2010-05-15

Influence on Polish cuisnie - part 3 - Beef Strogonow



Polish and Russian cuisines are similar to each other. Both of them have the same Slavic origin and the same taste. Russia is big country and has many local cuisines. Some of them influenced Polish cuisine but if you ask Polish about Russian cuisine they will think about Moscow and Sanct Petersburg areas. Why? Because both cities were capitals of Russia and both of them were identified with the dream of richness and affluence but also with scary enemies of Polish nation.
In the past the business connections and wars initiated a flow of people between the countries, who brought lots of new things and ideas. In this way there came samovar and tea to Poland and the first French recipes and chefs arrived to Russia. This continual flow added new meals to both cuisines. Today in Poland we have lots of Russian recipes which are very popular like Beaf Strogonow.
This dish was thought up probably by French chef Careme for Count Pavel Stroganov but this dish has a few different stories about its origin. Which one is true? I don't know. I know who first made this dish in my family.
This person was my great grandma. She was born in Lviv, now it is Ukrainian city but before Second World War it was Polish place with mixed Polish and Russian influence. In my great grandma home this dish was very popular on special occasions. When my grandma moved to Cracow she brought all family tradition from Lviv and of course recipe for Beef Strogonow. She serves this dish only during her birthday party and it is the best Strogonow I've ever eaten. You can find my grandma recipe below.

Beef Strogonow

500 g beef loin
2 medium onion
100 g mushroom
2 tbs butter
2 tbs tomato puree
½ glass of sour cream
1 ½ glass of stock
2 tbs flour
salt, black pepper, hot pepper

Cut meat to strips and coat it with flour. Cut onion in square and fry it with butter. Cut mushroom to slices. Add meat when onion has gold color and fry on high heat. Add mushroom and fry a few minutes. Add stock, cream, tomato puree salt, black pepper and hot pepper. Stew 10 min. Serve hot with bread or fry potatoes.

Enjoy! Приятного аппетита! Smacznego!



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Similar Posts:

Influence on Polish cuisine - part 1 - Japanese herring - śledź po japońsku

Influence on Polish cuisnie - part 2 - Knuckle of pork in Bavaria - Golonka po Bawarsku

2010-05-13

Fish in aspic - another Polish classic

Jellied fish is the traditional Polish dish mainly for the Christmas dinner but it is also served during the Easter. Yet this is a good opportunity to make a nice aspic :-) The measures are given for two portions but you can easily double or triple it and so on. Not everyone likes it as not everybody loves the fish. This dish allows us to use our imagination for the decoration. Every aspect of making an aspic can be practised here. It is a foolproof recipe despite the strange-sounding name.

Fish in aspic
(2 portions)

300 g fish leftovers i.e. head, backbone, tail, a piece of the fish flesh
(I used the bream tail piece with much flesh)
60 g carrot diced
20 g onion cubed
500 ml water
3 allspice grains
5 g salt
1 egg white
5 ml white vinegar
13 g gelatine
1 small spring onion chopped

1. Cook a stock from the fish leftovers, carrot, onion, water, salt and allspice. When the flesh is done take it out and separate from the fishbones. Keep separately. Cool down the stock. It will set into a light jelly.

2. Dissolve the gelatine in a minimum of hot water. Beat the egg white slightly. Add the gelatine, the egg and the vinegar to the stock. Bring slowly to the boil.

3. Observe how the jelly is clarifying. When the egg white coagulates and the liquid becomes transparent sieve through a linen placed on the sieve. Double the sieving if necessary. Cool down completely.

4. Prepare two small containers - some yoghurt pots are fine. Grease it slightly inside using a piece of cloth dipped into the vegetable oil.

5. Place the carrots on the bottom and cover with a little of the jelly. Place the pots in a fridge for about 10 minutes (but not the rest of the jelly!).

6. When the jelly in pots sets place the fish flesh on it and pour down the jelly mixed with the chopped spring onion. Pour down the rest of the jelly and place in the fridge.

7. To take the set jelly out dip the pot in the boiling water for a 5 seconds and turn out onto a plate. Serve with white vinegar (I like particularly the light synthetical vinegar but you can experiment) and slices of bread.

Do not try to add more gelatine - it is not necessary. The jelly should melt in the mouth and not be rubber. To give it a noble flavour add 2 tablespoons of the white wine to the cold stock before the second boiling. If the jelly sets before you use it do not panic, heat it slightly, cool down and use. The fish jelly has a nice mild flavour which tends to get strength if combined with the fish flesh. Clarifying is not necessary but the difference is huge - the transparent jelly looks very elegantly. You can arranged different vegetables in pictures or layers using whole pieces of flesh and parsley leaves as well. Use your imagination. Traditionally the fish in aspic is placed in some separate pots or cups for everyone or arrange on one big plate to share. Try it!


2010-05-01

Home-made hard cheese

Long time ago all the housewives in Poland knew how to make this cheese. How much did we lost due to the so called modern civilisation! Anyway, it is still possible to make the cheese with no need of using the rennet. I have found a good way to make it at home here. I give the smaller proportion as I did it. I add more butter than in the original recipe. Thank you Anek for sharing the recipe!

Home-made hard cheese

200 g cottage cheese (this is easy to make - if you wish)
20 g butter
salt to taste
baking soda
herbs (optional)

1. Place the cheese in a pot on a low fire. Stir frequently until it boils up. Place on a sieve to drain.
2. Bring back to the pot adding butter, salt and herbs. Check the taste and add more salt if needed. Stir until the mass becomes homogenous.
3. Add a pinch of baking soda to the pot. The cheese will become fluffy and then stretchy.
4. Leave to cool - you can shape the cheese.
5. If you wish the cheese to mature - keep it in a cold place and brush every several days with the the olive oil. I also salt it.

The cheese preserves really well. It has a real home-made taste which is worth this few simple steps. Enjoy!

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