- 2 months ago
Watch Martha Stewart and Big Martha share some beloved Polish classics like kielbasa, tender stuffed cabbage, and pierogis. These timeless recipes celebrate tradition and flavor, bringing authentic Polish cooking to your kitchen. Perfect for family dinners or holiday gatherings, Martha’s take on these dishes honors heritage while keeping them approachable for home cooks.
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00:00This is my mother, Big Martha, she's called in our family, but I've grown taller than she,
00:07promised that if I brought her a few extra kielbasa from that wonderful store, Kuroitsky's,
00:13she would come and show us how she cooks and serves kielbasa, along with some very delicious
00:18specialties. So, Mom, I put the kielbasa in these big pans to boil them for about 20 minutes.
00:24Well, yes, you can parboil them 15 or 20 minutes, and then we bake them in the oven until they're
00:31nicely browned. Yep. So, this one is just about ready to put into a roasting pan. I like one in
00:39a pan, and I always poke it. Well, this way, I find that it doesn't crack on me.
00:45Put a little bit of the hot water just to create steam.
00:50And keep it tender. Okay, so it's like a half an inch of water.
00:54And then these just go into, what, a 350 oven? That's right.
00:58Okay. Well, here's the kielbasa. This is cooked for now 20 minutes in the oven,
01:04and it looks exactly how it's supposed to be.
01:08This is our favorite rye bread. Where'd you get this from?
01:12Gold's Deli in Westport. Oh, I love their bread.
01:15They have a real Jewish rye.
01:17Okay. And I'm making this quite thin.
01:21Now, can I show you this kielbasa?
01:24It is so good.
01:26Juicy.
01:27Mm-hmm.
01:29So, my mother likes to make big, thick chunks of it, because that's the way we've always eaten it.
01:35It is hot.
01:41So, there's our lovely sausage.
01:45Why don't you show the horseradish, because this is kind of interesting.
01:49Oh, the horseradish, as it comes out of the ground, it's a root vegetable.
01:55Of course, you don't eat it as a vegetable, because it's much, much too hot and spicy.
02:02And Mom used to send me out to the backyard to grate it.
02:05Grate it.
02:05But I learned that I could do it in the kitchen in an electric machine,
02:12but it would have to be done in front of that exhaust fan.
02:15Now, this is grated horseradish here, and you mix it with a little white vinegar.
02:25And a little sugar.
02:31And if you don't want to go through all this trouble, you can buy the prepared horseradish.
02:37If you want to put some of the prepared horseradishes in these bars.
02:42Now, get ready to cry, because this is about the right size grater for the fresh horseradish.
02:52And these are beautiful.
02:54Pickled beets.
02:55Yes, we had so many beets left over that we decided to pickle our own.
03:00And these are great.
03:02They're a little bit spicy.
03:07There, so now we have pickled beets.
03:10You will love these.
03:12And look, Mom, a block of homemade sweet butter.
03:15That's an unexpected pleasure.
03:16Yes, it's really good.
03:18It's a treat.
03:19And you have eggs, you have butter, you have beets, you have kielbasa, and you have rye bread.
03:25And what else could you ask for?
03:26Borscht is Polish for beet soup.
03:29And my mom's recipe is utterly fantastic.
03:32You can make it with or without meat.
03:33And during Lent, we always made it with vegetable stock.
03:35I love borscht, whether it's hot or served cold with sour cream.
03:40The first thing you always have to do, as my mom taught me, is prepare the beets.
03:44And so what we're doing is roasting them.
03:45It's real easy.
03:46You could boil them if you'd like.
03:48But roasting them keeps in all those flavors.
03:50And what are you doing, Mom?
03:51I'm peeling the last.
03:53Oh, the last beet.
03:53Oh, so Mom's peeling one that's already been cooked, but she wanted me to show you how to do this.
03:58So in a piece of parchment paper inside a piece of foil, just wrap up the beets and place them in an oven.
04:07Oh, forgot to sprinkle them with salt.
04:10Have to sprinkle them with a little bit of coarse salt and a little bit of pepper.
04:13Okay, and a little bit of pepper, right.
04:15Talking away.
