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Polish Housewife

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

Summer

12 Polish Recipes for Summer

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When people speak about weather in Poland, the focus is usually on the winters, but the change of seasons gives Poles a real appreciation for summer. Weekends are busy with cookouts, long days at the lake, making the most of all that sunshine. You get the idea. Here are a dozen Polish recipes for summer to add delicious fun to the your table!

 

  1. Polish Peach Cake – Ciasto Brzoskwiniowe
  2. Polish Strawberries Whipped Cream & Meringue – Truskawa z Bita Smietana i Bezy
  3. Polish Cabbage Salad – Salatka z Kapusty
  4. Polish Roasted Carrots – Pieczone Marchewki
  5. Green Beans Polish Style – Fasolka Szparagowa Zielona la Polonaise
  6. Polish Fruit Drink – Kompot
  7. Polish Cucumber Salad – Mizeria
  8. Polish Cucumbers Preserved in Brine – Ogorki Kiszone
  9. Polish Peach Ice Cream – Lody Brzoskwiniowe
  10. Polish Broad Bean Salad – Bob
  11. Polish Raspberry Jam (with optional brandy) – Dzem Malinowy
  12. Polish Cold Beet Soup – Choldnik

Summer brings a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables. So many people have vegetable garden or an allotment that they “farm,” or they’re likely to know someone who is growing organic vegetables and will buy several kilos to enjoy now and put up for later in the year. It’s not uncommon the have a meal at a friend’s home and find out that they grew all of the produce themselves with a few lettuce plants, tomatoes, herbs, etc.

Corners near busy tram stops will have vendors with the latest in the seasons harvest, white asparagus, raspberries, cherries. It’s so wonderful to take home something that was probably picked the day before.

Whatever your tastes, sweet or savory, you’re sure to find something in this collection of recipes for summer that will sound appealing, from peach ice cream and peach cake to roasted carrots or a cold beet soup. Let me know what you’re cooking this summer in the comments. 🙂

Enjoy the long summer days.

Smacznego!

Lois

(Amazon pays me a few cents for puchase via these links)


12 Polish Recipes for Summer #summer #Polishrecipes #polishfood #polishhousewife PolishHousewife.com

Green Beans Fasolka Szparagowa A La Polonaise

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Without going into a long history lesson, mainly because I’m not qualified to teach it, during the 1800s, a time when Poland was partitioned (divided up and taken over by neighboring countries), many of the Polish elite took residence in France, musician Frederic Chopin and poet Adam Mickiewicz to name just two. This influx of Polish nationals may be how the French became familiar with dishes such as Fasolka Szparagowa A La Polonaise, and how they came to label anything topped with butter and breadcrumbs as A La Polonaise, or in the Polish manner or Polish style. The Poles, they might call this fasolka szparogowa z bulka tarta, green beans with breadcrumbs.

Fasolka Szpargowa A La Polonaise

You’re not limitted to green beans if you have the urge to go A La Polonaise with butter and breadcrumbs. Try this technique on chicken, fish, cauliflower, asparagus, or other vegetables. Cook the vegetables in salted water, seved chilled or warm, topping with bread crumbs that have been browned in a generous amount of butter. You may also choose to add chopped hard boiled egg and herbs such as parsley or dill.

Enjoy Fasolka Szparagowa A La Polonaise. If you find yourself engaging in every mother’s favorite pastime, trying to get your kids to eat more vegetables, butter and bread crumbs couldn’t hurt, right?

Smacznego!

