This is just about the fastest thing you can whip together and is perfect on a toasted piece of rye bread!

It was one of my favorite after school treats…but I was a bit of an odd one, so no promises that any other children will appreciate this.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 scallion finely, finely chopped (about 2 tbsp)
• 1 small handful fresh dill, chopped (about 2 tbsp)
• 2 pinches onion powder
• 1 pinch fresh ground black pepper
• 2 pinches salt
• toasted bread of choice

Directions:

In a bowl, add cottage cheese, scallions, dill, onion powder, salt and pepper. Mix until evenly distributed.

Toast bread and spread a thin layer of cottage cheese mix on bread.

Eat and enjoy!

Living in New York, you come across bialys in many supermarkets. Now, as you may know, bialys are essentially baked flat bagels with an onion center, and they originate in Białystok, Poland (hence the name). Many of these bialys have about 2 pieces of onion on them, which is a bit disappointing.

There is a similar regional pastry from Lublin called lubelskie cebularze, or onion pastries from Lublin. These have a slightly more yeasty and airy dough, and are topped with onion and poppy seeds. This recipe is more similar to that of lubelskie cebularze, however, there are discussions on the internet as to whether truly traditional cebularze would contain egg and butter. It seems as though the answer is no, and this recipe contains both, so there are probably more traditional recipes out there.

Additionally, there are different approaches to preparing the onions. One approach calls for mixing raw onions with salt, poppy seeds and oil and letting the mixture sit for a while so the salt softens the onions. Another approach calls for boiling the chopped onions for about 2 minutes and then combining with the other ingredients. Finally, you can cook the chopped onion on a pan for a few minutes with oil and then add the poppy seeds. I like sauteing on the pan because I like the way it sweetens the onions. Whatever approach you choose, the mix of onion, poppy seeds, and dough will be great combination. 😀

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This might not be shocking to hear, but beets show up quite a bit in Slavic cooking. Most famously, they are the star ingredient of various borscht/barszcz recipes accoss the region, and ćwikła, a grated beet and horseradish condiment that is almost always served on Easter and many Passover meals. Continue reading →

My grandmother has the most amazing raspberries and plums growing in her backyard. These same plums are behind the amazing homemade śliwowica (plum brandy/life elixir) that my cousins make, but that’s for another time! Continue reading →

It is still pretty warm out but tomatoes are nearing the end of their season. To honor the tomato, here is a very simple salad that includes some of my favorite ingredients including dill (aka Polish air freshener). Continue reading →