Bean Casserole

This is tomatoey and smokey and great on a winters night. I use either mild csabai or a smoked paprika which again has no heat in it. This serves 4-6 & is very yummy with mashed potato or a thicker noodle (like a gnocchi for example). You can also add a couple of potatoes and have a thicker one-pot stew. ;)

Bean Casserole

• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 carrots finely sliced
• 1 stick celery finely sliced
• 1 can beans (I used borlotti but you can use whatever you have)
• 1 440g can chopped tomatoes
• water - fill the can from the tomatoes
• 1 small tub of tomato puree
• 1 stick csabai OR 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika and 200g tofu (for a vegetarian version) chopped into large chunks
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a casserole dish, stir till combined. Bake in a preheated 190 degree C oven for 1.5 - 2 hours or until the veggies and the meat is tender.

For the veggie version: do not put the tofu in at the beginning as it tends to fall apart if stewed for a long time. So cook until the veggies are almost tender, then stir the tofu through and cook for another 20 mins.

Lencse főzelék - Buttered Lentils

In Hungary it is customary to eat lentils on New Year's day. Lentils are apparently a harbinger of wealth, so if you eat them on New Years day you set yourself up for a year of good fortune. Perhaps it is because they look like tiny little coins? This is a yummy little recipe, though I tend not to eat it on New Years day as it is too hot here in Australia! It is, however, a delicous winter meal. If you want an even quicker meal simply buy pre-cooked tinned lentils & make sure they are well drained before moving on to the rest of the recipe! You can also change up this recipe really easily - add some mushrooms (so yummy with this), carrots, celery or celeriac, or whatever other veg you like. It does change the flavours of course, but you can come up with some nice quick winter veggie stews! The recipe below will serve 4-6 depending on how hungry the tummies are!

Lencse főzelék,
served here with 3 slicesof Trunkey Creeks "Kick-arse Kransky"

Lencse főzelék
2 cups of brown lentils
4 cloves of garlic
1tsp salt
1 tbsp paprika
2 bay leaves
225 gms of sour cream (I usually use lite)
125 grams low-fat milk
4tbs flour

optional: lightly fried smoked sausage (eg csabai or smoked kransky) for serving.

Wash lentils in a colander and discard any stones or discoloured lentils. In a pot lightly fry the garlic then pop in the lentils, salt, paprika, and bay leaves. Cover with water - about 2 cups. Cover and cook until the lentils are lovely and tender - should be 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on the water level as you don't want it all to evaporate or you'll burn the lentils.

While the lentils are cooking mix the sour cream, milk, and flour and combine well. When lentils are cooked to your satisfaction stir this through the lentils and cook till the consistency is that of a thick stew.

If you are going to serve with smoked sausage then sliced the sausage and lightly fry it. Serve the lentils in a bowl with a few slices of sausage on top.

Dad's carrot cake

Carrot Cake

This is my darling dad's recipe for carrot cake. My dad is an incredible cook, and has made some of the yummiest cakes and biscuits imaginable. This is the carrot cake I always think of when I'm craving for carrot cake... not too dense, not too moist, good amount of carrot and crunch from walnuts... and that delicously sinful icing. My dad recently gave me his precious recipe collection, so now I get to try them all ... 0oooh la lah! There goes my waist...

1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups finely grated carrot

Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until frothy. Add oil and beat well.
add sifted dry ingredients, walnuts and carrots, and fold in until combined.
place in a greased and floured square cake tin, and bake at 180 degrees C for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out cleanly. Cool and top with icing.


Icing
1 cup icing sugar
1 tbs butter
125g cream cheese

Beat all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

Paraj .... Spinach soup ... with egg

Paraj ... spinach soup with egg ...

serves 4

Paraj simply means "spinach" in Hungarian... but it's also shorthand for this yummy soup. I know, I know, it sounds odd at first. Trust me, though, once you get a taste of that creamy & garlicky spinach soup with that bite of eggwhite and the gooey runny egg-yolk you will think you have died and gone to heaven!! It's a really warming, filling, and above all easy week-day dinner dish.

