Hi and welcome to the POLIN kitchen. We are so excited today to bring you something spectacular for our third annual TISH Festival, and this is a cooking workshop with the one and the only Alesia Di Donato. Hi, everybody. I'm so happy to have here and be together with you. We're going to be bringing you some really delicious dishes from Italy, actually, and we'll be explaining why we're not doing like more of a Polish Ashkenazy style of dishes, that we're going to be going a little bit down south to Italy, but bringing it all the way back up to Poland and to your kitchen and your home. The TISH Festival, if you did not know about it, is the only Jewish food festival in Poland, in Warsaw. Of course, brought to you by POLIN Museum. And we are super excited that this year our theme is "closeness". And what does closeness mean? It means pulling things together, diversity, finding the best in everything and pulling it together. I don't know about you, but for me, closeness, when I think about food, Jewish food in particular, and closeness. Immediately, the first thing that comes to my mind is the table. The TISH festival, its name "TISH" is Yiddish for table. And that's what you do at the table. You kibbutz, you talk, you're having holidays here, you're eating your noshing. This is the place where life is really happening. And I don't know about you.

What does closeness mean to you? With food is definitely something that we have to share. So it's sharing, you know.

And one of the reasons that we are doing Italian Jewish foods, is because this year at Polin Museum, we have a very special temporary exhibition concerning the Jewish neighborhood that Poland is located in is the Muranów district. And Muranów, name actually isn't very Polish. It sounds Polish, but it's been publicized over the years. Actually, it comes from Italy and it comes from Venice. And the actual name comes from some islands in in Venice. Murano, is that right? And we're excited to be here because like I was saying earlier, that our temporary exhibition "Here is Muranów". It talks a lot about the life and what took place here and the layers of history, that we have here in this district of Warsaw, which was one of the largest Jewish populations before the war. Not only in Europe, but in the world. So it's really interesting that we're going to be pulling from a little bit of Jewish Italian cuisine, but also seeing some similarities to the Ashkenazi cuisine that would have really been more so from the Muranów district. And now you also know why this district is called Muranów, because it has Italian roots. In fact, in the 17th century, there was an Italian who was hired by the Polish king to come up here and start building and doing things. And he built himself a beautiful palace here in this district. And he named it after Murano. It got name Muranów,

a little bit of Polishness going on. Because if I am not wrong, Belotti was from Murano. Yes, he was. He was this architect. He was was born in Murano. Right. And since he was here, he moved from Murano, and he was a little bit nostalgic, probably. Right. Probably about about his home. And here we are again with the subject of the closeness of, because I can imagine that to feel yourself more close to his home, to his land. Hold these "dzielnica" in polish,this neighbor. Yes. Neighborhood and neighborhood. Murano. Exactly.

I know everybody really likes this beautiful palace, because they ended up naming this district after his palace, and like this was the place to be. If you were Jewish and you lived here in Poland, maybe you really wanted to come and live here and be here and be close to your family, your business, to walk into these streets, to hear the sounds, to buy the food. So that's why we're doing this kind of food, this Italian food. It's kind of bring a memory back to the past, but also to bring something to our future. And to bring it all together, to bring us all close. So I'm encouraging you check out all these ingredients that we have. Get yourself set up in your own kitchen and let's get started cooking with Alessia. And Alessia is going to walk us through four delicious dishes.

And what are we starting with? With agretti, they are called agretti in the USA. But if you're not lucky or if it's winter, how to preserve them? And I tell you that I there are many different ways to preserve them during the winter. And one of these is to cook them three minutes in boiling water. OK. And then to dry them, and to put them in a jar as this one. I added some oregano, fresh oregano, some garlic and some juniper. Nice, some juniper and covered with oil. Oliwa z Oliwek in Polish, or also extra Virgin in this case is from Abruzzo, from my grandmother. And that's all. And you can preserve agretti for all the winter season, even for six months agretti in a jar. Nice.

We will cook them for three minutes. Not so much.

