Plum gnocchi (szilvás gombóc)

Plum gnocchis bring back some very sweet childhood memories … delicious plums wrapped in soft, pillowy dough with a hint of bread crumbs spiced with a little sugary cinnamon. In Hungary, it is often served as a second dish after a heavier soup but it t can also be a dessert. Late summer is the time when plums are ready so I’m so excited to have them again.

Plum gnocchi is made in many countries of central Europe: in Italy (Gnocchi de susine), Hungary (szilvás gombóc), Croatia (Knedle sa sljivama), Austria (Zwetschkenknödel), Romania (Galuste cu prune), Slovenia (Slivovi cmoki), etc. Supposedly, it originated in the region of Trieste that has a colorful history being part of different countries. Trieste is in Italy today but was part of the Astro-Hungarian Empire for some time. Oh and all those other countries that Plum gnocchi is made have some affiliation to Hungary …

Gnocchi (pronounced nyow kee) is an Italian word that means knuckle or knots. Gnocchi is a mixture of flour and water and possibly many other ingredients including potatoes as well. So what nationality is Plum gnocchi? Today, people in any of those above mentioned countries would argue that it is theirs but please read on … If you know European history and how countries have changed, this recipe might reflect the ever changing times. Also, remember potatoes came from the new World …

It doesn’t matter who invented it, indeed it is a fabulous dish with its main ingredient the plum. Plums are slightly cooling with a sweet and sour flavor, so it will need the pungent cinnamon! Try to get the Italian or the Hungarian purple plums but other sweet, great tasting plums will work too. In addition to its vitamin and mineral content, plums are also a great source of fiber. So take a bite of this intriguing history …

Enjoy Palotás music while you’re eating this dish…

RECIPE

Makes about 18 balls plus the little gnocchi pieces

INGREDIENTS

about 1 lb russet potatoes (4-5 potatoes
2 cup flour or more depending on the dough
1 Tbsp semolina flour (optional)
1 egg
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
10-18 sweet plums – depending on the size of your plums

coating

1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup of walnuts (finally chopped)
5 Tbsp butter
1 tsp apple spice (1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp clove, 1/8 nutmeg, 1/8 tsp mace)
1 T sugar
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Place the potatoes with the skin on in a large pot. Add cold water to the pot, bring the water to boil. Turn heat down and continue cooking on medium low heat covered for about 45 – 60 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Peel them while they are still hot but you can handle. Mash the potatoes while they are warm. I like to place the potatoes onto a metal steamer with ‘feet’ so the vitamins and minerals don’t boil into the water and so they don’t soak up too much water. If the potatoes are too wet, the dough will need more flour and will be harder. (Please see picture below).

Puree the potatoes while they are still warm, I was able to do it as soon as the peels were taken off. I used a potato ricer. I put the potatoes through the larger holes of the ricer, then the smaller ones. It is worth investing in a potato ricer if you want a nice and soft dough. I also read that smaller holes on a cheese grader could work- if you don’t have a ricer.

Let the dough cool completely. Mix in the flour, salt, egg, 1 Tbsp of butter, potatoes and start kneading the dough to make a ball. Do not over do it. Make sure your potatoes are at room temperature. If they are warm they will take up too much flour. You can use the fridge for 5 minutes if needed.

Let the dough rest for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the plums. Wash them, cut them in half and take out the pits.

Melt the butter on low heat and add the crumbs stirring frequently for about 10 minutes or until the crumbs soak up the butter and become golden brown. Use lower heat so the butter doesn’t burn. Add the cinnamon, sugar and chopped walnuts. Mix. This will be used to coat the balls.

Also, mix the 3 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of salt for the stuffing.

Fill a 5 qt pot with about 3 qt water. Bring to a boil with a little a little salt.

After 1 hour, place the dough on a flat, floured surface and start stretching it to 1 cm thickness until it is a squarish shape. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Cut out 9 squares. Don’t worry about getting the shape perfect because we will use the left overs for the mini gnocchis, in Hungarian nudlis.

Assemble the dumplings. Place one of the dough squares into your palm. Put a plum piece along with the cinnamon sugar in the dough. Fold corner by corner gently tucking the stuffing inside and then roll it to make a ball. Do this with each square. Coat them in flour.

You can take half of the left over dough and start rolling long strips with them. Cut short little pieces off, coat in flour. Do this with the other half as well. You will cook them with the balls. If you don’t want to make these, use this left over dough to make more balls.

When the water starts boiling, you can drop the dumplings in the water one by one with a slotted spoon. Also, add the little gnocchi strips in this water. Try to gently stir them to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

When the dumplings come to the surface, cook them for about another 5 minutes and remove them with a slotted spoon.

