Amelia Nierenberg

Amelia Nierenberg · NYT Cooking

Most Slavic countries have their own form of beet soup, a winter staple across Central and Eastern Europe. Barszcz, the Polish variation, is usually served as a clear burgundy broth with bright, wintry flavors. It is sweeter and beefier than Ukrainian or Russian borscht, and much less textural: Most vegetables are strained after imparting their flavor, though the soup may include grated beets or morsels of meat. This recipe is adapted from “From a Polish Country House Kitchen,” an anthropological cookbook by Anne Applebaum and Danielle Crittenden (Chronicle Books, 2012). Strain the vegetables entirely and sip the restorative broth directly from a mug, or serve the soup with sour cream and enjoy with pierogi. Amelia Nierenberg

Amelia Nierenberg · NYT Cooking

Seasoned with little more than olive oil and crunchy sea salt, focaccia is an ancient bread that is unexpectedly easy to make. Once a staple at Caroline Fidanza’s now-closed sandwich shop, Saltie, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this recipe from the “Saltie: A Cookbook” is perfect on its own, but also serves as a base upon which you can experiment. If you want to alter its flavor, sprinkling some aromatic dry herbs on top of the dough provides deep savory notes. Or decorate it vibrantly with the vegetables and fresh herbs of your choosing for an Instagram-worthy focaccia garden (see Tip). Amelia Nierenberg

Amelia Nierenberg · NYT Cooking

This family-style Cambodian dinner is fragrant and hearty, with easy-to-prepare dipping sauces that make every bite a little different. If you’re in the U.S., you may need to call around to your local South Asian and Chinese grocers to find young jackfruit. But once you have your ingredients, you mostly just need to chop to get this Cambodian dinner on the table. The chef Rotanak Ros, the author of “Nhum: Recipes from a Cambodian Kitchen” (Rotanak Food Media, 2019), said this dish was a special one: “People raise chickens to sell, not to eat,” she said, speaking of villages where she conducts research. “The money from one chicken can feed the whole family, at least, for three days.” To kill a chicken, then, is to honor a guest. Amelia Nierenberg

Amelia Nierenberg · NYT Cooking

Pierogi are always on the menu at milk bars, historic Polish restaurants that were once socialist canteens. This recipe for pierogi ruskie, stuffed with potatoes and cheese, comes from the Bar Prasowy, which is one of the most famous milk bars in Warsaw, and a place where fist-size dumplings can be filled with mushrooms and meat, spinach and cheese, or any number of combinations. These pierogi can be made from kitchen staples, though you’d be doing yourself a favor if you sought out the salty quark cheese that would be used in Poland. Be patient with your first few pierogi: Sealing the filling inside the dumpling takes some practice, but the practice itself is enjoyable. You can snack on the pierogi straight after boiling, or pan-fry them with butter until crisp and serve with barszcz, a light Polish borscht. Amelia Nierenberg