Newsletter

Subscribe to receive Poland Travel Guide Infographic

Polish Housewife

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

Spreads

Garlic-Paprika Butter

by 7 Comments

Paprika seems to be the new thing!  Lays makes a paprika potato chip in Europe that is fantastic; I wish it was available stateside. My husband told me about a French restaurant in Poland that served a garlic-paprika butter with their bread.  The rest is, as they say, history.  And it will be repeated.

Mixing up this colorful compound butter for a dinner party all but guarantees a successful evening. Just be sure to pick up an extra baguette! On more than one occasion, I have seen friends who would just pick at a salad if we dined together in a restaurant, tuck into a good bread and garlic-paprika butter with great abandon.

garlic parkia butter piped onto a small plate

This could be just the beginning. You’ll find yourself mixing other spices and herbs into buttery spreads.

We used to visit an Irish pub in Poznań that always served a trio of three compound butters with an amazing dark, onion bread with their dinners. The down side was that the little slabs of butter were always ice cold, served straight from the fridge. They couldn’t be spread; attempting to do so would just tear the bread apart, and worst the of all, the flavors of these compound butters were subdued, minimized by the chill.

They would have benefited so much if they’d had 30 minutes to come to room temp. So that she my recommendation, pull your garlic-paprika butter out of the fridge before you’re ready to serve.

To think I used to believe paprika was just for sprinkling on deviled eggs!

Smacznego!

Lois

Garlic-paprika butter piped on a small plate

Print

Garlic-Paprika Butter

  • Author: Polish Housewife
Print

Description

A colorful and flavorful spread!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened, if using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt
  • 5 small cloves garlic, roasted & run through garlic press
  • paprika

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients until well blended, using enough paprika to achieve a color similar to cheddar cheese
  2. Shape into logs, by rolling in wax paper, chill and slice, or pipe into a serving dish
  3. Bring to room temp before serving

Notes

This is delicious for frying an egg or making hash browns

Smalec Recipe

by 12 Comments

Smalec is something that Americans eye warily at first. Polish friends and my husband said “it’s pork fat; you spread it on bread like butter.” I didn’t find them very convincing!

Of course, I eventually came around. The theme for my time in Poland was to try everything, experience new things, especially when it came to food.

Smalec - known in Poland as the poor man's butter

It is a common thing in Polish restaurants to be served a basket of bread with a bowl of smalec for the table as soon as you sit down, much like chips and salsa in a Mexican restaurant.

It doesn’t take long to discover that some smalec is better than others. Some of it just seems like lard, with very little of the flavorings. Some smalec is a chunky spread, full of crispy brown bits, chock full of delicious things that were until recently a mystery to me. This recipe is the latter!

Smalec, a traditional Polish spread

There was a little pub in Poznań that sold 100+ different beers, mainly Polish, I think. It was always packed with a very young crowd. Their limited food menu included smalec and bread, the perfect nibble to accompany 100+ kinds of beer. We started making a point of going there with our friends Angelika and Keith because we wanted to have the smalec.

I firmly believe that our food preferences are tied to the memories associated with the foods. For me, smalec is a rustic dish, shared in intimate settings with people you love.

Here are somethings I learned in making smalec that I’ll share with you. It can be difficult to buy a kilo of pork fat in the United States. I called several places and found two options for me in Tucson.

One of the local supermarkets was willing to save pork fat for me as the trimmed their cuts of meat. It took several days for them to have enough. But they did eventually call and had a package of pork fat waiting for me at $1.57 a pound.

I called two speciality butcher stores, and one of them had 3 pound packaged blocks of frozen pork fat. They were willing to cut it to size.

Now that we’ve secured the main ingredient, the surprising thing for me was that almost all smalec recipes include tart, green apples. I had no idea!

I’ve also read (with the aid of google translate) that some recipes includes diced dried fruit. My guess would be diced prunes; they’re very popular in Polish cooking. I went the classic route with just apples.

This recipes makes a lot. I filled 7 cute little Polish pottery ramekins. It keeps in the fridge for two weeks, so obviously I need people with whom to share. I’ve put one ramekin in the freezer as a test, and I’m happy to report that defrosted smalec is every bit as good as freshly made.

