In one of a popular American TV channel they were talking about research done on red beets. The question was - why people do not eat red beets. Somebody commented that the research was just a pure nonsense because red beets are just tasteless. I could not disagree more!

Red beets are very popular in Polish cuisine. They are used for variety of dishes. A very popular is red beet soup called Borscht. It is popular not only in Poland but also in Ukraine and in Russia. There are also different types of borscht. Some are clear and some are dense like vegetable soups because they use the pieces of beetroot or the red beets' stem and leaves. Red beets are good for salads and as a spicy side dish for meat.

Read more: Red Beets in Polish Cuisine: Red Beets' Salads

Different dumplings match with a different kind of gravy. Russian or meat dumplings should be served with sliced onion fried until light brown on a pan with hot butter of margarine. You can also add some sliced mushrooms to the pan with onions and margarine. These dumplings are also delicious when served with Spaghetti sauces (for instance Hunt's).

Read more: Gravy for Dumplings

Dumplings are very popular not only in Poland but also in Russia, Ukraine etc. Actually different types of dumplings are known in very different cultures like China or Italy. Polish name for dumplings is pierogi, this name originates probably from the Old Church Slavonic word piru meaning a feast.

The ingredients used for dumplings are simple and cheap, the filling can vary but the preparation is time-consuming. Mushroom and cabbage dumplings are used as one of the main dishes for the Christmas Eve supper.

Read more: Dumplings (Pierogi)