ISO help with authentic Polish dishes

[mudbug]

Hiya, Nick, and bienvenue to DiscussCooking.

Here's one you might like. Unfortunately when I copied it from our wonderful site here, I forgot to add the name of the original poster so I can't give the proper credit to someone who actually made me like sauerkraut (in this dish only!)

Czech Chicken and Sauerkraut

8 Chicken thighs
1 Tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. margarine (or butter)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 lb sauerkraut (try to find Polish or German kraut in a jar.)
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. caraway seeds
dash of pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
several parboiled/steamed potato chunks, drained
2 cooking apples, cored and cut into thin wedges

Sprinkle chicken with salt and brown on both sides in margarine/butter in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until tender. Sprinkle some caraway seeds over the chicken as it browns. Mix together the kraut, water, caraway, pepper, brown sugar and potatoes. Add to chicken and onion and mix well. Cover skillet and cook 10-12 minutes or until chicken is tender.

[nicklord1]

yeah that sounds different and nice man thanks . I am thinking of start a new thread for eastern european cusine can you contribute and educate me

[nicklord1]

how do you make german or polish kraut

[mudbug]

Alas, I cannot educate you beyond that recipe, unless I scare up one for kolatchke (sp?) - that wonderful fruit pastry thing.

I don't make kraut, and rarely eat it. I bought a jar of it for this recipe. Someone with a proper love of the stuff will no doubt come along and give you better advice.

[mitmondol]

It is easy to make the sauerkraut.
Shredded cabbage layered with salt, pounded down. People actually used to jump into the barrels and stomp the cabbage.
You don't have to do that. The salt will draw out a brine of the cabbage.
You have to cover the cabbage with a plate (can't hurt to cover with cheesecloth first) and put some weight over it, so the cabbage stays submerged in the brine.
Keep the whole thing in a warm place for a few days. It will start fermenting.
Every day from now on you will have to wash the plate, cloth, weight and skim off the scum from the top of the cabbage.
In about 3-4 weeks it will be ready. Can keep it longer, the flavor will get stronger.

[letscook]

Thanks Qsis, going to have to try them. My mother in law used to put sour cream in her dough which made them very tender also had eggs. She has passed now so we don't get to enjoy them. If I get a hold of the recipe from family members I will post it.

[flukx]

Breezy, I never called the cuisine "unimpressive". I said I was not impressed, which is a big difference.

And I certainly did not make any comparisons whatsoever to "haute cuisine". The basic point, or rather opinion of mine, is that there is, comparatively, a lack of diversity in Polish food as a whole in comparison. A reason for this, I would imagine, is that the country of Poland is extremely homogeneous with little culinary influences other than the traditions that have been set in place. After communism (and the eventual availabilty once again of consumer goods and food), there was a type of revival of traditional Polish cooking that has continued to this day. I would imagine (hope?) that the cuisine will build upon these traditions and move towards more versatility in the cooking.

[nicklord1]

The kingdom of poland and livonia at one time was a leading super power of the 16th century . Poland and eastern european has never been homogenous unlike western europe which has largely kept to individual races and nationalities , up until 50 yrs ago which was brought about by mass immigration. Eastern europe on the other hand had 100s of sub races with different influences . Prob the reason why polish food and culture is less known about is because it was wiped of the map along with much of the baltic states swallowed up by lithunania and then prussia and greater germany. It had brief independence from 1918-1939 but it was only since the 1990s that they had cultural freedoms . Equally the simple but effective cusine much like the german and austrian and balkans is prob due to climate . I am still on a voyage to find an excellent dish in every nation and to try and convince the world that english cusine is equally good as any . In fact out of the top 10 resturants in the world a majority are based in England and spain . Hope my rant gives you food for thought , no pun intended.

[2belucile]

" want to find out more about the different cusinines of the various nationalaties and ethnic groups that make up eastern europe."
I want to share with all of you this recipe.
It was given to me by Mrs Waldman, a nice Ukranian lady I knew in Toronto.
Potato Knishes
Dough:
4 cups flour
1 beaten egg (add lukewarm water to fill one 8-oz. cup)
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp vinegar
Dash of salt
Knead well, make sure dough is of soft texture. Place in bowl, cover dough with oil and an inverted plate. Keep in warm area for 1 hour at least.
Filling
5 lbs potatoes, boiled soft and mashed
2 lbs Spanish onions sautéed or fried in oil to light brown
Mix cooked mashed potatoes and onions well, season with salt and pepper to your taste.
Cut dough into small sections. On well floured area, roll out each section until tissue paper thin.
Place a roll of potato-onion mixture at the edge of thin sheet of dough and roll as like a jelly-roll. Dent each roll with the edge of your hand, and form into a ball like shape. ( -o-o-o-o it will look like this, cut each little ball )
Grease pan and place each knish in pan. Bake for 1 hour at 350ª
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Hope you like them