It's simmering on the stove and it smells amazing. Must be the lard. This was a very simple recipe. It simmers for nearly three hours, so it's better made ahead of time, but it doesn't take much effort once the vegetables are all cut up. You don't even have to brown the meat. I know next to nothing about sausage, so I bought Andouille, the only sausage that was smoked at Trader Joe's. It was pretty fiery but it tasted great- though I wish I could have tried the recipe with a more authentic sausage, whatever that would have been. I used the meat that I had, which was just over 2 pounds of a cut I think was called rib steak. It was tough with lots of connective tissue, but after the long simmer it was completely tender. Another winner from the Countess. Ingredients: 2 pounds of beef cut into 1 inch cubes 1 or 2 smoked sausages, sliced 3 medium onions sliced thinly 2 diced tomatoes 2 red or green bell peppers, peeled if you like and thinly sliced 2 or 3 potatoes, peeled and quartered 2 tablespoons paprika 6 cups boiling water 3 tablespoons lard, olive oil, or butter salt Directions:
Heat up the lard, olive oil, or butter in a large pan. Fry the onion in it until it is light golden. Add the cubed beef, the tomatoes, the chopped bell peppers, the paprika, and some salt. Simmer it very gently for 45 minutes. The salt will draw out moisture from the vegetables and it will create enough juice to simmer in. Slowly add the 6 cups of hot water, cover the pan, and let it continue to simmer for another 2 hours. Half an hour before serving add the potatoes, and 10 minutes before serving add the sausage.
0 Comments
I have completely lost the will to cook. This is a first for me. I can't use half my sink while I wait for the caulking on it to cure, half my family is gone across the country, there is an unholy pile of dishes, and I have lost the desire to even heat food up. It seems like too much trouble. There are coffee grinds on the floor. I can't cook with coffee grinds on the floor. I can't clean without water and a sponge. I can't access water and a sponge without moving the dishes in the sink. Nope, just can't.
My daughter wanted rice, but she got leftover apple pie which she then stuffed into a pita. We ate cereal until the milk ran out, chocolate chips until those ran out, and now we are working on raisins. There are grapes, but they need to be rinsed and the good half of the sink still has dishes in it. I think there might be a little ice cream left in the freezer, and that is always a nice option since you don't have to heat anything and you can eat right out of the container if you are in the state I'm in. I have created my own zombie apocalypse right here in my own kitchen. I got some advice from a few others who have had their own self-induced zombie apocalyptic days. One friend's advice was that I could "pile in the car and get WENDYS. Gasp." She also pointed out that paper plates can really save the day (which is obvious but never occurred to me), and lastly she informed me that there are plenty of moms who give their kids goldfish for dinner. If I don't snap out of this soon we will be in a bad way, but I promise that this will end before anyone's well-being is permanently harmed by lack of nutrition. Rickets and gingivitis haven't come knocking quite yet. I have broccoli and eggplant from my garden languishing tragically on the kitchen counter, but for tonight I think I'm just going to hunt down the mint chocolate chip ice cream. About every six months I borrow Margaret Shaida's The Legendary Cuisine of Persia from the library since a copy of the book ranges from $24-$178 on Amazon. In the chapter on the Persian kitchen, she describes the Persian herb bowl, eaten with feta cheese and thin soft flaps of Persian bread. I love a sprinkling of parsley as much as the next woman, but the idea of herb salad intimidated me. My friend Sara, a bona fide Persian, confirmed that it is in fact delicious. If Cicero had good things to say about it nearly 2,000 years ago and Persians still eat it today, then it must be worth a try. I invited myself over to Sara's house for dinner and fell in love.
