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
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PinDescription
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
- For ordinary cucumbers, peel, slice lengthwise and remove the seeds
- Slice as thin as possible, no more than 1/8 inch
- If you’re using the thin skinned hot house cucumbers, just slice
- Spread out the slices and sprinkle with salt
- After 20 minutes pat and press with a paper towel
- Combine the sour cream, vinegar, chives, dill, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt , and pepper
- Chill
First time my Irish husband had this at my parent’s house, he neatly lost his mind! This became a constant in our home, and he excelled in preparing this and other traditional Polish dishes. He died in 2002 at the age of 42. I miss him EVERY day, but this memory has made me smile!
★★★★★
I’m so sorry for your loss, Judi. I’m glad this made you smile. ❤️
You have given me inspiration. Recently I purchased a white balsamic pear/cranberry vinegar so will try it with the mizeria. I have to wait for my own cucumbers which make an appearance in July but the dill is showing up….what is a Polish garden without dill??? I am glad to hear that the fig was not too sweet. The sour cream would mitigate the sweetness. Thank you.
★★★★★
Let me know how it goes, Elizabeth! Pear/cranberry sounds great!
Cucumber salads are wonderful, especially as the heat rises! I look forward to making this, Lois, and serving it aside some chilled poached salmon.
I often serve it with the Polish version of schnitzel, but I think your chilled poached salmon will be just the thing for our summer heat!
Thanks for this recipe…I love cukes with sour cram etc. I really never knew how POLISH it was even though my Polish mom made it all the time. So, what kind of Polish Princess am I ????HaHa
Enjoy, Karen!
Two long English cucumbers or two (regular-sized) garden cucumbers?
I think I used regular cucumbers.
My mom made this all our lives. Never realized it was Polish until I visited Poland, in 2000, and it was at the breakfast buffet at the hotel we stayed at. My mom’s family is Polish, well, it was Prussia when they emigrated to the US. It is a terrific dish, thanks for sharing Lois!
My pleasure, Julie!
I’m Hungarian. We make it with no vinegar or sugar.
Salt sliced cucumbers and onionet sit and squeeze out. Add sour cream and mix. Pepper. Done
★★★★
Thanks for sharing your version, Jeanne!