Zapiekanka ~ Polish Open Faced Sandwich ~ Simple Delicious Food Recipes

Zapiekanka is a popular Polish open-face sandwich made of half a baguette or other long roll, topped with sautéed mushrooms, cheese, and can include other ingredients, toasted until the cheese melts, and served with ketchup.

These are also known as French Bread Pizzas and a popular street food in the bigger cities of Poland. When I first came across this food, I didn’t even bother to check other dishes even though I had Zeppole, a Popular Italian Street food. Since I wanted to make only savory street food, I didn’t want to check out for sweet options.

The word zapiekanka comes from zapiekac, which means “to bake,” and is the Polish culinary term for a casserole. Plural for is referred as zapiekanki or zapiekanka (zah-peeyeh-KAHN-kah), for singular.

While there are many versions of this zapiekanki sandwiches, starting with French bread with toppings of sautéed mushrooms, cheese, and ketchup, there are Hawaiian-style zapiekanki with pineapple, Greek-style with olives and feta cheese, Italian style and many more.

However, what makes the open-faced sandwich authentic is a thick drizzle of Polish ketchup across the top, no matter what cuisine the zapiekanka is trying to emulate. So I thought I might as well make my own version of Indian style.

This is was among the first dishes I made for the series and it was such a super duper hit with the kids. I used a long dinner roll and the topping was a mix of Konda’s favorite vegetables and I kept it minimum as I wanted the everything to mix and nothing to overpower. Zapiekanka surely is a filling bread to enjoy!

So we come to the last dish in this A to Z International Street Foods series and I am so thrilled and sad that this is coming to an end. Everything has to come to an end and we begin yet again. The philosophies of life! If you are interested to know the Flatbread for Z, check this post.

Zapiekanka

In this A to Z International Street Foods:

A for Arancini
B for Bunny Chow
C for Chatamari
D for Dürüm
E for Empanada
F for Fataa’ir Farmaajo
G for Gilgeori Toast
H for Hua Juan Bao
I for Imqarrun il-Forn
J for Jasuben’s Pizza
K for Khachapuri
L for Lángos
M for Mofo Anana
N for Nachos Supreme
O for Okonomiyaki
P for Panelle
Q for Qamdi
R for Rustico
S for Sabich
T for Toshka
U for Usal Poha
V for Vyprážaný syr
W for Waffle Savory Sandwiches
X for Xalapan Molotes
Y for Yaki Tomorokoshi

Step By Step Pictures for making Zapiekanka

How to make Zapiekanka 1

How to make Zapiekanka 2

Polish Open Faced Sandwich

Zapiekanka ~ Polish Open Faced Sandwich

2 Dinner rolls

For the toppings

1 /2 cup Onions
1 /2 cup Capsicum
1 /2 cup Corn
1 / 4 cup Pizza Sauce
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Red Chillies Flakes
1 /2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
2 tsp Butter

Heat a kadai with butter and saute the onions, capsicum and corn till done. Takes about 3 to 4 mins.

Assembling the bread
Slit through the bread and apply the pizza sauce over it.
Top it with the fillings and add grated cheese all over.
Microwave for a minute depending on how the cheese melts.
Garnish with thick tomato ketchup right away.

French Bread Pizzas