Polish Learning Community and Resources

You can’t truly experience another country’s culture without trying local dishes. Today I’d like to share with you some of the most popular Polish dishes everyone should try at least once in their life. These dishes can be usually found in different countries across Central and Eastern Europe, but they often contain something that makes them uniquely Polish. I’m sure that most of you already know at least one of them! 

Pierogi 

First and foremost, a short language lesson: singular: pieróg, plural: pierogi (therefore saying “pierogis” doesn’t make any sense!). Pierogi are my personal favourite. While some say that there’s nothing special about these worldwide-famous dumplings as similar dishes can be found in many other cultures - pelmeni, manty, khinkali, dimsum, etc., what makes them, in my opinion, absolutely unique is their extreme versatility. You can fill them with any kind of meat you like, if you’re vegetarian you can opt for cheese-filled pierogi. Vegan? No problem! You can make them with mushrooms, buckwheat, or literally anything else you like! Not in the mood for savoury dishes? Who told you that you can’t have them with fruit? Pierogi with strawberries, blackberries or any kind of berry filling taste just amazing. Moreover, while pierogi are usually boiled, there are also fried and oven-baked varieties. As you can see, while many countries have some sort of filled dumplings in their cuisines, I believe nothing beats Polish pierogi versatility, they can truly satisfy the most particular palates! 

Bigos 

Polish national dish (present also in Belarus and Lithuania) - bigos is a meat and cabbage stew. Of all the dishes listed in this article, this one takes the most time to prepare and requires certain skill and dedication. Bigos is basically a meat and cabbage stew - it usually consists of various kinds of meat and, depending on the recipe may include fresh cabbage, sauerkraut, or both. While you can probably find it quite easily in Polish restaurants, it’s not a dish that’s eaten every day but it’s usually prepared for special occasions - Christmas, weddings, big family gatherings, etc., as you can imagine, it’s one of those dishes that’s believed to taste better, the longer it cooks (or the day after the preparation). However, saying that bigos is ‘a meat and cabbage stew’ is an oversimplification. When you look up some of the recipes online, each one is different (from small to rather big differences!) - I believe that every Polish family has their own, cherished recipe, whenever you’re invited to a Polish family celebration and there’s bigos on the table, make sure to have a try, you will notice the variations - different recipes use different kinds of meat, different spices, some add mushrooms, there are no two bigos recipes that are the same. Just be careful not to eat too much, the dish tends to be quite heavy! Even though bigos isn’t vegetarian-friendly, there are some recent recipes online for a meat-free version, so why not give it a try? 

Gołąbki 

Another dish, variations of which can be found across various world cuisines are gołąbki - meat-filled cabbage rolls. Although the name of the dish means ‘little pigeons’ (yes, you’ve read that right!) they have nothing to do with pigeons. The dish consists of minced meat (usually pork) and rice wrapped in cabbage leaves, such rolls are then stewed and/or fried. Gołąbki are commonly served in tomato sauce. Of course, variations exist, the filling may contain onion, mushrooms, etc., meatless versions usually contain buckwheat. Gołąbki served with potatoes and tomato sauce are commonly served for lunch in many Polish homes. 

Barszcz czerwony 

Barszcz czerwony (‘red borscht’) is another extremely common Eastern European dish. Barszcz is a generic name for a wide array of sour soups. This particular variety owes its red colour to beetroots. As with most other dishes, there’s a considerable variation among the recipes - its everyday variety is packed with ingredients which make it somehow dense as it contains sautéed vegetables - potatoes, carrots, onion, the beetroots might be cut in cubes or grated into thin strips, this very often (particularly in rural areas) is topped with a dollop of sour cream - yet another heavy dish! Its more festive and lighter (meat-free) type is usually served for Christmas (as you may recall from this article). Christmas barszcz is clear, therefore you won’t find potatoes or carrots in your soup, sometimes dried mushrooms are added. On such special occasions, clear barszcz czerwony is served with uszka (literally “little ears”, barszcz z uszkami), which are small dumplings (filled with meat or, for Christmas with mushrooms) that closely resemble Italian tortellini. 

Żurek and barszcz biały 

Finally, a very traditional soup based on cereals. If you’re not from Central or Eastern Europe the process behind making this soup might seem quite exotic - the soup base is a sourdough starter - żurek is made from rye flower and barszcz biały is made from wheat flour. Thanks to fermentation the soup gets its distinctive, slightly sour taste. As with the other dishes, the recipe for this soup varies from family to family - some like it with few ingredients, some add potatoes and carrots, some add dried mushrooms, the others use smoked meat. In certain regions you can find a fancy variety served in a bread bowl (żurek w chlebie). Barszcz biały is traditionally served for Easter, it is usually thickened with sour cream or milk, obligatorily it has slices of meat sausages and hard boiled eggs in it. 

Did you know some of these dishes before? Let me know on the forums, I’m curious what are your thoughts on Polish cuisine. Perhaps you have similar dishes in your country - let me know what the differences are. If you’d like to learn more about Polish cuisine, stay tuned, there will be more stuff about Polish dishes coming!