POLISH RECIPES

Polish fish dishes are very diverse. The fish can be cooked many different ways: boiled, fried, roasted, fried in breadcrumbs, and served with delicious stuffing, sauces, and accompaniments. Carp is the traditional Christmas dish and it comes in different varieties: in aspic, fried, or served in Polish sauce. Herring has remained as Poland's favorite national food. There is no lack of herring in Poland, as it is fished in large quantities in the Baltic Sea. There are many different herring dishes.

Polish Style Herring (Sledz po Polsku)

4 salted herring fillets
2 onions, peeled and sliced
3 large lemons
Ѕ pint sour cream
pepper
bay leaf
allspice

Soak herrings in cold water for 24 hours, changing the water several times while soaking. Arrange the fillets in layers in a glass jar. Between the layers place very thin slices of onions, 10 grains of pepper, 6 grains of allspice, one bay leaf broken into parts, 5 slices of lemon without rind or pits. Combine sour cream with the juice of 3 large lemons. Do not salt the sauce. Pour over fillets in the jar, shake the jar to cover fillets evenly. Place covered jar in cool place. Ready to eat in 24 hours. Serve with baked potatoes.

Pickled Herring in Sour Cream (Sledzie w Smietanie)

12 salted herring fillets
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
2 tablespoons Dill or parsley

Rinse the herrings and cut into small cubes.  Mix herring with onion, eggs, lemon juice. Combine sour cream, garlic, salt and pepper. Add to herring mixture and mix well.  Sprinkle with dill or parsley.  Serve with rye bread.

Fish in Horseradish Sauce (Ryba w Sosie Chrzanowym)

2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 parsley root
1 onion, quartered
5 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoon salt
6 c water
2 lb fish fillets-(carp, sole, pike-or similar fillets)
For souse:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3/4 c horseradish, prepared (cream-style)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sour cream
2 eggs, hard-cooked

Combine vegetables, dry seasonings and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, simmer 20 minutes, then strain. Cook fish in the strained vegetable stock 6 to 10 minutes, or until fish flakes easily. Remove fish from stock. Arrange on serving platter and cover with plastic wrap. Chill. Strain fish stock and reserve 3/4 cup for horseradish sauce; cool.
For horseradish sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, then blend in flour until smooth. Add the cooked fish stock gradually, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until the sauce boils and becomes thick and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in horseradish, sugar, salt, sour cream and eggs. Cool for 15 minutes. Pour the horseradish sauce over the chilled fish and garnish with shredded lettuce.