World Recipes

Polish Crepes (Nalesniki)

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 to 8 tablespoons flour

Beat eggs. Mix sugar, salt and flour well together and stir quickly into the eggs. Add milk and beat hard. Have ready one or more heavy six inch crepe pans, lightly buttered and well heated.

Pour just enough batter into each to cover the bottom of the pan when it is tilted and swirled.

Shake the crepes over the fire until they are slightly browned on the bottom and firm to the touch on top. Do not turn. Put them aside to cool. This may be done several hours before serving. This recipe makes 16 to 18 crepes.

Apple Filling for Nalesniki
2 large tart apples
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup bread crumbs

Cook apples with sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Mash apples slightly until it resembles course applesauce. Cool. Fill crepes and roll up. Place on buttered baking dish and brush well with melted butter. Mix sugar with bread crumbs and butter and sprinkle over top. Bake in 350 degree F oven for 20 minutes.

Serves 4.

Polish Cinnamon Cake

12 tablespoons butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3 teaspoons cinnamon
A grating of fresh nutmeg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the butter until it is soft and fluffy. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar and the egg and continue beating. Add 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, the nutmeg and flour, and beat until well mixed. Spread about 1/3 of the batter on an ungreased baking sheet, forming a rectangle about 10 by 12 inches and bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Repeat two more times with the remaining batter.

Whip the cream until stiff, and fold in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the vanilla extract. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on one of the cakes, top with another cake, and repeat. Spread remaining whipped cream on the top and serve immediately.

Serves 8 to 12.

Braised Buckwheat Kernels (Kasha)

This grain is sometimes called groats.

1 cup medium buckwheat kernels (kasha)
1 egg
2 1/2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 1/2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix buckwheat kernels and egg; cook in ungreased skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until kernels separate and brown.

Stir in water, butter, bouillon, salt and pepper; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and buckwheat kernels are tender, about 5 minutes.

Yields 6 servings.

Hungarian One Pot Stew (Gulyas)

Use a heavy Dutch oven, heated on high heat for about five minutes on top of the range, Add the following per person:

1 pound good beef, cut into cubes
2 large onions coarsely chopped
4 teaspoons paprika (hot or sweet, to taste - hot Hungarian is good)
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 slice salt pork or bacon, chopped, sprinkled on top

Brown meat in a little good olive oil. Add onions, tomatoes and pepper. Be careful not to burn. Add paprika and cover with bacon or salt pork squares, cover and simmer until the beef is tender and the vegetables have made their own gravy. Watch for the first 30 minutes, but just stir occasionally after that. Season with salt after cooking, if needed. Serve with crusty French bread or giant southern biscuits.

Cold Beet Soup (Chlodnik - Poland)

Large bunch of beet tops (stems and leaves)
1 or 2 beet roots
2 or 3 salted pickled gherkins - preferably Polish
Some of the pickle juice
Fresh cucumber, dill, onion, chives
Creme franche, sour cream or yogurt or a mixture of these
Concentrated veal stock
Cold fried veal chops or pork tenderloin,
    cut into small cubes (good, but optional)
Lemon

The evening before you make the soup, grate a beet finely and leave it overnight in a bowl with a little water added.

The next day, chop the beet tops, put them in a pot and pour 2,5 cups of boiling water over them. Allow it to come to a boil once more and take off the stove. Dice the cucumber and the pickles. Large or small cubes are a matter of preference. Squeeze the juice from the
grated beet and pour juice in a pot. Set grated beet aside.

Add pickle juice, creme franche and yogurt to pot. Add boiled beet, cucumber and pickles, and give it a stir. Add some of that veal stock, just enough to make a change in the taste. Add the cold meat if you wish. Season with freshly chopped dill, chives and very finely chopped or grated onion. Now, if you like the soup to have a bit more color, add some of the leftover grated beet, or better still, some freshly grated. Finally, salt, pepper and maybe a squeeze of a lemon wedge will bring it to perfection. Chill for a few hours before serving.

A basket of good rye and/or crusty bread on the table is a must!

Serves 4 as a main dish.

Barszcz (Polish Easter Soup)

6 cups water
1 pound Polish kielbasa sausage
2 cups sour cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon plain or beet horseradish
2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar, or to taste
1 cup sliced mushrooms
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
1 cup cubed, cooked ham
1 cup cooked diced potatoes
1 cup cooked diced beets (optional)
Chopped fresh dill or parsley (for garnish)

In a large kettle, bring water to a boil and add the kielbasa to cook for 1 hour.

Remove kielbasa from water and cut into thin slices. Add the horseradish, mushrooms, salt and pepper to the broth and simmer covered for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool.

In a separate bowl, beat sour cream with about 3 cups of the cool broth. Pour this mixture back into the kettle with the rest of the broth. Add lemon juice or vinegar. Reheat before serving, but do NOT bring to a boil. Fill individual serving bowls with the liquid allowing each person at the table to add the thinly sliced kielbasa pieces, hard boiled eggs, ham, potatoes or beets to their taste. May be made a day or two before and kept refrigerated.

Serves 4 to 6.

Spareribs and Cabbage (Zeberka Wieprzowena z Kapusta, Poland)

Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 1/2 pounds fresh pork spareribs, cut into 6 pieces
1 large onion, sliced
1 large carrot, sliced
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cups water
1/2 cup vinegar
1 small head green cabbage, cut into 6 wedges
Freshly-ground pepper

Heat oil in Dutch oven until hot. Cook pork spareribs, a few pieces at a time, over medium heat until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes; drain fat. Add onion, carrot, bouillon, salt, caraway seed, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the bay leaf. Pour water and vinegar over pork mixture. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours.

Add cabbage; sprinkle with pepper. Cover and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 45 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Arrange spareribs and vegetables on serving platter. Garnish with minced parsley if desired.

Yields 6 servings.

Serbian Skillet Pork (Muckalica, Yugoslavia)

1 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
3 medium onions, sliced
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips
2 ounces feta cheese, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
Hot cooked rice

Trim fat from pork. Cut pork into 1/2-inch slices; cut slices into 1/2-inch strips. Heat oil in skillet until hot. Cook and stir pork in oil over medium heat until brown, about 15 minutes; drain. Add water, onions, tomato, salt, paprika, pepper and red pepper. Cover and simmer until pork is tender, about 30 minutes, adding water if necessary.

Add green pepper. Cover and simmer until green pepper is crisp-tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Top with cheese.

Serve with rice.

Yields 4 servings.