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Polish Housewife

Polish recipes served up with tidbits of folklore, customs, and history

Soup

Chlodnik (Cold Polish Beet Soup)

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 My friend, Gosia, recently shared her recipe for Chlodnik, a cold beet soup that is a summer staple here in Poland. This soup is so cool and refreshing on a hot, humid day, and our mutual friend Yvonne summed it so so well, “you can just taste how fresh and healthy it is.”

Chlodnik, Poland's cool, creamy beer soup for summer!

If you see someone eating Chlodnik, the color will get your attention. It’s a bright, vibrant pink from the combination of beets and dairy. The color isn’t one that you usually find in food, certainly not in savory.

Like Polish housewives everywhere, I tried my hand at this soup last summer, but I’ll be making this version from now on; it’s quick and easy, and ever so fresh tasting.  Gosia not only shared her recipe, she invited several of us to her home for a day of traditional Polish cooking.  Memories that I’ll always treasure.

Smacznego!

Lois

(Amazon pays me a few cents for purchase made via these links)
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Chlodnik, Poland's cool, creamy beer soup for summer!

Chlodnik (Cold Polish Beet Soup)

★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 45 mins
  • Yield: 7-8
  • Category: Soup
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

A colorful, healthy, cold soup for summer

Ingredients

  • 4 or 5 young, tender beets, with tops if possible
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cucumbers, peeled and grated
  • 6 radishes, grated
  • 3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
  • 2 green onions (white and green parts), chopped
  • 4 cups plain yogurt
  • 4 cups kefir or buttermilk
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 3 hard boiled eggs, quartered

Instructions

  1. Prepare the beets by removing and dicing the stems up to the leaves
  2. Add the chopped stems to a large soup pot
  3. Peel and grate the remaining beet roots, add to the pan
  4. Add enough water just to cover the beets, add salt
  5. Simmer until tender, about 15 minutes
  6. Cool the beet mixture
  7. Add the cucumbers, radishes, dill, green onions, yogurt, kefir, and sour cream.
  8. Season with salt and pepper
  9. Chill and serve garnished with hard boiled egg

Notes

Now that I know the proper way to make this, I usually substitute two jars of grated beets for the whole beets, and simply combine all of the ingredients and chill – 10 minutes max prep time.

 

 

Chlodnik (Cold Polish Beet Soup)

Crab Corn Chowder

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Hot soups don’t normally come to mind during the summer months in Tucson, I’m more likely to make gazpacho or chłodink, but the beautiful selection of fresh corn on sale in all of the supermarkets got me thinking about chowders. I looked through several recipes online and ended up making this crab corn chowder by Rachael Ray.

Crab corn chowder

It’s always interesting to see the reaction you get when you mention Rachael Ray to people, as I did when I took this chowder to work for lunch. She obviously has legions of followers and is the much loved host of a multiple TV programs. I was surprised to hear some of my colleagues are among those who are put off by her persona of over the top enthusiastic, wholesome goodness. My brother, who lives, in New York City, shared some local society/gossip that sheds a different light on her life, but for myself, I’ve always felt that ever since Oprah discovered her, she was overexposed — something I guess she can worry about all the way to the bank.

Enough gossipy chit- chat, back to the cooking. The crab corn chowder comes together quickly and is easy to make. You don’t have to have fresh corn, but I do recommend fresh crab rather than canned. You can find it sold in plastic cups in your better grocery stores, in Arizona that means AJ’s Fine Foods.

Crab corn chowder would be great topped with oyster crackers, croutons, or maybe a sprinkle of chives or green onions for a pop of color.  If you make it, I’d love to hear what you think!

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Crab Corn Chowder

  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 40 mins
  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Category: Soup
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Description

An easy to prepare, hearty seafood chowder, chocked full of yummy vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 ribs celery, chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 small red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning blend
  • Dash cayenne (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 quart whole milk
  • 3 cups corn kernels, cut from the cob or, frozen
  • 8 ounces cooked lump crab meat

Instructions

  1. In a Dutch oven, heat oil and butter over medium heat
  2. Add diced potatoes, cook for a few minutes before adding the chopped celery, stirring occasionally, a flat bottomed wooden spoon is perfect for this
  3. Continue adding vegetables, cooking and stirring for a few minutes between additions
  4. Add bay leaf and season with salt, black pepper, Old Bay, and cayenne if you’re using it
  5. Saute veggies 5 minutes, then sprinkle in flour
  6. Cook for two minutes, stirring constantly
  7. Slowly add broth and milk, stirring to combine
  8. Heat soup until just beginning to boil, add the corn and crab
  9. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes
  10. Bring soup up to a bubble. Add corn and crab meat and simmer soup 5 minutes
  11. Remove the bay leaf, and you’re ready to serve; smacznego!