And you just need how many cloves of garlic? Like three? Three, perfect. Three is  OK. So we will transfer a great deal on this pan. OK, and throw out a little bit of little of olive oil. You know, we caramelize these garlic. There you can put them to dry them here on a desk.

Put them over to the side.

And at this point, it's very easy. We can add these agretti.

I sauteed them. I will add some some pepperoncino.

Ok, agretti are full of alkaline substances and during the 15th century, they were cultivated in Murano, right in Murano.

And what happened is that it turned out that burning these schrub, this agretti, it was possible to obtain very important substances to produce glass. Interesting. Yeah. And as you know, in Murano, it's full of glass farms where glass is produced. In fact, is this I bought these and these plates because it's from this one of these farms. And it's it was very important element for Murano, agretti.

Actually, you know, Venice was a huge in trading and a lot of Jewish people were leaving different parts of Europe to come to Venice because there was a lot more freedom, especially for women. There was a lot more freedom to do trade and to do it to do business. So that's really interesting that they utilize this not only for food, but they utilize this, which would end up becoming a trade product from Venice, very cool. But as I told you, you can cook them with eggs.

I usually cook them with a little bit of anchois and a little bit and with the tagliatelle, or a homemade pasta. And but the procedure. So the process, the cooking process is the same. So you can sautee them, and then to add them to some pasta. It's enough. OK, I'm pretty excited about this, because if you can tell we're going to be doing some baking. What are we making? We are making this Bolo. It is called, Venetian region Bolo. This is a Spanish, word, OK? The etymology is from balls. Ball, so ‘palla’, in Italian because this is usually baked in a round shape. OK, usually, but can shape it in different ways. And today, I want to make some loaf. OK. And this is dough, fermented dough of course. And this is made with flour and it's sweet. It's sweet. It's for, it's typical for Sukkoth time. Yes. And today is also a Shabbat. And for Shabbat dinner. But in this African part of Europe is for example, in Tripoli, it's very, popular. But it's in Spain also. And we find Bollo even in Venice. Because there was a population, Sepharadic population. Right. And this is from Sepharadic population. Definitely. And it is made with eggs, with some oil. I use for dough, fermented dough. I use as usually oil of rice because it's more soft. OK, in the dough, and sugar and eggs. That's all. Does this remind you of something? No, I think everything is great.

It's funny because it sort of reminds me of something else that I actually get here. Like more Ashkenazy. Like challah.

Yeah. This is a fermented dough. Yes. As a challah. But with some differences, right. Yes. Because if you are a challah connoisseur, you know, it's even pronounced differently and it tastes different. And depending upon where you live. For example, what does challah taste like here, in Warsaw? You know what? When I came to Poland five years ago, I moved from Italy and I was surprised about challah here in Poland. Because challah is definitely sweet, as sweet bread. Did you see my face? Because I have the same reaction. Of course, you know, hailing from the United States, I'm not used to sweet challah. Not like it doesn't exist. But that was kind of an eye opener for me too. But I embraced it. I embrace this sweet, fabulous challah here in Poland. And we have to add all these ingredients together. Oh, wait. There's not a mixer. Where is the electronics. No, I have to be honest. I don't want to work today with the mixers or electrical tools, because I want to have my hands dirty and yours also. Right.

Ok, so here's one.

We add sugar, with flour, mix it. When she means a cup of sugar, she means a cup of sugar. Oh yeah. More less or three quarter in this case.

Ok, that's OK. That's ready to go I think. OK, and sugar.

Then we will add our oil, rice, oil, rice, oil. I'm excited. You know. Yeast and the water and then the eggs. These are actually two whole eggs and two yolks. OK, and we start to mix it, first with a spatula. And then we go, yeah, and then we go by hand. But this is the best way to do it. I've actually I prefer this, if we're going to make a good bread or something like even challah, I prefer making it by scratch with your hands. But this this is the right consistency. Do you want to touch it? Absolutely. It's not sticky. OK, it's good. It's ready. Yeah but it's not hard either. With a michine, you should go forward for five minutes and by hand it's a little bit longer. And at the end we add this raisins and our orange peel. Yes. You want to add it? Yes, I can. OK.

