POLAND
—To honor a writer’s destination to another land

Christine Defever traveled to Poland with her husband Dan and two daughters Brittney and Melanie. The Defever family has dedicated their lives to sharing God’s love with others. Below are two favorite Polish dishes that have become traditional to the Defever family

READ CHRISTINE & BRITTNEY DEFEVER’S STORIES: “You Don’t Know What You’re Missing” by Christine Defever and “A Teenage Perspective About Homeschooling” by Brittney Defever

“Most Polish cooks have limited cooking space, small stovetops and small ovens. So, cold salads are extremely popular. The potato salad is made for weddings, birthdays and most ‘big’ occasions yet it is also served at cookouts and other occasions—very popular dish. The carrot/pineapple salad is easy to whip up in about 10-15 minutes, plus it’s a healthy dish to prepare for the family.” Christine Defever

—Polish Potato Salad 4-6 Servings

3-4 potatoes boiled, cooled, and chopped into very small pieces, about ½" x ½"
3-4 eggs, boiled, peeled, and chopped into very small pieces
1-2 dill pickles, chopped into small pieces, about 1/4" x 1/4"
2 parsley stems, cooked, and diced (Note: We don’t normally use this, but they do)
One large can of each: corn and peas (drained)
or use frozen corn and frozen peas
3 large carrots—cooked and chopped into small pieces
One medium onion, chopped finely

For the sauce:
1 cup Mayonnaise Mix 1 cup of mayonnaise with about 1 TBLS of mustard and
1 TBLS Mustard enough pickle juice to make it of sauce consistency. Add salt
Pickle juice and pepper to taste. Mix all except 1/2 cup of sauce with the
Salt & Pepper vegetable ingredients.

After mixing with the above ingredients, place in serving bowl and spread remaining sauce over the top. This helps it stay moist until served. Garnish with red pepper, tomatoes, cucumbers or anything else to make the top pretty. Serve and enjoy!

EASY TO MAKE
–Carrot/Pineapple Salad
5 carrots, peeled and grated
½ can chopped pineapple
Mist carrots and pineapple together. You may want to use some of the liquid from the pineapple to sweeten. Chill for one hour before serving.

From the Editor
Hunters’ Stew was traditionally served by Poland’s hereditary aristocracy after the hunt. The old recipe took a week to prepare but the bigos recipe below is simplified and delicious. It is an ideal dish for a large dinner party since it requires a minimum of last-minute effort—you are using your leftover meats from previous meals. Bigos must be prepared in advance, then reheated. The morning of the party will do, but it will taste better if cooked a day or two ahead of time.

Since this dish requires so many ingredients, it works best for a group of 12 or more. Leftovers, if any, can be refrigerated; or it may be cooked in large quantities and frozen for use later on, for the more bigos is reheated, the better it tastes. No two cooks’ recipes for it are alike, but if you know the principle, you can proceed safely with whatever meats are at hand, remembering only that the greater the variety the better.

BIGOS MYSLIWSKI
–Hunters’ Stew

[Serve with cooked potatoes and carrots]
6 to 8 lbs. sauerkraut
¼ lb. bacon or salt pork, diced—cook and reserve fat
3 ounces dried mushrooms
2 large onions, minced
2 TBLS all-purpose flour
1 bay leaf
3 to 4 lbs (leftover meats) roast or braised meats from any or all of following:
roast pork, roast or braised beef, roast or braised veal, ½ lb. Polish sausage,
chicken, venison or hare, goose, duck
Salt, pepper, sugar to taste
1 cup Madeira, Sherry, or dry red wine

Drain sauerkraut and reserve juice. Rinse sauerkraut in cold water. Put rinsed sauerkraut in large kettle over low heat. Cook the mushrooms in enough water to cover until they are tender, then cut them into thin strips. Crumble cooked bacon and add to the sauerkraut. Add the mushrooms, together with the liquid in which they cooked. Brown the onions in the bacon fat until limp and transparent. Add flour and continue cooking until it browns. Add the mixture with the bay leaf to the sauerkraut. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Dice the meat, poultry, game, and sausage and add to the pot. Add any meat sauce that is available. Mix thoroughly and season to taste with salt, pepper, and a dash of sugar, adding a little of the reserved sauerkraut juice for tartness. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Add the wine and let the mixture bubble up. Cover and let stand until ready to use.

12 Servings

Cook’s Note: If the meats for the bigos are prepared fresh (if you start the dish from scratch—they must all be cooked separately). In this case, they should be braised or baked covered (since roasting such small amounts would dry them out). Vegetables used in braising should not be added to the bigos; all meat juices, however, should be used.