If you love the convenience of having a pot of soup, ready to go in the fridge, be sure to check out my Pinterest board, Year Round Soup Ideas. You’ll find a variety of hot and cold options from me and other soup loving pinners.

Duck Sausage Gumbo

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We roasted a whole duck Christmas Day. At the end of the evening when faced with the duck carcass and a few roasted vegetables leftover, I did what any good Polish housewife would do and made duck stock. All of the bones and the veggies (a mix of carrot, onion, parsnip, potato, and Brussels sprouts) went into Dutch oven with enough water to cover everything, probably about 12 cups. I brought it to a boil then turned the heat down as low as it would go, covered it and let it simmer over night. If you’re doing this during the day, a couple of hours should be sufficient. I was just out of steam and couldn’t stay up that long. I had no idea what I would do with this at the time. Luckily, inspiration came the next day, and it turned into some excellent duck sausage gumbo. If you’re not cooking a duck, you could do this with any kind of leftover poultry.

Duck Sausage Gumbo

 

 

After letting the liquid cool to room temperature, I poured it through a strainer to remove the veggies and the duck carcass. After cooking for so long, the duck was disintegrating, lifting it out was not an option. The veggies were discarded. I think any flavor in them had long since cooked out. I picked the meat off the bones and was pleasantly surprised that I had almost three cups. I wanted to remove the layer of fat that was on top of the stock. I could have used a fat separating measuring cup, but mine is small. It would have been a lot of pouring and probably a lot of spilling. Since I wasn’t in a hurry, I popped the pan with the liquid into the freezer to firm up the fat, making it easier to remove. The gelatinous stock became almost solid, and I was able to scrap off the fat with a metal spatula.

After browsing through three recipes in our favorite Cajun cookbook, Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen, I felt ready to take this on. We invited friends over for an impromptu dinner party, and the duck sausage gumbo was very well received.

Smacznego!

Lois

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Duck Sausage Gumbo

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 40 min
  • Cook Time: 75 min
  • Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
  • Yield: 12 servings
  • Cuisine: Cajun
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Description

Spicy and flavorful, this chock-full of veggies soup will win over die-hard carnivores. With a subtle heat, this is a wonderful use for any leftover fowl.

Ingredients

1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 1/2 cups chopped onions, divided
2 1/2 cups chopped bell peppers, divided
2 1/2 cups chopped celery, divided
2 1/2 cups chopped okra, divided
1/4 cup duck fat (add olive oil if more fat is needed)
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 cups duck broth
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes or 2 large tomatoes, diced
3 cups shredded duck meat
1 pound Polish sausage, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups rice, cooked according to package directions ( I sometimes use Basmati rice because of the lower glycemic index)

Instructions

Combine the flour, salt, paprika, white pepper, onion powder, cayenne, black pepper, and cumin
On a plate, combine together 1/2 cup each of the onion, bell pepper, celery, and okra, set aside
Heat the duck fat in a large Dutch oven over high heat
Add the flour and seasoning mix, stirring and scraping constantly, cook until dark brown, 4 – 5 minutes, add the reserved mixed vegetables, and continue cooking over high heat for one more minute
Add the garlic, and immediately begin adding the duck broth, one cup at a time, stirring between each addition
Add the tomatoes (including liquid), duck meat, the sausage, and the remaining vegetables
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, loosely cover, and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, stirring occasionally
Served in bowls with a scoop of cooked rice

I’m sure a Cajun dish isn’t what pops into everyone’s mind. How would you use up leftover duck or other poultry?