Go. Just like this? Yes. And like want me to sprinkle it? Absolutely. We have some chunks in there, OK, perfect. Get the rest of that, I would say. Perfect. OK, we'll add some raisins.

So this is the final effect. This is not sticky. This is very tender and elastic. OK, and the color is homogeneous. So it's ready and it's ready to race, right? All right. So we'll come back in about two hours. And I think that the two hours will be it will be ready. But anyway, we will observe the final effect. It should be doubled. Yes. It's time to go. To shape our dough. Yeah.

So we disguise it because it's time to shape it. We have to obtain some loaves. OK, five loaves. OK, and now we make balls. As the name suggests, Bollo.

And we put it here. And we will bake it. Can I try making one myself? Yes, of course, so show me your technique. I'm  going to get in here. Yeah, you have to work the dough and make a ball.

Oh, my goodness. Yeah, it's OK. All right. It's OK.

It has to raise for one hour, for additional hour and then we will make it OK. It's weird. It's weird.

But this happens in every country. That sometimes we eat something, some Jewish food.

But we are not conscious that this food has got Jewish roots. Right. This is true. And this is the time for Bollo, in my opinion. No, not everybody in Italy knows that this is from Jewish cuisine. All right, here it is. Yeah, we have this BOLO. It's already baked. I love it! Me too. And it's got this consistency is very soft, and it's perfect. It's the perfect bread for the perfect day. I mean, today is Shabat. So we can taste it after our dinner. Absolutely. Ah, ok. What do you get to make now? Now, these are dumplings made with the bread crumbs, it's the Venetian typical meal, and it's from the Ashkenazi tradition. It's very, very simple. We are always talking about the Jewish kitchen ‘cucina povera.’ And so it's made with breadcrumbs. So not to waste, you know, bread. And so we have got our bread crumbs here. Traditional bread crumbs. Milk, I use to add some fat inside and parmigiano reggiano, egg salt and a little bit of pepper, black pepper. And that's all. And then we are going to make by hand these dumplings so lets go. So we’re making dumplings? It's very easy. I'm super excited. You have now... We're making dumplings. We're going to need some help. Can I call my friend Zosia? Of course. Go. Because you know. But that Zosia? You know, we need help and she's like knows what she's doing. But that's Zosia? She has the ability to help us,ok. Ok, cool. Hey Zosia, we need you in the POLIN kitchen. Yeah. You have to work Zosia. You hear that? the chef is calling you. Don't think even for a second that you will not be here. We’re making dumplings. Come to us. OK, she's coming. OK, perfect. In the meantime, we will mix all these ingredients. OK.

And Zosia! I was just passing by. So, yeah. Yes, of course. Exactly I am here.

I can help, I’m Polish

so I should know how to make dumplings because that's what I called her. Because she knows what she's doing. She's had training.

But do you make pierogi? No, actually no. But you know, I probably have these things in my genes, because of my origins. I’m partly Jewish...so I think I can. You have the training, trust me.I have my training. Your babcia.

Your babcia

I'm telling you, my grandmother told me "stay focused on the kitchen" and you know, I never did.

So probably this is her revenge.

