The 12 dishes of Poland on Christmas Eve.

Great post, mafketis! "I'm incapable of religious faith or faith-based practices but I can respect and follow traditions." Says it all really.

Catholicism is largely a religion of add-ons. If you take a position, you take it for a reason. Usually, anyway.

Why, just so you can appreciate the food more?

It's more of a 'when in Rome' deal. If I spent the 24th alone or around non-Poles I might not care but in a social setting I'll follow majority practices.

And although I'm not religious (to ridiculously understate the case) I respect religion and recognize its importance.

Again, another really good post! Could we change 'when in Rome' to 'when in Kraków'? ;) ;)

of course, but it seems fish were always treated differently in Catholicism. fish was allowed even with strict fasting, e.g. Good Friday. dairy wasn't.


Can you give me any example? I'm not saying they don't appear, but I seriously can't think of any dish where they could be used, unless you add an egg to the uszka dough (better not to do it though as it makes the dough hard).


well yes, then what's the point of the whole meal, preparing schabowy would be simpler and faster.


mostly, yes.
Where is your quotation from?

Here are some recipes:

polki.pl/gwiazdka_kuchnia_artykul,10016603.html
mojegotowanie.pl/przepisy/ryby/sledz_wigilijny_mojego_taty
mojewypieki.blox.pl/2011/12/Wigilijne-kapusniaczki.html

Again, we're not talking about massive amounts but larger dishes in which eggs and/or butter are used. But I havebeen served herring with sour cream (with lots of horseradish, yummy) on wigilia as well.

I think most people now find it hard to keep different kinds of fasting straight. No meat is easy to remember but no dairy/eggs limits things a lot more.

kuchnia.wp.pl/fototematy/287/8/1/12-potraw-ktore-powinny-znalezc-sie-na-wigilijnym-stole.html#photo, a lot of milk here

milk and cream

Some tasty options!

exactly, and since dairy isn't forbidden now, they feel free to enrich or modify the old recipes. And I completely forgot about śledź w śmietanie, my mother in law is serving it too.


Now, this is a traditional Kresy dish and the recipe states that originally poppyseed milk was used to prepare it (meaning the juice extracted from the poppyseeds, not real milk).

But we have creative traditions of bending the rules a bit in every aspect of life, including culinary. During the Lent period, the Old Poland nobility used to eat beavers' tails, the excuse being that since the tails are covered with scales, it's fish, not meat. The population of beavers in Poland is growing quickly now so who knows, we might yet see the great comeback of the delicacy :)

A beaver feast? I couldn't do that.

Sometimes sticking to pierogi is the best way :)

Both have sexual connotations :)

Pierogi, sexual connotations??
Seanus, you scare me 8-)

I wonder how many Poles are still doing the 12 dishes. I am very happy that 1. My mother-in-law does not like karp, so we had salmon. 2. That I managed to introduce a glass of wine :).

One thing I like very much is "opłatek", this is a very nice tradition.
P.S. Are there any Poles who eat karp on any other day of the year? I doubt it.

I doubted it myself, strzyga. However, my wife told me that some Poles associate pierogi with, well, you know :) Maybe it's the doughy texture, who knows!? ;) Still, I like what's inside but I feel that the potential for pierogi hasn't been tapped yet. You could put more things inside but I like what's currently on offer. The bar near me does excellent ruskie pierogi :)

Getting adventurous, huh? Watch out for the ruskie though, you never know what surprise might await you in a bar ;)

I had pierogi with egg stuffing once, in a little pierogarnia in Kraków, they were absolutely divine, tried to copy the stuffing later at home but with no success. Definitely worth the sin. Maybe your wife knows what she's saying, after all :)

I'm usually adventurous with food but ruskie are mainstays. Surprise? I don't even want to imagine what you mean ;) Stuffed with egg? Now you are talking! Stringy cheese too :) :) I have no reason to doubt her but a pierogi? I mean, come on ;)

You'd love the place I'm talking about. A tiny hole-in-the wall, with only 2 tables, and 35 kinds of pierogi, stuffed with anything you could possibly imagine. I don't remember the name of the street though, just that it was somewhere in Kazimierz. This place alone would be worth a trip from Sląsk.

Youre like my son, I could feed him ruskie every day of the year :)

How did I miss it? I was in Kraków not so long ago. I actually don't eat pierogi so often but some types are a real treat.

It's pierogi miodowy. On Miodowa. Reason I know that is that it is my ex students place and she would give me a box of my favourite pierogi stuffed with cous cous and chicken at the end of every meeting :)

yes, I've checked their website and that's the place, thanks, dtaylor!

I wonder if they would be willing to share the egg stuffing recipe... I think I'll mail them.

I'm sure she would, or you can ask her to prepare a box for yourself, large order then just freeze them. For the love of Christ I can't seem to remember her name but most likely Agnieszka or Magda! lol

And if you fancy a coffee or a dark ale after your pierogi you could always cosy up in the chilling out atmosphere of Szynk just round the corner on Podbrzezie ;)

pierozki u vincenta maybe?

Well, I never had 12 dishes for Christmas. We have like 5 or something, they have to include karp though (even though I don't eat fish except for the Christmas Eve).