In common with other Eastern European countries, Poland can suffer harsh winters and Polish food recipes tend to be filling and most often, meat based, particularly using chicken or pork. Fish is also popular, including salmon, trout and perch. Polish people enjoy their traditional and regional dishes. The main meal is usually taken in the early afternoon. It may start with a soup and a hunk of bread. Main courses are full of flavor and the meal may end with a pastry or cake. Western countries are familiar with Polish delicatessens and their displays of pickles, sauerkraut, cheeses and cured meats.

Different Slavic influences make up the popular Polish food recipes. Green vegetables are prominent and there is an abundance of wild mushrooms. Herbs and spices are used to give more flavor. Noodles of different types are favorite ingredients, including Pierogi, which is made into boiled dumplings. These are very tasty when fried with onions.

One of the dishes to contain the biggest variety of meat is Bigos (Hunter’s Stew). It fills the house with a tempting aroma on a cold evening and is often served with bread to soak up the juices. The meat comprises of smoked pork, spare ribs, bacon, pork loin chop, and smoked sausage. The meat is combined with sauerkraut, tomatoes, mushrooms, bay leaf and onions.

Potatoes Baked with Eggs and Cream makes a good accompaniment or a vegetarian lunch. Potatoes, eggs, sour cream, and chives or spring onions are mixed together and baked in a casserole dish. Cabbage is very popular in Polish food recipes and Golabki is Stuffed Cabbage with turkey or pork, tomatoes, mushrooms and carrots, flavored with nutmeg, parsley and Worcester Sauce.

For a fresh, crisp salad, Warsaw Salad is suitable as a substantial snack or first course. The ingredients are French style green beans, Granny Smith apple, pickled cucumber, onion, sour cream, and hard-boiled eggs. The dressing is made from lemon juice, sugar and mustard.

One of the most popular soups in Slavic countries is Borscht (Beet Soup). The Polish food recipe calls for beets, onion, potatoes, carrots, green beans, flavored with vegetable stock, bay leaf and dill. Some people prefer the addition of pork.

Cheesecake is almost a global feature on the menu and Polish cheesecake is richly delicious as it should be. The crust is shortbread and the cheesecake is made with dry curd cottage cheese, eggs, butter, and vanilla extract. The topping is made from sugar, cinnamon, brown sugar, flour and butter. For a quick and inexpensive dessert or snack with coffee, Hot Milk Cake uses sugar, flour, eggs, baking powder, vanilla, milk and butter. Paczki are Polish doughnuts and Galaretka is sweet jelly. Stuffed omelettes, similar in taste to crepes, are called Naleoeniki and are filled with fruit or jam. They may be savory too and filled with meat.

There is also a choice of hors d’oevres Polish food recipes, including scrambled eggs and dill, herrings in sour cream and deep fried plum in bacon. Smalec is double fried lard, which is spread on bread and often eaten with a glass of beer.

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