Yeah. Or we will make your grandmother very happy and proud of you today. Right. Let's check. Or hello! If you like, making matzo ball soup. And you know what I'm talking about when get that matzo and you're making some matza balls. So that's really, this is going to be so much fun to make. If you've got little ones. I recommend this is a great task for them to learn how to make these and be close as a family. It's a family affair. That's what we need Zosia, Because you know, This is a family affair. This the typical gnocchi, because they are called Italy ‘gnocchi pan grattato.’ Pan grattato is the breadcrumbs in English. And as I said, they are very simple to do. But as happens always for homemade pasta or homemade gnocchi, only the family take part of this event. So since we are a family, let's go together. OK, Let's do it. This are called the cugoli in Venetian in Venice. OK, Cugoli. And the etymology of the terminology of this word is of course Kugel. Ok, this is the first, very first ball.. OK, it's perfect. I hope I can, I hope I can measure up to this but they will be perfect. Your' also. So, take a piece of bread crumbs of the dough and mix this balls. OK, are you ready Zosia? I should be ready. OK, we are going to make our babcia's proud. And these are cugoli, very famous, not just in the Venetian region, because they are made also with stock. You can make it with beef stock. As a substitute of milk. Perfect. Perfection. Perfection. Doskonały, as we say in Polish. Oh let's go for the tomato sauce. Yes. That it's very, very simple. And, but anyway it's, it's important to add some, you know, taste some flavor. You can also, these dumplings, these gnocchi. Taste them with some stock, vegetable stock, meat stocks and duck stock, for example.

But I prefer to give them some sauce, tomato sauce.

All right, so we have made our lovely balls and thanks to Zosia for coming in and helping us, and now we're going to be making this sauce. So kind of tell us about the sauce and it’s process.It's very, very simple.

Well, I grate, I'm getting the tomatoes. These are local tomatoes. And this is the last part of the season for tomatoes.

So I think that it's good to use this final part to enjoy it, right? So I want to grate them, right, and then I will cook them for 10- 20 minutes just to, you know, to mix them to our onion and our garlic. With a little bit of oil, olive oil, and that's all.

And we will add his sauce to these cugoli. We are going to cook our "gnocchi di pangrattato" then I will dress them with some sauce. And how long does it take usually to cook these? It depends on the breadcrumbs. This is pretty interesting because sometimes this dough is a little bit tender, sometimes, and it depends of on the breadcrumbs. But when they go up in general, it means that they are ready. OK. So our gnocchi di pangrattato are ready and we will move them to this tomato sauce. They are fantastic. Yes, the taste is very, very good. And if you think that there are only four ingredients, basically that the main thing, the main ingredient here is breadcrumbs. And this is exceptional.

I would like to to add some parsley. We have flowers, seasonal flowers, but they're all edible, which is wonderful. It's my favorite kind of flowers, with this beautiful color also. Two ingredients, and you can do a lot of things tasty things, no waste.

Ok girls,  I have to go back to my desk. But this beautiful meal will go with me. I'm sorry.

I think the plate and everything was for you, obviously. So enjoy. Thank you so much.

Say hello to all the colleagues in Polin. Of course, will say hello and stay tuned. And thank you so much.

No, we thank you for taking time off today to come and be a part of this. And for all that you're doing to make TISH great and SMACZNEGO. Dziękuję bardzo. Enjoy bye. OK, and unfortunately, this is going to be our final dish of the day. What are we making? We are going to make zucca desfada. Desfada is Venetian name for a defeated pumpkin. OK, but defeated in which sense? That it’s smashed. Defeated pumpkin- zero, chef- one. It's very simple super vegetarian, of course. You guys probably associate more pumpkin with pumpkin pie.

But let's go ahead and take this to the next level. We're going to smash up this pumpkin or actually it's already pretty smashed for us. And our chef is going to show us how to make something really fabulous for a fall and fall holidays that are coming up.

Yeah, what I did. I roasted in oven, over 200 degrees this pumpkin. This is a zucca desfada, is typically made of a variety of pumpkin called buracca. The etymology from Hebrew - holy, santo. And because this was typical dish to break the fast after Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, for those of you who may or may not know, is one of the most important Jewish holidays in the Jewish calendar.

It is the day of atonement and it's time for fasting and it's a time of prayer. And so obviously, if you've been fasting, you need something more gentle on your stomach. And again, this is a time of holidays that we come together. We're doing this as a community. We're all coming to each other's homes and we're eating and we're reflecting. And it's a really wonderful time of the year, actually.

And not everybody celebrates Yom Kippur, right. Because we have some people that they're not so religious. And that's perfectly cool.