Lois

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Fasolka Szparagowa (Green Beans) A La Polonaise

★★★★★ 4.8 from 4 reviews
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 40 mins
  • Yield: serves 4 - 6
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Ingredients

  • 1 pound green beans
  • salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped dill
  • pepper

Instructions

  1. Trim both ends of the green beans
  2. Heat a large pot of boiling salted water
  3. Add the beans to the boiling water, return to a boil, and simmer
  4. Cook the beans for 10 – 20 minutes (they should be al dente, firm but not crunchy)
  5. Remove from heat and drain
  6. Melt butter, when it begins to bubble, add the bread crumbs
  7. Stir and turn the mixture until golden brown
  8. Remove from heat
  9. Add beans to a serving dish and toss with butter and bread crumbs, top with dill
  10. Season as needed with salt and pepper

 

Dzem Malinowy (Raspberry Jam)

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It seems the biggest controversy about making one’s own dzem malinowy is whether or not to leave the seeds. As you can see from the photo, I chose to go with seeds. To my mind, if I strain out the seeds and, therefore, the pulp too, I would be making jelly not jam, and I believe that some of the natural fruit pectin would be lost, requiring the addition of something to help it gel.

The fresh berries during the summer in Poland are fabulous. I would frequently pick up a carton or two from someone selling at a tram stop, not ours, a busier one where we often had to change trams. They were beautiful, ever so fresh and at 3 – 4 zl, about $1.

Dzem Malinowy, a delicious raspberry jam

The fun part of making one’s own dzem malinowy is deciding what else you might want to add. I’ve come across all kind of suggestions:

  • Mint
  • Vanilla
  • Red Pepper and Balsamic Vinegar
  • Rose Syrup
  • Rum or Brandy
  • Lavender (go easy on the lavender, too much, and it smells soapy)
  • Cranberry
  • Blackberries,
  • Cinnamon
  • Ginger

I chose to stir in a little brandy at the end. The flavors went well together, and it made this perfect jam to spread on nalesniki, Polish pancakes which are more like crepes than our American version of pancakes. What a sophisticated dessert or sweet for brunch.

Smacznego!

Lois

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Dzem Malinowy (Raspberry Jam)

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Yield: 6 to 8 1-cup jars
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

Easy to make and delicious, raspberry jam

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds raspberries
  • 2 – 4 cups sugar (depending on your tastes)
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 – 1 cup brandy (optional)

Instructions

  1. Put 6 to 8 1-cup jam jars and their lids in a pot of boiling water to sterilize them or run them through the dishwasher
  2. Put the raspberries and sugar in a large pan and cover, let sit for 3 hours or overnight to draw out the juice
  3. Add lemon juice and bring to a boil, stirring
  4. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes
  5. Remove from heat and cool
  6. Again bring the jam up to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer of 10 – 20 minutes
  7. You can test the consistency of your jam by putting a small plate in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill, put a small spoon of hot jam on the plate, let it sit for about 30 seconds, tip the plate on its side, if it runs, it needs to cook longer, if it gels and moves only slightly, it’s ready
  8. Remove from the heat
  9. Add the optional brandy if you’re using it
  10. While still hot, pour or ladle into the clean jars, wipe any spills of the rim of the jars, and seal tightly
  11. Put the jars in a pot, fill with at least 2 inches of water, bring to a boil, and let simmer for 10 minutes
  12. Remove the jars from the pot and cool
  13. As the jars cool, you’ll hear popping sounds, as the lids seal, there should be no give in the lids
  14. I’ve never had it happen, but if you have a jar with a lid that didn’t seal perfectly, put it in the fridge and eat this one first

 

Ogórki Kiszone (Polish Pickles)

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I’ve gone all American on you with the title of this post, Polish Pickles. One lesson I learned from my Polish friends was that pickles are made with vinegar. The preferred method of creating sour little cucumbers in Poland is to preserve them in brine, so these are more correctly referred to a preserved cucumbers rather than pickled cucumbers. If this differs from your family’s English definition of Ogórki Kiszone, I’ll have to refer you to my group of experts in Poznan. I’m just repeating what I’ve been told.

Ogórki Kiszone are much loved, and I was fortunate to be given jars of brine preserved cukes twice. The first jar came from my friend Elzbieta, her mother makes them every year. The second came from a young man, an engineering student at our Poznan’s Politechnika University, and a waiter at our local TGI Fridays. We would chat at Fridays, and occasionally run into each other at a party in our neighborhood. At some point, we got on the subject of Ogórki Kiszone, and the next time I saw him, he brought me a jar of his mother’s preserved cucumbers. Apparently, he had multiple jars stashed in his dorm room. I returned the favor at our next meeting with samples of a few things I’ve been whipping up in the kitchen, almond cookies, and his favorite Bailey’s pinwheels.

