Polish Lasagna

Ever hear about a dish sometimes called Polish Lasagna? While most Polish-Americans can easily come up with the three mainstays kielbasa, pierogi and gołąbki, literally hundreds of other dishes reside in the Polska Kuchina repertoire.

Just about every family has at least one person who is handy in the kitchen. So, why not purchase a Polish cookbook this Christmas for somebody who loves you and will keep you well fed?

Back to Polish Lasagna:

From Wikipedia: Łazanki arrived in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in mid-16th century when Bona Sforza, Italian wife of King Sigismund the Old, brought high Italian cuisine to the country. Unlike most Italian dishes in these parts of Europe, lazanki has survived until the 21st century and is still eaten today, although the long and cultural history of the dish has been largely forgotten. Stiff wheat, rye or buckwheat dough, rolled thin and cut into triangles or rectangles, is boiled, drained, and eaten with melted pork fat, vegetable oil, or sour cream. In Poland, they are often mixed with cabbage or sauerkraut and small bits of sausage and meat.

Components

Home made noodles

300 g flour
2 small eggs
about 30-50 ml water
half of the spoon of salt

Preparation:
Sieve the flour. Mix flour with eggs, salt and water in the bowl. Made a dough with hands until firm. Make sure it is not too sticky and not too dry. Divide into 2-4 parts and roll each piece into a thin sheet on a floured board. Leave on the clean towel sprinkled with flour until the dough would dry out a bit. After the thin pieces are dried roll it and cut with the knife into the pieces the size of lasagna noodles. Pour into the boiled salted water and cook until soft.

Instead of preparing the home-made noodles you can buy lasagna noodles or homemade style wide noodles. But - the noodles made at home are the best!

Lasagna cabbage

bacon - 100g
onion - 70 g
one medium or small cabbage
cumin, salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cut the bacon into slices and pour into the hot pan. Add onion sliced into small cubes. Wash and cut fresh green cabbage into the slices of the width a bit wider than lasagna noodles. Add cabbage into the pan with melted bacon and onion, add some water. Steam in the open pot, add cumin, pepper and salt. Finally add the cooked pasta, mix it well - now lazanki are ready to eat

SMACZNEGO Similar recipes are published in a book written by Marja Ochorowicz-Monatowa, entitled Polish Cookery.

Now, here’s my version of Polish Lasagna Cleveland style:

Kluski noodles the size of regular lasagna noodles layered between layers of pierogi cheese mixed with chopped kielbasa & dry kapusta in a tomato sauce base containing mushrooms. Maybe you'll throw in ground pork which was browned in a fry pan with onion bits. I would crust the top with rye bread crumbs and cheese before baking in the oven. This dish I would call it LazanPolska.