Food

By Belinda Prince

virtual starvation. Following his release Hello from the accidental Chatelaine! I love to cook at any opportunity and delighted that love with you

Christmas Traditions

THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS. WELL, CERTAINLY FOR ME. FOR A START, IT WILL BE THE FIRST EVER SPENT HERE IN FRANCE, WHICH IS A GOOD THING OF COURSE, BUT ALSO THE FIRST EVER WITHOUT FAMILY – SO A LANDMARK AND I HOPE ONE THAT’S NEVER REPEATED

For all the years my parents were alive, or his homeland ever again. In 1948, Jan we spent Christmas together, I met my Mother at a dance at the NAAFI couldn’t have imagined being without club in Devises, Wiltshire; they married on them. Our children are all grown up now June 24th 1950 and the rest is history. and we are grandparents, Christmas is our very precious family together time when Lee and I travel back to Kent to be with With this history, you can imagine how Jan was often homesick, never more so them, but not this year. I know I’m not than at Christmas when he instigated our alone; there will be many of us unable to family tradition of celebrating Christmas spend precious time with loved ones this “Polish Style” on Christmas Eve - Wigilia. year because of the global pandemic, let’s Wigilia - think of the word “vigil” - meanshope and pray it’s the last time. “waiting” and it’s the anticipation of Christmas is a time for memories, Christ’s birth that is all important. tradition and nostalgia and here is taste of Typically, in Poland, this is a huge affair what Christmas means with the evening meal to me. In the past, the meal being of tremendous My dear Father, Jan would have comprised significance. In the past, Jablonski, was Polish. He twelve meatless courses the meal would have came to England in 1947 to represent the comprised twelve meatless following an incredible wartime journey from his twelve apostles courses to represent the twelve apostles; nowadays home (now in Ukraine), however, three or four, which started in September 1939 when he thankfully, is more usual! Another and many other young men of his tradition is to make an extra place-setting generation were taken captive and held for the "unexpected guest", to celebrate prisoner in a Russian Gulag in Siberia. hospitality. A well loved mantra, so Tragically, only 1 in 10 captives survived typically Polish, is “Guest in the house, this cruel experience of hard labour and God in the house”. to be able to share

after 2 years, his odyssey continued with The feasting follows a day of abstinence comrades through Iran and Iraq, Egypt, and traditionally begins once the First Star Palestine and Italy where he saw active has been sighted. Christmas in Poland is service at the famous battle of Monte also sometimes called "Gwiazdka", which Cassino as a member of the 2nd Polish means "little star". Grace is said and then Corp under General Wladislaw Anders. the “Christmas Wafer” Oplatek is broken Tragically, he was never to see his parents and shared to symbolise the gift of daily Chateau Kitchen www.chateaumareuil.com

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

bread and wishing each other blessings for the coming year. The meal begins with a soup, either Barszcz with Uszka (tortellini), or a clear wild mushroom soup Grzybowa, followed by herring in different forms. Fish provides the main dish of the Christmas Eve feast across Poland. There are variations of carp fillet, carp in aspic, gefilte fish (Jewish-style carp), with onions, carrots, almonds and raisins. Accompaniments consist of cabbage, cooked red or sauerkraut with apple salad. The bread served at the meal is often Challah, doubtless borrowed from Poland's centuries-long Jewish fellow countrymen. Sometimes, Pierogi filled with cheese and potatoes as well mushrooms and cabbage are served, also stuffed cabbage rolls made with mushrooms and rice, Golabki. Then there is an array of desserts, including dried fruit compote, cheesecakes or poppy seed cakes, Babka, Makowiec, and other delicacies including edible Christmas ornaments. Our little family would hold our own Wigilia, trying to follow the old traditions as closely as possible with my poor mother attempting to cook the Polish dishes as well as my paternal grandmother! We would finish the evening by singing old Polish Christmas Carols and eventually, some English ones entered our repertoire as we children grew older. To this day, I cannot hear those old melodies without the tears starting to fall. I too had started to carry on the Wigilia tradition with my own family, although Christmas Day would also be celebrated with the usual turkey fest! So, I hope, that given the current situation, with many of us being apart from loved ones at this special time, you’ll indulge my culinary trip down memory lane.