04:16Okay, and some people put a little olive oil inside, even a little bit of water, but I don't think you really have to do any of that.
04:25And then get this into a 400-degree oven and bake until they're really tender.
04:29And check the tenderness with a knife and fork.
04:33And it takes about how long?
04:34Your way.
04:35It depends on the size of the beet, maybe an hour.
04:37Okay.
04:38But it's a less messy way of doing them than boiling them.
04:42And so now we grate it on the coarse side.
04:47And so only four beets for this entire soup.
04:50This is vegetable stock, Martha.
04:53Okay.
04:53Made with carrots, celery.
04:57Onions.
04:58Onion.
04:58Did you put any garlic in?
05:00Yes.
05:00Oh, yes, garlic.
05:01And we're going to put the recipe for Mom's vegetable stock on the website.
05:05Another thing that we can add to make it a very pequen kind of a borscht is soaked mushrooms.
05:11Mushrooms.
05:12So you have some morel and some, what, porcini?
05:15Porcini.
05:16Yummy.
05:16Sometimes if I had dried Polish mushrooms, we would soak them.
05:20Why didn't you bring some of those?
05:22Well, I didn't have any to tell you the truth.
05:24Really?
05:24Yeah.
05:25They're very, very expensive.
05:28But I think we could afford four mushrooms, Mother.
05:31It's very hard to get Mom to spring for the mushrooms.
05:34So chop the mushrooms, cut them up.
05:38They've been soaking for a couple hours.
05:41Don't throw the water away, do you?
05:42No, we put it...
05:44In the soup?
05:44Yeah.
05:45Okay, but should I strain it?
05:46Get, because that might be a little bit of dirt in the barn.
05:48I'll just, I'll just not pour in the last...
05:51You can see the black specks in the bottom of the bowl.
05:54Don't throw those in, because they might be earth from those beautiful mushrooms.
05:58That's right.
06:00All right, so the mushrooms go in.
06:02Do the beets go in?
06:03Oh, now, right?
06:04Yeah, we could pat them in now.
06:08So slide those beautiful beets right into the...
06:12Mmm.
06:13This is such a simple soup.
06:15So now this cooks...
06:16What about the parsley?
06:17Yes, we'll add everything.
06:19Oh, okay.
06:19And a clove of garlic.
06:21So this is what?
06:23Two tablespoons of chopped parsley.
06:25And a third of a cup of chopped celery leaves.
06:28I love celery leaves.
06:31And how much sugar?
06:32A teaspoon.
06:36I think sugar always is very important in a soup like this.
06:39It just brightens it up, don't you think?
06:41Mm-hmm.
06:44Okay, so now we cook that for about how long?
06:46Well, we cook it about 20 minutes.
06:48And we have one that's already simmered, and this is it.
06:53And look at how it really does change the nuance, doesn't it?
06:57Oh, that looks so good.
06:59Now what happens?
07:01Well, now we add sour cream.
07:04I'll mix a tablespoon of flour, just for thickening.
07:09A half a cup of sour cream.
07:11So this isn't thick enough for you.
07:19Oh, you make it pink, though, right?
07:20Yeah.
07:21Oh, okay.
07:21The cream adds a little flavor.
07:24Now if you want to, you can add a layer full of the lorch.
07:29Okay.
07:33Mm, gorgeous.
07:34And does this cook a little longer so the flour gets cooked?
07:40Yeah.
07:41So that looks good.
07:42So add this?
07:43Yes.
07:44So that'll thicken the soup beautifully.
07:48Mm.
07:49You always add the liquid to the sour cream, otherwise we'll curdle.
07:53How pretty.
07:54And borscht is supposed to have a sour flavor.
07:58And over the years, I've always used sour salt, which is like citric acid.
08:04So one of those little secrets that Mother has never showed me before, I never saw sour
08:08salt in her house, ever.
08:10Well, this is an old challenge.
08:11Ehlers.
08:12It's taken this many years for my mother to tell me about sour salt.
08:17What about the lemon juice?
08:18All of this?
08:18Well, first taste the soup.
08:19Oh, okay.
08:22If you don't have citric acid, sour salt crystals, you use...
