Epcot International Food and Wine Festival 2013 Part 2 and Zapiekanka (Polish Mushroom and Cheese Bread)

Last week, I wrote about the Japan and Cheese Booths at Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival 2013 and made a version of the Teriyaki Chicken Hand Rolls. Today, I’m going over the Scotland, Italy, and Poland Booths and am making Zapiekanka (Polish Mushroom and Cheese Bread)!

Scotland is the newest booth to come to the Food and Wine Festival. Food options at this booth included the Seared Scottish Salmon with Cauliflower Puree, Watercress, and Malt Vinaigrette; Vegetarian Haggis with Neeps and Tatties (Grilled Vegetable Cake with Rutabaga and Mashed Potatoes); and Scottish Banoffee Tart with Bananas, Scotch Whisky Toffee, Walkers Shortbread Crumbles, and Sweet Cream. Innis and Gunn Original, Loch Lomond featuring 12 year Glenfiddich, and Glenfiddich Scotch Flight (12, 15, 18 yr) were available for beverages.

The Scotland booth was Chad’s choice and he got the Innis and Gunn Original and Seared Scottish Salmon. This was his second favorite booth at the festival (first was Mexico). Evan really enjoyed the cauliflower puree- something I need to remember next time we get cauliflower and don’t know what to make. I’m generally not a fan of fish or beer, but still tried a bite/sip of everything. I was pleasantly surprised by the beer. It was light and sweet with a hint of vanilla. I may have found my first beer that I actually like. The salmon was ok to me, so I left the rest to Chad and Evan.

We visited Italy later in the day and I forgot to take a photo of the booth. The Italy booth has been around since the first Food and Wine Festival, with occasional menu changes. This year, offerings included Ravioli di Formaggio all’Emiliana (Baked Cheese Ravioli with Creamy Beef Bolognese Sauce, Parmesan, and Mozzarella), Salsiccia e “Papacelli” Napoletani (Sweet Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions on Ciabatta Bread), Cannoli al Cioccolato (Chocolate covered Cannoli with Sweet Ricotta, Chocolate, and Candied Fruit), Pinot Grigio Placido, Moretti Beer, Prosecco, Chianti Placido, and Italian Margarita.

I ordered the Ravioli di Formaggio all’Emiliana and Cannoli al Cioccolato. The ravioli was Evan’s overall favorite at the festival. Chad and I really enjoyed it too, but Evan didn’t leave us much to sample. Cheese ravioli were layered over beef bolognese, smothered in more cheese, and broiled. I am sure I will end up recreating this eventually. Cannoli is one of my favorite desserts, top ten at least, and this was the first one I have tried with a chocolate dipped shell. My chocolate hating husband didn’t approve, but that just left more for me. I didn’t share any with Evan, but he was too busy devouring the ravioli to notice. I should probably add cannoli molds to my list of wanted kitchen gadgets.

The Poland booth offered Zapiekanki (Toasted Mushroom, Caramelized Onion, and Cheese Bread with House-made Ketchup), Kielbasa and Potato Pierogi with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream, Temptation Zinfandel, Okocim Brewery-Okocim O.K. Beer, and Frozen Szarlotka (Apple Pie) featuring Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka.

I was tempted to get the Kielbasa and Pierogi. I just couldn’t justify spending over 5 dollars on one pierogi and a couple slices of kielbasa. I had never heard of Zapiekanki before, so I wanted to give something different a try. Zapiekanki are a Polish street food made by covering slices of baguettes with mushrooms, caramelized onions, cheese, and ketchup. The ketchup at the festival had a bit of spice to it and reminded me of Currywurst sauce. I am not sure if Evan was too full from the previous Italy booth or just didn’t like the spice in the ketchup, but he only took one bite. I really enjoyed the Zapiekanka and was determined to make it again once we got home (which I did!).

The base for the Zapiekanka (Zapiekanki plural) is a halved baguette. I used the same baguette recipe that I use for Crostini from Pick Fresh Foods. The basic Zapiekanka is topped with mushrooms, caramelized onions, and cheese before baking or toasting. It is then drizzled with ketchup. It is a popular fast food in Poland and there are many other variations.

While Evan didn’t eat much of the Zapiekanka at the festival, he loved it at home. I am glad that I found this recipe to add to my list of quick lunches. I was able to split the ingredients into two meals worth of food. I sauteed the mushrooms and onions the first day and baked them on half of the loaf, then refrigerated the extra toppings. The next day, I assembled the zapiekanka on the other half of the baguette with remaining leftovers for a lunch in less than 20 minutes.

I topped my Zapiekanki with plain ketcup. If you want to make a spicy version like Epcot’s, mix in some curry or hot paprika powder to taste into the ketchup before drizzling.