🥔 SIDE
Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream)
Paper-thin cucumber slices, salted and squeezed, then dressed in sour cream with lemon, a pinch of sugar and plenty of dill, the cool side for a pork cutlet and new potatoes.
Polish · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 0 min · plus 15 min hands-off time
~196 cal · 3g protein · 8g carbs · 18g fat · 1g fiber · 5g sugars · 12g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Mizeria is one of the most popular salads in Poland and a fixture of the Polish dinner table. It could hardly be simpler: fresh cucumbers sliced as thin as possible, salted to draw out their water, then dressed with sour cream, a little lemon juice or vinegar, a pinch of sugar and chopped dill.
The classic plate is a breaded pork cutlet, kotlet schabowy, with young potatoes sprinkled with dill and a mound of mizeria beside them, and it goes just as well with meatballs, fried fish or a fried egg.
The name is usually linked to the Polish word mizerny, meaning thin or meagre, though nobody can say for certain why. Cooks agree on one thing: squeeze the salted cucumbers well and dress them shortly before serving, or the salad turns watery.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 600 g fresh cucumbers, peeled, small, firm ones with few seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 200 g thick sour cream (18%)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, or 1 tsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- to taste black pepper
Instructions
- 1Slice the cucumbers as thinly as you can, ideally on a mandoline. Put them in a bowl, sprinkle with the salt, toss and leave for 15 minutes.
- 2Meanwhile stir the sour cream with the lemon juice, sugar and most of the dill.
- 3Take handfuls of the cucumber and gently squeeze out the water they have released, then put them in a clean bowl.✎ Chef’s noteThis is the step that keeps mizeria creamy rather than swimming in liquid.
- 4Fold in the dressing, season with pepper and taste for salt. Chill for a few minutes and scatter with the rest of the dill.
- 5Serve cold alongside a pork cutlet, meatballs or fried fish and new potatoes with dill.
Polish home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
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The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
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Good to know
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Make it a Poland meal
KompotDrink
SernikDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream)?
Paper-thin cucumber slices, salted and squeezed, then dressed in sour cream with lemon, a pinch of sugar and plenty of dill, the cool side for a pork cutlet and new potatoes.
Where does Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream) come from?
Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream) is a Polish dish from Lesser Poland, Poland.
Can Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream) take to make?
About 30 min in all: 15 minutes prep and 0 minutes cooking, plus 15 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 4.
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