 

Trio of Cold Soups for Summer

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Even with temperatures rising, soup is the way to begin a meal in Poland, so much so that I’ve had a waitress argue with me when I ordered a salad for a first course.

cooking class, church, soup

With that thought in mind, I shared three great cold soups recipes in a cooking class this week. It was a good excuse to spend time with my old friends. On Monday night, we gathered in the church kitchen, diced up a ton of vegetables, and created some light, vegetarian soups that are perfect for summer, but we didn’t stop there.

One of my friends has an herb garden, so we whipped up a garlic herb compound butter — just the thing to go with a couple of loaves from our favorite bakery. It’s so easy to do. We used two sticks of soft butter, a minced clove of garlic, a pinch of salt, and a 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup diced herbs. We used lemon thyme, flat leaf parsley, and tarragon; you could use any combination you like.

Getting back to the soups, we made a cold Polish beet soup, Chlodnik. This soup’s most notable feature is its bright pink color. It combines cooled beets and other raw vegetables with lots of dairy, including kefir — something very popular in Poland, but new to my American friends. I urge you to give kefir a try. I’ve read that it has five times the probiotics found in yogurt; add it to a smoothie or try one of the flavored versions.

Chlodnik (Cold Polish Beet Soup)

We also made an asparagus vichyssoise. This was a little different than the version I make in Poland where the asparagus is white; I must admit the green color was very attractive.

asparagus potato soup

A Spanish gazpacho finished off our trio. This has been one of my favorites ever since the 1980s, when we spent four years living in Spain, and I researched gazpacho and sangria all over the Iberian peninsula, but that’s another story.

Gazpacho

Ninety minutes after we started, we gathered around the table for interesting conversation and soup sampling. The lone man who joined us told us about The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. As a cyclist, this was especially interesting to me. In its 42nd year, the week long ride is almost 500 miles. Our friend who has made the ride five times tells us that it’s really just an excuse for a week long party. It is possible to join in just for a day. That might be more my speed if I could find a day that would guarantee a tailwind! 😉

As for our soups, there were many trips to the kitchen to refill our bowls, but no clear favorite. So take a break from salads this summer, give these soups a try and let me know which one you would choose.

 

 

Zupa z Brokułami i Marchewką Broccoli and Carrot Soup

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Broccoli soup with carrot red bell pepper soup
broccoli carrot soup
Inspired by a soup at Corleone, my favorite restaurant in Krakow, I’ve prepared two soups and served them up in one bowl. Together the soup colors and flavors complement each other making the combination so much better that either soup on its own. It’s easy to do and makes for a very striking presentation for Broccoli and Carrot Soup
My starting point for any soup is the prepackaged bundle of vegetables that every Polish housewife uses. I’m going to miss this when I return to the states.
the bundle of soup veg available in any Polish market

Smacznego!

Lois

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two-tone broccoli carrot soup

Broccoli and Carrot Soup

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Category: Soup
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

Two delicious soups in one bowl, what could be prettier?

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 leek (the white and light green part), sliced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 small parsnips, sliced
  • 1 small celery root, peeled and diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 carrots, sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 small head broccoli, chopped
  • Stock, chicken or vegetable (for vegan)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • a dash of cayenne (optional)

Instructions

  1. Divide the oil between two saucepans
  2. Divide the leek and onion between the two pans, season a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook over medium high heat until soft
  3. Divide the parsnip, celery root, and garlic between the two pans
  4. Add 7 carrots and the red bell pepper to one pan
  5. Add 1 carrot and the broccoli the other
  6. Continue to cook the vegetables, stirring often, for 3 – 5
  7. Add stock to both pans, just enough to cover the veg
  8. Simmer until everything is tender
  9. Blend until smooth (I use an immersion blender)
  10. Check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary, and cayenne if you’re using it
  11. Pour both soups into a bowl at the same time (easy to do with liquid measuring cups), adding whatever finishing touch your veggie-loving heart desires, suggestions below 🙂

 

Carrot – red bell pepper soup
Broccoli soup
Pour both soups into the bowl at the same time
Garnish with dots from a spoon handle
Or run a knife back and forth through the soup for a zig-zag pattern

Ukrainian Borscht

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I dropped in on my parents recently, around lunchtime.   They’re both great cooks, so I wasn’t surprised to be asked to join them for a bowl of borscht rather than a ham sandwich.  The Ukrainian version my mom found on Allrecipes was my favorite in my somewhat limited borscht experience.  I have tried Polish barszcz in Poznan.  The Polish version is a brothy-soup, with a strong, tart flavor and is served with a croquette on the side.  In comparison, this Ukrainina verion is a hearty, stew-like soup and milder in flavor.

