There is no better time to immerse oneself  the vibrant flavours of Poland than during the height of summer. In recent days, I’ve been making chłodnik, the refreshing cold beetroot soup perfect for the rising temperature and revelling in the taste of freshly picked bób (broad beans). July holds a special joy with children in Poland already on school holidays delighting in sweet pierogi filled with fruit and topped with cream. And fruit soups particularly strawberry soup has become a cherished tradition in our household. Summer in Poland is a celebration of nature’s abundance, honouring the fresh ingredients that define the season.

Connection to family

The sight of pierogi with czarne jagody (wild bilberries) instantly transports me to my childhood, evoking memories of plumes of steam rising above the boiling pierogi in our family kitchen. Those hot summer days seemed endless with Babcia (Grandma) and Mama bustling around creating comforting meals that encapsulated love and tradition. At a bar mleczny in Kraków, the typically stern ladies serving at the counter couldn’t resist smiling at my son peeping over the display cabinet asking for pierogi z truskawkami(strawberries) at 10am in the morning – well before lunchtime. Softened by his innocent plea they would make them specially early for him. Eating these dishes connects us to our roots like nothing else.

Without realising, I’ve recreated our family garden with plum and apple trees, raspberries and redcurrants. Only the gooseberry bush is missing. These small acts of cultivation evoke the essence of a smallholding – a działka, however few plants you have. In Poland many people still travel to their village plots “działki” in summer to harvest their produce tended throughout the year.  I’ve also discovered the delicious flavours of bób (broad beans) tossed with tomatoes and garlic this year, thanks to a local farm where I could pick them myself.

Nature

The simple pleasure of going into your garden and picking a few strawberries or raspberries brings us close to nature every day.

Wild strawberries grow like weeds in my back garden so there’s always a crop of these as well. The best, of course, are those picked from a forest. The joy is in harvesting it yourself. Bringing home a punnet of strawberries to make truskawkowa zupa (strawberry soup), gives me great satisfaction. And yes, I do serve it as a first course. It’s even tastier with thin strips of makaron (pasta).

Many of these dishes come from both peasant and more noble kitchens. From needing to use the abundance of fruit and vegetables. Small cucumbers are pickled and conserved – we’ve tried it for the first time this year with mixed results. Cold beetroot soup (chłodnik) is made the same way as barszcz (beetroot soup) but with cream and the fresh young stalks of the beetroot. We share this tradition with the Lithuanians for whom it is a national dish.

Even keeping a koperek (dill) plant in the garden to scatter over new potatoes, or snipping fresh chives to stir into jajecznica (Polish scrambled eggs), connects you to the age-old rhythms of life in the Polish countryside. The fresh, aromatic scent released as these herbs are cut is one of summer’s simplest and most memorable pleasures.

Hospitality

Happiness is to be found in hospitality. In Polish culture the saying “Gość w domu, Bóg w domu” (to receive a guest is to receive God) embodies this ethos. Recently I had unexpected friends drop in and I needed to wheel out some cake with tea. Utterly grateful that I had frozen a small cheesecake not long ago.  A quick addition of a few wild strawberries and a jelly glaze transformed it into a delightful treat and it swiftly disappeared.

If you don’t have the time to make pierogi z jagodami this summer, rest assured there’s always a restaurant to go, ready made from the Polish shop or failing that, just buy some fruit or vegetables and have a go at a soup.  Our Polish kitchen rooted in home grown natural ingredients is the bedrock of family gatherings or convivial evenings with friends. It’s a simple heartfelt happiness we should all savour, particularly during this abundant season.

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