08:26Oh, the lemon juice.
08:27Lemon juice.
08:30Think we should add lemon?
08:33A tad, but I love lemon.
08:36Yeah, you could use...
08:38And if you have any vegetarians in your family, or if you really...
08:41...are practicing Catholics and not eating any meat during Lent, this is the best.
08:48Another way to serve borscht is with boiled potatoes.
08:51Oh, I love it with boiled potatoes.
08:53Here, taste that.
08:54What do you think?
09:00I think I would add the rest of the lemon juice.
09:02Okay.
09:06And then at the very end, we add chopped fresh dill.
09:10Lots of it.
09:12And you can turn off the flame.
09:17And what's always been nice about soup at Mom's is that the soup is served hot.
09:22Not lukewarm.
09:24Right.
09:24So, a big scoop for you.
09:31What a color.
09:33Isn't that nice?
09:33Oh, and it's not too thick.
09:35It's just thick enough.
09:37And another thing you can do is to garnish is to put a little sour cream on top.
09:41Oh, we must.
09:42Now, that is the perfect soup.
09:45Oh, my God.
09:45That's delicious.
09:46And I'll tell you in Polish, smacznego.
09:49Smacznego.
09:49Meaning...
09:50Very delicious.
09:51My mother has been making wonderful stuffed cabbage for many, many years, as long as I
09:58can remember.
09:59And my grandmother often made her Polish version of stuffed cabbage, too.
10:03We call it galumpki.
10:04And I love to help her stuff all those bright green cabbage leaves with delicious combination
10:09of rice and meat.
10:10Every single Polish family has a favorite recipe, a favorite version of this national dish.
10:17And Mom's going to show us how she repairs the cabbage.
10:20Oh, that's a pretty dirty cabbage, isn't it?
10:22I have to wash it.
10:23Yeah, let me wash that.
10:24Let me just get this big core.
10:26We start by taking some of the core out.
10:28So the leaves get...
10:30You can separate the leaves better.
10:32You can use either the hard green cabbage like this, or you can use a savoy cabbage,
10:36which is really pretty.
10:39There you got it.
10:40And then I usually made the slits at the top of the leaves here around the core, so that
10:49the leaves would separate.
10:51Okay.
10:51You sound like you have a cold.
10:52Yeah, a little bit of a one.
10:54Oh, you're not supposed to get colds this way.
10:57I'm ready for Christmas, but...
10:58No, don't get sick before Christmas.
11:01I'll take off the dirty leaves.
11:03So wash your cabbage and then have a pot of water that's really boiling away there.
11:09And you're going to really steam it.
11:11Isn't that true?
11:11Yes, you cook it until you can tenderize the leaves somewhat, so that you can roll the
11:18filling in them.
11:19Okay, so here.
11:20Yeah, that's good.
11:22And these are good.
11:23These big leaves are beautiful for lining the pot, because you always want to have a
11:27cabbage leaf between the rolled cabbage and the pot itself.
11:33Okay, that's good.
11:36And I'll just put these in here to steam.
11:38Just steam.
11:41So why don't we start the filling, too, Mom?
11:43Well, that's cooking.
11:44I'll watch the cabbage for you, if you'd like to tell how you make your filling.
11:48Right.
11:49Well, for this particular batch, I'm using half a pound of pork, ground pork, and half a
11:56pound of ground beef.
11:57And to that, we add like two cups of rice that's somewhat undercooked.
12:06And we're stirring to combine.
12:13And what's in the pan here?
12:14Onion.
12:15We're going to put the onion, sautéed onion with a little garlic.
12:19Okay.
12:20And butter?
12:21I think we used a little butter, maybe some oil, too.
12:27See, the cabbage turns a beautiful color really fast.
12:31Now, I always add it a little finely chopped.
12:39Oh, and you don't sauté that?
12:40No.
12:40Celery?
12:41Oh.
12:41Because it gets cooked in the...
12:42And a little bit of sautéed pepper, green pepper.
12:50You can use an electric mixer for mixing this, too.
12:54Okay.
12:55Oh, for mixing that?
12:56Mm-hmm.
12:57Now, this is kosher salt.
