Discovering Polish and Eastern European foods.

Eviledna

Often when I'm browsing in the supermarket I get drawn to the Polish food aisle with all the bright wrappers and tasty pictures of food!

Now I can't read Polish, so I'm often wary of buying something without knowing what lies within!

So I was thinking, could any Polish, Eastern European, or any non-Irish members of boards.ie be so kind as to recommend their favourite foods available here in specialist markets/supermarkets, along maybe with a picture of the item to help us find them!?

I think it might open up the possibilities of discovering a whole new range of tasty-ness!

Any takers?

Maja

Ok , i dont know what to start with.

First of all i can recommend all the cured meats like ham, smoked sirloin, dry sousage and all kinds of pates. Last time i bought 200gr of smoked ham i was surpised how cheap it was if you compare it to stuff you can get in supermarket. Cheaper and better quality, less water and salt.

Second - all breads and rolls. My favourite is brown bread with sunflower seeds or this kind of dry bread which is only available in polish shops:

http://www.butik-hemlangtan.m.se/varor/WasaSportLiten275.jpg

There is all sorts of bread spreads/cheese which you also cant get in Tesco or any other shop. My favourites are:

http://znam.to/userfiles/R/052/R052-f7a7cf8.jpg

-you can get them in salmon, onion or mushroom flavours. Also Almette:

http://www.bocian.co.uk/upload/Products/hochland-serek-almette-ogorkowo-ziolow-150g-1355.jpg

-horse radish one is delicious.

If you like fish :

http://www.opinie.egospodarka.pl/zdjecia/Przetwory-i-marynaty-rybne/Verde-koreczki-sledziowe-z-oliwkami-3971-big.jpg

Lisner brand is good. I dont even know how to describe it, but those above are worth trying. Its like kind of herring appetizer.
This as well:

http://a01.cdn.a.pl/zdjecie-6149/lisner-korsarskie-koreczki-sledziowe-w-oleju-300g-Full.jpg

I would also recommend trying all kind of frozen dumplings. Buy "RUSKIE" -with cheese and potatoes inside. Boils them, fry them and with chopped onion... delicious!

If you like trying new thing, try this :

http://a01.cdn.a.pl/zdjecie-11950/sonko-kasza-gryczana-prazona-400g-Full.jpg

-its a roasted/baked buckwheat groat (i think) and its great with gulash and all kinds of stews instead of potatoes!
Very healthy -lots of protein in it! (great for vegetarians)

If you like green tea - great for summer :

http://www.netmenu.sk/images/tovar/NesteaVitaoGreenTea.jpg

this is my favourite drink and i have never seen it in any other shops!

Something sweet in the end :

http://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://candyaddict.com/blog/candy_pictures/ptasie_mleczko.jpg&imgrefurl=http://candyaddict.com/blog/2007/04/27/candy-review-ptasie-mleczko/&usg=__ZeiVVPOKQG78nm2zgv3p9DWH0xg=&h=332&w=400&sz=34&hl=en&start=2&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=iKqlPu04AtbDeM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dptasie%2Bmleczko%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2ADRA_enIE381%26tbs%3Disch:1

(all about it on that page above) :rolleyes: -well i read "review" and person called Asia who commented is right -its not marshmallow in it!

By the way all the polish chocolates are closer to real chocolate then for example Cadbury(?) stuff. Try E.WEDEL -really good quality.

Thats it for now i think. If something comes to my mind i will write about it again.

Maja

I forgot about something :

http://www.nestle.ca/NR/rdonlyres/DB386DC4-A995-4D92-B606-E2D3981DF60F/0/MaggiSeasoning200.jpg

This is really good (i dont know if as healthy, but not that bad i think) "souce", seasoning for soups, souces.
I dont know if its really polish, but its very popular and every mum has one in the kitchen.
If you cook your soup stock. boullion from scrach it really gives some good flavour.

This one is almost the same thing, just different brand:

http://eagledistributorsinc.com/upload/432fb5e35a2e058a8f26a14e4fefe7f3.jpg

Eviledna

Oh those chocs look sooo good! Dying to try the cheeses and dumplings too!

I discovered these in my quest to make chocolate covered pretzels one time:


Sweet baby jeebus they are the best pretzels, they come in onion, sesame and poppy seed too! They are so good and ridiculously cheap, only ~50c a bag! You'll get them in dunnes and tescos as well as in the specialist shops.

unkel

Maja wrote: »

I dont know if its really polish, but its very popular and every mum has one in the kitchen.

It's German I think. And every mum in the world has one in the kitchen except perhaps a UK / Irish mum

Maja

unkel wrote: »

It's German I think. And every mum in the world has one in the kitchen except perhaps a UK / Irish mum

Good to know.

Maja

Yeah, PALUSZKI are good, just salty as hell!

Drake66

Great thread. I keep on meaning to go in and have a look at some of the Polish shops in town. Does anyone have any recipes for popular Polish dishes?

Drake66

Maja wrote: »

By the way all the polish chocolates are closer to real chocolate then for example Cadbury(?) stuff. Try E.WEDEL -really good quality.

