Food Memories: Easter Breakfast

Food Memory: Easter Breakfast

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

This EasterΒ breakfast food memory andΒ Smoked Polish Sausage with SauerkrautΒ recipe come from KasiaΒ Sokolska, Operations Manager of Polana.com.Β 

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 sautΓ©ed 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. ItΒ  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.Β  In my mind, no two other foods complement each other better than smoked sausage and sauerkraut.

Smoked Polish Sausage with Sauerkraut

Ingredients

  • 4 mediumΒ potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 2 TablespoonsΒ olive oil
  • 1 smallΒ onion sliced
  • 1 jarΒ sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 lb of smoked sausage

Directions

  1. In a large skillet, sautΓ© potatoes in oil until lightly browned, about 5 min.
  2. Stir in onion and sautΓ© until tender, 3-4 min.
  3. Slice sausage to 3” pieces and make 1” slits on top of each piece.
  4. Add the sausage, sauerkraut, pepper and salt.
  5. 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 inΒ hand picked items from theΒ Polish community inΒ 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.

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