These dishes are usually meatless, though this restriction does not exclude the preparation of fish, as carp is one of the most traditional items served. That's the virtue … This is going to be one epic cake. Rolled Herring. Designed & Developed by PixelBoom. But a great fish option is the pierog z łososiem.These are the finest seafood-based pierogi around, jammed with fresh salmon, caught straight from the Masuria Lakes or the gorgeous Polish north coast on the Baltic Sea. Polish Gingerbread, or, 'Pierniki' is one of the serious highlights of the … Remove and place on a pepper towel to soak up extra fat. It is usually served fried in batter, cold in jelly, or Jewish-style. There is no red meat served but fish, usually carp. The most common choice is clear, bullion style beetroot soup served with small dumplings stuffed with cabbage and mushroom (here is the recipe if you fancy trying making it yourself). Handcrafted in Poland. This sweet water fish is largely sold around Christmas time and rarely eaten otherwise. Thats another dish (out of 12) that we Poles put on the Christmas table. I have prepared mahi mahi tuna this way before, and one, it tasted delicious and two, it very much reminded me of the carp prepared at home. Required fields are marked *. As you might know, Poland is a very religious country. There is a bit of controversy surrounding the humanity of how the fish is sold and delivered to the customers these days in Poland, but I think a lot of Poles are still very committed to this one-time-a-year treat and continue with the old tradition. In my country of origin – Mexico – there is a different way of celebrating Christmas than in here, for example we have to break a piñata! © 2021 - Polish Your Kitchen. pickling juices from jar … In Polish tradition, people combine religion and family closeness at Christmas. A Hearty Seafood Stew. Let Culture.pl guide you through some of these fish recipe secrets. Thankfully for people who don’t like fish, there are other specialities. It’s a specific tasting oily fish, lightly floured and pan fried ‘till golden brown. If you fancy something a bit sweeter you should try Kutia. Add fish pieces to lightly cover. I’m not a professional chef, just a home cook influenced by years of listening, watching and tasting, who's constantly craving flavors and smells of home. The menu might have included items such as pea soup, boiled potatoes, fried fish and stewed fruits, Knab notes in The Polish Country Kitchen Cookbook. Carp is an oily fresh water fish that tastes briny and mildly fishy, with a flaky and soft flesh. The dinner starts with a soup. It is followed by the exchange of gifts. In Poland, the Christmas Eve supper, Wigilia, begins after the first star appears in the sky and often goes on late into the night. This is the most influential seaport in the nation and its architecture is just awe-inspiring. No votes so far! ps. Carp is a traditional Christmas Eve fish. Drain. Both quite light and clear. Be the first to rate this post. Another really important fish on the Christmas Eve table is herring. If you ask a Polish person what they like the most about Christmas they may say family time, being off or Christmas atmosphere, but the truth is that is all about food. Poland has some funny communistic dishes that became part of the tradition and one of them is Greek style fish dish that has nothing to do with Greece. I used cod for our Polish Fried Fish (Ryba Smażona), but any mild white fish would work perfectly. The Wigilia feast begins at the appearance of the first star. This Polish pottery Fish Shaped Platter is made in Boleslawiec, Poland. The latter method is a tradition surrounding Christmas Eve carp in Slovakia, Poland, and Czechia. Your email address will not be published. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Communist authorities ordered breeding the carp (it was cheap and easy to breed) and were promoting eating it during the holidays. Don't mistake this soup for Russian beet borscht. In Poland, the 24th of December is probably the most important day of Christmas and therefore the most effort goes into the preparation of the Christmas Eve dinner. The tradition says that there must be exactly 12 dishes (including desserts) on the table and everyone has to try every each of them. One of the most favored, at any time of the year, are herrings. … A traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner boasts twelve dishes, one for each month of the year, and this feast generally starts with some kind of fish in horseradish sauce. The Polish Christmas Eve dinner consists of 12 dishes, one for each of the 12 apostles. Christmas Day is a public holiday. This meat-free meal usually includes a spread of beetroot soup, pickled herrings and pierogi (traditional dumplings stuffed with potato and cheese). The way this traditional dish comes to fruition is a bit unconventional, to say the least. Pickled and prepared with onion or plums it’s a quite popular choice for busy people who can buy it prepared and ready to be eaten. Rules are strict, the workload is high, but the reward is absolutely worth it. Many traditions and customs originate