Born in Poland in 1894, St. Maximilian devoted his life to spreading the Gospel through the media, founding monasteries, and encouraging devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is perhaps best known for his final act of charity in Auschwitz, where he volunteered to take the place of another prisoner who had been sentenced to die. Canonized in 1982, he is remembered not only as a martyr but as a man whose daily choices prepared him for extraordinary courage.

One of the most meaningful symbols connected to St. Maximilian comes from his childhood. He later recounted a vision in which the Blessed Virgin Mary offered him two crowns: one white, representing purity, and one red, representing martyrdom. He accepted them both. That image has become one of the defining symbols of his life and provides a thoughtful inspiration for today’s feast table. Rather than creating elaborate decorations or themed foods, families can simply notice the colors already present in seasonal ingredients—creamy potatoes, fresh cheese, and cauliflower alongside beets, tomatoes, raspberries, or red currants.

Personal Note from My Kitchen

One of the things that surprised me while researching St. Maximilian Kolbe was discovering that there really aren’t traditional foods connected specifically to his feast day. At first, I kept looking for the “right” recipe—the one that every Polish family makes on August 14. It doesn’t exist.

Instead, I found myself drawn to the foods that would have simply been part of everyday life in Poland. Potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, rye bread, fresh herbs, beets, and seasonal vegetables weren’t special occasion ingredients. They were the foods that sustained families through ordinary days, just as they had for generations.

I think there’s something encouraging about that.

The Two Crowns Harvest Skillet isn’t meant to recreate an exact historical meal. Instead, it brings together traditional Polish ingredients that would have been familiar in St. Maximilian’s homeland while quietly reflecting the two crowns that became such an important symbol of his life. It’s simple enough for a weeknight, hearty enough to gather everyone around the table, and, I hope, one more reminder that even an ordinary family dinner can point us toward something eternal.

You may also be interested in…

• Essential Mediterranean Vegetables to Grow in a Summer Garden
• 10 Recipes for the Feast of St. James the Apostle
• 11 Recipes for the Feast of St. John Paul II
• Lemon and Herb Skillet Chicken Breast
• 12 Simple Things to Do Instead of Scrolling (With Time Stamps)

Save

Harvest Skillet with Potatoes, Cabbage & Roasted Beets

Inspired by the humble meals St. Maximilian Kolbe likely shared in the Franciscan monastery, this one-pan supper combines creamy potatoes and cabbage (the white crown) with sweet roasted beets (the red crown). It’s inexpensive, deeply Polish, seasonal for August, and symbolic without being overdone.

Serve with rye bread and cucumber salad.

Ingredients

For the Roasted Beets

• 2 medium beets, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the Skillet

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cups green cabbage, thinly shredded
• 1½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional but traditional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• ½ cup farmer’s cheese (twaróg), or whole milk ricotta if unavailable
• 2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)

Instructions

1. Roast the beets. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the beet cubes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 30–35 minutes, stirring halfway through, until tender and lightly caramelized.
   
2. Cook the potatoes. While the beets roast, place the potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10–12 minutes, just until fork tender. Drain well and set aside.
   
3. Prepare the vegetables. In a large cast-iron skillet or sauté pan, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until they release their moisture and begin to brown, about 6–8 minutes.
   
4. Add the cabbage. Stir in the cabbage, garlic, salt, pepper, and caraway seeds, if using. Cook for another 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender with lightly caramelized edges.
   
5. Combine everything. Fold the cooked potatoes into the skillet and cook for 3–4 minutes until lightly golden. Gently stir in the roasted beets and fresh dill, taking care not to overmix so the colors remain distinct.
   
6. Finish the dish. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the farmer’s cheese over the top. Add a few dollops of sour cream, if desired, and garnish with additional fresh dill.

Serving Suggestion

Serve with thick slices of rustic Polish rye bread and a simple cucumber salad (Mizeria) dressed with sour cream and dill. For dessert, enjoy a slice of traditional Polish cheesecake (Sernik) or fresh raspberries with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

10 More Recipes to Honor Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Chłodnik Litewski

For an August feast day, Chłodnik Litewski may be one of the most seasonally appropriate Polish dishes you can serve. This cold soup combines young beets and beet greens with cucumber, radishes, dill, chives, buttermilk, and yogurt. The bright pink-red color gives the dish an especially natural connection to St. Maximilian’s red crown, without requiring any artificial feast-day theme. It is also wonderfully practical in summer: the soup is made ahead, chilled, and traditionally served cold, sometimes with hard-boiled eggs or young potatoes alongside.

