Whilst covering an event at the Bishop’s Meadows Community Sports Park, I was kindly offered my choice of any dish off the menu from ZapiekJanka UK, a food truck selling “traditional Polish pizza”.
Owner, Janka Sobczyk, and her family kindly prepared me a “traditional” baguette, which came as a most welcome gift for someone who was standing in the pouring rain, and who had mostly fuelled herself on coffee for her entire shift!
The offering also came as a sweet reminder of my family history and my connection with Polish cuisine.
My mother was half-Polish, but sadly, I am unable to speak any of the language.
My mother had grown up in a Polish-speaking household, as my grandparents had come to the UK after being held as prisoners of war.
They were resettled in a camp in Daglingworth, in Gloucestershire, before moving to London.
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Despite never mastering the language, I was brought up around plenty of Polish food, mostly at Christmas time, where each year my mother would spend hours in the kitchen preparing a traditional dinner on Christmas Eve, with the table stuffed full of pierogi, barszcz, gwumpki, and uzka.
It was lovely to be able to reconnect with some Polish food, as admittedly, I’ve not sampled any since my mother died suddenly earlier this year.
I’ve always wanted to try zapiekanka, as I’ve seen various stalls pop up around the UK selling it, including one in Hereford’s Buttermarket.
The stall sells several varieties of zapiekanka (pronounced zap-ee-kanka), including ones topped with ham and mushrooms, another with bacon and all the trimmings, and a rather intriguing chicken gyros-topped pizza (which I can undoubtedly say I will definitely be back to try).
The dish is formed from half a baguette topped with melted cheese, onions, mushrooms, and, in my case, a sauce of your choice (I opted for mayonnaise).
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I took my pizza back to the office with me, and decided to heat it up, having managed to protect it from the rain and preserve it for the car journey.
It was exactly what one wants on a miserable day that epitomised any stereotype of dull and rainy British weather, a comforting, filling, and warm meal.
I can testify that the baguette was absolutely ginormous and reheated extremely well.
The sauce was rich and tasted of fresh tomatoes, whilst the cheese, although mild, still had a distinguishable taste.
The real star of the show was definitely the toppings of mushrooms, perfectly crispy onions, and chives, which married well with the mayonnaise.
As well as pizza, the food van also offers knysza (pronounced k-nee-sha), which is a freshly-baked pitta bread filled with either chicken or pork, mixed vegetables, and topped with garlic sauce and onions.
I can’t recommend this business highly enough. The family were so welcoming and friendly to me, and the food was top-tier.
The truck has recently travelled to events in Kidderminster, Swindon, and Wigmore, and Leominster’s ‘Picnic in the Park’ at The Grange.