True. A whole generation have been conned into believing that vegelate garbage is chocolate. It is filled to the brim with sugar and cheap fat and labeled as chocolate; but it is not chocolate. Our palates have been propagandised.

Maja

Drake66 wrote: »

Great thread. I keep on meaning to go in and have a look at some of the Polish shops in town. Does anyone have any recipes for popular Polish dishes?

I will post some recipes soon:

-bigos ( kind of cabbage/ meat stew with mushrooms,tomatoes -popular Christmas dish
-dumplings (they are easy to make and you can make loads once and freeze them) with meat, cheese, cabbage and mushrooms
-potatoe pan cakes (at least i think this is what you call it in english)
-pork chops in bread crumbs
-soups

I will think about what is the best and will post it all.

Drake66

Maja wrote: »

I will post some recipes soon:

-bigos ( kind of cabbage/ meat stew with mushrooms,tomatoes -popular Christmas dish
-dumplings (they are easy to make and you can make loads once and freeze them) with meat, cheese, cabbage and mushrooms
-potatoe pan cakes (at least i think this is what you call it in english)
-pork chops in bread crumbs
-soups

I will think about what is the best and will post it all.

Thanks Maja that sounds great . This thread could be an interesting adjunct to the traditional Irish recipe thread I think.

unkel

Drake66 wrote: »

True. A whole generation have been conned into believing that vegelate garbage is chocolate. It is filled to the brim with sugar and cheap fat and labeled as chocolate; but it is not chocolate. Our palates have been propagandised.

+1

Ask any Irish / UK person what's the best chocolate in the world and the vast majority will answer: Cadbury's

Maja

I dont have time today to write recipes, but i thought about something.
If you want to try some polish dishes before cooking one yourself (which is often very time consuming) i would suggest trying ready one :

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/Images/ExternalImages/ProductsDetailed/27/089027.jpg?ts=634071980080

This above are GOLABKI -something i just love. Its pork meat mixed with rice and wrapped in cabbage leafs in tomatoe souce.
This ready one in a jar is of course not as good like home made one, but i buy it myself from time to time (and i am fussy) , so its quite good and you will check if this is something you like.
Golabki are good with mushed potatoes or just piece of bread.

You can get as well bigos, pulpety (meat balls) and beans in tomatoe souce with bacon (fasolka po bretonsku).


Bigos recipe for now :

http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/maincourses/r/bigos.htm

ps: if you buy any ready dish in a jar, all you have to do is reheat it in a soucepan (i usually add a little amount of water).

Maja

unkel wrote: »

+1

Ask any Irish / UK person what's the best chocolate in the world and the vast majority will answer: Cadbury's

I am not sure if polish (E.Wedel) chocolate is so genuine, but for sure is much more better. Try and let me know what you think.

Corsendonk

Maja wrote: »

I am not sure if polish (E.Wedel) chocolate is so genuine, but for sure is much more better. Try and let me know what you think.

E.Wedel is a really good chocolate, but guess who bought the company in the 90s, Cadburys. They were made sell it off this year when Kraft bought them out. The Jaffa cakes are really good too.

Maja

Corsendonk wrote: »

E.Wedel is a really good chocolate, but guess who bought the company in the 90s, Cadburys. They were made sell it off this year when Kraft bought them out. The Jaffa cakes are really good too.

:eek: I knew that Nestle bought another big and good polish company, but didnt know about Wedel! I hope they wont spoil it!
This is horrible, soon everythink will be unified and the same...

Eviledna

I have only had the chance to visit the Tescos polish section so far, but I bought the cream cheese and chives, the e.wedel chocolate and the jaffa cakes.

They are all really nice, the e.wedel chocolate is a real find though, it really is gorgeous! My one was strawberry cream, it had loads of strawberry conserve in a semi dark chocolate, very sweet but very nice!

Heading to a specialty shop today, I'll report back!:)

elmer

I like the apple and cherry you can buy in tesco. I ventured for apple and mint but it wasn't for me - my daughter liked it though.

I love pierogi - they're potatoe dumplings

Minder

If there is a regular pierogi maker out there, can I have a recipe please?

Phsyche

Just go to Youtube and put in:
how to make varenyky / pierogi

Mushroom and potato dumplings/Varenyky:

Ingredients:
400g wheat flour
150ml water
1 egg
50g sour cream
200g mashed potatoes
80g mushrooms, chopped into little cubes
60g chopped onions
20g chopped fresh parsley
19g butter
salt, pepper, nutmeg

Preparation:
Dough
- Mix water, egg, sour cream and seasoning in bowl
- Add flour and knead to a smooth dough
- Wrap in cling foil and let the dough rest for 30 minutes

Preparing Varenyky


Filling
- Fry onions and mushroom in butter and add to the mashed potato
- Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and then add the chopped parsley

Assembling the Varenyky:
- Roll the dough to 2mm thickness and cut with a round cutter.
- Place a spoonful of the filling in the middle of the circle and fold the dough in half
- With a fork, press on the border to seal.
- Place the varenyky dumplings in a large pot of boiling water. When the dumplings float to the surface, scoop them and place onto a plate.
- Gently fry the onions in butter and sprinkle these on the Varenyky.
- Pour sour cream over the varenyky and garnish with herbs and serve immediately.