Placki Ziemniaczane (Polish Potato Pancakes)

Placki Ziemniaczane are made by grating potatoes and onion and then combining them with eggs and flour. They are fried until the edges are thin and crisp. They can be served simply with sour cream or applesauce, making them easy to adapt as either a main dish or side. These Potato pancakes also have a long association with meatless meals, including Catholic Friday cooking, which makes them especially at home in a collection centered on simple, traditional food.

Krupnik (Polish Chicken Barley Soup)

Krupnik is one of those simple Polish dishes that feels especially appropriate for the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe. This version is hearty without being complicated. Barley has long been an inexpensive, filling staple in Polish cooking. What makes this recipe especially useful for families is its flexibility—you can make it with or without meat, adjust the vegetables to what you have, and refrigerate or freeze leftovers for another meal.

Barley with Mushrooms

Barley and Mushrooms are both deeply at home in Central and Eastern European cooking, making this simple side dish a natural addition to a Polish-inspired feast table. In this recipe, you brown the barley first in butter or olive oil before simmering it in stock with both fresh and dried mushrooms. While this particular recipe is not a traditional Polish dish, the ingredients themselves fit well with the foods that would have been familiar in St. Maximilian’s homeland.

Bigos (Polish Meat Stew)

Bigos is one of Poland’s great traditional comfort foods, built around cabbage, sauerkraut, meat, sausage, and deeply savory seasonings. There is no single definitive version; like many old family dishes, recipes vary depending on the cook, the region, and what happens to be available. This version combines fresh and fermented cabbage with several meats and allows room for mushrooms, carrots, and dried fruit. It is certainly one of the heartier choices for St. Maximilian Kolbe’s feast, but it also represents the kind of practical cooking that turns preserved ingredients into a substantial meal for many people.

Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad)

Mizeria is a simple Polish cucumber salad made with thinly sliced cucumbers, sour cream or cultured dairy, fresh dill, and a touch of acidity. Cucumbers and dill are abundant in summer, so Mizeria also makes sense for an August feast day. This version uses yogurt along with sour cream and explains how salting and draining the cucumbers keeps the dressing thick rather than watery. Serve it alongside potatoes, pierogi, or grilled meat.

Pierogi (Polish dumplings)

You see Pierogi and you may immediately think of the Polish kitchen table. This is a meatless version that is filled with creamy potatoes, cheese, butter, salt, and pepper before the dumplings are boiled until tender. Traditional versions use quark or another fresh farmer’s cheese, but this recipe includes accessible substitutions for cooks who can’t easily find Polish ingredients. Pierogi require a little more hands-on time than some of the other recipes in this roundup. You can prepare the ahead, making them a wonderful choice when you want the feast-day meal itself to become part of the celebration.

Czerwona Kapusta (Polish Red Cabbage)

Czerwona Kapusta is a classic Central European side dish and an easy way to bring traditional Polish flavors to a feast-day meal without making the entire dinner complicated. Slowly cooking the cabbage produces a soft, savory-sweet side that pairs especially well with pork, sausages, potatoes, dumplings, or other hearty dishes. This is the kind of recipe that works especially well for busy families because it uses inexpensive ingredients, can accompany several different main dishes, and does not need to be the centerpiece of the meal to make the table feel distinctly Polish.

Sernik na Zimno (Polish Cold Cheesecake)

Sernik is one of Poland’s most familiar desserts, and this chilled summer version is particularly well suited to an August feast. The creamy white cheesecake layer is topped with fresh berries and strawberry gelatin, naturally bringing together the white and red colors of St. Maximilian’s two crowns. The recipe can be made with cream cheese, although traditional farmer’s cheese can also be used, and the fresh strawberry or raspberry topping keeps the dessert tied to the summer season.

Raspberry Swirl Babka

This Raspberry Babka is a more modern take on a bread with roots in Polish Jewish baking traditions. The dough is spread with raspberry filling, twisted into a loaf, and finished with a cream cheese glaze. Although the finished loaf looks impressive, the technique is similar to making cinnamon rolls: roll, fill, slice, twist, and bake. That makes it a good choice for families who want one special homemade element for the feast without attempting an elaborate layer cake.

Prayer for the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the gift of this meal and for the time to gather around our table.

As we remember St. Maximilian Kolbe today,

help us to love generously, serve one another with joy, and remain faithful to You

in both the ordinary and the difficult moments of life.

Bless this food, our family, and all those who are hungry or alone today.

May our home be a place of peace, gratitude, and hospitality,

where Your love is shared with everyone who enters.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Save

Buy me a coffee