The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Polish Foods. If you manage to be in an Polish restaurant or you are visiting Poland, I recommend the following:
1. Breaded Pork Cutlet
Kotlet schabowy is one of the most delicious and oldest Polish meals. Breaded pork cutlet coated in breadcrumbs (served with or without bones) can be perfectly served with buttered potatoes and cabbage salad. If you don’t like pork, try eating chicken cutlets made in the same way as pork.
2. Goulash
This dish originates from Hungary, but the Polish recipe has changed slightly. It is a meat stew served with potatoes and vegetables, seasoned with onions and friendly peppers. It’s a typical dish that you won’t get tired of eating again and again.
3. Noodles with Cabbage and Mushrooms
It is a very simple dish consisting of cabbage, pork, homemade pasta noodles and vegetables (chopped onion and sliced carrot). It is delicious and easy to prepare. But don’t be fooled, it may be an easy dish, but it is very nutritious and delicious.
4. Polish Croissant Cookies
Jewish pastries known as rugelach are made by rolling a triangle of dough around the filling to form a crescent-shaped pastry. Alternatively, the dough can be rolled into pie or nut moulds and cut into slices before baking. The dough can be made with crème fraîche or cream cheese, but dairy ingredients can be omitted, while the filling can vary from nuts and sultanas to fruit preserves.
5. Hunter's Stew
Considered as a meal in itself, bigos is a hearty game stew with a combination of cabbage, mushrooms and various meats. Traditionally pork, bacon or Polish sausage was used in this dish, but nowadays bigos can also contain venison or duck. The stewing process takes two to four days when prepared according to Polish traditions, allowing the flavours of the individual ingredients enough time to meld with each other.
6. Polish Pancakes
Polskie nalesniki’ literally means ‘Polish pancakes’. The batter for these pancakes is thin and usually combines cheese and quark with sugar, jam, fruit and icing sugar. Another option is to make them with meat and vegetables. Whichever version you choose, they are all really delicious.
7. Herring in Oil with Onion
Herring is a fish that can be prepared in various ways. However, in Poland there are two traditional ways of serving herring, either with sour cream and pickled onions or with oil and garlic.
8. Polish Dumplings
Pierogi are basically semi-circular dumplings with onion and potato inside. They are often topped with onions and pork cracklings, with a side of smietana (sour cream). Note that there are many and endless varieties of pierogi in Poland, including sweet options, but pierogi ruskie is considered the best and original by most Poles.
9. Cabbage Roll
Golabki is a typical traditional Polish meal made with minced meat, chopped onions and rice, and wrapped in a cabbage leaf. It is usually served with a creamy tomato sauce, which gives it the extra punch needed to complete the meal.
10. Broth Chicken Soup
If you want to try a traditional Polish soup, then Rosól may be the best choice. The ingredients needed are water, onion, green celery, parsley, cabbage, baby leek and, of course, the most important ingredient, chicken (any piece will do). Season with pepper and salt.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional European Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.