Polish Christmas Wigilia Meal & Foods Courses of the Meal/Menu

The meal consists of a wide variety of special holiday dishes, all meatless. Customs vary throughout Poland; some families present twelve dishes for the twelve Apostles. Most serve an odd number of courses: 7, 9, or 11. The Wigilia dishes are prepared according to beloved family recipes. The foods are to represent the four corners of the earth: the mushrooms from the forest, grain from the fields, fruit from the orchards, fish from the lakes & sea.

The meal always begins with a special soup, such as a Barszcz wigilijny z uszkami (Christmas Borscht with mushroom uszka dumplings), followed by many elegant fish preparations, vegetables, and the beloved Polish pierogi. Typical dishes include carp in aspic, herring (Sledze), breaded whitefish, meatless cabbage rolls (Golabki), noodles with poppy seed, kluski noodles with cabbage and Polish mushrooms.

A list of tempting special desserts is also required, the favorites being nuts & fruits, Kompot (fruit compote), Makowiec (poppy seed roll), pierniki (honey spice cakes), and Mazurka. A Wigilia Dessert including nuts, chocolates, tangerines, pierniki, torte, Makowiec, cordials & cognac, and coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typical Wigilia Menu

Appetizers
Smoked Whitefish
Pickled Vegetables
Cheese Selection

Zupa / Soup
Barszcz wigilijny z Uszksami & Paluszki (Meatless Pasztecziki)

Glownie Danie / Main Course
Sledz / Herring
Jaja w sosach / Eggs with Sauce
Surówka marchewkowa Dawidowa/ David's Carrot Salad
Ziemnaki / Potato
Pierogi
Kluski z Kapusta ala Ciocia Martha
Golabki
Ryba / Whitefish

Deser / Deserts
Nuts, Tangerines, Assorted Chocolates & Cookies
Makowiec (Poppy Seed)
Mazurka
Pierniki (Honey Spice Cakes)
Kompot
Cognac & Liquers

RECIPES AND FOOD ILLUSTRATIONS for this MENU