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Rose Petal Jam – Recipes and Stories from a Summer in Poland

The very title ‘Rose Petal Jam’ evokes shimmering heat-hazed visions of meadows, trees, clear sky, and perfume wafting on a warm breeze. One could be anywhere: England on an August afternoon, perhaps Italy when the world is quiet after lunch. But this book concerns itself with Poland, and it is enticing.

Rose Petal Jam – Recipes and Stories from a Summer in Poland allows me to indulge my twin passions of food and travel. It masterfully charts a path between cookbook and travelogue, and is an illustration of how something can grow to be more than the sum of its parts.

Beata Zatorska had penned a cookbook, but wouldn’t it have been lacking something without those touching family stories? She has written a charming travel book about her beloved Poland, and food has always been central to the country, its culture and its heritage. Who could describe Poland and not mention a few of its celebrated dishes? Beata has achieved a balance that will enthral the home cook and have those with itchy feet reaching for the AA Big Road Atlas (now extended eastwards).

These are not just random Polish recipes. This book is an archive of Beata’s grandmother’s dishes. She was herself a chef and passed on her passion for food to her granddaughter. So many of the dishes included have a story – like the stuffed eggs that Beata’s grandmother served the anxious youngster on the day of her exams. Those exams allowed Beata eventually to become a doctor.

The Polish kitchen makes the very best of seasonal produce. There is nothing exotic here, but this book does present a raft of unique (to us in the UK, at least) ideas for using fruit, vegetables and meat. There are no extravagant ingredients. You will likely have everything you need already in your larder or at your local grocers. It won’t be necessary to buy ethnic kitchen gadgets imported from Warszawa.

Kisiel – Strawberry Fruit Pudding – is a good example of the style of practical, simple and economic recipes here. Few ingredients, and not a costly dish if one uses fruit at its summery best rather than making this for Boxing Day with southern-hemisphere strawberries.

The British climate allows us to take full advantage of wintery dishes for a full nine months of the year, so I have already pencilled in Potato Dumplings to garnish a rich and flavourful Polish Beef Goulash. This is a little different from the Hungarian version, which is traditionally more of a soup than a stew. A tablespoon of dill is the surprise ingredient here.

Pierogi are the Polish equivalent of ravioli and my favourites are those filled with potatoes and cheese. They are described as Russian Pierogi but they are ubiquitous at the Polish dinner table ...unless my Polish friends are really Russians. Serve with melted butter and a garnish of tangy sour cream or even crème fraîche.

We are becoming more familiar with Polish food in the UK. There are numerous supermarkets offering Polish delicacies in jar and tin, but we are finding more cafés and delis with shelves and counters laden with cakes and pastries and ready-made meals. I have not yet come across Rose Petal Jam but now I can make my own ...along with a few bottles of pepper vodka ...and perhaps a dish of sweet Angel Wings alongside. Buy two copies of this book: keep one on the book shelves as a travel guide for the food lover, and leave the other, soon to be butter-smeared, in the kitchen as a well-used cookbook and a reminder of the reasons you will want to visit Poland.

This is a sumptuous and heart-warming book with stunning photography by Beata’s husband, Simon Target. So this is a family food memoir that we are invited to borrow. The memories might not be ours but a trip to Poland will rectify that.

Cookbook review: Rose Petal Jam – Recipes and Stories from a Summer in Poland
Author: Beata Zatorska, Photography by Simon Target
Published by: Tabula Books
Price: £25.00
ISBN: 978-0-9566992-0-6