Caraway seed soup

Caraway seed soup is a light and tasty dish. It is a simple dish, ideal for fast days, and a perfect starter for a banquet.

Ingredients 

• 2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1tbs flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups water or veggie stock

Method

• Heat the oil and toast the seeds until they release their aroma.
• Add the flour and let it brown a bit. 
• Add the paprika, and pour the water or stock over.
• Cook for 15 mins until it is silky
• Strain the seeds, and serve with crusty bread.

Dobos Torte

The Dobos Torte is a many-layered cake, with a chocolate cream filling and icing, and a glaze of caramelised sugar.It is delicious, and it takes time to make. My best friend and I made one for my birthday, and it was super yummy - well worth the effort. This recipe lasts well - it was better the day after it was cooked, and still moist and yummy two days after that. Then it was all gone, so I can't tell you how long it might have lasted!!

Dobos torte, with slightly wonky layers and oozy chocolate filling,
served with cream and walnut toffee

I'm going to post this in stages, as it will help you better with the flow of what needs to happen.

Firstly make the chocolate cream filling/icing.

150g semi-sweet chocolate melted
6 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 cup butter

Beat the eggs and 1 cup of sugar in the top of a double-boiler until the mixture thickens into a custard - it will have the consistency of a slightly thick creme anglaise. Remove from heat and beat in the melted chocolate and the butter (the heat should melt the butter into the mixture for you).

Set aside to completely cool. This is very important. We actually filled the cake when it was not completely cool, and it did ooze a little - as you can see in the picture. Had we waited we would have slightly thicker and more even filling.

Make the cake

5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup sifted plain flour

Beat the eggwhites until stiff.
Using the unwashed beater, beat the egg-yolks, sugar and salt, until the mixture thickens.
Fold the egg yolk mixture into the eggwhites.
Fold the flour into the batter.

Bake 6-8 layers - your batter should be 1/4 inch thick in a pan that is lined with baking paper - for 10 minutes each in a hot oven (400F or 200C) - they should only be lightly browned.
Turn out and remove the paper immediately.

Make the caramel glaze

3/4 cup of sugar
1 tbs of butter

put the sugar and butter into a pan. Over a low heat let the butter and sugar melt into a caramel. If it is heating unevenly shake the pan, rather than stirring, as stirring can sometimes make the caramel cystallise.

Put a layer of your cake on a piece of baking paper in a baking tray. Pour the caramel over the top and QUICKLY - before it cools - cut the caramel into as many slices/wedges you want the cake to have. You must do this, or you'll find it hard/impossible to cut the cake later. In between each cut you can run your knife through a pat of butter to help with any issues with stickiness. We had a fair amount of caramel run-off - which we then quickly added some crumbed walnuts to & used to snack on and garnish our finished dessert.

Assemble the cake.

place a layer of cake on a board/plate. Cover with filling, Repeat till you get to the last layer which is already covered in caramel. Ice the sides of the cake with the chocolate cream

Sit down and admire your creation. Then enjoy!

Paprikás csirke (Paprika Chicken)

paprika chicken, served with kluski/gnocchi and snow peas.

Paprika chicken is one of those simply yet amazingly tasty dishes. It is heavy in sour cream, so it's really not an everyday food, but it is a fantastic dish for a birthday treat! Seeing as I just had one of those, I had to celebrate and spoil myself :)

Real Hungarian paprika - that is, paprika grown and produced in Hungary - gives the best, most intense flavour and colour. If you can't get that, Hungarian-style will do.

I like to serve it with a little bit of green crunchy veg for texture - and snowpeas are my absolute fav for that!. makes for a lovely vibrant dish as well.

Ingredients

1 chicken, jointed (ask your butcher or use the equivalent in size of wings and legs from the supermarket) - keep the meat on the bone, it improves the flavour.
2 onions finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons of sweet paprika
1 tub sour cream
salt to taste

noodles to serve

Method

• Cook onions in a casserole dish in a little bit of olive oil until translucent.
• Add in meat and brown skin.
• Add in the paprika.
• Cover the chicken with water so that it is *just* covered - the more liquid, the runnier the sauce will be.
• Place in a oven at 180 degrees C and cook for 40mins-1hr until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
• take out of oven, and add in sour cream, a bit at at time, until you get the flavour balance you are looking for. Season to taste.

Serve over noodles.

Diós csók (Walnut Kisses)!!

Well... you've got eggwhites left over from making Pączki .. so what are you to do. Well, I suppose you could make an eggwhite omelette or something just as healthy, but if you want to be a little bit decadent then make some diós csók (Walnut Kisses)!! These are light, sweet, airy, with a lovely hint of walnutty goodness. This is a little Hungarian cookie that is just divine... low in fat too, though we won't mention the sugar content lol

Ingredients

 4 egg whites beaten stiff
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 cups walnuts quartered or coarsely chopped

Method

In the top of a double boiler combine the egg whites, sugar, and lemon juice, and beat constantly over hot water for 10 mins until the mixture is very thick and glossy. Fold nuts in gently. Drop spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet.

Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees until lightly browned.

Gulyás leves (Goulash Soup) - Authentic Hungarian Goulash!

Gulyás with crusty bread - a lovely warming meal.
This version was made with sweet paprika.

