Christmas Eve!!!

Rejoice that we are all together

For a day like this.

Two things keep us happy, warm

A Christmas hug from you my dear

And in return a Christmas Kiss.

Merry Christmas from the heart,

To ones I hope will never part.

Weosłych Świąt!!  Merry Christmas!!

Gosia and Ilona

Today is Christmas Eve.  It is very important and family day in Poland. Tonight every Polish family have a Christmas  Eve dinner. Now in thousands of Polish homes are prepared  festive meals and. We are waiting for the guests, the first star on sky and we will start Christmas time.

There is my Christmas Eve menu:

White herring
Carp in aspic
Salad with smoked fish and mushrooms
Pierogi ruskie (Russian dumpling)
Łazanki with mushrooms
Borscht
Salmon in a sauce with dried fruit with potatoes
Celeriac salad
Salad with sauerkraut
Puding of sweet chestnuts
Yeast strudel with poppy seeds
Compote of dried fruits

Christmas Eve - Dish 7 - celeriac salad

I apologize for my absence. My laptop had a crash. So,  I go back to continue publishing the Polish    recipes for  Christmas Eve .

1 medium celeriac
1 apple
3 tbsp lemon juice
10 gram of walnuts
10 gram of raisin
1/2 cup of natural yogurt
2 tbsp of mayonnaise
salt, black pepper.

Clean,peel and grate celeriac and apple. Pour  a lemon juice on vegetables. Chop walnuts and add to vegetables. Add also raisin. Mix yogurt, mayonnaise, salt and pepper and add to  vegetables. Mix the salad well and serve  immediately.

Christmas Eve - Dish 6 - mushroom soup

 

There are many types of soup which are served on Christmas Eve. Apart from fish soup, borscht is the most popular but mushroom soup is also well-known. In my family there are always two soups served on Christmas Eve - borscht and mushroom soup with dried wild mushrooms.

The smell of cooking mushrooms reminds me of Christmas in my Polish home and of my childhood. I love that smell and there are always Polish dried mushrooms in my kitchen even if I'm in a very distant place.

60 grams of dried mushrooms
2 carrots
1 onion
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp fresh cream
salt, black pepper
2 l. vegetable broth

łazanki (Polish pasta cut into squares) or other small pasta

Soak mushrooms overnight in 4 glasses of water. Cook mushrooms slowly until they are boiled. Strain mushrooms. Cut mushrooms into small pieces. Add mushroom broth to vegetable broth and boil. Clean and peel carrots, cut into thin slices and add to broth together with salt, and cook unlit carrots are soft. In the meantime cook pasta. Cut the onion into small pieces and fry on butter until gold. Add the onion and mushrooms to soup and cook 5 minutes. Next add pepper and fresh cream. Strain pasta, add to soup and serve.

Christmas Eve - Dish 5 - fish in aspic.

If you don't like carp, the other option is fish in aspic.

for 10 portions

 300 grams of fish
1 carrot
1 parsley root
2 onions
1 bay leaf, black pepper, salt
5 tbsp of instant gelatin

Clean the fish very carefully. Clean and peel vegetables but don't cut.   Put vegetables into a pot with 2 litres of water, add salt, pepper and bay leaf and cook 25 minutes. Put the fish into the broth and cook slowly about 25 minutes. Cool down the fish and broth. Divide the fish into small pieces and put in small bowls. Cut carrots into slices and add to the fish. Cook two cups of broth and add  gelatin, mix well and add to the rest of the broth and mix. Pour the fish into the broth and put into the fridge overnight.

Christmas Eve - Dish 4 - carp in aspic.

Carp is very popular and traditional fish on Christmas Eve in Poland. In Polish tradition we have  many recipes for this fish but the most popular is carp in aspic.

1 carp (about 2 kg)
1 carrot
1 parsley root
1 leek
2 onions
1 bay leaf, black pepper salt
5 tbsp of instant gelatin
1 tbsp of butter

Clean the fish  very carefully and cut into rings. Clean and peel vegetables, and cut into small pieces.  In a pot melt butter, add vegetables and fry 5 minutes. Pour vegetables into water, add salt, pepper and bay leaf and cook 15 minutes. Put rings of carp to the broth and cook slowly about 25 minutes. Cool down the fish and broth. Put the fish into a deep dish in which it will be served. Cook two cups of broth and add  gelatin, mix well and add to the rest of broth and mix. Pour the fish into the broth and put into the fridge overnight.

Christmas Eve - Dish 3 - salad with smoked fish and mushrooms.

1 smoked mackerel or other fish
150 gram of fresh white mushrooms
1 apple
1 small onion
3 large gherkins
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of lemon juice
salt black pepper

Clean the fish from skin and bones and divide into small pieces. Peel and grate the apple and sprinkle lemon juice over it. Cut the onion and gherkins into small cubes. Clean the mushrooms and cut into thin slices. Put all ingredients into a bowl, add oil, salt and pepper and mix well. Put the salad into the refrigerator for minimum 1 hour. Serve cold.

Christmas Eve - Dish 2 - white herring.

Today let me present the second dish with herring - white herring. Herring is very popular in Poland and we have many dishes from this fish.

for 2 portions

2 large pieces of marinated herring
1 large apple
1/2 onion or 1 small onion
20 ml of fresh cream
1 tbsp of lemon juice.
salt, black pepper.

Cut the onion into very thin slices, put the onion into a bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Peel the apple and grate it. Add the apple, fresh cream, salt and pepper to the onion and mix well. Put one piece of herring on a plate and put a layer ayr of the apple and onion salad on it. Serve immediately.



Enjoy!

Christmas Eve - Dish 1 - red herrings.

Today is the first of December. Christmas will be in 24 days. So  let's start the countdown! In the next days I will publish recipes for traditional Polish dishes on Christmas Eve .
Let's start. Today my favourite Christmas Eve starter - red herring.

10 pieces of marinated herring
2 large onions
100 grams of cranberries or raisins
6 tbsp of tomato purée
3 tbsp of honey
1 tbps of oil

Cut the herring  into large squares.  Cut onions into cubes. Heat oil in the pan and add tomato purée. Mix gently and fry about two minutes and add onions. When onions are a little transparent, add cranberries and mix it well. Fry about 5 minutes and add honey. In a wide bowl put a layer of herring and on top put fried onions and cranberries. Cover the bowl with kitchen foil and put into the fridge for about 24 hours. This dish can be kept in the fridge even a week.

Enjoy!