One of the things I loved about Polish supermarkets (even little markets) was the pack of veggies they’d put together for soup making and in the summer, for your Ogórki Kiszone. I bought one of these when I tried my hand at this Polish staple in Poznan. It included multiple cloves of garlic, a flowering stem of dill, a piece of horseradish root, and leaves. My research tells me that any of the following leaves can be used: cherry, black currant, raspberry, oak, grape, horseradish, mustard. The leaves contain tannin and are supposed to help the cucumbers stay crisp during the fermentation process. That’s what’s happening to produce the sour taste, lacto-fermentation.

Laco-fermentation doesn’t involve dairy. Lacto refers to lactic acid. All fruits and vegetables have beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus on the surface. In an oxygen-free environment, these bacteria convert sugars into lactic acid, which inhibits harmful bacteria and acts as a preservative. (This is why you want your cucumbers completely submerged, so they’re in an oxygen-free environment.) It’s also what gives fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kambucha, or sourdough bread their characteristic sour flavor.

Below you’ll find the basic process for making one quart of Ogórki Kiszone. Other than the cucumbers and salt, you should feel free to adjust, add to (maybe a bit of chili pepper), or omit on the ingredient list and multiply based on the number of quart jars you’d like to make.

Smacznego!

Lois

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Ogorki Kiszone (Polish Pickles)

★★★★★ 4.7 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Yield: 1 quart
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

Cucumbers, naturally fermented in a flavorful brine

Ingredients

  • wide mouth 1 quart jar
  • 8 to 10 pickling cucumbers (4-6 inches long), washed and dried
  • 2 tablespoons pickling salt or sea salt
  • 1 quart water
  • 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 2 cloves peeled garlic
  • 1 stem dill, preferably flowering
  • fresh horseradish root, about 1 inch long
  • bay leaf
  • Cherry, grape, blackcurrant, or oak leaf

Instructions

  1. Tightly pack the cucumbers into the sterile jar, you want to squeeze them in, so they’ll stay submerged and not float to the top of the liquid
  2. Add the salt to the water and bring to a boil
  3. Add the mustard seeds, garlic, dill (fold to fit), horseradish, bay leaf, and other leaf if you have one
  4. Fill the jar with the salt water to within 1/4 from the top, all of your ingredients should be covered
  5. Loosely cap the jar with a sterile lid, the lid must be loose to allow the gases produced during fermentation to escape, some brine may seep out, so store where this won’t be a problem
  6. As it ferments, the brine will become cloudy
  7. Depending on your taste, the cucumbers will be ready to eat in 1 to 3 weeks
  8. Fermentation will end after 5-6 weeks, if you have any left at this point, the lids should be tightened to prevent spoilage

 

Sauerkraut Relish Recipe

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While I’m convalescing after surgery, I’ve asked my friend, Sue, to share her recipe for Sauerkraut Relish and write a guest post. We were lucky enough to attend the cookout Sue mentions and to be sent home with some of the leftovers! The beautiful color was the first thing to strike me about this relish, and the flavor and texture were also awesome! Thanks, Sue, for sharing and helping me out! Now, I’ll hand it over to Sue:

sauerkraut relish

My foodie brother introduced me to sauerkraut relish (or marinated sauerkraut), when he was in his brat phase. (That’s “brat” as in “bratwurst” … the other kind of brat phase was when he was much younger.) When I was invited recently to a cookout with the theme of “cookout classics,” I decided to bring sauerkraut relish to accompany the hotdogs. Rather than get my brother’s recipe, I pulled out my cookbooks that are collections of recipes from mid-last-century from the midwest. The sauerkraut relish had reminded me of my father’s cousin’s family recipe for shoe peg corn salad, as well as my Aunt Marion’s bean salad, so I also went through my recipe box. There seems to be a genre of mid-century midwestern marinated vegetable salads that all have similar themes and ingredients. The main hallmark seems to be a dressing composed of vinegar and sugar (ranging from equal parts to a preponderance of sugar), and the vegetables added to the main ingredient include onion, celery, and bell pepper (with some also calling for pimiento, jalapeño pepper, and/or grated carrot).