500g chopped spinach (or silverbeet if you can't get real spinach - it will make for a greener soup! You can even use the frozen stuff)
1tbs oil
4 cloves garlic finely minced up
4 cups milk
1 tsp salt
4 eggs

Saute the garlic in the oil. Add the spinach, wilt down and cook away the liquid (most important with the frozen stuff!). Add in the milk and simmer until the spinach is lovely and tender. Puree the soup.

Cook the eggs to your liking. You can fry, poach, or boil them to the level of doneness you prefer. Personally, I like softly poached eggs so that is what I do.

Ladle the soup into a dish, and pop the egg into the centre. Now all that is left is to let your tastebuds enjoy the experience!

Chicken paprika stuffed capsicum

Chicken Paprika Stuffed Capsicums

serves 4

4 large red capsicums
400g chicken mince
1 onion finely chopped
2 tbs paprika
2 cups cooked rice
3 tbs sour cream

Lightly cook onion in a pan till translucent. Add in chicken and cook briefly till meat changes colour. Add in paprika and stir through. Place in a bowl with the rice and sour cream, mix through. Set the pan aside to use to cook the sauce. (see next recipe)

Cut tops of the capsicums, stuff with the stuffing. Put the top back on, and place capsicums in a lightly oiled baking pan. Bake for 40 mins or until the capsicums are soft and tender at 180 degrees C. Serve with a dollop of paprika sauce.

Paprika Sauce

2 cups chicken stock - salt-reduced if possible
2tbs paprika
2 tbs sour cream

Pour chicken stock in pan to deglaze. Heat until warm, add in paprika. Add the sour cream and stir till combined. Reduce down to a gravy-like consistency.

Note: You can make a vegetarian version of this by substituting the chicken with coursely chopped portabella mushroom, and reducing the amount of paprika you use in the stuffing mix.

Pumpkin stuffed with honey & walnut rice

Wintertime is a great time for baked yummy food. This is a very scrummy little pumpkin dish that makes the whole house smell yummy while it bakes.

I like the sweetness and savouriness of the rice - in my opinion it complements the pumpkin really well. I used two small pumpkins but you could do a larger one (like a butternut) - it'd just take longer to cook, and require more stuffing! The recipe is for 2 small pumpkins.

Pumpkin stuffed with Honey and Walnut rice

2 small pumpkins (1 person sized lol)
3 cups cooked rice

1 onion finely diced
3/4 cup walnuts
1 clove garlic
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch salt
5-6 tbs honey (to taste)

Place walnuts, garlic, spices, and salt into a mortar and pestle and grind until a rough powder. Some chunks of walnut are nice for texture so don't grind it down too much.

Mix rice, onion, and the spice mix with honey.

Wash the pumpkin skins (wipe over with water, and then dry off).

Cut the tops off the pumpkins and scoop out the seeds. Place the stuffing into the pumpkins, put the tops back on. Place in a baking dish.

Bake at 180 degrees C for about 45-55minutes or until the pumpkins are soft. Serve as they are - the whole lot is eaten skin and all. YUMMY.

You can also serve with a smidgen of sour cream or with a drizzle of a warm honey soy dressing - but I like it straight from the oven ;)

Note: Instead of just rice you can use 1 & 1/2 cups rice and 1& 1/2 browned mince - lamb mince works beautifully, but beef mince is also fine.

Caraway flatbread ... and some chilli ;)

Sorry about the quality of the picture!! This flatbread is really easy to make and you can change the flavours really easily by taking out the caraway and adding other spices, garlic, onion, or even a sprinkle of cheese into the mix. Much nicer than store-bought flatbread and really tasty!

Caraway Flatbread

Caraway flat bread

250g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp caraway seeds pulvarised with the salt

1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in 1/2 cup warm water

Method

Put the flour, salt, and caraway into a bowl. Pour in the water and mix until combined into a dough. Knead lightly till it is smooth. Cover the bowl and leave for about 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 10 pieces,  shape each into a ball, and then roll out thinly. Use a bit of flour on the board and dusted on top of each ball so it doesn't stick to the rolling pin. 

Heat a heavy based pan or skillet on a medium heat. Dry fry each side of the bread until golden (about 2-3 minutes each side). I find they are still warm if I make them quickly, but if you work a bit slower or want to make a double batch it's a good idea to have a warm oven to pop them into to keep warm.

Serve with the meal of your choice - in this case Chilli Beans and salad :)