My Polish Easter {Wielkanoc}
I’ve been thinking about Polish Easter a lot this week, and what makes it special for me. Many things: being able to spend it with my husband and daughter, which, given his profession, was not always possible (if you don’t know, my husband was a soldier and spent a significant amount of time away from home). This year, it’s even more special. Since he’s retired and we live in Poland now, I also get to spend it with my parents and close friends.
Ever since I moved to the US and started becoming more and more emerged into the local culture, spending most of my time amongst Americans, I had to come up with ways to keep myself connected to my family, specially around the holidays. It wasn’t always easy, and I did spend a few of them crying, even though the ham was delicious, and turkey moist. It was just not “chicken jello” or “white borsch” that I was used to eating and how in the world can one (read: a Pole) spend a holiday without the traditions of always eating those dishes? Impossible! Cooking Polish food was pretty much one thing I could do to make me feel I’m not that far away from home.
I learned my lesson pretty quickly and never again did I go without at least one “special” dish. My new family now had to deal with eating the “chicken jello“, “pasztet” and other weird and so unusual for them foods.
Being away from home for 18 years, Easter celebrations in my home were as they were when I was still living in Poland. They start on Saturday by us preparing Easter baskets, called Święconka. Often this basket includes a decorated egg, pieces of bread and sausage, babka, salt and pepper, a lamb made of sugar symbolizing the Resurrection and celebration of life. Święconka, decorated with starched white linens and greens of boxwood will be taken to church for a blessing.
In Poland, Churches set up blessings every 15 minutes and are ready to receive hundreds and hundreds of baskets on Holy Saturday. Children enjoy this part the most, but they will have to refrain from sneaking anything out of baskets until Sunday morning, since catholics practice lent until then.
Holy Saturday is also a day for decorating eggs (pisanki) and adding finishing touches to Easter dishes. We would always boil our eggs in onion peels. The egg shells would turn dark reddish-brown from the golden onion peels. We would then use a knife or a needle to scrape the coloring off. I was never good at it. But my aunt Mary is super talented and did awesome designs (similar to those pictured). The designs can be very elaborate and take immaculate precision and time to create. Pisanki would decorate our Easter table along with decorative palms made for Palm Sunday.
When my brother and I were kids, mom would hide a basket with a few goodies in it (from the Easter Bunny) on Saturday night. We would wake up early and search the house for it, running from room to room.
Easter Sunday breakfast starts with sharing of an egg from the blessed basket, Święconka. Everyone gets a small piece and we wish each other all the best, and thank God for all His blessings. Food is served and eggs are the star of the day. We also play this “egg war” game in my family. Everyone gets a boiled egg and we bump ends against another’s egg to see who’s egg is the strongest. Whoever is left with an unbroken egg wins! Well, you don’t really WIN anything, but bragging rights and some satisfaction.
Many attend church and take long walks, visit friends or family gathering around the table again and again and enjoying the delights of this special holiday.
Easter Monday is considered a holiday still, and is called Pouring Monday – Lany Poniedziałek or Śmigus Dyngus. Tradition says that boys would throw buckets of water at girls to show their fondness towards them. Now, we just throw water at everyone. I go to bed with a full glass of water on my nightstand, so I can be ready when my daughter sneaks in with hers to get me wet. Ideally, you’re the first one to wake, so you can get everyone while they’re still in bed. We’re not gentle either. And with weather normally not being generous, all this is done inside. In the city, it borders on hooliganism, as youngsters trow buckets of water out the windows on pedestrians below. Although greatly frowned upon, it still happens. Good luck staying dry.
I’m sharing the foods I will be eating this year (well, every year) below, as I now realize I’m in the business of making people happy through food, sharing great food, talking about great food and remembering where I came from. Hopefully, this will bring you a bit closer to where you came from also, and you too will decide to share some of that with our loved ones.
Here is the list of some dishes that one will find on my Polish Easter table:
- Sour rye soup
- Fresh Polish sausage
- Deviled eggs
- Polish vegetable salad
- Chicken aspic
- Babka
- and many more.
I talk about our Polish Easter in my most recent cookbook: Polish Your Kitchen; A Book of Memories, Easter Edition.
All the recipes are also available, here, for free.
Polish Easter
Sour Rye Soup {Żurek}
A savory broth made of soured rye flour, served with a boiled egg and fresh (white) sausage.