This was a few years ago, and I apologize if I have altered this in any way that makes it less authentic, but I promise it is no less delicious. Persian Salad Ingredients: any combination of basil, cilantro, chives, or any other herb for that matter thin slivers of red onion feta slices of cucumber radishes cut into rosettes salted roasted almonds pita bread or lavash Method: Tear off a piece of bread and spread it with a chunk of feta. Add a sliver of onion, a slice of radish, an almond, and any combination of herbs. Roll it up into a bite-size nugget. I question the wisdom of posting about apple pie when this is my first one. I might be the last woman in America to jump on the apple pie bandwagon, but in case you too are intimidated by recipes calling for vegetable shortening or 40 caramel candies, I've decided to include this. Plus, if I post this there's no way I can lose the recipe and hope exists that I will make it again. I made two little pies 6 inches across, the dumpling-like monster in the picture above, and something that looked like a pop tart. The fake pop tart and the dumpling got the highest marks since there was a better ratio of filling to pie crust according to my home experts. The first discovery was Martha Stewart's recipe for pate brisee. I'm pretty sure I've seen that same recipe since the late 80s when I used to drool over my mother's copy of Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts, way back when the Martha Stewart empire was still a dream and she was just a perfectionistic caterer with a book deal and an awesome photographer. (At least that's the way I remember it.) The second discovery was that buying an apple peeler/corer/slicer was totally worth it. I'm not sure that I will use it more than once a year, but I am still charmed by the whole idea. If I have to visit another apple orchard this year just to stave off buyer's remorse, then so be it. So first- the recipe for pate brisee. Click and cook. It was perfect- but be prepared with 3(!!) sticks of cold unsalted butter. I made this recipe twice, and it turns out that that last 1/4 cup of flour is important, so follow the directions more carefully than I did. Apple Pie Filling:
This is straight out of the Ball Blue Book of Canning. I planned on doubling and tripling this to freeze for future pies, but ran out of apples. Next time. Ingredients: 6 pounds apples peeled and cut up 2 cups sugar 1/4 cup flour 1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 2 Tablespoons lemon juice Directions: Mix together and cook until it thickens. Cool and freeze. Tamar Adler is brilliant. I love her cookbook, An Everlasting Meal, and this recipe is taken from there. I always have cream, leftover rice hardening in my refrigerator, and coconut milk falling off a shelf in the garage. This means I am never more than an hour away from thick, sweet rice pudding. I've eaten it as a dessert, a snack, or even for breakfast. Ingredients:
2 cups of leftover rice 1 can coconut milk 1 cup cream 1/4 cup sugar, white or brown 1/2 cup raisins 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sprinkle of nutmeg Directions: Add everything to a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, and then simmer it for 45 minutes. Stir it occasionally, especially toward the end. When the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, it's done.
This recipe also comes from Recipes of All Nations by Countess Morphy and I included the original recipe in a photograph below. I tried to follow it as closely as possible, but when I researched the dish I started to wonder if I hadn't misinterpreted the directions. Then I watched someone make it on youtube, and now I'm certain that what I made and the dish enjoyed in Hungary are two very different things. But no matter! It's too good to change. Here is another recipe I found for Tokfozelek if you crave authenticity. The recipe below is my "interpretation". This would be great with buttered potatoes, but we ate it and loved it with steamed rice and an omelette. A Hungarian omelette, of course. Ingredients:
3-4 small zucchini 2-3 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon paprika salt 1/2 tablespoon flour 1 cup sour cream Directions: 1. Cut the zucchini in half and then slice into strips. Put the strips in a strainer with plenty of salt and leave to sweat for thirty minutes to an hour. When you're ready to start cooking, give it a quick rinse and a shake to get rid of most of the moisture. 2. Melt the butter in a 12" skillet over medium heat and add the zucchini strips and paprika. Cook it for about five minutes but be careful not to let it get too hot- if the paprika burns it will all taste bitter. 3. Stir in the flour and the sour cream and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. The sour cream starts to get thicker and cheesier. It probably won't need any more salt, but taste it to be sure. Recipes of All Nations by Countess Morphy is one of my most treasured possessions. Published in 1935, it was written for the "modern housewife" in America to show her how middle class women from other countries cook with economy, and to lighten the burden of figuring out what to eat every day. Most surprising to me is the variety of recipes she (Mrs. Morphy? the Countess?) was able to procure. In addition to most of the European countries, there are recipes from Russia, India, China, Japan, Arabia and Persia, Turkey and the Balkans, Greece, Africa, the French West Indies, and South America. There is even a recipe for Pho. She explains that nuoc-man is made from "a kind of brine exuding from decaying fish". Accurate, if not appetizing. There is so much to try, but last night I began with the section on Hungary. The recipes all seem to hold certain key ingredients in common- paprika, lard, cabbage, sauerkraut, sour cream, potatoes, bell peppers (pimientos), and meats like pork, chicken, and beef. So I bought all those things and tried my first recipe last night. It was very easy, and everyone liked it. No exceptions. My husband looked up at me with sad eyes, and said, "Will I ever see this again?" Yes. This deserves a spot in the rotation. It wasn't much to look at, however. Sorry the picture is so uninspired, but it would have taken an army to make it look even half as good as it tasted, and I still had dishes to do. I know Hungarian food doesn't have a reputation for being particularly healthy, and it certainly isn't light, but there are a few features of this meal I feel worth pointing out. Not only was it gluten-free, but the sauerkraut and sour cream are both cultured products if you make them yourself, and sauerkraut is loaded with vitamin C. So no, it's not raw juiced kale, but I promise it tastes better. I served it with boiled buttered potatoes. Directions:
Fry the onion in the butter or olive oil. When it has browned, sprinkle in some paprika and the cubed pork. Add just enough water to cover the meat and simmer it until the water has evaporated. Add water repeatedly until the meat is tender it you need to, but I didn't. The point seems to be to make the meat tender without turning this into a soup. Once the meat is tender and most of the water has evaporated, stir in the sauerkraut and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I added in more paprika just to make the color richer. I think up to a tablespoon would be fine. |
AuthorI love trying new foods, cooking, and gardening. I hope to share these experiences on this site. Thanks for taking a look! Categories
All
Archives
May 2020
|