You expect tennis players to bring their A-game to the court, not to the kitchen. But this Wimbledon, Iga Świątek did both. After confidently knocking out Danielle Collins in the third round, the Polish tennis queen wasn’t just winning matches; she was being iconic. In a post-match interview, Iga Świątek, smiling mischievously, casually dropped the bomb: “My favourite dish is pasta with strawberries.” And soon enough, the internet lost its mind.
Pasta With Strawberries: Iga Świątek Describes Her Cheat Meal
To most people, putting fruit on pasta sounds like something out of a toddler’s lunchbox experiment. But in Poland, pasta with strawberries or makaron z Truskawkami is sacred. It’s soft, sweet, creamy, and so steeped in childhood nostalgia that to question it is practically unpatriotic. This dish makes use of pasta, mashed strawberries, a spoonful of sugar, and a dollop of yoghurt. It’s the kind of thing Polish kids come home to after school in June. Now, imagine dropping that kind of memory into the heart of Wimbledon, and watching the internet implode.
Even the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, jumped in with a selfie. It showed him with the TV on and a big plate of strawberry pasta in front of him.
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For The Polish, It’s Summer In A Bowl
If the dish was unfamiliar to most of the world, it was homecoming for every Polish person online. The comments under the viral video weren’t just supportive but deeply emotional. Someone said, “Every Polish person gets it.” And they really do. Another described Świątek as niewydumana, a Polish word that loosely means unpretentious, down-to-earth, beautifully herself. They equated her to a national treasure who didn’t just win a match, but casually put an entire summer memory on the global map.
Then there were the cultural wounds, one user quipped, “Pasta with strawberries… the only dish where your Italian friend cries, and your Polish grandma beams with pride.” Others talked about childhood memories: rice with fruit, afternoons spent chasing strawberries into bowls of warm noodles, and that bittersweet flavour only a summer in Poland can bring.
Świątek, knowingly or not, kicked off something far bigger than a quirky food take. She opened the door to a national collective memory and let the world peek inside.
Pasta With Strawberries: Recipe
Ingredients
- Pasta: 150–200g
- Strawberries: 250g, ripe
- Yoghurt: 200g, plain or vanilla.
- Sugar: 1–2 tablespoons
- Salt: Just a pinch
Method:
- Boil the pasta for a good 15-20 minutes.
- Mash your strawberries with sugar. Let them get messy in a huge bowl.
- Let the pasta cool a bit.
- Mix yoghurt with the cooled pasta.
- Then, add your strawberry mash.
- You have you sweet treat ready. Serve hot and enjoy!
So next time you’re debating lunch, don’t overthink it. Maybe just toss some strawberries on your spaghetti and see what happens. You may like it, and you will have a Polish grandma to thank for it.
Cover Image Courtesy: wimbledon/Instagram and al62/CanvaPro
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