The story behind the recipe
Łazanki are pasta made from hard, dried dough, rolled into a cylinder, cut into strips about 1 cm wide, and then further cut into small squares. The Polish Wikipedia, citing "Kuchnia polska" from 1985, states that they are most often served with cabbage, mushrooms, meat, or sausage, and they also appear in the Christmas Eve mushroom soup. Wiktionary notes two meanings: the pasta itself and a Polish dish made with pasta, sautéed cabbage, and fat from cracklings or sausage. A similar dish is known to Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians, and Lithuanians (skryliai), and close relatives are the Austrian, Czech, and Croatian Krautfleckerl and Slovak halušky with cabbage.
According to the language advisory of the National Center for Culture, the name is "nothing other than an Slavic-ized version of Italian lasagna." The word entered Polish from Ukrainian (лазанки), and from Ukrainian directly from Italian or, "more likely," through South Slavic languages. There are also two legends. According to the first, łazanki were created at the court of Queen Bona, where her Italian chefs combined Polish and Italian cuisine, but the American portal Epicurious, which repeats this, does not provide any source. According to the second, cited by Radio Kraków, łazanki originate from the Małopolska region's Łazany. Neither of these is confirmed.
Łazanki appear in old cookbooks. Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa mentions łazanki with cheese and poppy seeds, and Elżbieta Kiewnarska wrote in 1931 that "the quality of the pasta directly depends on the number of eggs used." Marta Norkowska noted in the early 20th century that "łazanki can be replaced with Italian pasta." There are no recipes for łazanki with cabbage in these three books, and it is unknown when they started being made. Today, it is a common everyday meal, but in a meatless version, with sauerkraut and dried mushrooms, it is also a Christmas dish.
Ingredients
Pasta
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250 g łazanki suche (store-bought; or homemade from the dough below)
Abroad: Germany and Austria: Fleckerl; Italy: quadrucci; UK: fresh pappardelle cut into squares; USA: wide egg noodles; everywhere: farfalle (bowties)
Homemade dough (instead of store-bought łazanki)
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250 g mąka pszenna (type 450 or 500)
Abroad: USA and Canada: all-purpose flour; UK and Australia: plain flour; Germany: Weizenmehl Type 405 or 550 - 2 pcs jajka (size M)
- 2 pcs żółtka
- 1 pinch sól
- 60 ml woda (add gradually, may need 50 ml)
Cabbage and additions
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1 kg kapusta kiszona (weight from the store, about 600 g after squeezing)
Abroad: USA: Silver Floss Barrel Cured Sauerkraut; UK: Krakus (Morrisons); Germany: Sauerkraut; on the label, only cabbage, water, salt - 2 pcs liście laurowe
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3 pcs ziele angielskie
Abroad: allspice berries; Germany: Piment - 500 ml woda (enough to almost cover the cabbage)
- 2 pcs cebula (medium, about 200 g total, diced)
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100 g boczek wędzony (diced)
Abroad: USA and Canada: smoked slab bacon; UK: smoked streaky bacon or lardons; Germany: Räucherspeck or durchwachsener Speck -
200 g kiełbasa (diced; not necessarily)
Abroad: USA and Canada: Polish kielbasa -
25 g suszone borowiki (or 200 g of button mushrooms)
Abroad: dried porcini; Germany: getrocknete Steinpilze - 1 tbsp (15 ml) olej (in the meatless version, 2–3 tablespoons)
- ½ tsp (about 1.5 g) kminek (not necessarily; or 1/4 teaspoon of marjoram)
- sól i pieprz czarny (to taste)
Method, step by step
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In the evening, soak the dried mushrooms in cold water (or pour boiling water over them for 3–4 hours). Then cook them for about 20 minutes in the soaking water, drain, reserving the broth, and chop. Taste the broth: it can be bitter after the porcini. If using button mushrooms, slice them.
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Homemade łazanki (if not buying ready-made): pour the flour into a bowl, add the eggs, yolks, and salt, and knead, gradually adding water. Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is elastic and firm enough to roll out. Wrap in a damp cloth and let rest for an hour.
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Roll out the dough as thinly as possible on a floured countertop.
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Dust the sheet with flour, roll it up or fold it, and cut into strips 1–2 cm wide. Cut the strips crosswise into squares; you can also cut them diagonally into diamonds.
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Spread the łazanki on a towel to dry and prevent sticking.
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Taste the cabbage. If it is very sour, rinse it briefly; if not, just squeeze it and keep the juice. Chop it, as long strands get tangled with the pasta. Pour in enough water to almost cover the cabbage, add bay leaves and allspice, and stew covered until soft, 40–60 minutes. Check every 10 minutes to see if more water is needed. Drain, and when it cools, squeeze out the excess.
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Fry the diced bacon in a dry pan until the fat renders. Add the sausage and brown it, then remove the meat from the pan.
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In the same fat, with a bit of oil, sauté the onion for 5–10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and fry together for a few minutes. Sauté the button mushrooms for about 10 minutes until the water evaporates and they brown.
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Combine the cabbage, meat, and mushrooms in a large pot or pan. Fry, stirring, for about 5 minutes or stew for 10–15 minutes uncovered until excess liquid evaporates. Season with salt, pepper, and caraway or marjoram. If it lacks acidity, add a bit of the reserved cabbage juice.
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Cook the łazanki in a large pot of salted water: store-bought for about 2 minutes less than the package states, homemade for about a minute, until they float. Drain, add to the cabbage, and gently mix, possibly with 3–4 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. Serve hot.
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