There are many different recipes for Goulash on the web - so what makes mine authentically Hungarian? Well, it comes from my father who is authentically Hungarian, of course!! This dish has a beautiful red colour to it, and a spiciness that contains no heat,  from the sweet paprika used to flavour it.   Real Hungarian goulash is a soup, not a stew. This same dish thickened into a stew is more rightly called a Pörkölt instead of a Gulyás.


What I am giving you here is the most basic recipe - to this people add all sorts of things - a spoon of tomato paste, carrots, caraway, and garlic, for example. Some cooks add potatoes, but others will tell you to never "spoil" the taste of goulash with potato. I say, do whatever rocks your boat! We never add potato, prefering the taste of the "unspoilt" soup lol! Green capsicums are usually used in this dish, but I used red as they were half the price of the green!

This dish is also brilliant to make in a slow cooker - just add in all the ingredients and off you go!

This was the gulyás I made last night, with smoked paprika.
Turned out to be quite yummy!!

Gulyás

1 kg beef (choose a casserole cut)
3 onions finely sliced
2 tbs sweet Hungarian paprika
2 green capsicums, chopped  
water


Saute the onions until translucent. 
Brown the beef in with the onions.
Add in the paprika and capsicums.
Pour in water to completely cover the contents of the pot, and a wee bit more.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until the beef is tender.
 
Serve it with crusty bread or some noodles & enjoy!


Note: I've found that smoked paprika will do at a pinch too, when you find out at the last minute you're out of sweet on a rainy evening when you're in your jammies, and the meat has just been browned!!! Changes the flavour, obviously, but still is mighty tasty!

Cucumbers - KOVÁSZOS UBORKA

SUCCESS!!! I did it - I made Hungarian fermented/pickled cucumbers - and they taste AMAZING. It's not just me saying that, either, an independent tester also found them yummy!

They were amazingly easy to make - and I can't wait to get my hands on some more baby cucumbers to make some more. These won't last long around here... we've already hooked into them this afternoon and at dinner time :D



The recipe is  from Zsuzsa and her wonderful blog at http://zsuzsaisinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/08/fermented-pickles-kovaszos-uborka.html

Almás lepény

Almás lepény

Almás lepény is a Hungarian apple cake/pie. It is full of appley goodness! The apples for this version came straight from my dad's apple tree - and you can't get fresher than that. I'm not sure what the variety of apple is, but they were pinky-red rather than scarlet, sweet, and slightly tart. Use any sort of apples you want, as long as they are full of flavour! The pie/cake is light and a little bit moist, and will last a day or two - though it is best straight from the oven.

I've been wondering if I can use the same recipe with different fruits, like pears for instance ... will have to give it a go sometime...

Ingredients
200g plain flour
200g butter
4 eggs seperated
75g brown sugar
60g white sugar
500g diced apples (ours came direct from Dad's tree!)
2 apples sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp baking powder

preheat oven to 200C or 400F

Method
Beat eggwhites and white sugar till stiff.

Mix melted butter, brown sugar, and egg yolks. Fold this into the eggwhites. Sift the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder in. Gently fold in the apples.

Pour into a pie dish. arrange apple slices on top. I then sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top, which is why it looks so brown in the pic - not overcooked I promise!

Bake for about 45mins or until a skewer comes out clean.

Serve hot or cold, with or without custard and/or cream.

Red Cabbage with Caraway

Cabbage with Caraway

I just love this - it is quick, easy, yummy, and good for you!! I usually have it with pumpkin kluski (a sort of gnocchi from Poland), and that combo is perfect for autumn - not only do you have the warm oranges and purples of autumn colours, but the flavours as well - and a good warming and filling dish.. It goes well with noodles or with meat. If you haven't had caraway try it - it is a lovely spice, no heat but with a lovely fragrant taste. :)



Ingredients
olive oil for frying
2 -3 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 small head of red cabbage sliced finely
2 onions sliced

Method
Heat oil over a medium heat, add caraway seeds and onion and cook till the onion is translucent.

Add cabbage and cook until the cabbage is soft but still firm. Serve!!

Variations
You can add a bit of butter for a bit more richness, or a splash of brandy for a bit of fruity sweetness - but the original is pretty good all by itself! Some people add a wee bit of sour cream right at the end, but I prefer it without myself :)

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.

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.

Fonott kalács - Hungarian Easter Bread

A braided loaf and a ring ...  mmm smells good!

Fonott kalács - A Hungarian Easter Bread

The traditional lenten feast of old required the abstinence of dairy, meat & eggs, and yeast - so this yeasted bread baked for the Easter festival is a rich one - full of eggs, butter (or other shortenings), sugar, and fruit. Love the scent and taste of the lemon zest in this!

 

Ingredients
1 cup lukewarm milk
1 teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) softened butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup sugar or to taste
2 large eggs
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup light raisins
1 large egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon milk
 

Preparation:
Stir 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast into milk and let sit for 5 minutes or till activated.

Place flour, salt, yeast mixture, butter pieces, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 eggs, zest and raisins in a bowl, and mix until well combined. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour, if necessary. 

Place dough in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat both sides, cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled.
 

When risen, punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 3 equal pieces and let rest, covered, about 5 minutes. Roll each piece of dough into 3 ropes about 20 inches long and braid on a parchment-lined baking sheet, tucking ends under. 

Instead of one long egg twist, the braid can be joined to make a circle shape. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
 

Heat oven to 190'C. 

Brush egg-milk glaze over entire surface of braid. Bake 40-50 minutes or until golden brown. Let rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

Note: if you make smaller rings/braids you may need to reduce the cooking time - check on your bread!