Hearty Eastern European cooking built on pork, cabbage, beetroot, mushrooms and grains. Caraway, dill, marjoram and bay handle the herb side; fermented and pickled vegetables (sauerkraut, ogórki) supply the brightness. Defining dishes include pierogi (filled dumplings), bigos (the long-simmered hunter's stew), żurek (fermented rye soup) and the daily presence of dark, dense rye bread.
The brightest barszcz uses fermented beetroot kvas, beetroot, garlic and rye bread crust steeped in salted water for 24-48 hours, for the sour edge. Faster: simmer roasted beetroot, root vegetables and dried mushroom in vegetable stock with bay, peppercorns and allspice. Strain to clarity; finish with vinegar and a small amount of sugar to balance. Serve hot from a small bowl or mug.
Pork shoulder, beef, smoked sausage and bacon all brown separately, then meet sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, dried porcini, prunes, tomato and red wine in a heavy pot. Simmers for 3 hours minimum; reheats over 2-3 days, getting better each round.
Eggs hard-boil and cool. Onions cook slowly in oil or schmaltz until deeply golden and sweet. Both chop together with a fork or knife (not a food processor, the texture matters); salt and pepper season. Serve at room temperature.
Kielbasa simply means "sausage" in Polish, and there are dozens of named varieties: kielbasa biała (white, fresh, the Easter sausage), kielbasa myśliwska (smoked hunter's sausage), kielbasa krakowska (a large dry sausage similar to bologna). The kielbasa most people picture, and the one for the grill, is kielbasa wiejska or kielbasa zwyczajna: a fully cooked pork sausage smoked over fruit or beech wood, seasoned with generous garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper, and sold in long curved horseshoes. Because it's pre-cooked and pre-smoked, grilling kielbasa is really about reheating and putting the finishing char on the casing. That makes it one of the easiest things on the summer table and a hard one to ruin. The proper technique is medium heat (not screaming high), turning often so all sides crisp evenly, and a light score or angled cuts in the thicker pieces to help the heat penetrate. The flavour profile is rich and garlicky, with the warm herbal note of marjoram that distinguishes Polish from Czech, Hungarian or German sausages, and a clear smoky undertone from the wood used in production. Traditional accompaniments are kapusta kiszona (sharp lacto-fermented cabbage), often warmed with onion and bacon, dark rye bread, sharp mustard (musztarda sarepska) or grated horseradish (chrzan), and pickled cucumbers. A bottle of cold Polish beer or a small glass of żubrówka is the drink.
Potatoes and onion are coarsely grated; the mixture is squeezed bone-dry in a cloth (this is the difference between great latkes and soggy ones). Egg and matzo meal (or flour) bind; the lot fries in shallow oil over medium-high heat until each side is crisp and deeply golden. Drain and salt; eat hot.
A simple flour-egg-warm-water dough rests then rolls thin. Discs cut, filling spooned, sealed by hand. Pierogi boil in salted water until they float, then optionally fry in butter to crisp the edges. Caramelised onions go on top with a generous spoon of sour cream.
Dried wild mushrooms (porcini if you can get them) rehydrate; sauerkraut squeezes dry. Both cook down with onion in butter until reduced and intense. The dough is plain, flour, egg, water, salt, oil, kneaded smooth and rested. Each circle gets a teaspoon of filling, folds, seals. Boiled until they float, then often pan-finished in butter with onions and a spoonful of soured cream on the side.
