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Zapiekanka is a Polish dish made with a baguette topped with mushrooms and grated hard cheese, then baked until crisp. It is often covered with ketchup or other sauces. The dish originated during Soviet rule as a cheap and easy meal, and is still popular as Polish fast food today.
Zapiekanka is a Polish dish somewhat similar, in construction at least if not in taste, to other dishes such as the Italian antipasto bruschetta. This dish consists of a baguette of bread, either halved along its length or cut into round slices, which is topped and then baked until crisp. The toppings used on this dish can vary widely between regions of Poland and a cook’s or eater’s preferences, but traditional toppings include mushrooms and grated hard cheese. Zapiekanka is then often covered lightly with a sauce after cooking, and while ketchup is traditional for this dish, some people prefer mayonnaise or garlic sauce instead.
The name of this dish comes from the Polish word zapiekac, which means “cook” and can be used to refer to any cooked dish in general. During the time when the territories of Poland were part of the Soviet Union, as food and money were scarce for many citizens, “zapiekanka” started to refer to a particular dish that was cheap and easy to prepare. After the end of the Soviet Union, the tradition of eating zapiekanka as a Polish fast food continued, and many restaurants and street vendors continue to sell this dish.
Zapiekanka typically starts with a baguette that is either halved down the middle or cut into individual slices. Once halved, each half can be cooked together as one long piece, or the halves can be divided into smaller sections. These baguette pieces are then topped with mushrooms, usually champignons, which are often lightly cooked in a little oil to increase their flavor and tenderness. The mushrooms are then topped with a grated hard cheese, the choice of which depends on the preferences of the cook or the eater.
The zapiekanka is then placed in a hot oven and baked until the bread is toasty and the cheese is melted. Once removed from the oven, many vendors or home cooks top it off with some type of sauce. Ketchup is the traditional condiment, resulting from the convenience of ketchup under Soviet rule. Modern variants of zapiekanka have also added other toppings and sauces, including minced or diced meat such as ham, plus vegetables and different sauces. Mayonnaise is sometimes used in place of ketchup, while other cooks use a light garlic sauce to add flavor and allow all other flavors to pass through.
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