An Ovenful of Childhood Memories #cookforukraine

Kromeski cromesqui, croquetas, wherever, whatever

I am returning to a post I made 11 years ago ,in 2011. Ukraine's neighbour to the west, Poland, has come to the forefront in the last month, helping refugees cross its border and so I thought it was the perfect time to repost my mothers recipe for Polish kromeski. This food of Eastern Europe and the Baltic states suddenly seems to have been given a new relevance by the war in Ukraine and our fundraising efforts under the umbrella of #cookforukraine. Here I am sitting at the desk, well fed and warm re- writing this post. I am thinking that the idea of this would hardly bring consolation to a tired, cold, hungry, displaced individual, fleeing a war zone that was once their homeland. How times have changed, or perhaps not at all? So what is a typically Polish dish most foreign people have not heard of ? I remember growing up and my mother cooking such Polish recipes as kromeski and pierogi given to her by some of the Polish refugees that attended her church. The Polish resettlement act of 1947 was the first ever mass immigration legislation of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It offered British citizenship to over 25,000 displaced Polish troops on British soil who had fought against Hitler and opposed the Soviet takeover of their homeland,
Even before the current Russian military offensive almost one million people were displaced within Ukraine after eight years of conflict, and many are now being forced to flee for a second time.Today this seems to have been relegated to a back story by the British Government who are creating such difficult bureaucracy for Ukrainians trying to resettle in the UK.
I shared my mother’s very same enthusiasm for culinary opportunity, watching with careful eye her kitchen procedure, asking questions whenever I could, and in turn started to acquire a basic culinary knowledge for myself. The Scottish lowlands, Berwickshire, East Lothian,West Lothian and Midlothian and Edinburgh were at this time hosts to a sizeable expatriate community, made up mostly as we know of Italians, but also Polish. Many of my mothers circle of friends were employing Italian and Polish staff in their households. My mother gleaned recipes from these expats, and adapted them into her own repertoire. At a very early age I too unconsciously acquired my multi-cultural palate.

  

Kromeski
(makes 12 pieces)

a recipe my mother was given by a Polish expatriate in Scotland and a childhood mealtime favourite of mine. Now I find myself an expatriate in Portugal eating the identical dish..I recreated the dish following the original Polish recipe and true to my mothers handwritten tear sheet  for nostalgias sake, and it rekindled fond memories of tastes gone by, which i would like to share with Ukrainians who are looking back at better times.

For the batter  
1/2 pint water
6oz plain flour
pinch of salt
1tablespoon of oil
2 egg whites

For the filling
8oz cooked chicken,or other left over meat ( I used quail )
4oz fresh breadcrumbs
1oz butter
125g streaky bacon, pancetta or toucinho diced
1oz plain flour
2 egg yolks
1 medium onion
1/4 pint milk
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg
12 rashers of toucinho fumado or thin bacon rashers
0il for deep frying

Prepare the batter mix and leave to stand for one hour. 
Finely chop the onion and chop the cooked meat.
Sauté the onions gently in the butter until softened but not browned.
Combine the mixture with the breadcrumbs, egg yolks, milk, nutmeg and season to taste.
Add the cooked meat.
Remove the rinds from the bacon and flatten with a knife.
Spread some of the mixture generously along each bacon rasher then roll up. 
(for smaller kromeski or to serve as canapés cut each rasher in half before spreading the mixture)
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Fold the egg whites into the batter.
Dip each of the bacon rolls into the batter mixture.
Deep-fry for 5 minutes or until golden brown.
Drain on kitchen paper. Serve hot.

The dish as I prepared it 11 years ago in 2011

Are you cooking for Ukraine?,thinking about it? or would make donation? 

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