A trip to Poland

When you visit a country, apart from the sight-seeing and work/vacation, you may encounter a culinary experience that is nothing like you ever had before. It is a way to learn and see the culture of the country you are in, from the..stomach point of view :) The best way to get an idea is to try traditional dishes and sweets as well as those that are consumed by simple people in their everyday life. I will try to make a list of the products really worth trying , if you ever find yourself in the central parts of Europe .

1. Soups
a. Zurek - sweet n sour flavor , white, whit thick consistency. usually served with potatoes and white sausage. or bread. in villages, may be served IN bread.



b. czerwony barszcz - red borsch :commonly known as beetroot soup



c. sorrel soup . this is one of my favorites. love sorel ! salty and sour, with a hard boiled egg in the middle and absolutely nothing else! perfect for the cold winter days






2. Solid Food

Now here is a topic that we can expand for ..ever! From hand made stuffed pierogi to bigos and premade soups hidden in the celars of people's homes.

Here i would suggest to just try everything. As many things as you can. Even "fake" sausage. Which is from blood and groats. The cuisine is based on potatoes as staple food, meat or fish, and on the side a little bit of salad. And each lunch is made from two dishes. With first of course, the soup.
bigos
pierogi



blood sausage - kaszanka

zapiekanka - baquette with mushrooms n cheese

placki ziemniaczane - potatoe pancakes : either you will choose to put garlic sause, peper sause, ketchup, or just sugar, it is delicious !

one of the best, if not the best, polish ketchups. made if a one and only factory in a small town in the heart of poland, is fresh and pure. no conservatives. two variaties. mild and spicy. yummmmm ^^

paprykarz. grinded fish with peppers and rice. perfect for bread spreads

oscypek. polish cheese. traditionaly made of goat milk . it is being pressed by hand to shape a cone and smoked in wooden forms.



Breakfast has a variety of breads, buns, fresh butter and milk, cheeses, hams, eggs, sausages, and tea. lots of tea. Polish dont drink coffee much. They prefer tea. You will find yourself among many varieties of tea and many flavors. Same as it is for breakfast, similar it is for dinner. Bread and potatoes are the king and queen of the polish cuisine and everything is surrounded by delicious warming up soups.

those are the three basic products in each country. bread, or bread buns, milk and butter. nothing new you will say. and yet, you may be surprised! of course, there is nothing new in the way those three are made. but every country has differences. even the soil is different and makes the wheat for the break taste different and the grass the cows feed upon is different . thats why those basic products can taste completely differently to the ones that you have consumed all your life in your country. so although it is sth simple, go ahead and give it a try !

3. SWEETS !!!! :D

drozdzowka. soft sweet bread with vanilla pudding in the middle


makowiec - poppy seed cake


paczki - dohnuts . no choco here, only home made jam inside and cugar lucr on top!



Enjoy it as much as you can, and take a lot of pictures of the places you will see and the foods you will taste :D


AND PUT SOME OF THOSE IN YOUR BACK PACK ^^

Matcha Green Tea Mousse

It's a green tea flavored creamy dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp gelatine powder
• 4 Tbsp water
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp matcha green tea powder
• 3 Tbsp warm water

Preparation:

Dissolve gelatine powder in 4 Tbsps of water and set aside. Mix egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Heat milk in a pan and dissolve the gelatine in the milk. Gradually add the milk in the egg mixture. Dissolve green tea powder in 3 Tbsps of warm water. Add the green tea in the egg and milk mixture and stir well, cooling the bowl in ice water. Further, add whipped heavy cream in the mixture. Pour the mixture into cups or glasses and chill them in the refrigerator.

*Makes 4 servings

Green Tea Chocolate Balls

It's a simple recipe to make green tea flavored chocolate balls, using white chocolate. The sweetness of white chocolate is well-balanced by the bitterness of green tea powder.

Yield: Makes 12 balls

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb white chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 tsp Matcha (green tea powder)
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• matcha green tea powder for coating

Preparation:

1. Put finely chopped white chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Put 2 tsp of green tea powder in a small bowl.
3. Pour warm milk over green tea powder and stir well. Set aside.
4. Pour heavy cream in a small pan and heat on medium heat.
5. Stop the heat before cream starts to boil and stir in the green tea and milk mixture.
6. Pour the cream mixture over white chocolate. Melt the chocolate, stirring well.
7. Cool the chocolate mixture for about one hour in the room temperature.
8. Scoop the chocolate into about 1 1/2 inch balls and place them on a sheet of aluminium foil.
9. Cool them in the refrigerator for about one hour, or until firm.
10. Round chocolate balls by hands and coat with green tea powder on a tray.
11. Cool green tea chocolate balls until firm.