13:00About how much a teaspoon?
13:01A little bit more, maybe.
13:04And some black pepper.
13:06Mm.
13:07Freshly ground.
13:08Mm-hmm.
13:08What are you going to be making for Christmas Eve this year?
13:13Are you going to make us some pierogi?
13:15Well, if I have time...
13:18Are you making stolen?
13:20Do you want me to make you a stolen?
13:22Or babka?
13:23Or poppy seed cake?
13:25I could make a stolen.
13:28I usually do a stolen for...
13:30You suggest automatically, come.
13:32But now, it has to be begged for, unfortunately.
13:35Now, what about some of the...
13:36What is this?
13:37Oh, oh, correct.
13:38Great.
13:38Now, this is dried parsley.
13:40Mm-hmm.
13:41All of it, I think.
13:42Don't you?
13:42Yeah.
13:42Yes.
13:43So, like, what, a couple tablespoons?
13:45Oh, it won't hurt at all.
13:47Mm, smells delicious.
13:49So, here, the cabbage, the outer leaves are just about ready to come off.
13:54Now, one reason that cabbage is so nice is that it's really kind of good for you.
13:58It's rich in vitamin A and C, and it also contains anti-carcinogens.
14:03Isn't that pretty?
14:04You taught me how to do this.
14:05Peel off the leaves, right?
14:07That's right.
14:07Until they stop peeling off, and then you put it back in the water again.
14:12Some of these are gigantic.
14:13Oh, big.
14:14Oof.
14:15Very hot.
14:16I think this is mixed sufficiently.
14:18So, I'm going to put this back in.
14:19So, why don't you show how you take the hard vein off?
14:28In order to facilitate the wrapping, I just cut some of this thick part off.
14:32And you don't want that big, heavy vein in there anyway, do you?
14:34Yeah.
14:35Now, the bigger the leaf, the more filling it would hold.
14:39Yeah.
14:40So, you fold down the end, and then you fold in the ends like this.
14:45Oh, here's a pretty one.
14:46And you wrap.
14:46So, Mother, should I line the pot so that you can put the galumpki right in?
14:50Yes, would be a good idea.
14:51So, these colorful big leaves line the bottom.
14:57And I always love to eat these leaves after everything's cooked.
15:01I always salt and pepper the leaves.
15:03And here.
15:10You figure one per person.
15:13Oh, yeah.
15:13Whoever, whoever eats one.
15:15I have to have at least two of these.
15:18All right.
15:19These are so...
15:19Don't skimp on the filling.
15:21No.
15:21And if your cabbage leaf should rip a little bit, you can always...
15:25Patch with another piece.
15:27Yeah.
15:27You fit the galumpki right across the bottom.
15:31Make a nice layer.
15:32Okay, here.
15:33Should I devein these?
15:35Yeah, some of the smaller leaves.
15:36Yeah, that one's ready.
15:43So, it's going to make about a dozen plump, kind of large-sized galumpki.
15:48If you make them real tiny, then they're like appetizers.
15:52Oh, yeah.
15:52I love them small, too.
15:54And then we have these little ones that we've already made.
15:57So, Mom, I'm going to put these in here, too, okay?
15:59Sure.
15:59And you've always made it in kind of an enameled pot, haven't you?
16:06Well, sometimes I use those big aluminum pots that I have.
16:09They belong to Grandma.
16:10They must be at least 60 years old.
16:12Mother, you are...
16:13I make jelly in them.
16:1585 years old.
16:16Grandma was 90-something when she died.
16:20So, how old are the pots?
16:22Oh, the pots?
16:24About 100.
16:25They're more like 100 years old.
16:28Should I sprinkle the apples in?
16:30Yeah, right over the top.
16:32Now, this is a nice Granny Smith or some nice tart green apple.
16:36I love apple and cabbage.
16:37Now, what is this?
16:39That's the cabbage water, but wait, we're going to mix it with the tomato sauce.
16:43So, now, is this your homemade tomatoes?
16:45Mm-hmm.
16:47Okay.
16:48This is just pureed?
16:49Yeah.
16:50Anything else in there?
16:51Just tomato.
