During my first weekend in Poland, I visited my family in Zambrów, which is in northeastern Poland. My aunt made pyzy with wild mushroom that she and my uncle picked themselves!
I tried pyzy z grzybami, which are potato dumplings with mushrooms.
I felt comfort and warmth from eating the pyzy. The exterior of pyzy was made of soft, slightly chewy mashed potatoes while the center was filled with diced mushrooms that had an umami (which means savory), earthy flavor profile. Eating my meal in my family’s kitchen as opposed to a restaurant also highlighted the hospitable nature of Polish culinary tradition.
Pyzy are made by first preparing the potato base. Half of the potatoes are boiled and mashed, while the other half are grated and squeezed through a cloth to remove any excess liquid. The potato starch that settles from the squeezed liquid is added back into the dough to act as a binding agent. The next step is to make the filling. Traditionally pyzy have a meat filling, but my aunt made them with mushrooms.
