Spicy White Cabbage Salad--A New Arugula?

Looking at most popular recipes on food blogs, I often wonder if in cooking, like in fashion, simplicity is the way that always works best. On top of my blog list there are still the simplest dishes, including two cabbage salads, that basically require only one ingredient and some spices. I cannot figure out what explains this popularity, especially that Polish readers are in a minority among the visitors of this blog.

Are we simply tired of green salads and no one can be any longer impressed with a bowl of arugula? Or, are we looking for the new, easy, and healthy vegetable, that is ether still not fully appreciated in some parts of the world or already forgotten in others.

Well, whatever the reason, I could not be happier, as I always have some new recipes for salads, including cabbage salads. Ever since I tried arugula, I cannot live without it. I can eat it every day and will never get bored with its peppery taste. But for certain dishes that come from my native cuisine I prefer salads that are traditionally eaten with them. For example, I serve cabbage salad with most potato dishes, because the zesty taste of cabbage contrasts nicely with their mild taste.

I like to eat white cabbage salad in the summer and early fall when cabbage is young and green, naturally sweet, and almost as delicate as lettuce. In the winter, I prefer red cabbage salad or sauerkraut. But I have discovered this salad recipe, which uses fresh white cabbage, but seems pretty wintery to my taste. It is spiced with cayenne pepper and garnished with walnuts. Unlike most other cabbage salads, it is not predominantly sweet and sour but spicy from the hot pepper and walnuts. Wonderful with fish and meats, especially grilled and roasted.

Spicy White Cabbage Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 small cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups),
1 tsp sugar,
2 tbsp lemon juice,
1 small onion, chopped,
1 garlic clove, minced,
1/2 cup walnuts chopped,
1/2 tsp paprika,
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper,
1 tbsp oil (in this recipe I like the neutral taste of grapeseed oil),
1/2 tsp salt.

Preparation:
1. Place the shredded cabbage in a large bowl. Add salt, sugar, and lemon juice, and squeeze it gently with hands. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Add onion, garlic, walnuts, paprika, cayenne pepper and oil. Mix all the ingredients.
3. Let it macerate for 10 minutes and serve.

Candied Clementines with Ricotta--Your Patience Will Be Rewarded

I have had this recipe for a few years. I tore it out from a magazine, but unfortunately there is no name of the publisher, so I cannot give credit to anyone. I suspect that it comes from a Mediterranean tradition as the recipe calls for ricotta and some candied fruits. I have been planning to make this dessert for a long time, but only having this blog mobilized me to do it. Citrus fruits are now at season's peak and it is a good time to share some recipes for them.

Last week I bought a box of beautiful Spanish clementines, which prompted me finally to try this recipe. I like orange peel and often add it to many cakes and desserts, but I could not imagine eating such a generous amount of it. The whole fruits are preserved in sugar, then they are peeled off and stuffed with cheese filling. But do not expect to enjoy this dessert right away.

This is a very easy recipe, but it demands quite a bit of patience, because it takes a few minutes of your time for four to five days to prepare this dessert. Moreover, it tastes even better when it stays in a refrigerator for at least one night. Actually, it could stay there for at least one week and probably even longer, but I had no chance to check this, as at my home it did not last for too long.

It is a great dessert but if you are one of those people who dig out candied fruits from cakes and throw them out this dessert is definitely not for you.

I modified the original recipe somewhat. I used clementines instead of oranges, but I would think that minneolas would work even better. The original recipe called for the ricotta cheese only but I also added some leftover mascarpone to it and a tablespoon of Cointreau for an extra twist.

Candied Clementines with Ricotta

Ingredients:
6-8 clementines, or 4 oranges,
1 and 2/3 cup sugar,
1 cup fresh ricotta,
1/2 cup mascarpone,
3/4 cup sugar,
1/3 cup chopped candied fruits (whatever you like) I used golden raisins and dried apricots,
1/3 cup chopped roasted pistachio nuts,
1 tbsp Cointreau liqueur,
1 tsp vanilla extract.

Preparation:
1. Wash the clementines thoroughly and, using a sharp knife, cut openings in the peel.
2. Place clementines in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to boil and strain afterwards.
3. Boil 1 cup of water with 1/3 cup of sugar for about 2 minutes. Turn the heat off and place clementines in this syrup. Set aside for 24 h.

4. Take the clementines out of the syrup, add another 1/3 cup of sugar, and bring to boil. Turn the heat off and add back the clementines. Set aside for another 24 h.
5. Repeat this procedure on the third and fourth day.
6. On the fifth day remove clementines from the syrup, place them on a cookie rack and let them dry for 4 hours.

7. Mix ricotta with mascarpone (if you use only ricotta, you will need 1 and 1/2 cup of it) and sugar. Add liqueur, vanilla extract, dried fruits, and pistachios. Mix everything gently.
8. Remove upper parts of clementines and carefully, remove the fruit pulp. Fill up the empty shells with the ricotta mixture. Let them chill overnight in a refrigerator. Decorate with pistachios and serve.

Polish Whole Wheat Bread--A Piece of Home

These days, quality food from every region of the world spreads fast across borders and oceans. You can get the same Starbucks coffee in Seattle and in London. In your local food store you can buy your favorite French wine, best Parmesan cheese, and green beans from Kenya. But I am sure that everyone of us who lives outside his or her country of origin misses some things that are not available anywhere else or just do not taste the same as they did back home.

If you ever find yourself among Poles when they get sentimental about their home food, no doubt it would be Polish bread for which they yearn most. No wonder, bread consumption in Poland is probably one of the highest in the world. A bread sandwich was what we took to school and our parents to work for lunch. Bread was also eaten for breakfast and supper, and only at dinners it ceded its prominent position to potatoes or dumplings. In past centuries, to express our hospitality, we welcomed our guests at the doorstep with bread and salt.

Polish bread is most similar to German or Russian bread, but it is still quite different than either of them. It is most often a rye or whole wheat bread, based on a starter dough which gives it a natural sourness. And, unlike white breads, it is still very good a couple of days later.

Making a true Polish bread takes time and experience. I am still experimenting with various versions of it trying to come as close as possible to the inimitable ideal. This variety, which I currently make often at my home, is reasonably satisfying. It is also an easy shortcut to what our bread is. It preserves well for up to three days, so usually I double the amount of the dough and bake two of them at once.

Polish Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup white bread flour,
2 cups whole wheat flour,
1 cup warm water,
1 cup natural yogurt at room temperature, you can use buttermilk instead, but then you need to add about 1 cup of flower,
1 sachet active fast rising dry yeasts (1 tbsp),
1 tbsp salt,
1/4 cup sunflower seeds,

Preparation:
1. In a large bowl (or a bowl that comes with a stand mixer) place flour, yeast, and salt, and mix gently with a wooden spoon.
2. Add both kinds of flour to the bowl, add warm water and mix it with the flour, and follow with yogurt.
3. Knead the dough with you hands or using the Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for about 5 minutes, until it turns into a a smooth ball. At the end, add half of the sunflower seeds and kneed the dough for another minute or two.
4. Transfer the dough to a loaf baking pan slightly greased with vegetable oil. Brush the top of the dough with cold water and cover with sunflower seeds. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set it aside for 30 minutes, after which the dough should rise by a few inches.

5. Preheat oven to 370F and place in the baking form with the dough.
6. Bake for about 50 minutes.

Let the bread cool down before you cut it. Although there is a common opinion that warm bread is not good for your stomach, there is nothing better than an aromatic piece of warm bread with butter that melts faster than we are able to eat it.