When thinking of Polish food, there are a few staples that immediately come to mind, like bigos or pierogi. From meaty stews to delightful treats, discover some more traditional foods you can try in Poland.
Traditional Polish pierogi
Pierogi can be served with a soup, as a starter or a main course, sprinkled with fried onion and bacon, or as an accompaniment to the main course. Favourite fillings include cottage cheese with potatoes, cabbage and mushrooms, seasoned meat with onion or any other filling you have to hand.
Sour cucumber soup
Nothing warms up the belly like the Polish cucumber soup. It is a consistent and tasty dish with lots ingredients like bacon, sour pickled cucumbers, leek, carrots, celery, pepper, parsnip and many more. It can be prepared one day ahead and it will stay fine if kept in the refrigerator and heated before serving.
Polish beef tripe
A traditional Polish meat stew that looks like a dense soup, made of cleaned strips of beef tripe and vegetables. Uncommonly tasty, it is eaten with fresh bread or roll.
Schabowy
Schabowy is Poland's national dish. It is a kind of a pork chop, traditionally coated in egg and breadcrumbs, and fried in hot oils with onion. Often served with the classic sides of grated beetroot or sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, it is undeniably delicious.
Kaszanka - the Polish black pudding
Kaszanka is a kind of Polish sausage filled with buckwheat and pork meat. Similar to the English blood pudding, it can be crunchy on the outside when grilled or fried. Because of the buckwheat filler it has pleasant non-pasty texture.
Jellied carp
Jellied carp is a traditional dish in Poland at Christmas. Best made a day in advance, it is made of a cooked carp and vegetables covered with jelly. When the jelly sets, it is ready to serve.
Bigos – the Polish hunter's stew
Bigos or the Polish hunter’s stew is a hearty, long-simmered meat and sauerkraut stew, made of any combination of pork, beef, game, poultry and vegetables. This single pot dish is usually made during long winter days or for special occasions.