Cream Puffs !!!

For the dough you will need :
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of water
85 grams of unsalted butter
1 tsp sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs

For the cream you will need :
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
2 tbp powder sugar
1/2 tbs vanilla extract

HOW TO MAKE IT :
1. put the water, the milk and the butter in a pan on medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter melts
2. mix all the dry ingredients together and slowly sprinkle them into the liquid mixture
3. keep stirring as the flour will be absorbing the liquids and making a nice shiny pastry
4. take off heat and keep stirring until the dough becomes lukewarm
5. one by one start adding the eggs. you must add the next egg only when the previous one has been absorbed.
6. put the dough in pastry bag and shape your puffs on a baking sheet

tip : keep the bag half inch over the paper and squeeze untill you have a nice round piece of dough aproximately 2 inches high

7. bake in 230 c for 10 minutes and then in 190 for another 15 minutes.


now while the puffs are being baked, lets use the time to make the chantilly cream

put all the cream ingredients in a bowl and start whipping untill it thickens and gets a nice smooth creamy consistency. it should take about 2 minutes only :)

when the puffs are ready , let them cool down a little bit and at their bottom make a hole where you ll squeeze in the cream through the pastry bag.

place on a nice big plate and sprinkle them with powdered sugar

bon appétit

Rice Ball with Fruit

YOU WILL NEED
150 grams of rice 600 ml fat free milk 1tea spoon honey 150 grams yoghurt 225 grams pineapple in cubes 1 pack of jelly powder ( abt 15 grams?) 300 grams exotic fruit juice some spearmint leaves

HOW TO DO IT
rinse off the rice, and put it in a pan with the milk. Boil slowly for about 20 minutes untill the rice is soft and the milk gets absorbed. Add the honey and let it cool. Mix up the yoghurt with the pineapple and add to the rice. Dissolve the jelly in 3 spoons boiled water and add to the rice. Stir all together well but gently. Rinse 4 round cups with cold water and separate the mixture in them evenly. Press gently on top to make it more solid and put in the fridge for about 1 hour.

To the liquid left from the rice add the juice and boil untill it thickens. Pur it over the rice balls and serve with fruits on the side and spearmint leaves.


TIP: to remove the rice from the bawls easier, before placing the rice in the bawl, you cal put some foil inside. this way when the time to remove the rice comes, you simply pull the edges of the foil up without damaging the shape of the rice

Makowiec

YOU WILL NEED :
Filling
1 lb. poppy seeds
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup candied orange peel
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped almods
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 egg whites

Dough:
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1/4 cup warm water
5 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup butter
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

HOW TO MAKE I T :

To prepare the filling: Put poppy seeds in a small saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand until cool. Strain the poppy seeds through a fine strainer.

Combine the poppy seeds, walnuts, and almonds in a blender or food processor and grind.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the poppy seed mixture and sugar to the skiller and simmer over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the egg, honey, orange peel, lemon peel, and raisins. Whip the egg whites until stiff and then folk into the poppy seed mixture. Let cool.

To make the dough: Prime the yeast in the warm water. Cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Mix in the salt, and sugar, then mix in the yeast, eggs, egg yolks, sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon rind. Once the ingredients are mixed and can form a ball of dough, turn out onto a work surface and knead for 8-10 minutes (or use a stand mixer to knead for 5-8 minutes) until the dough is smooth and satiny.

To make the rolls: Divide the dough in two. Roll out each piece into a thin, roughly square shape.

Spread half of the filling onto each piece and then roll the dough up, sealing the seam and ends as tightly as you can.

Place each roll onto a baking sheet.

Cover with a damp towel or place the baking sheets into plastic garbage bags and set aside to rise for approximately 90 minutes.

Bake in an oven heated to 350 for 30-35 minutes, until the exterior is golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes then glaze.

Chocolate Butter cookies

• WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
• 2 cups self-rising cake flour
• 2 tablespoons dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 ounces milk chocolate (optional)

(view the source here)

Instructions -
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Sift together flour and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until pale. Mix in flour/cocoa until thoroughly combined.
3. Roll into 1″ (or slightly bigger) balls and place on un-greased cookie sheets 2″ apart.
4. Bake for 5 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees F and bake for another 10 minutes, or until cookies look set. The tops will still be a bit soft.
5. Remove form the oven and transfer to cooling racks immediately. Cool.

6. Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Drizzle over cookies.

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