Go Back

Traditional Polish Zapiekanka

Donnie
No ratings yet
The classic mała gastronomia preparation, as made on the streets of Krakow since the 1970s
Keep in mind that in Poland there are hundreds of variations of zapiekanka, much like pizza in Italy. Every vendor has their own version, every family has their own preference. This is the traditional baseline that everything else builds from.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes

Jump To

IngredientsMethodVideoNotes
Donnie Dodson

Don’t lose this one.

I’ll email it to you so it’s waiting when you’re ready to cook.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 French baguette halved lengthways — a standard bakery baguette is correct. The baguette is the historically documented base of zapiekanka going back to Gierek's French baking licence in the early 1970s
  • 250 g button mushrooms finely chopped — the traditional and documented topping, chosen because mushrooms were reliably available during communist-era food shortages. The fine chop is important for texture
  • 1 medium onion finely diced
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter — for sautéing the mushrooms
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Polish ketchup for spreading and garnish — Polish ketchup has a more concentrated, less sweet flavour than American ketchup. Heinz is an acceptable substitute if Polish ketchup is not available but the flavour difference is noticeable
  • 150 g gouda shredded — mild, meltable gouda is the traditional cheese. It melts evenly, does not become oily and has a mild enough flavour not to compete with the mushrooms
  • Fresh chives chopped, for garnish

Instructions
 

Sauté the mushrooms

  1. Melt the butter in a wide heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until softened and beginning to turn translucent. Add the finely chopped mushrooms to the pan. Season generously with salt and black pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released all their moisture, the liquid has evaporated completely, and the mushrooms are concentrated, slightly caramelised and deeply fragrant. This takes approximately 10 to 12 minutes and requires patience. Do not rush it by using higher heat or the mushrooms will steam rather than sauté. The concentrated, caramelised mushroom mixture is the flavour foundation of the entire dish.

Prepare the baguette

  1. Preheat your oven to 425°F or as high as your oven will go. Place the baguette halves cut-side up on a baking sheet. Spread a thin, even layer of Polish ketchup across the entire cut surface of each half. The ketchup layer goes directly on the bread, underneath everything else.

Assemble

  1. Spoon the sautéed mushroom and onion mixture evenly over the ketchup layer on both halves. Cover the mushrooms completely with shredded gouda, enough to cover the entire surface generously.

Bake

  1. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese has melted completely, is bubbling across the surface and beginning to turn golden at the edges, and the exposed crust of the baguette is deeply golden and crisp.

Garnish and serve

  1. Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle additional Polish ketchup in a line down the centre of each half. Scatter chopped fresh chives generously over the top. Serve immediately, ideally standing up, ideally on a cobblestone street in Krakow, ideally with a disposable bib.

Video

Notes

  • The mushroom cooking step cannot be rushed or abbreviated. The transformation of raw mushrooms into a concentrated, slightly caramelised mixture takes the full 10 to 12 minutes and the moisture must be fully evaporated before the mushrooms go on the bread. Wet mushrooms will make the baguette soggy rather than crisp and will produce a fundamentally different and significantly less satisfying result.
 
  • Polish ketchup is worth sourcing specifically if you are making this for the first time. It is available online and at Polish delicatessens in most major American and European cities. The lower sweetness and more concentrated tomato character of Polish ketchup is meaningfully different from American ketchup and produces a more authentic result.
 
  • Variations are not just permitted but celebrated. This is the traditional baseline. Add ham, add pickled cucumbers, add garlic butter under the cheese, add jalapeños, add a fried egg on top. Zapiekanka in Poland comes in as many variations as pizza in Italy, and the street vendors of Krakow have developed every possible combination over fifty years of practice. The only rule is that it starts with a toasted baguette and ends with ketchup.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!