Cucumber & Onion Cream Salad

Since my mother died I haven't had the heart to make pierogi or golabki - they remind me too much of her. Today, though, after a long day in the garden and yard hanging lattices and pulling weeds I had a quick and easy salad dinner - fresh garden salad, some cold cuts, and this cucumber salad made the way that my mum used to make it. As you will see it is not an everyday salad - unless you are out working off mega-calories digging ditches - but it really is a yummy salad to add to your repertoire.And it is nowhere near as "heavy" as you might think - the interaction of the acidity of the onion really cuts through the cream.

Cucumber and Onion Cream Salad

oops ... who didn't wipe down the sides of the bowl before taking the picture?

2-3 cucumbers thinly sliced (mum used to peel them, but I never bother to do so)
1 large onion thinly sliced
fat-reduced light pouring cream - enough to just cover the cucumbers and onion.
Salt to taste. You could probably pepper it too if you like.
A fresh sprig of flat leaf parsley, chives, dill, or salad burnett to garnish

Mix together the cucumbers and onions in a bowl. Pour cream over until just covered. Leave in fridge for at least 1/2 hour - the longer you leave it the milder the onions will become as their acid infuses into the cream. I usually leave it for 1-2 hours & the onions are usually very mild by then. Sprinkle with any herbs you might like - I used salad burnett because it is thriving in my garden at the moment, and tastes of cucumber.

Will last in the fridge... actually I'm not sure, we usually eat it all up in one go!! But I do recall my mother saying that it will last a few days in the fridge.

Hungarian potato flatbread - KRUMPLIS LÁNGOS

KRUMPLIS LÁNGOS

Lángos is deep fried yeasted potato dough. It's delicious warm, rubbed with garlic, or topped with sweet chili sauce (though that is probably not a traditionally Hungarian version!) and spread with sour cream. It is also a great accompaniment to soups, stews, curries, or anything where you just want something to mop up the juices!

Lángos served here with sauteed capsicums and sour cream

1-3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup of  milk
1 tsp sugar
2 1/4 tsps dry yeast

mashed potatoes made from:
1 cup cooked potatoes
1/4 cup of milk
1-1/2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt




In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup of warm milk, 1 tsp sugar and the yeast. Leave for 15 minutes until frothy.

In the meantime make the mashed potatoes (cook potatoes, drain, add in milk, butter & salt, and mash).
Spread out thinly in the bottom of a bowl to cool. When cool add the flour and the yeast mixture and combine to a soft dough. Knead until elastic.

Cover and let rise for 1/2 hour. Punch down, knead lightly, cover, and let rise for another 1?2 hour.

Shape into 16 balls. Flatten and roll the balls into flat round shapes.

In a large pot heat 2 inches of vegetable oil. Carefully lower a flat bread or two (depending on size of pan) into the frying oil and fry until both sides are golden - should not take too long if the oil is hot enough. (If oil is too hot it will colour immediately but the inside will still be doughy). Cook all the flat breads and serve with your choice of accompaniments.

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.