The Polish Christmas Eve dinner is an elaborate affair: Twelve courses are served to commemorate the 12 apostles.
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00:00Is this the world's most elaborate Christmas dinner?
00:06All these dishes make up a single meal.
00:09It's the culinary Christmas Eve classic from Poland, the Wigilia menu.
00:14Delicious and family-friendly.
00:17The best part of Christmas.
00:21The twelve dishes are among the most beautiful Christmas Eve traditions.
00:26The Uweniawe restaurant in Warsaw is known for its traditional Polish dishes.
00:31Head chef Krzysztof Kowalski prepares the Wigilia menu every day.
00:38This menu consists of twelve dishes that, according to tradition, correspond to the
00:42biblical Last Supper.
00:44Each of the twelve dishes corresponds to a month of the year.
00:49In Catholic Poland, the association with the Last Supper of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles
00:53is especially widespread.
00:57This fish is a highlight of the Wigilia dinner.
01:04The first dish we prepare is sturgeon cooked sous vide.
01:07It was prepared ahead and vacuum cooked for an hour at 50 degrees Celsius.
01:16Now it is pan fried and then put in the oven for about 10 minutes.
01:27Fish dishes are a mainstay of the Wigilia menu, while meat is never served.
01:33This goes back to pre-Christmas fasting.
01:40Christmas Eve comes before the main celebration.
01:43You could say that we abstain from meat in order to save it for Christmas Day.
01:47It is our tradition and part of our culture.
01:54A number of traditions surround the Polish Christmas menu.
01:59Many families only start the Wigilia meal when the first star appears in the sky, representing
02:04the birth of Jesus.
02:06This is followed by another tradition.
02:10One especially beautiful custom is the breaking of the host, that is the white bread, the
02:15wafer, a symbol of Christ who was born in Bethlehem.
02:18Bethlehem means house of bread.
02:21We break the host and wish each other joy, love and kindness.
02:26But it is also a symbol of forgiveness.
02:28Before we sit down together at the Wigilia table, we forgive each other.
02:35The restaurant chef is preparing one of the desserts.
02:45Another dish we're preparing today is Wigilia Kutia, a wheat pudding.
02:50We've boiled poppy seeds and mixed them with cooked wheat and nuts.
02:54Then we add various other nuts, sultanas and honey.
02:59It's no coincidence that poppy seeds are used in the dessert.
03:03The poppy is Poland's national flower, and its seeds are a staple of the cuisine.
03:11Time to serve the meal.
03:13The head chef takes a seat across from the restaurant manager, who gives us a brief description
03:18of the dishes.
03:22The first course is herbed mushroom pierogis, followed by herring with mushrooms, cream
03:28herring and herring in linseed oil.
03:34Add to that the sturgeon, salad, filled dumplings, various soups and desserts.
03:45Do Polish families eat all these dishes on Christmas Eve in a restaurant or at home?
03:53I count myself extremely lucky that my wife trained at a catering school, and that's
03:58why we always cook for ourselves at home.
04:03I cook everything myself because my children know exactly what dishes they want and pretty
04:08much expect them.
04:12My mom rarely lets anyone else cook.
04:14She likes to do it all herself.
04:16It's always delicious and family-friendly.
04:19My brother is coming with his wife and kids, and my sister.
04:24But if you find yourself in Poland before Christmas Eve and want to get into the festive
04:28spirit, you can also enjoy the sumptuous menu at a restaurant.
04:33Does your country have a special Christmas meal too?