Definition: Włoszczyzna is the Polish word for soup vegetables or greens common throughout Poland. The word literally means "Italian stuff." A włoszczyzna typically consists of carrots, parsnips or parsley root, celery root or celeriac, leeks and savoy or white cabbage leaves, and sometimes celery and flat-leaf parsley. Queen Bona Sforza, who was Italian and married Polish King Sigismund I the Old in 1518, introduced vegetables to her new homeland. Many Polish words for vegetables, in fact, are taken directly from Italian -- kalafiory (cauliflower), pomidory (tomatoes) and sałata (lettuce), for example.
Pronunciation: vwawsh-CHIZ-nah
Examples:
I used a włoszczyzna to make my Polish fresh mushroom soup.
