Polish Fried Beets {Buraczki Zasmażane}

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Polish Fried Beets {Buraczki Zasmażane}

This recipe is for my dear sister friend, Angie, who, may I humbly say, I also turned into a believer. A food believer, beets to be more precise.  I made this hot salad for her once, she then asked me for a recipe, and she is now craves it regularly, she said… you are welcome!

Angie and I met at military ball for our husband’s unit. She had a smile from ear to ear as she screamed at me, trying to sound louder than the music on the dance floor: “HI! I’M ANGELA!!!” Somehow, I knew right away, she is going to be my sister friend… and she was… IS. I never called her Angela though.

Our husbands deployed to Iraq together, and we became each other’s support system, each other’s other half. We spent at least one evening on a weekday, and every weekend together for the year our boys (men) were gone. We ate together, watched movies, traveled and got lost together, cried, laughed and did everything to make the time pass.  I’m pretty sure, if it wasn’t for her, I would have not made it through that year, without some kind of mental breakdown. It was nice to have someone who could understand exactly what it feels like to be alone, to fear death of the closest person to your heart everyday, to avoid the TV to not accidentally find something horrible out, to dread every unexpected knock on the door fearing it could be our unit Chaplain with the unwanted, unwelcome and horrifying news.

Angie and I at the welcome home ceremony for our boys unit.

She knew how it felt to not sleep through the night when they were on their way home and how your heart stopped when they walked into the gym, where you, and a few hundred other spouses and children were waiting impatiently to finally wrap your arms around him, squeeze so tight, and feel your tears run down your cheeks. She knew exactly. Thank you Angie for being my fried beet salad lover, and my sister friend. I will cook for you whatever, whenever and every time I make this dish, I think of you.

This is my grandma’s recipe. Babcia on my mom’s side, Stanisława was a chef who never measured anything, and when asked about a recipe said, she didn’t have one. I’ve watched her cook for many years, and I’m able to recreate a lot of them, thankfully. This is one of my favorite beet recipes. Warm and creamy beets, slightly sweet and tangy make a great addition to a meat-and-potatoes kind of dinner. Think of this next time you’re in need of a new and interesting dinner side.

Polish Fried Beets {Buraczki Zasmażane}

Polish Fried Beets

Fried Beets {Buraczki Zasmażane}

  • Yields: 3-4 servings (2 cups)
  • Prep Time: 1 h (roasting beets) + 10 min

Ingredients

  • 3 medium beets
  • 2 tbs of butter
  • 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1⁄4 c / 60 ml of sweet cream
  • 3 tbs of white vinegar
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. Wash beets and roast in
    the oven (covered) until soft (about 1 hour).

  2. Remove from oven and cool.

  3. Peel and grate on the smallest vegetable grater (yep, the one that takes finger tips off - CAREFUL!)

  4. In a medium saucepan, heat butter on low, add flour to make roux. Whisk until combined and bubbly, about 30 seconds.

  5. Add grated beets and the rest of the ingredients, heat through. Taste and add a bit more salt, if needed.

Notes

Creamy, tangy and sweet fried beets are a great addition to any dinner, or can even be eaten on their own, which I do often.

Serve to a person you love and make them feel loved.

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Polish Fried Beets {Buraczki Zasmażane}Polish Fried Beets {Buraczki Zasmażane}

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17 Comments

  1. Anna: What a lovely story and a strikingly beautiful picture. I’ll bet that little girl is yours!?! She’s as beautiful as her mother! By the way, my Babcia would make pumpkin soup in the Fall with little bits (size of a large pea) of what might have been potato dough !?!?!? She’s of course gone now and so is my Mom but I don’t have the recipe of her pumpkin soup. I’ve been craving it, for some reason, when I developed breast cancer three years ago. (Note: I’m cancer free as I type! Thank you Heavenly Father.

  2. My mother always made this dish for special occasions (Christmas, birthdays, etc.), and although I watched her make it, and basically knew what went into it, I never made it myself. Now she’s gone, and I couldn’t find a recipe for it (all I could remember when searching through her cookbooks was buraczki and zapraszka!)…thank you! This is it!! Rather than half and half, I would suggest using full cream (35%), it gives a much richer flavour to the beets! Dzięki i Wesołych Świąt!

    1. Danuta, sorry I just noticed your comment 🙂
      I’m glad you found the recipe you were searching for. Yes, you can use full cream, half & half or even milk + butter. I’ve done it all, it works. 🙂 Anna

  3. Hi Anna
    I’m looking at recreating my mother in laws recipe, and she is the same as your bacia, no recipes. I’m just wondering, with her version you can freeze it. Can you freeze this? I’m looking at doing a large batch.

    1. Hi Miranda, freezing is absolutely OK. The batch intended for freezing though I would make a bit al dente, shorten the time of cooking. Cabbage tends to soften when being frozen, this will keep it from becoming mushy. Good luck!

  4. Delicious! I used 1,500g beets, so I increased the cream and vinegar (I used white grape accidentally). I’m not sure how much the roux thickens the dish, but the slight butter flavor is great. I added garlic 🙂

  5. Anna: Your touching remarks about being a military wife have done a service to many. Most people do not realize the hardship carried by those who remain at home. Families of soldiers serve also, in a very real way. I served in Vietnam. Today, when I am. Acknowledged as a Veteran, I am sure to include my wife (we were newly married back then) as one who served too.
    The remark “grandma never measured anything” is a perennial. While it make not have been written down, those women managed to get the same result consistently, which they accomplished by doing it the same way (more or less) each time. Neophytes mistake the handfuls and pinches as random quantities. They weren’t.

  6. I made these, from beets pulled from the garden just before the first snow fell. I am a huge fan! Reading the recipe, imagining it, cannot prepare for how delicious this is.

  7. I grade my beats on the teardrop side use butter and flour and vinegar I do not use any half-and-half or cream but I will try it !, I am 79 years old and never heard of using cream,Born and grew up in Poland lived in Poland in Sopot until 1963 that’s when I went to United State. Love to watch your videos of cooking and traveling Thank you 😊 Serdecznie dziękuje

  8. Can you use canned beets from the grocery store? My sister would make this every Christmas, we would make a pile on our plates with an indent and add a dollop of butter. Thankyou for the memory

  9. This was great, thank you, even for this not very advanced cook. My mother is half Polish and I have fond memories of “burachkis” as we called them on trips to visit family in Poland when I was little. I fixed them yesterday with Wiener schnitzels (schabowe kotlety?) and mashed potatoes and my Norwegian grandmother’s agurksalat, which is basically mizeria without cream, and the dinner was a huge hit with my hubs. Tonight’s his turn to cook and I’m back to check out your other recipes 🙂

    Sam

  10. Wanted to show buraczki zasmazane to someone who mentioned liking fried beets, but there’s too much other content on the page, so it would be too confusing to share.

    Next time, please put the main content(the recipe) at the top, and limit the amount of links to other pages and content.

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