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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Polonaise is the French word for Polish. It refers to a traditional dance, music played in the rhythm of a polonaise (including Chopin’s masterpiece (Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 [Polonaise héroïque]), and dishes garnished with breadcrumbs! Coincidentally, it takes about as long as that video to make this dish, bringing me to proclaim it as the soundtrack to cooking green beans polonaise!
Zucchini is an underestimated vegetable (well, technically, an underestimated fruit). Just look at how beautiful these zucchinis are!
Zofia's Kitchen 