Practically Polish

Growing up in Lakeland, we had approximately three choices for dining out: 1) Italian; 2) Tex-Mex; and 3) Crispers. At no point did anything as exotic as Polish food enter into the equation (I don’t know how Lakeland’s Jewish population would have felt about pierogies creeping in on their latke market).

It wasn’t until college that I even met someone who identified himself as Polish, much less someone who expressed an interest in eating Polish food. I did some research: kielbasa (I don’t eat sausage), pickled herring (the only thing pickled I eat are, well, pickles), sauerkraut (sour cream, yes; kraut, no), minced meat-stuffed cabbage (what did cabbage ever do to the Polish?). This wasn’t looking good.

Then, lo and behold, I discovered that my friendly neighborhood grocer carries turkey kielbasa! This, I could work with. I started slow—I diced in up, sautéed it with butter and garlic and then added it to a black bean soup. And then I proceeded to pick all of it out of my bowl while my darling Pollock lapped it right up. Right, I’d try again. The next few attempts went somewhat the same way, but eventually, I conquered my sausage phobia and embraced (very lightly, maybe with only one arm) (some) Polish food.

Corn and Kielbasa Chowder

Serves 4.

Extra virgin olive oil
1 kielbasa link (7-8 oz.) halved and thinly sliced
1 tbsp. butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced and mashed into a paste with salt
16 oz. chicken stock
3 small red potatoes (about 1 lb.), peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 c. half and half
1 lb. bag frozen corn, thawed
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
½ tsp. cumin
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Heat a large soup pan over medium-high heat. Add 3 turns of the pot of olive oil and the kielbasa and cook until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the butter to the pot, then the onions. Sauté about 4 minutes, then add garlic and sauté 2 minutes more. Add the stock and diced potato and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, about 10 minutes or until the potato is fork tender. Add the half and half, corn and cilantro and stir to combine. Add the red pepper flakes, cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Using a food processor or an immersion blender, puree the chowder until about half of the potato has broken up. Return the kielbasa to the pot and heat through. Adjust salt and pepper. Serve with more cilantro sprinkled on top.