Polish poppy seed noodles

Well-known and much-loved poppy seed noodles, one of the traditional Christmas Eve dishes in Poland. In my family there was no tradition of serving this dish, but I discovered it through my husband’s family, where it was served as łazanki with poppy seeds. Since then, whenever I make homemade pasta for Christmas, I always set some aside for this dish. I highly recommend this festive dessert, right alongside my favourite poppy seed cake :).

Serves 6 generous portions.

Ingredients for the pasta:

• 300 g plain flour
• 3 eggs
• a pinch of salt

Place all the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and knead thoroughly. If the dough is too dry, add a little olive oil or water. Remove from the mixer and knead by hand for 2 minutes. Cover the dough with cling film and leave it to rest for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into portions. Working with one portion at a time (keeping the rest covered), roll it out, dusting very lightly with flour, to a thickness of approximately 1 mm (or thicker if preferred), then cut into strips. This can be done by hand or with a pasta machine, which first rolls out and then cuts the dough.

Cook in salted boiling water for approximately 8–10 minutes (less time if the pasta is very thin). Drain and rinse with cold water.

Ingredients for the poppy seed mixture:

• 250 g poppy seeds
• ½ cup honey (preferably a mild variety such as acacia or wildflower honey)
• 1½ cups mixed dried fruits and nuts: chopped walnuts or pecans, chopped almonds, candied orange peel, raisins and dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons soft light brown sugar (optional; the honey is usually sweet enough)
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cover the poppy seeds with boiling water (just enough to cover them), leave to cool, then drain thoroughly and pass twice through a meat grinder fitted with a fine poppy seed plate. Alternatively, cover the poppy seeds with boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes, squeeze out the excess water, leave to cool, then grind twice through a meat grinder fitted with a fine poppy seed plate.

Ready-ground poppy seeds, often available in shops, can also be used. This is a considerable shortcut, as they do not need grinding. Simply cover with boiling water, leave to cool, then squeeze out the excess water thoroughly, for example using a linen kitchen towel. Add the remaining ingredients to the ground poppy seeds and mix until combined. Mix the cooked pasta with the poppy seed mixture and serve

Enjoy!