The Lithuanian influence on the Polish cuisine - Bigos

In the fourteenth century Lithuania had the same kings as Poland.  In 1569 Poland and Lithuania  signed a union and one federal state was created. 
 

                                                                                                         Jan Matejko  "Lublin union"

In his poem “Pan Tadeusz” Adam Mickiewicz described  the culture mix which  resulted from the merger of these two countries. Mickiewicz wrote there that Poland and Lithuania were like a marriage that loves and hates each other at the same time. “Bóg łaczył a diabeł dzielił. (God reconciled but devil divided)”. The last separation was in 1918 when Poland and Lithuania regained independence as two separate countries.

Polish and Lithuanian culture and cuisine had a large influence on each other. Some traditional Polish meals originated in Lithuania. The borsch, bigos and cepelinai (pyzy), which belong to the Polish tradition, are typical Lithuanian dishes.  Lithuanian cuisine uses  lots of fresh cream in many dishes. Polish housewives started to use  fresh cream more often. Currently in every Polish fridge you can find a cup of fresh cream ready to use in soups, sauces, desserts or sometimes we add it to coffee.

                                                                       Andrzej Wajda "Pan Tadeusz" part of movie

Lithuania was rich in forests full of wild game and its rivers were full of fish. There were Kings who liked hunting in summer. The meat of wild game, mushrooms and fruit from Lithuania often dominated on  Polish tables. 

The mead, which was very popular among Polish nobility, comes from this country too. In his poem Mickiewicz described  nobility feasts, serving dishes and their preparation in Lithuaniain great detail.  At those times most of the Lithuanian nobility considered themselves as Poles and used the Polish language. The poem “Pan Tadeusz” isn’t only about the Lithuanian nobility, it is also about the impact of both nations on each other.

 I love this poem, especially descriptions of food. It is a historical poem but for me it is a very sentimental cooking book. 

                                                                                         Andrzej Wajda "Pan Tadeusz" part of movie

Now Lithuanian cuisine still has an influence on the Polish one but it not to such a huge extent.

Poles rediscovered  kindziuk, kugelis, bliny and bread drink. I think that the cuisine will be a platform for communicatione between Poles and Lithuanians.   

Bigos is my favorite dish which comes from Lithuania. Below is translation of part of poem "Pan Tadeusz" where is  described  Bigos.  

In the pots warmed the bigos; mere words cannot tell
Of its wondrous taste, colour and marvellous smell.
One can hear the words buzz, and the rhymes ebb and flow,
But its content no city digestion can know.
To appreciate the Lithuanian folksong and folk food,
You need health, live on land, and be back from the wood.
Without these, still a dish of no mediocre worth
Is bigos, made from legumes, best grown in the earth;
Pickled cabbage comes foremost, and properly chopped,
Which itself, is the saying, will in ones mouth hop;
In the boiler enclosed, with its moist bosom shields
Choicest morsels of meat raised on greenest of fields;
Then it simmers, till fire has extracted each drop
Of live juice, and the liquid boils over the top,
And the heady aroma wafts gently afar.

 Adam Mickiewicz, Pan Tadeusz, Book 4: Diplomacy and Hunt 

Translated by Marcel Weyland

Bigos recipe

1 kg. sauerkraut, washed and drained

1 kg white cabbage, shredded

250gram of sausage, sliced into ½" pieces

250 gram of smoked ham, cubed

250 gram of smoked pork, cubed

250 gram of  bacon, chopped

250 gram of beef or venison cubed

10 gram of dried mushrooms;

4 prunes, chopped

2 apples, cored and cubed

1 glass of red wine
1 tbsp of honey

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp juniper fruit; (optional)

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp peppercorns.

Prepare the ingredients as listed above. Simmer the cabbage until soft (1/2 to 1 hour), then drain. Meanwhile, cook the bacon and set aside, preserving the fat. In the bacon fat sauté the onions and garlic, and brown the remaining meat except the sausage. Combine all ingredients in a pot and cook: in a slow cooker, set on "low" for 5–10 hours; on the stove, cook briefly on medium and then simmer 2–3 hours.
Refrigerate any leftovers and reheat for serving. The flavor improves each time, peaking around the third day. Many like to freeze it solid before thawing, heating and eating. Traditionally, it was left out in the freezing cold to store.

Lithuanian Honey Kvass

I wouldn't like to die too soon. There is so many things to try, to eat! Grass-smelling olive oils, crispy ethnic breads, strange fruits, wild meats and  papaya moonshine. I couldn't tell what I would like to have for my last supper. Two of my most beloved dishes were... chocolate desserts while in a properly disigned meal you are supposed to have only one dessert. Certainly I am not going to die because of hunger. I am going to try as much I can through my whole life. Egg starters, so popular decades ago when it was not so easy to cook in old-fashioned kitchens -  so basic yet so tempting as so many others. Not to mention our Lithuanian red beetroot blinis -haven't you heard that the British version of  the beetroot blinis was served last Friday in Buckingham Palace with salmon rosettes?

