Traditional Slovak Easter Breakfast
      Sausage
      Baked Ham
      Hard Cooked Eggs
      Beet Horseradish
      Sweet Butter
      Paska
      Sirok (Egg Roll)
      Home Baked Twist
      Nut & Poppyseed Rolls
      Coffee 
     

Polish
 Easter Feasts
Polish Colored Easter Eggs
Babka (Polish sweet bread)
Spuds - Lenten Potatoes
Kraut - Cold sauerkraut salad
Salad - Old Warsaw Salad

 

Slovak
 Christmas Eve
     Bobalky
      Mushroom Soup
      Nut/Poppyseed Rolls     
      Pagach
      Rozky
 

EASTER
look at salads/casseroles page, too for ideas.

Polish

Polish colored Easter eggs
Submitted by:  Steve Euvino

Here is a simple way to color Easter eggs, according to the Rev. Prof. Czeslaw Krysa, a leading authority on Polish religious and folk culture. 

Pour 1-2 quarts water into a pot.
Add the onion skins from a 5-lb. bag of onions, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 cup vinegar. Place 12 room-temperature eggs into the water and slowly bring to boil over medium heat to avoid cracking.
When water boils, immediately remove pot from heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Remove eggs and pat dry.
Rub eggs with vegetable shortening to give them a deep luster.

Babka (Polish sweet bread)
Submitted by:  Steve Euvino

2 cakes yeast
4 tablespoons lukewarm water
1 1/2 coups milk, scalded
1 tablespoon salt
6 cups sifted flour
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons shortening

Crumble yeast in water and set aside. Pour scalded milk over shortening, sugar, and salt. Cool to lukewarm; add yeast mixture and eggs. Add half of flour and beat until smooth. Add remaining flour and raisins and knead until smooth. Let rise in warm place until double in bulk. Punch down and let rise again until double. When doubled in size the second time, form round loaves. Brush tops with beaten egg yolk before placing in oven. Bake 45 minutes in 350-degree oven.


Spuds - Lenten potatoes
Submitted by:  Steve Euvino

Serve boiled potatoes garnished with chopped onions fried to a tender golden brown in a little oil. Mashed potatoes (simply mashed; no butter or milk added) may be served the same way, or the fried onions may be mashed with the potatoes. These potatoes, served with a bowl of cold buttermilk or hot sweet milk on the side, was part of a typical Polish Lenten supper.

Kraut - Cold sauerkraut salad
Submitted by:  Steve Euvino

Drain, lightly rinse, and press out moisture from 1 quart sauerkraut. Chop coarsely. Add 1 large grated carrot, 1-2 chopped onions, and 1 peeled, diced cooking apple. Toss, season with some pepper, sugar and caraway seeds (optional) and drizzle with salad oil. Also, for best results, refrigerate several hours before serving.

Salad - Old Warsaw Salad
Submitted by:  Steve Euvino
Taken from “Zgoda,” The Polish Chef

Combine 2 cups diced cooked potatoes with 1 cup each of diced canned beets, cooked or canned navy beans, diced dill pickles, peeled diced apples, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and bunch of chopped green onions. Toss and lace with about 3 cups sauce (see below). Refrigerate overnight before serving.

Sauce: Fork-blend 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon brown mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 heaping tablespoon powdered sugar. Combine all ingredients.

 

Slovak
Traditional Easter Breakfast
Sausage
Baked Ham
Hard Cooked Eggs
Beet Horseradish
Sweet Butter
Paska
Sirok (Egg Roll)
Home Baked Twist
Nut and Poppyseed Rolls
Coffee

Slovak


Traditional Christmas Eve Supper
Oplatky (Christmas Wafers) with Honey
Wine
Mushroom Soup
Pagach
Bobalky
Fish, Beans, Peas, Sauerkraut
Mixed Dried Fruits or Stewed Prunes
Assorted Fresh Fruits
Mixed Nuts
Nut and Poppyseed Rolls
Rozky
Coffee

