Take the bay leaf out of the sauerkraut and mushroom pan and blend the filling to a rough paste, then add it to the onion and fry for just 5minutes altogether whilst stirring. Cut the stalks and leaves off the beetroots, keeping them separate. Roughly chop the stalks and tear any larger leaves. Cook the beetroots in a saucepan of boiling salted water for around 30 mins. Drain and leave until cool enough to handle, then peel and dice the beetroots. Set aside.

It’s seems very simple but it does not come naturally for me. Introducing structure into every area of my life requires a change in the way I perceive myself. I have always thought of myself as a flighty, creative, bohemian type, so I’m going to have to change my story and allow myself to be “an organised person”. I’ve realised that when I am organized, for example when I run my supper clubs, I can relax and enjoy the process more. In a way, the structure allows for more creativity, because I don’t need to stress about the details. So how do I go about it? I’ve started the year by just thinking about structure – about what it means to me. I will never be one of those super organized people who will structure every hour of every day, every meal, every post… for some, this is normal, but I need some spontaneity and flexibility, otherwise my soul feels stilted. From experience, I know that if I take it too far with structure, I will rebel and go the other way. I need to do this carefully. Pierogi perfection. I became a fan of Zuza Zak from her Baltic cookbook. With “Pierogi”, she instructs, informs, and elevates the most internationally familiar of Polish foods. Cover the millet in 2cm of cold water, add a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 20 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed. Add the butter and leave to steam, then cool. Set the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. First, sterilise your jar and lid. Either put them through a hot dishwasher cycle or hand-wash in hot, soapy water. Half-fill the jar with boiling water, put the lid loosely on top and leave for 5 mins, then pour out the water and allow to air-dry. My own story began in a land and time very removed and different from the one I inhabit today. I was born in Communist Poland in 1979 and spent the first 8 years of my life in an oppressive regime that I remember with a strange mixture of fear and nostalgia. There was often nothing to be found in the shops. Sometimes people would queue for 8 hours or more to buy one random ingredient that happened to be available that day, yet somehow the Polish people always found a way to eat and to enjoy themselves. Families, friends and communities would work together to find, grow, forage and obtain everything that was needed to create amazing feasts.Once the prune sauce has cooled, combine with the herrings. Mix well and transfer to the fridge for at least an hour – preferably overnight. Millet grain salad with squash and a creamy dill vinaigrette Make the vinaigrette by combining the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard and salt and white pepper. Whisk in the mayonnaise and, when the mixture is smooth, add the dill and the garlic salt, then stir to combine.

Pour the still-warm boiled filtered or bottled water into a jug, then mix in the salt to make a brine. Leave to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Wash and dry your garlic scapes thoroughly, then lay them horizontally in the jar so they curl around the sides (this means they should stay in place and you won’t need a weight to keep them submerged). Place the garlic clove in the jar, nestling it among the scapes so they hold it down. Pour in enough brine to fill the jar, then loosely cover with the lid and leave at room temperature for 3 days. To make the syrniki mixture, add the twaróg, eggs and salt to a large bowl and mash together with a fork. Add half of the flour and all the sugar and vanilla extract and continue mashing until the ingredients are well combined (if you’re using twaróg, the mixture will retain some texture). Cover and leave to chill in the fridge. Now add the (drained) sauerkraut, bay leaf and allspice and simmer for a further hour. Add a splash of beer or wine if the mixture gets too dry at any time, but don’t over do it – there should not be any surplus liquid near the end. In addition to the recipes, there are also directions for creating various herbal soaks, skin tonics, cleaners, clothes dyes, decorations, and many more useful and crafty items, focused on wellbeing and natural products. The author of Polska and Amber and Rye, she writes in her introduction to Pierogi that “the big irony of my writing this book is that I set off on my food-writing career to prove that Polish food was more than ‘just dumplings’.” But having ably demonstrated that fact, I am so happy that she is turning her attention now to these particular pillows of joy. And she is a reassuring teacher, explaining history and describing technique concisely, and evoking flavours and textures with warm intensity. The book is divided, roughly, into two: Traditional (which has a regional framework) and Modern. But even in the Traditional half, she allows for variations to suit the contemporary non-Polish cook as well, and its subsection on Festive pierogi earns the cover price of the book alone. It may be August, but I’ve already earmarked her Sauerkraut and Mushroom Christmas Eve Pierogi (which I’ve been meaning to attempt for the past few Christmases, and now feel properly primed) and Boxing Day Pierogi, which are circles of dough stuffed with leftover turkey, roast potato and vegetables, folded over into the classic half-moon shape, to be boiled gently before being fried in goose fat and eaten with sharp cranberry sauce.At the start of 2020, I want to share one of my favourite breakfasts – semolina porridge – and talk about my one and only resolution for this year: structure.

But it's the Festive selection of pierogi that yielded — however unseasonally — the recipe I’ve chosen to share with you today, for I just adore every element of this dish. Allow me to present to you these dreamy Deep-Fried Dessert Dumplings with Rum and Poppy Seeds! The book is filled with things to create in your kitchen, such as natural remedies, foods for wellness, and even beauty products. However, it also includes seasonal crafts, rituals, and folktales and mythology. While the author’s focus is on folk-healing rather than magic, she does include rituals that might be seen as a type of magic. She’s also very clear that folk medicines are meant to complement and not replace modern medicine. Place the aubergines over the flame on your hob and cook in this way, turning with tongs, until they are charred and soft inside. Repeat with garlic, using your tongs to hold the cloves. Blitz in a food processor with lemon juice until smooth. Then transfer to a bowl and whisk in the oil. Season. Add the parely and chill in the fridge. If using dried mushrooms, wash them under cold water and soak them for 2 hours or, preferably, overnight. While this is all stewing, we make the dough by combining all the dough ingredients and kneeding it until smooth and soft – about 20min.Wash the cabbage, then blanch it in hot water to soften for a minute or two. Separate the leaves. Use only the bigger, softer leaves. Drain the cabbage leaves on kitchen paper. Pour the vinaigrette over the millet, then combine with the chopped up tomatoes and roasted vegetables. Dried fruit soup I appreciate that Zak offers a couple different methods to shape and fill pierogies, and since these varied slightly from how I learned to make varenyky, I was keen to learn other ways. Her first method (and now my preferred way) is to roll the dough out then place heaping teaspoons spaced out along the dough. She then folds the dough over and creases where the filling ends and to press out the air bubbles (this step is crucial as trapped air will cause the pierogi to burst while it cooks in boiling water). Using a cutter or the rim of a waterglass, she cuts out half-moon shapes. Once the shapes are cut out, she crimps the edges to seal them. Zak also provides different pinching and sealing techniques for every level of pierogi maker. Beginners can start with using the tines of a fork to seal the edge and, since I have prior experience, I used the fold over technique. There are photos of each of the steps throughout the beginning sections of the book which are helpful to home cooks.