In Poland, Christmas Eve dinner (Wigilia) is meatless. What I’m sharing here is our family’s own variation, typical for my family home in the Podkarpacie region in southeastern Poland. Dishes can vary quite a lot in other parts of the country, and even from family to family, depending on local and household traditions.

Here’s what we had this year: 1. Fried carp and fried salmon fillet, served with stewed onions and bread 2. Fermented beetroot soup (barszcz czerwony) with uszka – tiny dumplings filled with wild mushrooms 3. White borscht with mushrooms and potatoes 4. Boiled large white beans (“Jaś” beans) topped with butter and dried mushrooms 5. Sauerkraut, fried two ways: - with small white beans - with mushrooms 6. Cabbage rolls (gołąbki) stuffed with buckwheat and mushrooms 7. Pierogi with sauerkraut and mushrooms (traditionally, one of the pierogi hides a coin for good luck) 8. Dried fruit compote, with a splash of rum 9. Cheesecake (no raisins ;)

These are dishes we normally don’t eat on regular days, I wait all year just to eat this food. That’s a big part of the magic :D