16:53Now, that'll all sink down.
16:54Yeah.
16:58So, should I sprinkle a little bit more salt?
17:01Just a little bit.
17:03And then cover this with cabbage leaves, too.
17:05Yes, you could.
17:07Because the cabbage is good later on, you know, it gets cooked through.
17:11How long do you cook it on top of the stove?
17:13Up to an hour, and then you test them and see if they're done.
17:19So, we'll clean up, and when we come back, we'll show you what the cooked
17:22galumpki look like and tastes like.
17:26Well, the cabbage has been cooking.
17:28It looks really beautiful.
17:30Look.
17:30Mother, another successful...
17:32Now, we can do something with the gravy.
17:37We can always add a little sour cream to it.
17:39So, here's a little sour cream.
17:41Just put a little bit of the tomato in there.
17:43Okay.
17:45That's the enrichment, right?
17:47Mm-hmm.
17:48Gives it a nice little flavor.
17:49I wonder, are these apples soft enough?
17:58I guess so.
18:01Mm.
18:07Bubble.
18:09Okay.
18:10I got that scraped out for you.
18:12Mm-hmm.
18:13Yum.
18:13Yum.
18:13That always helps, doesn't it?
18:20Mm-hmm.
18:22Okay.
18:22So, I think...
18:25I didn't want to break them with a middle spoon.
18:29No.
18:30So, just get them piping hot, and I'm going to try one right now because I cannot wait.
18:36Here, I'll take one out.
18:48A little bit of that luscious sauce.
18:52You know, when Grandma put her cream in, or when she thickens a gravy, she would...
18:59Well, let me show you.
18:59She would shake it, do this.
19:07Oh, yes.
19:12Okay.
19:14Mm.
19:16Well, thank you very much, Mother, for another one of the Kostyra family recipes.
19:21You're welcome.
19:22In Polish, it's known as kolumki.
19:24Yeah.
19:25And elsewhere in the world, as stuffed cabbage.
19:27Try it, you'll really enjoy it, and it's very good.
19:30Of all the Polish recipes that I love, my very favorite is pierogi, especially when my
19:37mother makes them, Martha Sr.
19:39And I have, to the amazement of my family, consumed up to 20 or a little more of these
19:45delectable dumplings at one sitting.
19:47And I'm especially happy that she's here today to make her potato pierogi.
19:52Hi, Mom.
19:53Hi, Mom.
19:54I'm glad you're visiting us yet again.
19:55My mother really does use the old-fashioned methods in her cooking.
20:01So the potatoes are not put into an electric mixer to mash.
20:06She mashes them by hand and insists that I do, too.
20:09So what do we have here?
20:10How many potatoes?
20:11By five pounds.
20:13Five pounds of what kind of potatoes?
20:14Well, I use baking potatoes because they tend to be drier than the regular Long Island or
20:20Maine potatoes.
20:21Okay.
20:22So like an Idaho or a russet potato?
20:24Okay.
20:25So five pounds of potato.
20:27And they're peeled and boiled, first of all.
20:31Until they're fork tender, right?
20:32Mm-hmm.
20:33Just like for mashed potatoes, except we don't put any liquid into these.
20:38Okay.
20:38So I'm going to mash with the old-fashioned potato masher.
20:42And I'll be making the dough.
20:45I start with an egg.
20:51Whisk it.
20:51All right.
20:57Now into this egg, I usually put in a couple spoons of sour cream to keep the dough tender.
21:07So two heaping tablespoons.
21:11We mix the sour cream into the egg.
21:14Now in order to keep this dough tender, I use milk.
21:25How much?
21:26A cup of milk.
21:27Depends on how much filling you have.
21:29And a cup of water.
21:30I found out, to trial and error, that milk would make a tenderer dough.
21:42Now I'll add flour.
21:45I still keep this in a bowl.
21:48I don't usually measure flour because it goes according to the way it feels in your hands.
21:54You have to make a dough that is the consistency of noodle dough.
21:58And it isn't sticky.
22:08Now I'm going to add a little bit of cream cheese to the potato so it melts while they're still hot, okay?
22:13Like half?
22:14Oh, yeah.
