echrzanowski@watmath.waterloo.edu (Edward Chrzanowski) (12/15/87)
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.RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE WIGILIA-1 M "1 Dec 87" 1987
.RZ "RYBA W SOSIE CHRZANOWYM" "Fish in horseradish sauce"
This recipe is the first of the 12 dishes that make up the traditional Polish
Chrismas-eve meal, which is eaten after sundown on Christmas eve.
The Polish word for "Christmas eve" is \fIWigilia\fR (pronounced
VI-gee-lee-ah). Its root is like the English "vigil": waiting for Christ to
be born. At the end of the Wigilia meal the family goes off to midnight mass
at church.
.PP
There are usually 12 dishes in a Wigilia meal to symbolize the 12
apostles, though some families serve 13 because they include Christ in their
count. The meal starts when the first star can be seen; this symbolizes the
star of Bethlehem. Although The Wigilia is meatless (Advent, the season of
penance, continues until
midnight), it is still festive and delicious. The tradition of Wigilia,
though centuries old, is still current in Poland. There is no fixed set of
rules for what the 12 (or 13) dishes must be; the items in the meal
change somewhat according to location and availability of ingredients.
Nevertheless, all of the dishes are traditional, and in addition
there are many traditions for the serving of the meal. For example, some
people place straw under the tablecloth to symbolize the manger in which
Christ was born. Most families set an extra place, for the stranger who might
be passing by. This is my family's traditional Wigilia meal:
.RS
.nf
Fish in horseradish sauce
Pike Polish style
Pickled beets
Pickled herring in sour cream
Stewed sauerkraut with mushrooms
Christmas eve kutia
Almond soup
Noodles with poppy seed and raisins
Poppy-seed rolls
Christmas bread
Baked apples with red wine
Marzipan
12-fruit compote
.RE
.fi
With this first recipe you will notice a similarity
with my last name. Now you know a word of Polish (namely chrzan = horseradish
ie. "hot stuff").
.IH "Serves 6"
.SH FISH
.IG "2" "carrots"
.IG "2" "stalks celery"
.IG "1" "parsley root"
.IG "1" "onion,"
quartered
.IG "5" "peppercorns"
.IG "1" "bay leaf"
.IG "2 tsp" "salt" "10 ml"
.IG "6 cups" "water" "1.5 l"
.IG "2 lbs" "fish fillets" "1 kg"
(carp, sole, pike or similar fillets)
.SH SAUCE
.IG "3 Tbsp" "butter" "50 g"
.IG "3 Tbsp" "flour" "50 ml"
.IG "\(34 cup" "prepared cream-style horseradish" "200 ml"
.IG "1 tsp" "sugar" "5 ml"
.IG "\(14 tsp" "salt" "1 ml"
.IG "2/3 cup" "sour cream" "150 ml"
.IG "2" "hard-cooked eggs,
peeled and sieved
.PH
.SK 1
Combine vegetables, dry seasonings, and water in a saucepan or pot. Bring
to a boil; simmer 20 minutes, then strain.
.SK 2
Cook fish in the strained vegetable stock 6 to 10 minutes, or until fish
flakes easily.
.SK 3
Remove fish from stock. Arrange on serving platter and cover with plastic
wrap. Chill.
.SK 4
Strain fish stock and reserve \(34 cup for horseradish sauce; cool.
.SK 5
For horseradish sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, then blend in flour
until smooth, making what the French would call a roux.
.SK 6
Add the cooked fish stock gradually, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until
the sauce boils and becomes thick and smooth.
.SK 7
Remove from heat and stir in horseradish, sugar, salt, sour cream, and eggs.
Cool for 15 minutes.
.SK 8
Pour the horseradish sauce over the chilled fish, and garnish with shredded
lettuce.
.SH RATING
.I Difficulty:
moderate.
.I Time:
1 hour.
.I Precision:
approximate measurement OK. Experiment.
.WR
Original recipe passed down through the generations and
translated from Polish into English (with a few mods) by
Edward Chrzanowski
MFCF, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
echrzanowski@watmath.waterloo.edu or {ihnp4,allegra,utzoo}!watmath!echrzanowski