The potato is known as kartoffel or zieminak in Poland. Whatever you call them, they have found their place in Polish cuisine. The enormously popular comfort food is believed to have been brought to Poland by King Jan III Sobieski. They are so loved that Polish poetry has been written in praise of the potato. There is no rhyme in this prose, just 11 of my best Polish potato recipes.
Potato Pancakes (Placki Ziemniaczane) – is there anything more comforting than potato pancakes? They are so tasty by themselves, but topped with gulasz is my favorite way to eat them. Readers have told me they like to top potato pancakes with sour cream, a sprinkle of sugar, or even grape jelly!
Potato Bread – the addition of potato adds a certain something to the flavor and texture of this yummy bread and helps it stay fresh and moist longer.
Potato Soup – a simple potato soup would be delicious. When you add bacon and smoked sausage, it gets even better!
Potato Dumplings (Kopytka) – so much fun to make and delicious on their own, but try topping them with toasted, buttered bread crumbs, pan drippings, gravy, or add them to a stew.
Potato & Cheese Pierogi – the most popular pierogi filling without a doubt. Traditionally, potatoes are mixed with farmer’s cheese, a classic flavor combination.
Potatoes with Dill – add Polish most popular herb to your boiled potatoes with butter and/or sour cream.
Potato (Vegetable) Salad – technically, this is called vegetable salad, but I think of it as the most amazing potato salad. This makes a large amount, but everyone loves it and goes back for seconds and thirds.
Potato Plum Dumplings – sweet, tart, and a little salty all at once, have these dumplings as a side or a light meal.
Potato Cake (Babka Ziemniaczana) – enjoy this as a side dish for supper. Then fry up a leftover slice with bacon and eggs for breakfast the next morning.
Hunter-style Potatoes – these potatoes get a hint of saltiness from anchovies. Give your fried potatoes a hunter-style twist.
Pumpkin & Potato Dumplings (Kopytka) – pumpkin adds beautiful color and flavor to these potato dumplings.
Smacznego!
Lois
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Barb Consalvi
My Polish father taught me how to make Polish potato salad but it had a can of drained peas and a drained and rinsed can of pork and beans (pork removed) along with eggs, pickles. green onions (reg onion as well or instead of green) mayo salt pepper and dill.and of course potatoes. Thought this recipe would be similar but I still haven’t come across a veggie potato salad that came close to my dad’s recipe.
polishhousewife
Every cook likes to put their own spin on it! It sounds like your dad did a great job of that!
Bud
Occasionally, and usually on a Friday, when my mother didn’t feel like cooking, she would make a large pot of mashed potatoes. It consisted of 5 pounds of potatoes, a pound of diced bacon, and 1 or 2 diced onions.
While the potatoes cooked, she fried the bacon and onions. She then added the bacon and onions, and ALL OF THE BACON FAT directly into the pot of potatoes, and mashed. This was our supper. And to wash down the mashed potatoes, we had a large glass of BUTTERMILK. DELICIOUS!!!
I once tried to make it for company, but my wife said, “Don’t you dare pour all of that bacon fat onto the potatoes!”
polishhousewife
Sounds great to me!
Delores Gubacz
I want to know if I can make my sour cream dough for pierogi and freeze it for a few weeks
polishhousewife
While I haven’t frozen your sour cream dough, I have frozen other doughs successfully. Give it plenty of time to thaw. If it seems a little too wet from condensation, add a little flour, but be careful not to overwork the dough.