from Christianity. Christmas Holidays commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. The practice has as much to do with proximity to good fishing as with faith and tradition. This time, I’ve tried stripped bass and I almost can’t tell the difference between it and carp. There are quite a number of recipes for herrings since Poles from Scandinavian and Baltic nations have knowledge in preparing the dish. Welcome to my Polish food blog! In many parts of the world, it's a tradition to serve seafood at Christmas. The main part of Wigilia is a solemn, family sup… Oysters. Other families prefer it in cream or as a part of a potato salad. Dried salt cod, or Baccalà, is a practically required part of the Feast of Seven Fishes. Although gift-giving plays a major role in th… Last on the list is Christmas compote, a non-alcoholic drink made of dry fruits (plums, apricots, and apples) cooked in a water with sugar. While its Soviet … The famous Polish pierogi are dumplings made from dough with various fillings, ranging from vegetables to meat to fruit. It is 2¾" high and measures 14" by 6¼". Old Polish cuisine is well-known for its abundance of fish dishes, and foreign visitors have long observed that the art of preparing the little fellows was at a very high level of sophistication in Poland. All Rights Reserved. There couldn’t be a Christmas Eve dinner without a big portion of a Christmas cheesecake or a poppy seed cake. Thanks to that the whole year (12 months) is going to be happy and successful. 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. And if you are lucky you may even have a chance to try both. You buy a few pounds worth of fresh (still alive) carp, bring it home (still alive) and put it in your bath tub filled with cold water. Dishes served on the 24th are made only once a year and the recipes used to make them are often family secrets that are passed down from generation to generation. Let’s face it, you need to eat 11 more dishes that evening! I have trouble finding carp here in the U.S., so I’m going for a fish that is comparable in size and “meatiness”. POLISH FISH CHOWDER (zupa rybna): Clean and behead ˝ - 1 lb small panfish (perch, bluegills, chubs, crappies, bullheads) or use 1 or 2 heads (with eyes and gills removed) of a larger fish (carp, pike, walleye, whitefish, e tc.). There were no leftovers, so this is a recipe you might consider for a Lenten supper of Christmas Eve when you’re going meatless. Sprinkle with pepper. Hay under the tablecloth: The hay is put on the table and covered by a tablecloth. But here in Poland, it’s another story; One of the most characteristic things about this day is the Traditional Polish Christmas Food. It … In the old days, people fasted for Advent, homes were cleaned from top to bottom, grudges were forgotten and the birth of the Christ Child was eagerly anticipated. 0 . The supper, which includes many traditional dishes and desserts can sometimes last for over two hours. Last but not least white fish like cod or hake is very often fried or roasted and served as another choice. * save head and tail for fish soup or fish broth for fish in gelatin. Imagine going to the local grocery store on the eve of Christmas Eve to purchase a beautiful delicacy in the form of a fresh fish, no big deal right? Place fish in a bowl, add 2 tbs of salt, cover with cold water and refrigerate for 2 hours. It will be lightly sautéed in an oil and butter mixture for a thin golden brown crust and served as one of the 12 dishes presented during Christmas Eve dinner. Manufacturer item number H1048E. HELP KEEP THIS PAGE ALIVE DONATE VIA PAYPAL, Authentic Polish-style home-made Sauerkraut {Kapusta Kiszona}, Video Recipe: Polish Bacon Spread {Smalec}, WPNA.FM Ep. Polish Christmas Fish {Ryba Wigilijna} - Polish Your Kitchen We are sorry that this post was not useful for you! To accompany our fried fish, I mixed up a tartare sauce. In a large frying pan, heat oil and butter. It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed. Clean and wash fish. Manufacturer item number H8317K. If you want to watch something quite disturbing you can google how people used to keep live carps in their bathtubs and kill them just before the Christmas dinner. Until the midnight mass, the lent is still on so Christmas Eve dinner is all about fish, winter vegetables, and wild mushrooms. This Polish pottery Christmas Tree Candle Holder is made in Boleslawiec, Poland. The biggest star of the evening, and that can surprise many people, is carp. Tradition Kutia is made of wheat berries, poppy seeds and honey, but very often walnuts, raisins, almonds and other dry fruits are added. White fish is fried and then roasted with grated rooted vegetables like carrot and parsley and tomato concentrate (all those things were available during communism) and served proudly on the Christmas table. Place flour in a shallow dish or a plastic bag. The main purpose of the soup is to start the digestion process and allow you to eat more later. Bathtub carp is one of several traditions tied to Christmas Eve — a day that is the centerpiece of holiday celebrations for Slovaks and some others in central Europe.