 

Adapted from: Allrecipes

For a vegetarian option, omit the sausage.  For a vegan recipe, skip the sausage and the sour cream or substitute a vegan sour cream

Ingredients

16 ounces bulk pork sausage (I made my own hot breakfast sausage)
3/4 cup red lentils
1 3/4 cup water, divided
3 medium beets, peeled and shredded

3 carrots, peeled and shredded
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 ounces tomato paste
1/2 head cabbage, cored and finely shredded
8 ounces diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream, for garnish
parsley, for garnish
Directions
  • Brown the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking into small pieces, drain and set aside
  • Soak lentils in 1 cup of water, while cooking sausage and shredding vegetables (about an hour)
  • Drain lentils, reserving water, process lentils with a few spoons full of the water in a blender or food processor.  It should resemble a slightly watery hummus
  • Add 8 cups of water to a large Dutch oven, add the sausage and bring to a boil
  • Add beets, and simmer 15 minutes
  • Add carrots and blended lentils, cook for 15 minutes
  • Add cabbage and tomatoes, continuing to simmer
  • Heat oil and onion in a frying pan, cook until the onion is tender
  • Add garlic to onion and cook 1 minute; add tomato paste and 3/4 cup water
  • Stir over heat until tomato paste and water are blended, transfer to soup pot
  • Simmer 5 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper
  • Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream and diced parsley
Servings 8 – 10

Dal Fry

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Dal Fry

It’s only a little bit unusual that I went to Poland to learn to cook Indian food. Poznan is such an international city that it isn’t surprising that one of my friends would be from India. Lucky me, that she shared my love of cooking and sharing recipes! When my friend, Prethi, taught me to make dal fry, she said it was a very basic, simple Indian dish.  I can tell you, though, there is nothing simple about the flavor.  This lentil stew or gravy has a rich, complex taste with layers of flavor, finishing with a bit of heat.  I could very happily eat this everyday.

I had dal fry at an Indian restaurant in Houston with my friend, Letha. I didn’t know what it was, but I love it! How nice that I can whip up a batch at home now.

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Dal Fry

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 2 tablespoons, clarified butter (for vegan, substitute oil)
  • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (small black seeds)
  • 1/4 cup garlic, minced
  • 1 chili sliced
  • 1 cup onion, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • cilantro, finely chopped for garnish

Instructions

  1. Prethi cooked the lentils in a pressure cooker, covering them with just over an inch of water. She had them on high heat until the cooker “rattled” and then simmered for 10 minutes. They were cooked until they were mush-like. I don’t have a pressure cooker, so I will have to boil them until they’re falling apart.
  2. Whisk lentils in cooking liquid and set aside
  3. Add clarified butter and oil to a frying pan over medium-high heat
  4. Add the mustard seeds and cook until the seeds start to pop
  5. Add the garlic and chili, cook 2 minutes, stirring
  6. Add cumin seeds and onion, cook 2 minutes, stirring
  7. Add tomato, cook 3 minutes, continuing to stir
  8. Add salt, cook 5 minutes
  9. Add purred lentils and turmeric
  10. If the texture is thicker than desired (maybe on reheating), just add a little more water
  11. Garnish with cilantro, serve over white rice or peas pulao

 

Lentil Soup (Vegetarian/Vegan)

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A delicious vegan lentil soup
A colorful, tasty bowl of vegan lentil soup

The Christmas day menu at our house is always changing.  I like to try new things (like this vegan lentil soup), and family schedules are always different.  This year, my brother was leaving midday to return to NY, and my husband and daughter were hitting the road for northern California by mid-afternoon.

Since we all stuff ourselves Christmas Eve at my folks’ home where the menu always includes prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, a trifle, and plum pudding with brandy butter, I was planning something light, since we’d be eating early.

I was thinking a couple of soups, but one of our daughters said it wouldn’t feel like a holiday without some kind of baked good.  So we started the day with fruit, apricot squares, and a big plate of bacon.  Lunch was my favorite soup with turkey, barley, and butternut squash.  We also added this meatless option, and I can tell you that it was simple to make and full of flavor.