But I would say for most Jewish people, Yom Kippur is probably one of the most important holidays besides Hanukkah and Passover. So this is perfect not to stress the stomach suddenly. Absolutely. And to use, again, seasonal product. And because now in Poland is full of pumpkins and there are a lot of varieties. What pumpkin do you really recommend?

For this preparation pumpkins that contains a lot of water. For some example. This zucca barucca, this one, or this is wonderful. The color is wonderful. And you know, inside as these is not so yellow is a little bit green, but it's not tender. It doesn't contain a lot of water... Because we don't need water for this kind of preparation. OK, wonderful. I think that you can find this variety in USA. Sure, you as a are look at your local farmer's market or whatever.

Also I have a question. You did talk about, how you baked this. Did you happen to put like any salt or pepper or just like tottaly natural. In the oven

it's very simple because you have to cut it and to put in the oven. OK. You don't have to add anything. When it is well caramelized, you can smash it and then in that moment you give a little bit of salt, and black pepper or rosemary.

Or what you want.

Ok, sounds great. Yeah. It's just a side dish. It's typically it's a side dish and actually we can use these to make to add this to the challah dough.

Oh my goodness. That's right. Because you can make Pumpkin Challah. For those of you who love pumpkin everything during fall time. Have you tried pumpkin yet. And I would recommend if you like sweets you can make it sweet like we have sweet version of challah in Poland or you can make a more savory and just have something a little bit more special at the table with some of these different things that we're baking.



And this kind of pumpkin. It's good for challah, as we said.

And this is a typical moment for pumpkin challah. Because it's Sukkoth, and why it's typical? Because it's seasonal, it's seasonal product. This is why it's very typical of this moment. So I am frying this onion with the oil, extra virgin oil. And now I smash the pumpkin and now we are adding this pumpkin to this onion and we will cook this pumpkin for 10 minutes. Not more.

All right, for all you people out there who love bagels as much or more than I do, your bagel world is about ready to explode. I'm telling you. What are we doing with this bagel today?

Ok, this bagel, we do something lettuce that we add some pumpkin,zucca desfada. We will cut some chives. Erba cipollina. The chives in Italian. And we have also some flowers from chives. Flowers, edible flowers, edible flowers. OK, I've never put this on a table before, but I'm really curious to see how it's going to taste. Yes, a little bit of olive oil. A little bit of our agretti. Agretti is back. Yes, they are back because we don't waste anything in this kitchen,right? This is true. OK, but what about the rest? We ate it. We ate everything. I think we might we might have taken care of that. Let no good thing go to waste. Let's use everything. Ok, a little bit of salt. And now we could add some chives. Oh, my goodness. Yes, it would be tasty. You better take your ticket to Warsaw as soon as you can and come cook with chef Alessia. I'm telling you, your bagel game just got re-done, let me tell you. And flowers.

It's so pretty. But you know what?

Oh, my gosh. It smells pretty too. I tell you. Pretty good. 

And here we have a version of a zucca desfada with bagels. Nice. Yes, it's nice. It's tasty. And it's a good, you can eat it for lunch, for a snack or for breakfast. Or anytime you want. Or actually now, actually now. Absolutely.

All right, we thank you so much for joining us for the third annual TISH Festival that we've had so far, more days to come with great foodie experiences online.

And we at Polin would love to thank our dear friend Alessia for coming. Thank you for inviting me. It was such a pleasure to have you. And I am honored to take part of this third edition of TISH Festival, really. And I hope that you learned a lot about Murano and Muranów and you know the differences, but you also know the similarities that brings us together and brings us close and learned a little bit about Jewish history here in Warsaw that you could take home with you and of course learn some amazing dishes.

We would love to hear from you. Find out which one of these that we did today is your favorite. I can tell you right now that I have some new favorites, not just one. After testing these and eating these that I hope that you can use some of these for your holidays or any days, really.

Don't forget to continue to follow us on Friends of Polin on Facebook. And of course, you can get more information about the TISH Festival by visiting our website. And we look forward to seeing you in Warsaw someday soon so that you can come and cook along with the Alessia here in Warsaw. Shabbat shalom.