So, I sort of combined recipes and picked what sounded good. Since I had roasted a red pepper for an appetizer for the cookout, I opted not to use the pimiento, and I used a combination of yellow and orange bell peppers. I added a jalapeño pepper but wasn’t sure of the guests’ heat tolerance so removed the seeds and membranes. And I didn’t measure, so quantities are approximate.

My brother served the sauerkraut relish as a hot dog condiment, but the guests at the cookout treated it as a side dish. Which is, of course, perfectly OK.

sauerkraut relish

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Sauerkraut Relish

★★★★ 4 from 1 reviews
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Description

As a side or a topping, this sauerkraut relish adds terrific flavor, texture, and color!

Ingredients

  • One 32-oz jar sauerkraut
  • Several ribs of celery
  • One-half red onion
  • One bell pepper
  • One large jalapeño
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Drain the sauerkraut well
  2. I also squeezed it over the colander till fairly dry
  3. Dice the celery, onion, and bell pepper
  4. Remove the seeds and membranes from the jalapeño and dice
  5. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the sugar and vinegar and stir till dissolved
  6. Let cool
  7. Add to the vegetable mixture with the oil and salt and pepper to taste

Notes

Enjoy as a condiment or side dish

 

Sangria

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My friend and I hosted dinner for 14.  It was a fun evening; everyone brought something, so it wasn’t too much work for anyone.  We had a great salad and a baked potato bar (with all kinds of toppings: chili, cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, chives, BBQ chicken!)  My contribution was dessert and Sangria. You’ll love my sangria recipe!

 My sangria recipe, the best souvineer of our four years in Spain. Just the thing for your next party.

I said to someone, as we were filling our glasses, that I have a PhD in Sangria. OK, it might be more accurate to say I did four years of “research in the field” while we were in Spain. The most unusual Sangria I had during that time was prepared by a Spanish bullfighter; he added gin to the wine and included sliced bananas in the fruit medley.

It’s such a refreshing drink, and it offers such flexibility! It can be made with red or white wine, I like both, but I think red stands up to the other flavors better.

If you enjoy this recipe, how about rating the recipe in the comments below, sharing the love and passing it on to your friends?

Salud!

Lois

 

PS – This makes enough for a punch bowl, but you can make 1/3 of the recipe and serve it in a pitcher. The following are affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase, Amazon sends me a few cents.

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Spanish, Sangia, punch bowl,

Sangria

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Category: Beverage
  • Cuisine: Spanish
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Description

refreshing and tasty, sure to make any gathering a party.

Ingredients

  • 3 bottles cheap red wine (I used Two Buck Chuck, assorted varietals.)
  • 1 1/2 cups Triple Sec
  • 2 oranges, sliced
  • 2 lemons, sliced
  • 1 lime, sliced
  • 1 cup strawberries, sliced
  • 1 liter Sprite
  • 1 liter club soda

Instructions

  1. Combine wine, triple sec, and fruit in punch bowl.
  2. Allow flavors to blend for at least 2 hours, but less than 6 hours (the citrus pith can impart a bitter taste if it sits too long).
  3. Add Sprite and club soda just before serving (the is the closest I can come to the gaseosa that we used in Spain).
  4. Serve over ice.

 

PS – to my food blogging friends, I’ll point out that I saved (kept out) an orange slice and a strawberry when adding the fruit to the punch bowl.  The two, clean piece of fruit were placed on top of  the glass in the photo as recommended by Adam Pearson at a recent food blog seminar.  That way, the fruit was very visible and looked perfect, not stained by the wine or smashed (no pun intended) in any way. 

