Poland is a wonderful country, full of incredible landscapes from the Baltic beaches in the north, through the Mazury lakes in the center of the territory, to its mountain ranges in the south. Poland’s beautiful cities like Warsaw or Kraków are full of varied cultural, architectural, and, of course, gastronomic offers. Here is a list of the Polish traditional dishes and products that are my favorite and shouldn’t be missed.
1. Barszcz
This world famous beetroot soup is a gastronomic icon of all Eastern Europe. Traditional Polish cookbooks establish that quality Polish barszcz should be both sweet and sour. The former is achieved thanks to the beetroot, while the acidity is achieved either adding lemon juice, or fermented beetroot juice, another local specialty. Barszcz is usually served as a broth (“czyste” or clean), or with pierogi (a stuffed pasta that will be mentioned below).
2. Chlodnik
If you’re visiting Poland in the summer and don’t feel like trying hot barszcz, then you can opt for this soup, which is a similar but cold variant, hence its name.
3. Żurek
This delicious soup, although very traditional, is not as well known as the previous ones. It consists of a fermented barley or rye broth, with a hard-boiled egg and biała kiełbasa (white sausage). It is usually served inside a round, hollowed-out rye bread loaf.
4. Pierogi
Pierogi are fille, circular pasta, larger in size than Italian ravioli. But their peculiarity is that they are usually cooked in a pan and served with a good portion of sour cream. They have many different possible fillings, like potato, cheese and onion (ruskie), meat, cheese, forest mushrooms, and even jagody (a dark berry smaller than the blueberry). Some restaurants are specialized in pierogi and offer a menu with countless alternatives.
5. Placki ziemniaczane
Placki are simple and delicious pancakes. They are made of egg and a vegetable (traditionally potato) grated together with an onion. It can be considered somehow like the Polish answer to the traditional Spanish tortilla. This dish is also very typical in Ashkenazi Jewish food (typical of this European region) under the name of latkes. Like pierogi, they are usually served with sour cream.
6. Bigos
There are countless variants of this dish, depending on the region, the meat used and of course, each family recipe book. It is basically a stew with different types of meat cuts and kapusta kiszona (fermented cabbage or “sauerkraut”). It can be prepared with beef, pork or even game meat, and its distinctive flavor is given by the smoked cuts of charcuterie used, along with mushrooms and śliwki suszone (prunes).
7. Gołąbki
This is a stuffed cabbage leaf dish that is often found in many other European countries, especially in the Balkans. The Polish version uses mainly beef or pork and rice or another grain such as barley or buckwheat. Another peculiarity is that it is served with a sauce on top, usually tomato or mushrooms.
8. Pieczona kaczka
Literally, roast duck. Personally, I cannot ignore this dish because it’s without doubt my favorite. Both duck and goose are very tasty red meats, and in Poland they are marinated and roasted many hours in the oven over low heat until they tender but still juicy. It is usually served with potatoes or roasted apples together with the duck’s own juices, beets, and red cabbage or kapusta kiszona.
9. Sucha Krakowska, kaszanka and biała kiełbasa
Poland offers a wide variety of charchuterie and it would take too long to talk about all the available options. I have chosen those three that may be my favorites. Dry krakowska, named after the city of Kraków, is a low-fat, thick sausage that can be enjoyed thinly sliced alongside a good rye bread, moustard or chrzan (horseradish spread) and ogórki kiszony (pickled cucumbers). Kaszanka is a blood sausage (sometimes filled with rice or another grain) similar to Spanish “morcilla”, and is delicious paired with caramelized onion. Finally, biała kiełbasa (white sausage) is one of the ingredients of żurek, but it can also be grilled and enjoyed on its own.
10. Oscypek
This traditional cheese is produced in “Tatry”, a montain region in the South of the contry. Whether it’s made from cow’s, sheep’s or goat’s milk, its particularity is that it’s always smoked. “Osczypki” are sold in in many streets of Zakopane by the producers. You can enjoy the small ones as a snack, a good way of recovering energy while you walk up the Kasprowy Wierch mountain. There also bigger ones, circular and elongated, from which slices are cut and then grilled.
Bonus: while visiting Traty, also make sure to try the traditional Kwasnica, a delicious soup made with slow-cooked pork or mutton and sauerkraut.
Other tips to enjoy in Poland:
You can find most of these typical dishes in a mleczne bar, which are traditional popular dining rooms. It is also hard to resist trying one of the many types of Polish beers. My favorites are czerwone (red) and gryczane na miodzie (buckwheat with honey). Nor should you miss the sledzik (herring), usually paired with a shot of Polish vodka. And since I personally don’t usually pay much attention to sweets, I haven’t mentioned traditional pastries like pączki (a kind of donut). But we can also make an exception with the krówki (milk candies reminiscent of Argentine dulce de leche) and śliwki w czekoladzie (chocolate-filled prunes).