AuthorChrisCategoryPolish cuisine, Polish Easter DishesDifficultyBeginnerYou know a recipe is going to be good when you ask a friend for it, and he starts off with saying "you're not going to like it". Well, challenge accepted!
I first heard of this dish from one of my students in an IT company where I had English lessons for 20 years! I know! The task was that before Easter everyone had to bring an authentic recipe from their family and explain it to the group. We are a varied group. Me, their teacher, a woman from America. They, Polish men, IT specialists from different parts of Poland.
I brought my pickled egg recipe in keeping with my mission to spread this dish all across Poland. And one student brought this recipes, as he described it - "a Holy Mess, with vinegar". What a name and what a sense of humor! This dish can be called strząszka, but it also know as święcelina or świeconka. Be aware though the świeconka is the name for the blessed food from the Easter basket and święcelina in some regions is a soup.
This dish is said to originate in the village of Siedliszowice and served traditionally at the Easter breakfast. Besides being a Holy Mess (with vinegar), I suppose it could best be describes as a sausage and egg salad.
Peel the hard-boiled eggs and chop into pieces.
Take the sausage and other meats (optional) and cut into pieces or cubes. Mix with the eggs.
Mix a tablespoon of water with 2 teaspoons of vinegar and pour over the sausage and eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix it all together and that's it, a "Holy Mess" with vinegar 😉
Enjoy and smacznego to you.
Ingredients
Directions
Peel the hard-boiled eggs and chop into pieces.
Take the sausage and other meats (optional) and cut into pieces or cubes. Mix with the eggs.
Mix a tablespoon of water with 2 teaspoons of vinegar and pour over the sausage and eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix it all together and that's it, a "Holy Mess" with vinegar 😉
Enjoy and smacznego to you.
17 Comments
Alexandra Dombrowski
April 7, 2023 at 12:50 pmHahahahaha, oh, Chris, this was precious.
Chris
April 11, 2023 at 8:21 am🙂
Cheryl Cressman
March 23, 2025 at 10:08 pmMy Polish Nana made this every Easter without the meat, but we always ate it with the ham and kielbasa. Although I have the majority of her recipes, this is one she never wrote down. Thank you ♥️…I have tried to replicate by taste and have failed every time. This will bring her and her memory of fabulous Polish traditions, back to our table ✝️
Patrick Hothersall
April 7, 2023 at 6:10 pmMy grandmother made this, and my father barely remembered the recipe. We thought it might have just been a figment of his imagination. I think we add more vinegar and mustard.
Chris
April 11, 2023 at 8:21 amYou know, if you ask any random person in Poland, they probably wouldn’t know this dish either. It’s regional and has been replaced by the famous mayo vegetable salad.
Ann Downing
April 10, 2023 at 4:34 pmI served this dish for our Easter breakfast but also included small pieces of pork cutlet and omitted the bacon. I have been eating this every year for over 70 years and have introduced others to it. Some love it and others will not even give it a try. My husband said I should make it more than once a year. I may surprise my daughter with it on her birthday and may bring to our next big family gathering this summer.
Chris
April 11, 2023 at 8:19 amI am so glad to hear of someone who still makes this because in my group of (Polish) students (in Poland), they didn’t know it – just the one student who presented it. I have all the ingredients left over from Easter, so maybe I will give it a try today 🙂
Peter Gutowski
October 22, 2023 at 2:21 pmMy father made this every easter with a small difference, no bacon. we had it on a platter and it was out all day and remade several times that day. My father never gave it a name but said he ate it every Easter. Unfortunately, he passed away before I learned to make it.
Chris
October 23, 2023 at 5:52 amThank you for sharing your memories. I wrote up this recipe that I’d known for years, after a reader described a family memory and wondered if I knew the recipe. It’s amazing how the right taste or the right smell can bring you back.
Millie
November 5, 2023 at 7:50 pmMy great grandmother from Poland (immigrated in 1909) made this as an Easter Soup. She boiled the ham and the smoked kielbasa separately, let the broth chill overnight. Then scooped off and discarded the fat. She combined the broth in one pot the next day, brought it to a simmer and added the vinegar, and salt. Then the cut up ham, kielbasa, pork loin (no broth) and hard boiled eggs (all cold), and combined them in equal portions. They sat in a bowl next to the pot on the stove. We would scoop the cold mixture into our bowl, ladle the hot broth over it, dollop of horseradish ….. soup. The cold ingredients were refilled throughout the day from the refrigerator, while the broth stayed on the stove. I had no idea about the salad. Thanks for sharing. If anyone knows this as a soup I would love to know what it’s called.
Chris
November 6, 2023 at 7:00 amThank you for sharing your Easter memories 🙂 That soup sounds delicious and I believe it is known as święcelina in some places.
Nick K
March 28, 2024 at 1:55 pmI have literally been making this for my entire adult life recipe from my Grandma, my wife NEVER believed it was real till today when I found this recipe, granted I make this recipe about 5x the size and freeze it so I can enjoy all year 🙂 I also use super spicey horseradish from the local grocer as I like it hot!
Chris
April 2, 2024 at 12:54 pmFinally the validation your recipe needed! I also discovered another student who makes it and she said she would send me a picture from this Easter. You’d think it wouldn’t be hard to find somebody in Poland who makes it, but it really is. I hope you enjoyed your Easter and that your wife continues to have faith in you 😉
Scott Misterka
April 20, 2025 at 6:20 pmI can’t believe people other than us actually eat this lol. My great grandmother from Poland made it every Easter. I still make it today ours is a little different we use veal and pork roasts, ham, fresh Kielbasa , and smoked kielbasa all cut up into bit size pieces and mixed together. Served cold with vinegar and horseradish as dressing to taste. I just made 20lbs of this for my dad and all my aunts and uncles. It’s something I can’t live without on Easter.
Chris
April 22, 2025 at 3:43 pmWhat a nice memory 🙂 For a lot of people in Poland, this is unknown, but for others it isn’t Easter without it!
Vic
April 21, 2025 at 2:15 pmSo now I know how to spell święcelina. That’s what it was called in our family. Although we substituted buttermilk for the vinegar. Which makes it look even more appetizing.
Chris
April 22, 2025 at 3:41 pmButtermilk sounds like a tasty addition 🙂 I’m glad you got the correct spelling. I hope you had a good Easter and a good święcelina!