Polish Beetroot Soup ( Barszcz )

Serves 4-6 Traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve and delicious with rye bread. 900g uncooked beetroots, peeled 2 carrots, peeled 2 celery sticks 40g butter 2 onions, sliced 2 garlic cloves, crushed 4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped 1 bay leaf 1 large sprig of parsley 2 cloves 4 whole peppercorns 1.2 ltr vegetable stock 150ml beetroot kvas, see note* Sour cream or crème fraîche and chopped fresh chives or dill to serve

Mushroom Pierogi

Originating from old Slavic folk cuisine, Pierogi (stuffed dumplings) are a quintessential Polish comfort food and can be stuffed with meat, potatoes, cheese, sauerkraut, mushrooms, or fruit.. Mushrooms are my favourite filling. Delicious served with golden sautéed onions and crème fraîche or finely chopped crispy fried bacon. Either way, sprinkled with dill (the essence of Polish food in my opinion), they make a delicious snack or main.

*kvas is fermented beetroot juice which adds colour and tartness to the soup - you can make it yourself. Peel and grate 1 beetroot, add 150ml of vegetable stock and 2 tsp lemon juice, bring to the boil, turn off the heat, cover and leave for 30 minutes. You could also use the liquid from a jar of pickled beetroot.

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4. Cut the beetroot, carrot and celery into fairly large strips. Melt the butter in a large pan and cook the onions over a low heat for about 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the beetroot, carrot and celery and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally Add the garlic and chopped tomatoes to the pan and cook, stirring for another 2 minutes. Make a bouquet garni with the bay leaf, parsley, cloves and peppercorns and add to the pan with the stock or simply add them to the pan and remove later.

Serves approximately 6 Dough: 500g plain flour (farine de blé) ½ tsp salt 2 eggs, beaten 3 tbsp vegetable oil 250ml warm water Filling: 200g chestnut mushrooms, shiitake or wild mushrooms 50g dried porcini mushrooms 1-2 well flavoured onions 2 garlic cloves 1 tbsp chopped parsley 25g butter olive oil salt and pepper 1. Sift the flour into a bowl, make a well and add egg, salt, oil and some water. Stir together gradually, incorporating the flour into the well until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and 5.

6. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 ¼ hrs or until the vegetables are very tender. Discard the bouquet garni or remove the aromats with a spoon. Stir in the beetroot kvas and

season well. knead, adding only as much additional flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature at least 30 minutes. Cover the dried porcini mushrooms with boiling water and allow to stand until cool. Chop the onion and gently fry in a mixture of butter and olive oil until soft. Slice fresh mushrooms and add to the onion with chopped garlic and fry until starting to brown. Allow to cool. Place the mushroom mixture in a food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside. Transfer to a pan to dry off the mixture, adding parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Roll out some of the dough thinly and cut out circles approximately 6cm in

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Polish Style Baked Cheesecake

Serves 8 A traditional baked cheesecake; this could be made without the pastry in a well greased tin for a lighter dessert. Pre-heat the oven to 160º fan 1 pack of readymade short crust pastry ½ egg white, stirred Filling 50g butter (room temperature) 50g caster sugar 450g fromage blanc or cottage cheese (sieved) 2 large eggs, beaten 100g raisins 25g ground almonds 1 lemon, zested & juiced 25g brown sugar (cassonade) 1. Use the pastry to line an 18cm loosebottomed cake tin. Trim the edge, then brush all over with the egg white. Chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

diameter or use a pierogi/empanada maker. Wrap any remaining dough in cling film to prevent it drying out. To form dumplings, place a teaspoon of the filling toward the front of a circle of pierogi dough. Moisten the edges of the dough with water, and fold in half around the filling to form a semicircle, firmly pinching the edges closed. Set aside on a lightly floured baking sheet. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add half the pierogi. Boil gently until they float to the surface, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, and repeat with remaining pierogi. Serve immediately with finely chopped crispy fried bacon or golden sautéed onions and sour cream. 2.

3. Place the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Add the cheese and continue beating until soft, then beat in the remaining ingredients one at a time, except the brown sugar (cassonade). Spoon the filling into the pastry lined tin and sprinkle with the brown sugar

Winter Fruit Salad

Serves 6-8 A traditional Christmas Eve (wigilia) dessert, originally was made with 12 different dried fruits to represent the 12 apostles 250g mixed dried fruit (apples, pears etc) 250g dried apricots 250g dried figs 125g raisins 1 ltr jasmine tea (or similar) 250ml apple juice 2 bananas, chopped 1 lemon, zested 50g almonds, chopped 50g pine nuts, toasted

4. 1. (cassonade). Stand the pan on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 50 minutes until the filling is set. Leave to cool slightly, then remove the tin carefully from the sides of the cheesecake and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave

until cold before serving. Pour the tea and juice over the dried fruit and leave to steep for 1 ½ days. Add the banana and lemon zest. Leave for a couple more hours, add the chopped/roasted nuts and serve with cream or crème fraîche if desired.

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