I love that I can pull a ramekin out of the freezer when I know someone is coming over. This is a dish meant for sharing.

I’d love to hear what you think of smalec!

Smacznego!

Lois

Print
Smalec - known in Poland as the poor man's butter

Smalec Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
  • Cuisine: Polish
Print

Description

A rich, rustic spread for bread, aka the poor man’s butter

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds pork fat, coarsely ground or finely diced
  • 1/2 pounds bacon, coarsely ground or finely diced
  • 3 medium onions (about 3 1/2 cups), finely diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon marjoram
  • 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cores, and grated or finely diced

Instructions

  1. In a large frying pan, cook the ground pork fat for 10 minutes over medium heat, it will begin to render fat
  2. Add the ground bacon, onions, garlic, salt and pepper
  3. Stir, scrapping the bottom frequently
  4. Reduce heat to low if necessary
  5. I kept cooking and stirring for another 50 minutes, until the rendered fat level began to be high tee than the chopped bits in the pan
  6. Add the marjoram and grated apple
  7. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally for a uniform consistency
  8. Store in the fridge
  9. Serve with a dark bread and small dill pickles

Notes

Best consumed with beer or vodka!

 

Polish Smalec - poor man's butter, but fit for a king!

Citrus Marmalade

by 8 Comments

A thick, bittersweet mixed citrus marmalade made with oranges, lemons, and grapefruit complete lots of ideas on how to use it.

I’m not a Master Gardner, and I haven’t discussed this with friends who are. I’m going on my own observations when I say that fruit production has cycles. A bumper crop seems to be followed by sparse year. I guess it gives the tree a chance to rest, or maybe it has to do with the weather.

Citrus marmalade with grapefruit, orange and lemon. Easy to make and with lots of ideas on how to use your marmalade!

This season has been a grand year for our friends’ citrus trees. We were recently the lucky recipients of bags of fresh picked, juicy grapefruit, lemons, and oranges. Thanks Julie and Kevin! Ed and I had a marathon day of zesting and juicing lemons for the freezer. While we were at it, I started searching the Internet for a potential recipe for marmalade. We didn’t have the usual bitter oranges for marmalade, but I thought maybe some combination of the fruit would be tasty.

Apparently, others have thought so too. I found several recipes using our combination of fruit. I ended up using Marisa’s from Food in Jars. The one change I made was adding some pectin. It maybe that I didn’t cook the mixture long enough, maybe my candy thermometer wasn’t working, but it just didn’t thickening up until I added a packet of pectin.

Print

Citrus Marmalade

  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: 4 pints
Print

Description

A bitter sweet spread with all kinds of uses!

Ingredients

  • 2 pink grapefruit
  • 3 lemons
  • 6 oranges (these were small)
  • 6 cups sugar
  • 4 cups of reserved poaching liquid
  • 1 packet of pectin

Instructions

  1. Wash and dry the fruit
  2. Revoe the zest with a vegetable peeler
  3. Sticking several slices of zest on top of each other, slice across the zest, making 1/8 to 1/4 inch shreds
  4. Put the zest into a pan with 6 cups of water
  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes
  6. Slice the top and bottom off of the fruit and slice off the white pith
  7. Carefully slice on either side of the membranes
  8. Remove fruit segments
  9. Save the membranes and seeds and tie them up in cheesecloth making a little bundle
  10. Strain the zest and save the cooking liquid
  11. Add the sugar to a Dutch oven add, the fruit segments, 4 cups of the cooking liquid, the cooked zest, and the cheesecloth bundle with the membranes and seeds (for the natural pectin they offer)
  12. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally
  13. Cook until the temperature reaches 220 F
  14. While this is cooking, sterilize the jars and lids, by putting them in a large pan, cover with water and bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes, remove
  15. When the marmalade reaches 220, remove the cheesecloth and stir in the pectin
  16. Fill the jars, wipe the rim, add lids (and rings)
  17. Place in a water bath (half way up the jars, bring to a gentle simmer, then cool
  18. Check to make sure the lids sealed (no movement when you press on the lid) and the lids are tight

