Ever wondered what Polish people eat for Christmas? I am sure you have heard stories about Polish food or have even seen a jar of something not quite appealing looking in your local supermarket with a Polish name on it. You may have thought that this looks a bit underwhelming for your taste, but I have to stop you right there my friend! The first thing you need to know about Polish Christmas dinner is that traditionally there are twelve dishes prepared and served. It is a lot of food and yes, you will be stuffed like a turkey at the end of the evening.
Before everyone sits down to enjoy the feast, you will be handed a white wafer, which is called Opłatek. You are supposed to share it with everyone in the room and wish each other a Happy Christmas. After that you are free to sit down and enjoy your first dish, which most likely will be a bowl of soup.
What soup you are going to eat will depend on in which part of Poland you are in. In my house it is traditionally a beetroot soup. It is called Barszcz and it is delicious, tastes sweet in the beginning, with a little spicy after kick. It is served with little dumplings usually filled in with mushrooms. Some other parts of Poland eat a soup made from fish heads, it is perhaps taking it one step too far, but again, don’t knock it until you try it!
Keeping with the topic of fish - that is our next, and main dish. Some people love it, others hate it, as the two main stars of the show are herring and carp. Carp is definitely a king. It is eaten only once a year for Christmas, and it has to be freshly prepared. A long time ago people used to buy carp few days before Christmas and it was swimming happily in every Polish bath, until it wasn’t. We can only hope that kids back then were either blissfully unaware of the carps’ fate or didn’t make the connection between what was in their bath and later on was on their plate. Herring can be prepared either in cream or oil and onions. Both dishes are almost certainly going to appear on every table in Poland.
A word of advice, please be prepared that during this magical time every Polish house will smell of cabbage. Most likely sour cabbage at that. Prepared in many, many different ways cabbage is a staple for Christmas. It is served with mushrooms or peas, it can be served as a Bigos – slow cooked dish with meat, fresh cabbage and sauerkraut; as Gołąbki – cabbage rolls stuffed with meat; it is also stuffed into Pierogi (who doesn’t know pierogi? Together with Lewandowski it is a Polish national treasure). Well, for those who are not familiar with them, pierogi are filled dumplings boiled in water and then fried. Delicious!
To cap all that off, there is also an abundance of sweet stuff to go through on the evening, many of which contain poppy seeds. There is Kutia, which is one of the weirdest and oldest Polish deserts, it’s made of grains, poppy seeds, lots of honey, dried fruit, port, almonds and walnuts. There is Makowiec – a cake with poppy seeds, and there is traditional Polish gingerbread Piernik with ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. You can wash it all down with a glass of dried fruit compote or a glass of wine, and if you can lift yourself off the seat, then it is time to open the presents.
If you feel intrigued or challenged, the best thing is to get yourself invited to a Polish Christmas dinner and experience it all first-hand. Food is only a part of what makes Polish Christmas unique, but Polish traditions and the people’s hospitality make it extra special.