Bobalky
The dough for this recipe is using the traditional holiday braided bread recipe as follows:
1 Cake Yeast
1 cup scalded Milk
6 cups Flour
1 small can Evaporated Milk
1 cup warm Water
2 teaspoons Sugar
1 tablespoon Butter, melted
2 Egg Yolks, beaten
3/4 tablespoon Salt

   Dissolve yeast with sugar in lukewarm milk.  Set aside to rise.  Sift flour in deep bowl.  Add warm evaporated milk mixed with water and melted butter.  Add beaten egg yolks, salt and yeast mixture.  Knead very well.  Cover and set in warm place.  Do not permit dough to stand in draft.  Let dough rise 2 hours. 
   Pinch off portion of dough, roll out on floured board by hand to make roll about half inch in diameter.  Place on cookie sheet.  Cut with edge of teaspoon into small pieces.  Let rise for 10 minutes.
Bake at 375° for 15 minutes, or until lightly brown. 
   When cool, break and place in colander.  Pour boiling water over bobalky.  Place in large serving bowl.
 
   Cook 2 sticks of butter with one onion chopped onion until brown. 
Pour butter/onion mixture over bobalky. 
Sprinkle with poppyseed to taste.
Toss gently and serve immediately.
or...
   Cook 1 1/2 cups ground poppy seed in 3/4 cup water for 10 minutes.  Boil 3 cups milk, add 1 cup sugar, or according to taste, pour over poppyseed and mix.  Add to bobalky.  Mix well.  Serve immediately.

Mushroom Soup (Sour)
1 lb. fresh Mushrooms
1 tablespoon Butter
1 teaspoon Flour
Sauerkraut juice, to taste
Sale and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion

Wash mushrooms and cook in 1 quart of water until tender.  Strain (save the water).  Run mushrooms through food chopper.  Add sauerkraut juice to mushroom water.  Salt and pepper and bring to boil.
Brown flour in butter until light brown, add onion and brown.  Add 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil and stir.  Strain.  Add to contents along with mushrooms and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Pagach
1 cup scalded Milk
1 Cake Yeast
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 cup warm Water
1 1/2 lbs. All-purpose Flour
2 Egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons Salt

Dissolve yeast in half cup warm water.  Pour half cup scalded milk over butter and sugar.  Cool to lukewarm.  Add dissolved yeast.  Sift flour and salt into deep bowl, add eggs and yeast mixture with remaining milk and water.  Knead well. Cover with cloth and set aside in warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about two hours. 
Turn out on floured board.  Divide dough into three portions.  Cover each portion with bowl and let rest for ten minutes. 
Take one piece at a time, turn over, flatten in the center with back of hand. 
Place filling in center and draw up and pinch edges together.  Again place bowl over dough for ten minutes.  heat over to 375°.  Turn dough over with filling and press carefully with back of hand all around, then roll out slowly, so the filling will not break through, to 12-inches in diameter. 
Place both hands under pagach and put in the bottom of the over for ten minutes, then turn over on the rack (in center of oven) and bake for another ten minutes. 
When done, wrap in damp cloth.  Let it stand for ten minutes.  Brush lightly with sweet cream, then with golden brown butter on both sides.  Cut to desired size.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Follow the same method for the other two pieces.  Each portion is for one pagach.

Pagach Filling

Sauerkraut
1/2 lb. sauerkraut
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt and cinnamon

Wash sauerkraut in half cup of water, squeeze dry.  Chop fine.
Sauté in brown butter and seasonings until brown.  Cool to lukewarm.

Potato
One large potato cooked and mashed.  Add one tablespoon melted, browned butter and salt to taste.  A few dry crushed peppermint leaves may be added.  However, this is optional.

Cabbage
One pound head of cabbage chopped fine, to which add 1 tablespoon salt and set aside to stand for several minutes.  Then squeeze out water from cabbage and fry in one tablespoon butter that has been allowed to brown.  Add one teaspoon sugar, and stir occasionally to keep from burning.  Fry until golden brown.

Cheese
1/2 cup dry Cottage Cheese
1 Egg Yolk
12 teaspoon Butter
Pinch of Salt
Combine ingredients and mix thoroughly