Are are you wondering what you might do with all that marmalade? Here are a few suggestions:

  • glaze a cake
  • on pancakes or crepes
  • a topping for goat cheese and crackers
  • a glaze for meat or fish
  • a filling for cookies
  • stir a spoonful into a cup of hot tea

Do you have anything to add to this list? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

by 2 Comments

 

cinnamon honey butter

Compound butter or beurre composé is such a lovely finishing touch. I whipped up this compound butter to top off my candied ginger scones. The scones are delicious on their own, but I was preparing them for a group of friends, and wanted to add something special. Ina Garten’s recipe was my starting point, but I’ve added a few more spices for my cinnamon honey butter.

Since this spread was served alongside a ginger flavored pastry, it seemed natural to add spices that would be found in chai tea. It’s a proven combination; we know they go well together. I’ve doubled up the cinnamon and added cardamon and ginger. If I had a spice grinder, a little star anise might have found it’s way into the mix too. Don’t think you have to make ginger scones to use this butter. I can see it improving toast, English muffins, corn bread, pancakes, waffles, etc.

Even though I’m suggesting you chill the cinnamon honey butter to preserve the new shape you’ve formed, please give it some time out of the fridge before serving. You want the butter to spread easily and the spice flavors will be more pronounced if not cold.

One of our favorite places in Poznan serves a delicious bread with their meals. It’s hardy and dense and comes with a selection of three colorful compound butters piped into cute little stars. The only problem is that the plate and butter have been kept in the fridge (or maybe even the freezer) until the moment it’s brought to the table. Trying to spread it only tears up the bread. Oh how I wish they would pull it out when they start cooking our meal. Because on the rare times when some of this bread remained after a meal, when the butter had been sitting on our table for 30 to 45 minutes, it was heaven. It spreads like a dream and the favors of all the spices and herbs that have been added come to life. Dare I tell them?

I love Poland and Poles, so I say this with all due respect, but they don’t take criticism well, even well intended suggestions for improvement. I’ve seen enough here to understand this aspect of the culture, but the American in me sees this as crippling and unnecessarily delaying needed improvements.

Do you think I’m exaggerating? When visiting a new restaurant, our table was served a bowl of mushroom soup that contains a piece of wood the size of a clarinet reed. I’m sure that it broke off of a basket the mushrooms had been in. We were only at the restaurant because the two managers were friends of ours, and we wanted to support their new venture that had taken months of preparation. When we quietly mentioned it to one of the managers before we left, trying to be helpful, his response was, “it’s not my fault! On the one occasion we asked for a manager at one of Magda Gesler’s restaurants, we were told there was no manger on duty.

All this to explain why I haven’t said anything about cold, hard butter at a place we frequent often. What would you do?

 

Print

Cinnamon Honey Butter

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 10 mins
  • Yield: 8 - 16
Print

Description

Your favorite spices from chai tea in a spread

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (125 g)
  • 3 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • pinch salt

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients until smooth
  2. Form into a cylinder and roll in parchment, chill
  3. Or pipe into stars on a parchment covered baking tray for individual servings, chill
  4. Bring to room temperature (or close) before serving for easy spreading

 

Candied Ginger Scones

by 10 Comments

 

candied ginger scones

When I arrived in Poland, a friend invited me to a Bible study group that was meeting in her home, part of Poznan International Church. In this group, I have found female friends from around the world, a tremendous source of inspiration, encouragement . . . and international recipes. 😉 As with any expat group, the members are constantly changing. Between travel and house guests, it’s been some time since I’ve been able to join in, so I’m looking forward to connecting with the group again today. We’re now meeting in the home of someone I haven’t met yet, and I want to bring along a gift from our kitchen to share with the group. Candied Ginger Scones are just the thing.

This recipe is a variation of Abby Dodge’s, and they are fantastic! The outside is crisp, the inside light and tender. The candied ginger, which I make myself, brings a kick of spice to add interest without making it too sweet. Candied ginger scones are something that I like to make for a special treat. It’s often in the rotation when we have house guests. If your waistline allows for such goodness on a regular basis, have at it! I’m afraid Ed and I have to save these for special occasions.