Fresh (White) Sausage {Biała Kiełbasa}
Pork sausage cooked in water, served with horseradish and beets.
Baked sausage with beer, onions and apples {biała kiełbasa w piwie}
Fresh Polish sausage baked with onions and apples, doused in mustard and beer sauce.
Deviled Eggs {Jaja Faszerowane}
A variety of hard-boiled stuffed eggs.
Polish-style Eggs {Jaja po polsku}
Polish-style eggs are boiled eggs, prepared and served in half-shells. The boiled egg white and egg yolk get scooped out, mixed with mushrooms, horseradish, herbs and spices, stuffed back into their shells and tops sautéed for extra flavor. The finished dish is quite unique. You can serve them as a hot or cold appetizer.
Hunter’s Stew {Bigos}
Sauerkraut and fresh cabbage mixture, with smoked meats and mushrooms is not a traditional meal of Easter dinner but since us Poles celebrate on Monday as well, this makes a nice addition to the leftover Easter dinner.
Polish Tartar Sauce {Sos Tatarski}
Tartar sauce served over hard-boiled eggs.
Polish Vegetable Salad {Sałatka Jarzynowa}
Delicious medley of vegetables and fruit.
Chicken in Gelatine {Galaretka z Kurczaka}
Chicken meat suspended in savory gelatin, garnished with lemon juice, vinegar or horseradish.
Pork Aspic {Zimne Nogi}
Pork with veggies and spices suspended in savory gelatin, served with horseradish and/or vinegar.
A Cold-cut Platter
Cold-cut platter is prepared by slicing various home-made meats. Many families prepare their favorites a few weeks before the big day. They are brined and smoked and then they rest waiting and tempting everyone with their delicious smell of smoked pork.
Chicken Pate {Pasztet z Kurczaka}
Minced chicken baked with herbs and spices.
Chicken and Mushroom Pate
Another variety of chicken pate, this one is heavy on wild mushrooms. Very tasty.
Prune-stuffed Pork Loin {Schab ze Śliwką}
Savory and sweet cold cut.
Horseradish with Beets {Ćwikła z Chrzanem}
Spicy horseradish and shredded beets used to garnish meats or eggs.
and for dessert:
Lemon and Fig {Mazurek}
Sweet crumbly bottom topped with sweet and lemony fig jam and sliced almonds.
Dolce de Leche and Chocolate Mazurek
Mazurek made with caramelly dolce de leche and chocolate, topped with sliced almonds.
Polish Easter Bundt Cake {Babka Piaskowa}
Traditional Polish Easter dessert, soft and moist vanilla bunt cake.
Marble Bundt Cake {Babka Marmurkowa}
Traditional Polish Easter vanilla and chocolate bunt cake.
Yeast Babka with Raisins
Sweet and soft babka made with yeast. A bit different from the two above and very much worth the time to make at home.
Traditional Polish Cheesecake
Tangy and slightly sweet baked cheesecake topped with chocolate ganach.
Poppyseed roll
Yeasted dough with sweet poppyseed filling spiked with walnuts, raisins and honey.
I wish you a happy Easter and I hope you adopt one of my traditions into your Easter celebration. Smacznego!
Anna
Polish Easter
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ty for sharing your Easter with us Anna..i remember the basket being blessed as i went with Gramma when i was young..i’m 72..we had to get up very early it was still dark out to get to the church in a beautiful church in the valley Mountain Road.built by Father Ruh..oh man it was beautiful..it burnt down i think in 1966. Enjoy your Easter with your beloved Family..huggz
Than you Gail!! Happy Easter and smacznego!! Anna
I didn’t realize you were a military family. My husband retired after 20 years in the Air Force, a long time ago. I’m glad you’re all together this year. Wesołych Świąt Wielkanocnych!
Thanks Lois, you know exactly what I’m talking about then 🙂 Thank you! Wesołych Świąt!
Boy, does this make me homesick. I used to love getting our basket blessed when I was a girl. Then I married a German, and they don’t do those things. 50 years later – I still have a basket-shaped hole in my heart. So glad you kept the old ways.
I completely understand Meg… will that hole with eggs, kiełbasa and mazurek. Hope you can find joy in finding your favorite flavors again. Happy Easter!!
My babcia (and now I) also always have babka drozdzowa, with candied orange peel, raisins, and glaze. Pozdrawiam!
Love!!!!!