SUMMERTIME TWAROŻEK
Poland’s “twaróg” cheese is incorporated into Polish cuisine in many ways. Used for popular Polish desserts, as a pierogi filling or a breakfast item it is one of Poland’s best-known cheeses, and it’s a specific type of white cheese not found anywhere else in the world. It’s also quite difficult to find outside of U.S. markets with large Polish-American populations. That’s why we’ve recently made it available on Polana.com. To go with it, we also wanted to share a traditional recipe for how to enjoy it!
Of all the ways twarożek is enjoyed in Poland one of the most popular is to combine it with fresh vegetables and herbs and spread it over a piece of bread for breakfast. We asked Aleksandra August from the Flavor of Poland TV series on PBS to provide us with a recipe for an authentic Polish twarożek with veggies. Take a look below for the full recipe and her notes on how to best enjoy this popular Polish spring and summer dish. Then, head over to our deli and grocery sections to shop for the ingredients you need! - all available for delivery right to your door with Polana’s nationwide shipping.
Smacznego!
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From Aleksandra:
As our gardens start to bloom with fresh herbs and veggies, it’s time to incorporate them into delicious summertime dishes! One of my favorite late spring/summer Polish recipes is twarożek - a quark-like cheese traditionally combined with diced cucumber, radish, and herbs such as dill and chives. Spread over a piece of fresh baked Polish bread, it’s one of Poland’s most popular breakfast items; but, it’s also a great lunchtime or afternoon snack! With the combination of crisp veggies and fresh herbs this cheese dish is the flavor of Polish summer!
It only requires a few ingredients and is very easy to make!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 package of partially skimmed Twaróg from Polana.com
- 2-3 small radishes
- 1/4 large cucumber
- 1.5 tsps. fresh dill
- 1.5 tsps. chives
- 1/2 tsp. fresh mint
- 2 tbsps. non-fat Greek yogurt
- garlic salt
- pepper
- a dash of herb seasoning such as Dary Natury Egg Dish seasoning from Polana
RECIPE DIRECTIONS
1. Chop the cucumber and radishes into very fine pieces and combine in a mixing bowl with the full package of Twaróg cheese from Polana. Stir until all ingredients are well blended.
2. Next, add the 2 tablespoons of non-fat Greek yogurt. Note: typically sour cream is used but I like to use the yogurt to give my twarożek a lighter taste. If you prefer sour cream, it is fine to use that here instead.
3. Finely chop the mint, dill and chives and add them into the mixing bowl in the quantities listed above.
4. Now, season your cheese with garlic salt and pepper to taste. I like to add a dash of dried herbs to make my twarożek even more flavorful. The Dary Natury Egg Dish Herb Blend from Polana is a nice option for this dish but you can use another preferred blend if you like. Mix thoroughly to allow all the flavors to combine.
5. Finally, spread a generous amount of the twarożek over a thick slice of Polish Sourdough Bread (with a layer of butter) or a slice of Polish Country Bread and enjoy it for breakfast with a cup of coffee or tea.
Smacznego! Hope you enjoy the Flavor of Poland this Summer!