I love to share goodies like these with friends. My blog was originally called Food is My Love Language, and it really is! I know that Brooke, the pastor’s wife and partner in ministry, who leads our group will appreciate them. She shares my sweet tooth and enjoys spicy things. You can image my surprise and joy when I met Brooke in Poznan. She and her husband are from Chandler, Arizona — only a hundred miles from Tucson and a stone’s through from where I grew up in Phoenix. She writes the blog, And 2 Makes Crazy.  If you’re not a fan already, let me encourage you to check it out. Brooke, mom to three, is funny, candid, and thought provoking, and it all comes through in her writing.

I’m ready to pack up my Bible, the candied ginger scones with some cinnamon honey butter and hop on the tram. I’m sure the group will enjoy them, and I know your friends will too. Let me know how they turn out for you.

Smacznego!

Print

Candied Ginger Scones

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 40 mins
  • Yield: 8
  • Category: Breakfast
Print

Description

Crisp, light, and tender, these scones are an amazing breakfast treat!

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups flour (284 g)
  • 1/4 cup sugar (57 g)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces (113 g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger (35 g)
  • 3/4 cups buttermilk (175 ml)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C)
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt
  3. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives until pea sized. Using your hands to blend the butter in would warm the butter, and you’d lose some of the flaky layers in your scones.
  4. Mix in the ground ginger and candied ginger until well distributed
  5. Combine the buttermilk and vanilla, pour over dry ingredients
  6. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently mix just until the dry ingredients are moist and come together
  7. Scrap the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead just to combine
  8. Shape the dough into a 7 inch (18 cm) circle
  9. Cut into eight wedges with a lightly floured knife or bench scrapper
  10. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  11. Arrange the wedges, 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the prepared pan
  12. Bake for approximately 18 minutes, until golden brown
  13. Cool for 15 minutes before serving

 

Onion Jam

by 2 Comments

Inspired by a meal at Alchemy Wine Bar in Galway, Ireland, there was no doubt that I needed to whip up an onion jam when we returned home.  It was an important accompaniment to the quiche I enjoyed at Alchemy and I was sure there would be other uses.  Oh, yes, there are – pizza topping, burger topping, sandwich filling, etc.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 small yellow onions (about 2 pounds), sliced
4 sprigs fresh thyme, or a pinch or dried thyme
1/ 2 cup stock, beef, chicken, or vegetable
1/2 cup white wine
1 teaspoon balsamic reduction, or 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
pinch salt

Directions

  • Over medium heat, add oil and onions to a frying pan
  • Saute until translucent, stirring occasionally
  • Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer, continuing to stir until onions are caramelized and liquids have cooked down
  • It’s ready to serve

Apple Butter (No Sugar Added)

by 7 Comments

One of the things I love about Poland is the very fresh fruit and veg. The cities are surrounded by farm land, and so many people grow their own produce in home gardens. Recently, I was the lucky recipient of a huge bag of apples, straight from the tree. Our neighbors were back in their home village for a wedding and brought back apples from her father’s tree. That’s another thing typical of Poland, everyone in the city grew up in a village. OK, there are probably some natives of Poznan, we just haven’t met them yet.

Among other things, I wanted to make apple butter with these apples. I remember my friend Carla making applesauce in a crock-pot and saying that she’d done it without adding sugar. That’s what I wanted to try. Since there are just two of us, I made a small batch. You could certainly make it larger – figure on about 1/2 cup of apple butter for each apple you’re using.

Now, I have an urge to bake bread!

Ingredients

4 apples
3/4 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon vinegar (apple cider vinegar would be ideal, I used red wine)
1 scant tablespoon cinnamon
2 – 3 grates of fresh nutmeg (or a pinch of ground nutmeg)
pinch of salt

Directions

  • Quarter and core the apples, leaving the peel on
  • Dice in 1-inch cubes
  • Add the apples to a crock-pot or saucepan
  • Add remaining ingredients, stir
  • Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low-low (I did mine overnight)
  • Cook for 10 to 12 hours
  • Cool, process in blender, food processor, or with immersion blender
  • Transfer to sealed containers, will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks
  • Since I know nothing about home canning, I’m keeping mine in the freezer for longer shelf lifeapple butter pinterst

Green Walnuts

by 3 Comments

Last winter our friend, Grzegorz, stopped by and sampled my wisniowka (as he called it), a homemade cherry liqueur.  I think he was impressed not only by the drink, but by the fact that an American was taking part in this popular Polish pastime of making liqueurs.