You can use loads of different fillings, my favourite is cherry+sugar filling for dessert.

baby and crumble

I love those gingerbread cake things that are covered in hard sugar glaze... om om om.

Phsyche

zoegh wrote: »

I love those gingerbread cake things that are covered in hard sugar glaze... om om om.

Those are pryaniki. Great snack with a cup of tea.

Potato pancakes are called Draniki and are similar to potato rosti's here.

Anyone who's interested in polish foods should try substituting Pasta in their normal Irish pasta dishes with Buckwheat kasha from Tesco's and other supermarkets. It's lovely with some butter in it and supposed to be a good source of iron.

Maja

zoegh wrote: »

I love those gingerbread cake things that are covered in hard sugar glaze... om om om.

PIERNICZKI? :rolleyes:

spurious

If you're in Dublin, there's a 'babcia'-like lady in the Moore Street mall who makes fresh pierogi.
Nyom nyom.

Bigos is yum too, but I don't like the one from the jar - much better to make it yourself.

Maja

spurious wrote: »

If you're in Dublin, there's a 'babcia'-like lady in the Moore Street mall who makes fresh pierogi.
Nyom nyom.

Bigos is yum too, but I don't like the one from the jar - much better to make it yourself.

Of course its better, but the one in the jar is close enough to what it should taste like, so if somebody wants to have a clue before cooking it at home it is an option.

Maja

Minder wrote: »

If there is a regular pierogi maker out there, can I have a recipe please?

PIEROGI (Dumplings) :

DOUGH :

2 glasses of flour (about 200g)
2 ts of salt
2 ts of oil
2 glasses of warm water

- put flour on the pasty board (table? , make a hole in the midle add salt and oil. Knead the dough gradually adding water, then for about 15 minutes until its "elastic".
Divide into two pieces and roll out flat. Cut into circles with glass.


This is the best recipe for dumplings dough i ever tryied. (and its easy to remember)
Will write recipe for fillings later.

Maja

Cheese dumplings filling (we call them "RUSKIE" -Russian) :

-500g of potatoes (not new season)
-250g of Curd -i am not sure if its popular here , but you can get it in Polish shop. (TWAROG)
-one medium onion.
-salt, pepper
-marjoram (MAJERANEK in every polish shop also)


Boil potatoes until soft and cool them, then press through puree press (or just sieve ) with curd and mix together. Fry onion with small amount of oil just until slighlty golden and add. Season with salt, peper and marjoram.
READY

-to make dumplings ,just fill circles of pastry with this filling (small tea spoon per one) in the midle and close edges with your fingers.
This isnts very easy when you make it first time, but not impossible to make.
Then gently put each dumpling to the big pot of boiling water. (water should be boiling but "slowly". Cook them one minute from when they will sweem to the top.

They taste great if you fry them after they are cooked and dried (best way to dry them is just to turn them from to the other side when one side is dry already).

I hope its all easy to understand, i dont think i am the best "recipe translator". Forgive me my poor english.

Fly High

I haven't tried a lot, but I love this drink, it's really sweet and tasty.


Give it a go! It comes in little glass bottles too for when you're out and about... just the right size but would be better if kept chilled in shops...

http://www.gimauk.com/image.php?brand_id=49&product_id=858

Eviledna

Went to Palu in Galway, a lovely polish supermarket in Liosbaun. It's like walking into little Poland in there, everyone is really nice and will explain how to cook everything.

Picked up some dumplings, square potato type things with cottage cheese and potato. Cooked them when I got back. Suffice to say I wasn't a huge fan. They were wobbly and a little bland. I'm sure I did something wrong.

I'm going to return and buy the Pierogi instead, they looked like tortelloni.

I also picked up that box of E.Weedel chocs, the ones mentioned earlier with the birds. They are a little strange, but nice! It's like mashmallow in them, but more...nobbly. It's a new experience and that's what I bought them for!

I've never seen such a selection of teas there too, are teas big in Poland? Lots of cherry flavours everywhere too, which I like!

Maja

Open bake, did you just boil them? Dumplings are lovely golden fried with some onion and if you have mug of beetroot soup its lovely too! :rolleyes:

There is a big selection of teas on polish market, but lots of them are just regular tea- only flavoured.
Those teas are not bad:

http://www.vitax.com.pl/popup.php?plik=./img/20274769_large.jpg

By the way, i couldnt find this coffee anywhere:

http://sklep.bogar.send.pl/photo/202.00008.jpg

Do you know it? Its lovely, made with chicory and low in coffeine.

Corsendonk

Maja wrote: »

http://sklep.bogar.send.pl/photo/202.00008.jpg

Do you know it? Its lovely, made with chicory and low in coffeine.

There is a similiar Irish product called IREL, its a liquid essense of chicory used as a coffee replacement. I dont think Tesco carries it anymore but 'Dunnes and SuperValu should have it in there tea and coffee section. I was never brave enough to try it. The coffee addicts in the tea and coffee forum might know of the Nestle product.