22:15More than half?
22:15No.
22:16About half.
22:19And any butter?
22:21Melted butter.
22:24About how much?
22:25Oh, like one stick, which is...
22:29Oh, yeah.
22:30That's a quarter of this.
22:31Well, that's, I think, maybe enough.
22:35And now today, Mom has brought cheddar cheese to add to the filling.
22:40When I was growing up, it was cream cheese and butter and salt and pepper.
22:44And nothing else.
22:45So now we're having our Nouvelle pierogies.
22:49Do you want me to add some cheddar?
22:53Yeah, a little bit of grated cheddar for a little flavor.
22:56Now I'm going to incorporate just enough flour to make a dough that is not too sticky in consistency.
23:07Otherwise, it won't roll out very well.
23:09So you keep adding a little flour to get it elastic and you begin kneading.
23:19And keep scraping any dough that sticks to the surface.
23:31And you don't add too much flour.
23:34Otherwise, you get a tough dough.
23:38I have to put this in a bowl, lightly floured, covered with saran so it doesn't dry, while we get the filling prepared.
23:45Oh, okay.
23:47So we have some dough that you've already made.
23:49Here's that other batch.
23:51Do you want to turn this out and just put the dough back in here?
23:53I think it'd be a good idea.
23:54Okay.
23:58Now we sprinkle flour over your board.
24:04Oh, see how beautifully it rolls out.
24:07It's elastic, but not too elastic.
24:10Not too sticky.
24:11And not too sticky.
24:15And we have certain tools now that are absolutely necessary for making the pierogi.
24:23You need a linen towel and you need cornmeal.
24:27Cornmeal, I found, is the best for the dough when it's resting.
24:32If you use just flour, the flour and the dough interact and it gets sticky.
24:38And you also need these particular glasses.
24:43Do you remember these from childhood?
24:45Oh, these metal glasses.
24:47Aluminum.
24:48Because they have a good cutting edge.
24:50That's right.
24:51And they're the right size.
24:53Mm-hmm.
24:54What made you decide that this was the...
24:56Well, trial and error.
24:57I love this part.
25:00Cutting out the dough.
25:01And it cuts beautifully.
25:02Mm-hmm.
25:06Okay.
25:07Now show us this process.
25:08I put a ball of potato filling on each circle and then it doesn't take so long to...
25:16In case the filling in the dough, you have to stretch the dough a little bit.
25:23Tuck the filling in and you press.
25:30And my mothers never fall apart.
25:33If you catch the potato in the dough, they are bound to fall apart.
25:38So you have to make sure you catch dough to dough, right?
25:40All right.
25:41We used to make these pierogies by the hundreds.
25:44250, 300 people.
25:45I know.
25:46And we would sit around the kitchen table and we would see what kind of fancy edgings
25:50we could create.
25:52Yeah.
25:53And see, she's done.
25:54I'm still struggling here.
25:56It looks real easy.
25:57It takes about 70 or so years of practice.
26:03And then you'll be as good a pierogi maker as my mom.
26:08Okay.
26:08The water is boiling, Martha.
26:09And just give it a little salt.
26:12This one, we have to wait a couple minutes.
26:14Because of that's boiling.
26:15And now you can start putting pierogies in.
26:20Keep it boiling rapidly.
26:23Now this will come to a boil.
26:25And the pierogies will begin to float to the top, which signifies that they're getting done.
26:33And I have melted butter.
26:36And I'm going to put it on this great big platter, which we're going to serve on.
26:42And the butter is primarily to keep the pierogies from sticking.
26:46Now this water is beginning to boil, so we'll take them out.
26:54Mmm.
26:55Do those look good.
26:56Do those look good.
27:03They look pretty with that nice edging on it, too.
27:07Mmm.
27:07Lovely.
27:07I'm sure the taste will be enhanced.
27:13Mom and I come from slightly different schools of presentation.
27:17And here we have a platter of the most delectable potato pierogi you will ever have.
27:34Well, Mom, how would you say, enjoy these pierogi?
27:37They're a gift from my kitchen in Polish.
27:39And I won't repeat that, but enjoy.
27:47Enjoy.
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