Yesterday Ren Behan, a well-known food writer in the UK, published on Jamie’s Oliver webpage, the recipe for the traditional Polish summer cucumber salad called “mizeria”. To be frank with you, at first I did not notice that it was Ren Behan who was the author of the recipe, since I was convinced it was JO himself! Anyway, it is a fact that this recipe is available on famous JO’s webpage. Ren explains quite accurately the meaning of the word “mizeria”. Literally, it means “mysery”, but also something of a poor or low quality. Right after the recipe was published, a discussion arose amongst my Facebook friends, as whether the recipe was authentic or not. Should the creamy dressing be seasoned with salt and dill only, or with vinegar, lemon juice and some sugar as well? Should it have some onions, or none?
We do not know exactly when this salad appeared on Polish tables. The oldest Polish cookbooks, dating as far as the 17th century, do not provide for many cucumber recipes. An 18th century book “Kucharz doskonały” (“The Perfect Cook”) by Wojciech Wielądko, offers more cucumber preparations, but there is no mention of “mizeria”. On the contrary, “mizeria” recipes appear only in cookbooks published at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Maria Ochorowicz – Monatowa, the author of “Polish cookery” (the book was translated into English) provides for a “mizerja ze śmietaną” recipe, which means a simple salad of chopped, fresh cucumbers, served with sour cream, seasoned with salt, pepper, dill, a bit of sugar and vinegar. Nela Rubinstein, wife of the famous Polish – American pianist Artur Rubinstein, of Jewish origin, had the reputation of being a great home cook and wrote a cookbook containing her family recipes. Her version of “mizeria” provides for the preparation of a creamy sauce with some vinegar, sugar, pepper and salt.
To sum up, there is no single recipe for this salad. Some people add a bit of sugar and a bit of something sour (lemon juice or vinegar). Others serve it only with salt, a bit of pepper and dill. Finally, some also add chopped yellow or green onion; not to mention that in some household, cream is replaced by oil.
The best season to prepare “mizeria” is summer. Why? Polish food markets are overloaded with young pickling cucumbers and fresh dill. Polish pickling cucumbers are not waxed, they are crispy and crunchy and that’s why they are perfect for pickling.
When I was a kid, I did not like them. I could not stand the smell of cucumber salad. I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I started to accept it. I do not make it very often, although it is one of the most popular summer salads in traditional Polish cuisine.
Mizeria – Polish summer cucumber salad
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 400 g cucumbers, preferably young pickling cucumbers, washed and peeled, cut into thin slices
- 150 ml crème fraîche or good quality sour cream
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped young dill
- 1 table spoon lemon juice or few drops of white wine vinegar
- Salt
- 1 pinch white or black pepper
- 1 coffee spoon castor sugar
Method:
Place cucumber slices in a bowl, sprinkle them with salt and put aside for around half an hour in order to get rid of the excess of juice. Then strain them. In a small bowl, mix sour cream with salt, pepper, lemon juice and dill. Pour the sauce over cucumbers and mix. Serve as an accompaniment to meat or warm vegetable dishes. Some say that the salad taste better if you let it rest a bit, for around 30 minutes to one hour.
Bon appétit!