Food Memories: Easter Breakfast

by Jennifer Kaplan November 13, 2014, 7:00 am 3 Comments

Breaking bread, celebrating special occasions over delicious home-made food and raising a toast or two with family and friends – have long been Polish traditions. Regardless of their ethnic background, people who grew up in or near traditional Polish neighborhoods often recall the aroma of freshly baked rye bread coming from Polish bakeries Polish bakeries and that mouth-watering, smoky, garlicky scent of kielbasa wafting into the street from Polish sausage shops. They may fondly recall streaming platters of pierogi (filled dumplings) and golambki (stuffed cabbage rolls) brought to the table by their friends mothers, grandmothers or aunts.

This Easter breakfast food memory and Smoked Polish Sausage with Sauerkraut recipe come from Kasia Sokolska, Operations Manager of Polana.com.

I remember Easter at the house of my Babcia, my grandma. Four generations worked together on preparing food. My grandfather, father and uncles gathered around the smoke house checking on the sausages. Mom and aunts baked cheesecake and babkas. My little cousins and I worked with our grandmother on mixing, dicing, folding pierogi and cooking my favorite sautéed sauerkraut and sausage.

The sausage and sauerkraut were served as a part of our Easter breakfast meal, right after we came back from morning mass. It was wonderful to have a warm and hearty dish on a still chilled day. Golden sauerkraut seasoned with caraway, shredded carrot, salt and pepper and cooked to perfection. Served along side smoky, spiced sausages, it seemed to disappear from the platter. In my mind, no two other foods complement each other better than smoked sausage and sauerkraut.

Smoked Polish Sausage with Sauerkraut

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion sliced
1 jar sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb of smoked sausage

Directions

In a large skillet, sauté potatoes in oil until lightly browned, about 5 min.
Stir in onion and sauté until tender, 3-4 min.
Slice sausage to 3” pieces and make 1” slits on top of each piece.
Add the sausage, sauerkraut, pepper and salt.
Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-5 min or until heated through while stirring occasionally.

Polana Inc. is a family owned business that specializes in hand picked items from the Polish community in Chicago, IL.

Written by Jennifer Kaplan

Jennifer Kaplan writes about sustainable food and wine, the intersection of food and marketing and food politics for Insteading (and EatDrinkBetter.com before the two sites merged) and is the author of Greening Your Small Business. She is an Instructor at the Culinary Institute of America-Greystone and was named one of The 16 Women You Must Follow on Twitter for Green Business. She has four kids, a dog, a hamster, an MFA and an MBA – follow her on Twitter.