Try this Sangria for your next fiesta! #spain #spainishrecipe #wine #polishhousewife #refreshingdrink PolishHousewife.com

Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad)

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Even though Polish supermarkets carry produce from all over the globe, it seems to me that Poles tend to eat what’s in season locally, at least to a greater extent than we do here in the US. At a lunch meeting with Polish friends in the fall, one of the ladies remarked, “this will be my last salad until next spring.” The restaurant will likely still be offering a salad on the menu, she just didn’t plan to order it. That line of thinking makes spring and summer the perfect time of year for Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad). 

Mizeria is the Polish word for misery. The taste is wonderful, but it was said to make Queen Bona Sforza, an Italian princess who married Polish King Sigismund I in the 16th century homesick for Italy. The queen is credited with bringing a great variety of vegetables to Poland. The popularity of her Italian imports soon spread beyond the confines of garden at Wawel Castle in Kraków.  I’ve been told that the Polish word for vegetables means “things from Italy” because of the new plants she brought to Poland.

This salad of cucumbers in sour cream is a cool and refreshing side dish. Even in their somewhat wilted state (from the salt and vinegar), they still provide some crunch.

 

I ended up making two batches of Mizeria before this post. The first vinegar I grabbed from my pantry was a fig balsamic vinegar. The color of the balsamic vinegar was so dark that it turned the sour cream brown, not exactly what I was hoping to photograph. So I whipped up a second batch with an apple cider vinegar. Fortunately, we really like this salad, so having two bowls of it is not a problem.

I have to say that for flavor, I preferred the fig balsamic vinegar. It went so nicely with the other tastes and the hint of fig added an interesting note. It sounds a little too Mediterranean for a Polish dish, but it does seem to be in keeping with the trend set by Queen Bona Sforza. Whatever vinegar you chose, I think you’ll enjoy Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad).

Smacznego!

Lois

(Amazon sends me a few cents if you make a purchase via the links below)

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Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad)

Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad)

★★★★★ 4.7 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: Serves 4
  • Category: Salad
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

A refreshing salad of cucumbers in sour cream

Ingredients

  • 2 cucumbers
  • Salt
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon finely cut chives or green onions
  • 1 tables finely cut fresh dill
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  1. For ordinary cucumbers, peel, slice lengthwise and remove the seeds
  2. Slice as thin as possible, no more than 1/8 inch
  3. If you’re using the thin skinned hot house cucumbers, just slice
  4. Spread out the slices and sprinkle with salt
  5. After 20 minutes pat and press with a paper towel
  6. Combine the sour cream, vinegar, chives, dill, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt , and pepper
  7. Chill

Broccoli ~ Raisin ~ Nut Salad

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My friend, Chris,  brought this salad to work one day.  It must have been a potluck occasion.  She was kind enough to share the recipe.   I served it tonight and had multiple requests for the recipe – always a good sign. In fact, I’ve never served this to guests or at a potluck party without at least one person asking for the recipe. It’s that reliable!

You’ll often see this salad in the deli case at your supermarket. It takes just a few minutes to put together, so you might as well save some money making your own.

The broccoli isn’t cooked, per se, but the vinegar in the dressing does soften it a bit, so it’s just right –  crunchier than cooked but a little softer than raw. This also makes it important that you do allow the salad to sit for at least four hours.

I can also make this vegan by using a vegan mayonnaise, such as Veganaise. It’s an easy adaptation, making it perfect for everyone.

My favorite version of this uses dried cranberries (I find myself using cranberries rather than raisins in almost everything) and peanuts. The light, tart dressing reminds me of so many side salads I tried in Poland, although those usually involved thinly shredded white cabbage, although, I wouldn’t call them coleslaw. It’s a recipe I’m still trying to master.

