POLISH-STYLED FEAST OF FOOD
New cookbook goes beyond the popular perogy to highlight the cuisine of author’s homeland
Polish food is much more than the widely loved perogy. Although author Zuza Zak does admit that there’s seemingly a dumpling for every occasion in the culinary canon of her native Poland.
Take uszka (“little ears), for example — Zak’s version of the small, twisted dumpling is filled with wild mushrooms and sauerkraut, and served in clear borscht for Christmas Eve celebrations.
“This is the Christmas dumpling,” Zak writes in Polska (Quadrille Publishing, 2016), her ode to contemporary Polish cooking.
The Catholic religious calendar underlies many food rituals practised today, such as Christmastime fasting and feasting. Christmas Eve is a fasting day, which culminates in a meat-free suppertime feast.
“You actually do eat a lot (on Christmas Eve) but there’s no meat. I’m sure every family has their own ritual but we start off with some cold dishes and then maybe have soup and then maybe open some presents, and then you go back to the table and you have another course. It’s almost like an endurance test,” Zak laughs.
The types of dishes vary by region, but typically include 12 to 13 non-meat dishes (one for each apostle; some include Jesus) and fried fish such as carp. Traditionally, the carp was kept alive in the bathtub until immediately prior to cooking, to ensure its freshness. Christmas Day celebrations are a continuation of the day before, but meat dishes are introduced.
Having a variety of dishes on the table is a year-round custom, and Zak highlights Polish hospitality culture. “There’s a saying: A guest in the home is like God is in the home. So having guests over is always like a celebration ...,” she says.
Zakaski (‘za-kon-ski’) — “a bite of something” — is central to Polish feasting. Zak describes the concept as the Eastern European version of tapas or meze; party food designed for sharing. The main difference, she says, is that zakaski were invented with ice-cold vodka in mind.
“Zakaski is such a big part of our culture. It’s basically what Polish culture is founded on — the beginning of Polish history is (marked by) a feast.”