Source: Skinny Bitch in the Kitch

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Lentil Soup (Vegetarian/Vegan)

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 50 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Category: Vegan
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Description

A delicious and colorful vegan lentil soup!

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 zucchini, quartered and sliced (1/4 inch)
  • 1 yellow squash, quartered and sliced (1/4 inch)
  • 1 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 1/2 cup lentils
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 14.5 ounce canned tomatoes (with juice)

Instructions

  1. Add the coconut oil, red and yellow peppers, and onion to a dutch oven and cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes
  2. Add the squashes, garlic, salt, pepper, marjoram, thyme, and cayenne, cooking for 1 more minute
  3. Add the broth, lentils, and soy sauce, cooking until the lentils are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes
  4. Add the sesame oil and tomatoes, cooking just until heated

 

 

Red Lentil, Roasted Pepper, & Spinach Soup

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I know my friends in Arizona can’t imagine a hot soup this time of year, but it’s a possibility here in Poland.  I’ve always loved lentils – not only because of the flavor, their fast cooking is great for those of us who don’t plan ahead.  I’ve never used red lentils before, so it was nice to find this smaller variety cooks even faster than my usual green or brown lentils.

They lose their beautiful red during cooking taking on a creamy golden color.  The hue in the soup is coming from the pureed red pepper and the chorizo.

I’ve adapted this recipe from Ginger Beat, a well written blog and great source of vegetarian recipes.

Ingredients

1 cup red lentils
5 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 small onion, diced
4 ounces Spanish chorizo, diced (optional, omit for vegetarian)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 roasted red bell peppers, (mine were from a jar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 Knorr bullion cube, vegetable or chicken
2 cups fresh spinach leaves (or 2 ounces frozen)

Directions

  • Sort through the lentils, removing any debris, rinse
  • Add lentils and water to a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.
  • Just before the lentils are done, add oil, red pepper flakes, onion, and chorizo (if you’re using it) to a large skillet or dutch oven.  Cook for a few minutes, then add garlic, cooking until garlic just begins to brown.
  • Puree roasted red bell peppers.
  • Add cooked lentils, pureed bell peppers, salt, black pepper, and bullion cube (slightly mushed to help it dissolve faster) to oil mixture, simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Add spinach and cook until fresh spinach leaves are wilted (if using frozen, of course, cook until spinach is thawed and soup has returned to a simmer.)

Broccoli Cauliflower Stalk Soup

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broccoli cauliflower stalk soup

It has always bothered me to buy a large stalk of broccoli and throw away half of it.  Then I started composting and it didn’t seem so wasteful.  But now, I’m in an apartment without a worm colony under the kitchen sink – coming up with crazy ideas and exposing my frugal side for all the world to see. So here it is, a delicious, creamy broccoli cauliflower stalk soup. In this case, my broccoli was joined by a little cauliflower.

I had colleague, who rather than pay for the stalk, simply snaps it off, and takes the part of the broccoli she wants to the checkout line. What’s your solution for this waste?

We’re big on soups in Poland; it’s much more popular as a first course than salad.  We’ve been experimenting with a lot of new soups, and this was another addition to a growing list of favorites. It’s a simple as it can be, but you could go more all-out if you liked, adding carrot or parsnip.

Smacznego!

Lois

Humble beginnings for a fine soup

 

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Broccoli (& Cauliflower) Stalk Soup with Crispy Prosciutto

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 15 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
  • Yield: serves 4
  • Category: Soup
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Description

A rich creamy soup made with what you may have treated as scraps in the past

Ingredients

  • 4-5 slices Prosciutto
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup onion or leek, diced
  • 4 Broccoli (and/or cauliflower) stalk, coarsely diced
  • Chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • dash cayenne

Instructions

  1. Add Prosciutto to a frying pan and cook until it begins to brown, cool until crisp, crumble and set aside
  2. Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat, add onion and cook until it begins to brown
  3. Add the chopped broccoli and enough stock to cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer loosely covered for about an hour, until tender
  4. Process soup until smooth with an immersion blender or in a blender or food processor
  5. Stir in cream and season to taste
  6. Top with Prosciutto