The Best Food to Eat in Poland
Poland was a country I was looking forward to visiting with two primary reasons at the forefront. Pierogis and vodka. Neither of them disappointed.
Comfort food
Polish cuisine is made up of comfort food that embraces your insides like a warm reassuring loving nana (or babcia) hug.
People say a lot of Slavic cooking is primarily meat and bread but there are a lot of hearty vegetables thrown in to boot. You’ve got chunky cabbage, silky mushrooms, hot potatoes and plenty of spicy pickles.
Almost everything in Poland is swimming in some sort of sauce, gravy or goulash. The keep the food warm while adding new and creamy flavours to dishes that typically aren’t known for a smooth texture. Take potato pancakes for example (middle left of above photo), they’re almost always served with a sour cream or mushroom sauce.
Dumplings galore!
In Poland, a proud republic, pierogi is king. These Russian derived dumplings come in sweet and savoury varieties. For unapologetic carnivores you can simply gob up a classic meat pierogi made up of a blend of pork and lamb mince. Traditionalists might like the more original recipe pierogi with a filling of mashed cottage cheese and potato.
Some more left field options for pierogi fillings include broccoli and feta, a Chinese inspired spinach filling or even eggplant. Pierogi is truely one of the most versatile foods on Earth.
For dessert you can try sweet pierogi fillings like strawberries, blueberries or in some cases chocolate drizzled in cream or condensed milk.
If pierogi is king then the glumpki is the chunkier, beefier and more straight forward little sister.
Glumpkis are dumplings made of cabbage and filled with a rice based mixture. You can get two variants in the mixture; meat and veg. They’re tasty, very filling and are served lathered in either a mushroom based or tomato sauce.
More vodka than you can poke a stick at
The history of vodka is drenched in cross border rivalry. Both Poland and Russia lay claim to being the home of vodka.
If you ask me, Polish vodka reigns supreme over the more famous Russian stuff. Polish vodka offers taste, texture and a little bit more flavour.
You can find bootleg vodka that is brewed with herbs that will blow the cobwebs away with half a shot. Vodka distilled from cherries is also a must, a little bit sweet, a little bit sour but all kick. And any kind of vodka made from Polish bison grass will leave you wanting more.
