annieb123's Review of Fresh From Poland

by Michal Korkosz

Authentically Polish. All vegetarian. There's so much more to Polish food than kielbasa and schnitzel: Poland is home to beautiful fruits, vegetables, and grains--and a rich cooking tradition that makes the most of them. In Fresh from Poland, Saveur award winner Michal Korkosz celebrates recipes from his mother and grandmother--with modern, personal touches and gorgeous photos that capture his passion for cooking. Vegetables are his stars, but Michal doesn't shy away from butter, flour, and sugar; the ingredients that make food--and life--more rozkoszny (delightful)! The result? Over eighty comforting dishes for every occasion.

Indulgent breakfasts: Brown Butter Scrambled Eggs; Apple Fritters; Buckwheat Blini with Sour Cream and Pickled Red Onion
Hearty vegetarian mains: Barley Risotto with Asparagus, Cider, and Goat Cheese; Potato Fritters with Rosemary and Horseradish Sauce; Stuffed Tomatoes with Millet, Cinnamon, and Almonds
Breathtaking baked goods: Sourdough Rye Bread; Sweet Blueberry Buns with Streusel; Honey Cake with Prunes and Sour Cream
Pierogi of all kinds: From savory Spinach, Goat Cheese, and Salted Almonds to sweet Plums and Cinnamon-Honey Butter

These satisfying recipes will make you feel right at home--wherever you're from!

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Fresh from Poland is a cookbook and recipe collection by Michal Korkosz. Due out 17th March 2020 from The Experiment, it's 240 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

My paternal grandfather was Polish and some of these recipes take me back to my childhood. I think most people conjure up heavy meaty dishes full of starch when they think about Polish traditional food, but this collection is full of delicate and beautifully presented plant based recipes absolutely bursting with fresh flavor.

The recipes are grouped thematically: breakfast, soups, breads and baked goods, mains, sides, pierogies and dumplings (I *love* these), desserts, and preserves jams and pickles. Each of the recipes includes a description (including the name in Polish), yields and prep/cooking time, ingredients (both American standard and metric measurements included - yay!) listed bullet style in a sidebar, and step by step directions. Special tips, alternatives, and usage info are included, highlighted with a sidebar. Nutritional information and dietary restrictions (allergens, nuts, etc) are not included.

Many (most) of the recipes are pictured and the photography is clear and appealing. The selected recipes as far as I can tell are authentic and all we've tried were delicious. The lacto-fermented brined dill pickles (Ogórki kiszone) are wonderful and honestly worth the price of admission on their own. My family are huge pickle eaters and the next round, I'm going to triple or quadruple the recipe (original recipe yield is 3 litres).

Five enthusiastic stars. Beautifully presented, well written, and as far as I can see, error free.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Fresh From Poland

by Michal Korkosz

Reviewed by annieb123 on Mar 7, 2020

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