Following some request, I come back to bread matters but from a different perspective. Kvass generally is known as a Russian beer made from rye and barley must or from soaked and fermented black bread. It is dark in colour, slightly alcoholic (0,5-1,05 %) and has a bitter-sweet taste considerably depending on the bread used. At home you use freash yeasts and sugar to drive the fermentation process. In Lithuania they got a plethora of recipes for their refreshing drinks. As soon as the warmer period comes, it is late spring, they put a kvass to develop.

Lithuanian Honey Kvass

150 ml fair honey

1,5 l water

3 g fresh yeasts

30 g washed raisins

half of one lemon

1. Dissolve honey in a boiling water (you don't have to boil it). Cool down to 30 Celsius degrees.

2. Pund yeasts with about 5 tablespoons of the tepid honey water and leave for about 20 minutes in moderate temperature (about 20-25 degrees) to start working. When frothy add to the rest of the honey water, cover with a cloth and leave at the same temperature for 24 hours.

3. Remove the froth from the surface, strain through a sieve covered with a cloth (do not pour in the rubbish from the bottom). Pour into clean, dry bottles, with few raisins per bottle. Close tightly, place in a cold place and wait. This kvass is the best after 5-7 days and keep well in the fridge for another week. 

I would suggest a plastic bottle as you will see the pressure inside the bottle would rise. Be careful while opening it as you would open a beer can. I used the plastic drink container with gasket and immediately after sieving I put it to the fridge, it worked very very well. Certainly your friend will be surprised where the hell you got this nice and cheap chateau from a plastic bottle!

This is a noble kind of kvass, it is said that is's best after seven days, I found it best after five, maybe ageing went faster because of the temperature in my flat (around 26 Celsius degrees). It has a distinctive honey taste, is ideally sweet and at the 5th day it has an appropriate amount of little bubbles. You would feel a tickle in your nose and changes in your body's weight later. Generally honey kvass tastes like a nicely balanced white wine. Just please remember, there are other varieties, like caraway seed kvass, cranberry, apple juice, mint&tarragon, whey (!), red beetroot, carrot...You would forget the Coke exists. Unless you would find yourself on a tropical island - then you would discover an absolutely different refreshing drink. But this is totally different story...

Lithuanian kidney bean fritters

Another Lithuanian dish and the first bean dish I liked! No starchy bean taste, smooth texture and this gorgeous sauce!

Kidney bean fritters (Pupu kukuliai)

1 cup dry white beans

½ cup flour

1 egg

salt

100 g fresh bacon

2 Tspns cream

1 small onion

1.      Soak beans overnight. Drain, cover with fresh water and cook.

2.      Grind beans well in food processor. Add egg, salt and some water. Form small fritters with floured hands. Thickness of about half centimeter is the best. Toss to the boiling salted water and cook for about 7-10 minutes. Drain and keep warm.

3.      Now is the best part: Cut bacon into small cubes, melt and brown in the frying pan over low heat, then brown the onion in this fat. Add few spoons of cream, season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over bean fritters.

4.      Serve in a clay bowl with a wooden spoon! 

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      Lithuanian red beetroot blinis

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Lithuanian red beetroot blinis

Why any ethnic cuisine is great? Because it is not a McDamn. Now I am going to surprise you with a culinary journey to the east of Poland. For the next two months I’ll be presenting some Lithuanian staff apart from my regular coconut-banana recipes. My guide is Biruta Markuza, a Polish food writer specialising in East European recipes. I liked her book on Lithuanian cuisine straight away. It is both simple and diverse. The ingrediends are easily accessible. And the recipes says something familiar that you know you will like that food. Lithuanian cooking has influenced Polish cuisine with many recipes, some of which are particularly known as Lithuanian in our cookery books. There is a hunter’s stew of a Lithuanian provenience and a cold soup of red beetroot, just to name the best known.

Red Beetroot Blinis!

 2 portions (for main course) or 4 for starter

3 medium size red beetroots

2 apples

0,5 kg cottage cheese (quark)

few Tbsps milk

1 egg

1 cup flour

sugar

salt

oil for frying

sour cream/plain yoghurt to serve

1.      Wash well the beetroot, put to the cold water and cook. Peel and grate with small holes grater. Mix cheese and milk for a smooth paste (ok, it doesn’t have to be that smooth). Peel the apples and grate with large holes grater.

2.      Combine beetroot, cheese, apples, egg and flour, season with salt and sugar.

3.      Heat the oil in the frying pan. To make small blinis, place one tablespoon of batter in the pan, flatten and fry until dark a bit.

4.      Serve hot, absolutely with sour cream!

These blinis have an extraordiary colour and a surprising sweet taste. It reminds me the breadfruit French fries or the onion rings, which are also sweet and chewy. Serving them without sour cream will spoil their potential.