A wonderful salad for warm weather, it’s cool, it’s crunchy, it’s creamy, it’s sweet-and-sour — love it! 🙂

 

 

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Broccoli ~ Raisin ~ Nut Salad

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Category: Salad
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

A lightly crunchy salad with a sweet and sour dressing

Ingredients

  • 1 head broccoli, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 3/4 c. raisins or dried cranberries
  • 3/4 c. dry-roasted peanuts or pecans (I used peanuts)
  • 1/4 c. finely chopped onion

Dressing

  • 1 c. mayo
  • 1/4 sugar
  • 2 T. vinegar (I used rice vinegar)

Instructions

  1. Coarsely chop nuts
  2. Combine first four ingredients
  3. Whisk together remaining ingredients for the dressing
  4. Pour over the salad
  5. Stir until everything is lightly coated in dressing
  6. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight

 

Bacon Wrapped Figs

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figs, bacon, goat cheese on a bed of greens with a roasted hazelnut vinaigrette 

For most of my life, I have not been a fan of figs. I remember a eccentric church member, we’ll call her REW, stopping by my office years ago with a basket full of figs that she’d hoped to give away. When I declined, REW cut off a hunk of fig, shoved it at me saying, “taste it!” She forced me at knife point, so to speak. Despite her forceful nature, I again had to decline, explaining the the texture was too gritty for me. REW proceeded down the office hallway with her figs looking for a more appreciative recepient.

 

Figs goat cheese bacon greens hazelnut bacon wrapped figs

The theme of our time in Poland could be described as “try new things” or “try everything you can.” When my friends from the Poznan International Ladies Club were raving about the figs with goat cheese wrapped in prosciutto they’d sampled recently, I had to give this a try at home. If your history with figs has been like mine, let me suggest that you try them roasted. It’s a totally new experience, not at all gritty!

We began to talk about planting a fig tree when we returned to Arizona. Figs are one of the few fruit trees to thrive in our hot climate. When I mention his to my mother, she said not to buy one because they had a fig tree they would happily give us. We now have a fig tree that comes with a story.

Fig tree Figs

Our tree has grown from a cutting taken from one of the first fig trees brought to the area by the Spainish. The young tree was intended for the Mission Garden, part of the Rio Nuevo project. Rio Nuevo was a downtown revitalization project that fizzled out during the recent economic slump. During this delay, the little fig in a six inch pot was given to our family friend, the late Bunny Fontana. Bunny was a brilliant, charming man, but he would have been the first to admit that he was not a gardener. He said as much when he gave the six inch pot with the now five foot tall fig tree to my mother.

My parents moved the tree to a 5 gallon container and had hoped to harvest enough figs to make something similar to this dish, thinking it would be fun to serve Bunny figs from his tree. The tree grew a lot, but it never produce more than one ripe fig at a time.

Figs

Our fig tree has been in the ground for almost two years. The one fig at a time trend continued until this summer. Now, we’re finally getting a harvest with which you can do something. This summer, we’ve had fig pastries, figs in bacon, and if my luck holds out, we might even have fig jam, a wonderful addition to a charcuterie platter.

We’ve been eating bacon wrapped figs with goat cheese all summer, but only recently added the hazelnut dressing and greens. It’s a winning combination!

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Bacon Wrapped Figs

  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: 8
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean
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Description

Quick and easy to make these figs are a yummy appetizer or the perfect topping for an elegant salad,

Ingredients

  • 4 figs
  • Honey (optional)
  • 1/2 cup goat cheese
  • Sprig of fresh thyme
  • 4 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Remove stems from figs and slice in half lengthwise
  3. Fill the cavity in the fig center with honey, if using
  4. Top each fig half with a tablespoon of goat cheese
  5. Sprinkle with thyme leaves, if using
  6. Wrap each fig with half of a bacon strip and secure with a toothpick
  7. Bake for 25 minutes or until bacon is crisp
  8. Serve as is, or place atop a bed of spring greens and drizzle with roasted hazelnut vinaigrette (recipe below)

 

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Roasted Hazelnut Vinaigrette

  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Total Time: 5 mins
  • Yield: About 1 cup
  • Category: Salad dressing
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Description

The perfect topping for a green salad or try it on grilled chicken!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Water, if needed

Instructions

  1. Add hazelnuts and garlic to a food processor or blender, process until almost smooth
  2. Add oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar and blend until well combined
  3. If too thick, thin with a few drops of water

 

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.