Polish’d
Modern Vegetarian Cooking from Global Poland
- 2023 INDIES Winner
- Gold, Cooking (Adult Nonfiction)
Acclaimed food blogger and columnist Michal Korkosz’s Polish’d brims with dazzling recipes and inviting stories––virtuosic, vegetarian takes on traditional Polish cuisine with multicultural influences.
Organized by cooking technique, from raw to deep fried, the book features a generous blend of recipes. Some refashion Polish comfort foods like chilled chlodnik soup, pierogies, and dumplings, while others reflect a freewheeling integration of global flavors, from harissa to miso. Korkosz’s inventiveness with humble ingredients is demonstrated throughout, as with Roasted Parsley Root with Whiskey Jam, smoked twarog and mint, and Lentil Soup zipped up with toothsome layers of horseradish, smoked paprika, and roasted chickpeas.
Korkosz has a passion for transforming traditional Polish ingredients like cabbage and beets in unusual ways and for thrifty “stem-to-leaf” use of root vegetable tops and peels. Many dishes also feature bold and sophisticated color combinations, reflected in the luminous food photographs and vibrant graphics of the chapter dividers.
No Polish cookbook would be complete without a discussion of fermented and preserved dishes. There is a delightful array of pantry recipes, including various vegetable pickles, like fermented “sour candy” cherry tomatoes and ginger-spiced fermented radishes (these are married with pasta and walnut cream). The Polish dessert tradition gets the Korkosz twist with unexpected combinations of sweet and savory in baked creations and Caramel Plums on pillows of sour cream, kissed with candied hazelnuts and grassy rapeseed oil.
The book’s engaging stories about Korkosz’s kitchen experiences are as inviting as its recipes. He writes that cooking “felt like a prayer,” a sanctuary, a playground. He also imparts his playfulness and delight in culinary experimentation as he shares numerous tips and tricks to help home cooks achieve “restaurant-level” results.
Exuberant as a mazurka, Polish’d is a colorful introduction to fresh, innovative vegetarian cooking.
Reviewed by
Rachel Jagareski
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