He said that I must try making orzechowka, a green walnut liqueur.  He was so keen on the idea that he phoned his mother to get his aunt’s recipe.  I jotted it down in my iPad notes with a reminder to get in touch with Greg next May.  He promised to bring me a bag of green walnuts from his aunt’s tree.

Greg’s family recipe, Day 1
Two weeks in brine for vinegar based options

It’s been a mild summer, so it was late June before Greg popped round with the green walnuts, which look more like a lime than what you’re used to seeing in the nut bowl at Christmas.

I’ve followed the directions to start a batch of the Polish family recipe.  Rather than make a huge batch of this liqueur, because we’re moving back to the states in 6 months, I decided to search the Internet to what else people do with green walnuts.

I have small batches of several recipes going thanks to Agrarinista.  I’m trying an Italian green walnut liqueur as well as the Polish version.  The main difference seems to be that the Italian version will include spices.  The walnuts that are in the brine will go on to become green walnut ketchup, green walnut chutney, and pickled green walnuts.

I’ll do separate posts as we finish and sample everything, but I wanted to mention this now, in case you have a source of green walnuts but aren’t sure what to do with them.

Paprika Vegetable Cream Cheese

by 2 Comments

I’ve found myself using a lot of paprika since I moved to Poland – to think I used to only sprinkle it on top of deviled eggs!  When La Chinata asked if I would like to sample their smoked paprika powder, I was interested.  (The CPA in me feels a need to disclose that I was provided two tins, sweet and hot, of their paprika at no charge and with no obligation on my part.  If it wasn’t too my liking, I would have simply conveyed this to the company and not mentioned them here, but that was not the case.)

I’ve only had smoked paprika once before.  It was from a top, American purveyor of spices, and I found the smoke flavor overpowering.  I was delighted that the smoke is a note in the La Chinata smoked paprika, but the peppers are still the main flavor.

The first recipe I tried with this paprika was a veggie cream cheese spread.  I mixed up a big batch; we’ve been eating it on rye crisps, celery; I think it would be great on bagels or crackers too.  I love the flavors and the color.  Paprika is right up there with garlic in the must have seasonings category.

This is the sort of recipe that you can use as a starting point, adapting to suit your own tastes and what you have on hand – maybe finely diced celery or radish, other herbs.  I’d love to hear what you add to it.

Ingredients

1/2 red bell pepper
1 – 2 cloves roasted garlic
1 green onion (white and green parts), finely minced
1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika powder
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
dash pepper
pinch of dried thyme (or the leaves stripped from 2 or 3 small stalks of fresh thyme)
8 ounces (250 g) cream cheese, softened

Directions

  • Wanting the mellow, sweetness of a roasted red pepper, I finely diced the pepper and sauteed it in a little olive oil.  You could also wrap the 1/2 pepper in foil and toss it in the oven when you roast the garlic, and then dice after it’s cooked.  I still had the green onion to add a little bit of crunch to the texture.
  • Add the pepper, roasted garlic, green onion, paprika, salt, pepper, and thyme the cream cheese.
  • You can stir until thoroughly combined, or if you want a smoother texture, use a food processor.

Chipotle Roasted Garlic Spread

by Leave a Comment

This is my effort to  recreate  the  spread we  enjoyed at Tabule and I raved about on this blog.   Adjust the amount of chipotles and adobo depending the the size of the peppers and your taste.   With the garlic, however, I’m urging you to be bold.

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. Best Foods mayonnaise (Hellman’s in some parts of the country)
1 – 2 chipotle peppers, minced
1 – 2 t. adobo sauce
2 – 4 cloves roasted garlic

Directions

Combine all ingredients in food processor until light and well combined.  Serve with toasted slices of baguette.