Flavors stories

Passport & Plate - Fusia

Poland | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos

Recipe for Fusia (people call it also Mamalyga)
List of Ingredients:
• 1 liter milk from farm (fresh and fat)
• 1,5 kg potatoes
• 100 gram flour
• 350 gram pork fat
• 100 gram smoked bacon
• 1 small onion
• salt

How to prepare this recipe:
One day earlier prepare curdled milk: fresh and fat milk pour into a bowl and leave it warm place (around 25 Celsius degrees). Milk will change into something silimar to cream but with some papules. It will be sour, but don’t afraid – it should be.
Peal and quarter the potatoes. Drop in salted water to cover, and boil until tender. Drain and leave potatoes in pot. Add the flour, cover pot and leave it at very small heat for 10-15 minutes. Flour should cover almost every potato, so shake it few times. Off heat and mash potatoes with flour into purée.
Cut pork fat in very small pieces and melt it in pot. You will receive liquid fat and greaves. Some of liquid fat put into pan. With purée make small portions, give them rhombus shape and fry them in liquid fat at medium heat. Fusia should get brown colour and be crispy outside.
Dice onion and smoked bacon. Fry onion and bacon in liquid fat with greaves. Put Fusia on a plate and pour over prepared fat. Eating Fusia don’t forget to drink curdled milk with it!

The story behind this recipe:
Why I decided to present so simple dish? Because it’s not only tasty, but what the most important – it’s connected with history of my family. I don’t know how old is this recipe, but it’s in my family since I remember. And first time, I ate it thanks to my great-grandmother, but my grandmother and mother made it also.
My family comes from Polish village, called Lucka (it’s near to Lublin). Few decades ago Polish villages were very poor. My family, like many others, get along having one cow, few pigs and chickens. This does not mean that they ate meat dishes. My great-grandmother walked to the market in Lublin, 25 km away, to sell meat, milk and eggs, to earn some money this way. Almost all products produced on the farm were sold, because after II World War it was very hard period for people in Poland.
My family was used to very modest food, consisting mainly of potatoes. Therefore Fusia was often eaten in my family – it’s made with simple and available products. Eating Fusia with curdled milk was rather feast. Now I love to eat that dish in hot summer days because curlded milk to Fusia is very refreshing.
Thanks that history I can appreciate how good life I have thanks to my parnets and grandparents. I know how hard once was women's lives. In spite of simple products, they always tried to cook something delicious. What is important, it is thanks to Fusia and other unfamiliar dishes, grandmother told me family stories. These food is not only full of flavor, but above all full of emotions and hard experiences.