Put the dumplings into the coating mixture that you prepared earlier and roll them around until they are well coated.

Oh and you might want to double up the recipe or triple …

Serve warm with a little vanilla sugar or honey.

enjoy! Jó étvágyat!

Recipe, photo and text by twincitiesherbs.com.

Turkish stuffed eggplants (vegetarian)

This is the vegetarian version of my previous recipe, the Turkish stuffed eggplants (karni yarik). I tried to keep the recipe’s Turkish authenticity but otherwise it is my creation. I replaced the meat with lentils, eggs and cheese and used oregano in the place of mint. I also used more tomatoes to keep the mixture moist. All these ingredients are used in Turkey and hope you will like it as much as I did. If you try it please let me know in the comment section how you liked it.

I can’t help but notice the abundance of goods at the farmers’ market. The tables are filled with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. In fact, it is the time of the year when they have the most varieties available. For today’s post I picked eggplant.

We associate eggplants with the Middle East but it actually originated from India and has also been popular in other Asian countries for a long time. Today, it is used all over the world. In Europe, it was a staple until potatoes arrived from the New World. The Turkish have certainly created many recipes with it and believe that they have the best eggplant dishes. The Spaniards had brought it over to the Americas in the 1600s. Eggplants have been used in the United States; however, earlier, people didn’t really know what to do with them. Many just used them for decorations only.

Eggplants come in all kinds of shapes and colors. Shapes can be round or more elongated and the colors can vary from white, green to purple. In the United States, the rounder, purple, more oblong eggplant is usually available in stores. For this recipe, try to buy these medium sized, fat, purple eggplants that I have pictures of. Also, make sure they are about the same size because different sizes will vary their cooking times. Also they should be nice and firm.

Eggplants belong to the night shade family along with tomatoes and potatoes. It is a cooling bitter plant that is highly nutritious with vitamins A, B, C, K1, E and minerals manganese, magnesium, copper, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc. An interesting fact is that we often believe that it is a vegetable but in fact it is a fruit. Also, it is thought to be aphrodisiac.

In addition to its nutritional values, people have been using eggplants for other health benefits too. Asians like to use them for their cooling property. It is good for digestion, particularly for stagnation and heat. It helps clear heat that gets trapped during the warmer months. This makes it a valuable plant now, during the Indian summer. In addition, its antioxidants can protect the liver from toxins.

It is also associated with fertility from its ability to unblock stagnation in the liver and the womb. In China, brides are supposed to posses 12 eggplant recipes before they got married. However, pregnant women are advised to limit the consumption of eggplants because of the possibility of miscarriage.

List of my other eggplant dishes

Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked rice (about half a cup raw)
about 1/4 cup of olive oil
4 medium, equal sized purple eggplants. Try not to get different sizes because they need different cooking times.
1 cup cooked lentils (about 1/2 cup uncooked)
4 oz mushrooms, chopped (I used crimini).
2 lightly beaten eggs
1 finally chopped yellow onion
1 finally chopped peppers (green, red, yellow-your choice)
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika powder
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt or to taste
6 fresh plum tomatoes or other tomatoes (canned is fine too)
1 cup hard cheese + more for the top
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup flat leafed parsley

Direction

Soak the lentils for a few hours if you have time.
Cook lentils.
Prepare rice with bay leaves. Use 1/2 cup of rice with 1 cup of water.
Bake eggplants. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Wash eggplants and put them on an oiled baking sheet. Prick them with a fork in 6-8 places, half inch deep to prevent them from exploding in your oven. Coat them with some olive oil with a brush. Bake them for 45 – 60 minutes or until they are nice and soft, so you can put the blade of a knife through easily. You don’t want them to be hard but they shouldn’t collapse either. Once they start becoming soft, keep an eye on them. If you’re using larger eggplants, you will have to cut them in half lengthwise. Oil the top and proceed like you do with the smaller ones.
When ready take them out and let them cool..
Prepare the stuffing. Sauté the onion in the oil. When onions are soft but not brown, add the green pepper pieces and continue sautéing the for about 10 – 15 minutes. Add spices (oregano, cumin, paprika), crushed garlic and stir. Then add tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes or until tomatoes are well cooked and there is a nice sauce. Take off the heat.
Put mixture into a bowl. Add rice, lentils, eggs, salt, ground black pepper, hot pepper flakes and graded cheese (I used 1 cup). Mix.
Sauté mushrooms and add to the previous mixture. Mix.
Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Gently cut a slit in the middle down from the top of a whole eggplant making sure you don’t cut through the skin on the bottom. Take out the seeds. You can use the seeds to make babaganoush or just simply discard them.
Just like its Turkish name, karni yarik, splitting belly suggests, stuff the inside of the eggplants, their bellies with the stuffing. You can put a little graded cheese and a thin slice of tomato on the top. Put eggplants in a baking dish. Pour boiling water into dish about 1 inch deep. Place dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Take them out when top is brown. Let them cool.
Cut off the ends before serving them.
Serve warm with cucumber yogurt sauce.

Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of yogurt
1 longer English, slicing cucumber
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp of vinegar
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1 Tbsp of dried mint
fresh mint

Preparations

Peel and slice the cucumber. Place the slices in a bowl, salt and let it sit for 15 minutes. Salting is optional. Strain, squeeze out and discard the liquid.
In a separate bowl mix together all the other ingredients, stir well. Put in the cucumbers and gently stir mix them in.
Garnish with fresh mint. Serve with the eggplants.

enjoy!

Sources

Paul pitchford: Healing with Whole Foods
Sally Fallon: Nourished Traditions
Nancy Harmon Jenkin’s Mediterranean Diet cook book.

Text, recipe and photo by twincitiesherbs.com.

Turkish stuffed eggplants with lamb (Karni Yarik)

We associate eggplants with the Middle East but it actually originated from India and has also been popular in other Asian countries for a long time. Today, it is used all over the world. In Europe, it was a staple until potatoes arrived from the New World. The Turkish have certainly created many recipes with it and believe that they have the best eggplant dishes. The Spanards had brought it over to the Americas in the 1600′. Eggplants have been used in the United States; however, earlier, people didn’t really know what to do with them. Many just used them for decorations only.

Eggplants come in all kinds of shapes and colors. Shapes can be round or more elongated. The colors can vary from white, green to purple. In the United States, the rounder, purple eggplant is usually available in stores. For this recipe, try to buy these smaller, medium sized, fat, purple eggplants that I have pictures of. Also, make sure they are about the same size because different sizes will vary their cooking times. Also they should be nice and firm.

Eggplants belong to the night shade family along with tomatoes and potatoes. Eggplant is a cooling bitter plant that is highly nutritious with vitamins A, B, C, K1, E and minerals manganese, magnesium, copper, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc. An interesting fact is that we often believe that it is a vegetable but in fact it is a fruit. Also, it is thought to be aphrodisiac.

In addition to its nutritional values, people have been using eggplants for other health benefits too. Asians like to use them for their cooling property. It is good for digestion, particularly for stagnation and heat. It is beneficial in clearing heat that accumulates during the warmer months but it is still a valuable plant now, during the Indian summer as it can take out heat that may have been trapped in during the summer. In addition, its antioxidants can protect the liver from toxins.

Eggplants are also associated with fertility from their ability to unblock stagnation in the liver and the womb. In China, brides were supposed to have 12 eggplant recipes before they got married. By the same token, pregnant women are advised to limit the consumption of eggplants because of the possibility of miscarriage.

My recipe is the Turkish Karni Yarik that means ‘splitting belly’. If you look at the picture, this will make more sense. You basically stuff the inside, the belly of the eggplant. The warming lamb meat pairs nicely with the cooling eggplant with a hint of mint. When I was in Turkey, I remember this dish was always on the menu and I really liked it. Please see my next post for its vegetarian version if it interests you.

RECIPE

Ingredients

1 cup of rice (about half a cup raw)
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 medium, equal sized purple eggplants. Please see description above.
1 lb of ground lamb
1 finally chopped yellow onion
1 finally chopped peppers (green, red, yellow-your choice)
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp dried peppermint (You might not have mint in your pantry. People usually use mint in teas and don’t cook with it. It can be found at the spice section of a grocery store or at herb stores).
1/2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika powder
1/4 tsp of hot red pepper flakes
1 tsp of salt or to taste
3 fresh ripe plum tomatoes or canned
hand-full of hard cheese (optional)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
fresh mint to garnish
1/2 cup of flat leafed parsley

Preparation

Cook 1/2 cup of rice in 1 cup of water. You can add bay leaves if you wish.
Bake eggplants. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Wash eggplants and put them on an oiled baking sheet. Prick them with a fork in about 6-8 places, half inch deep to prevent them from exploding in your oven. Coat them with some olive oil with a brush. Bake them for 45-60 minutes or until they are nice and soft, so you can put the blade of a knife through easily. You don’t want them to be hard but they shouldn’t collapse either. Once they start becoming soft, keep an eye on them. If you’re using larger eggplants, you will have to cut them in half lengthwise. Oil the top and proceed like you do with the smaller ones.
When ready take them out and let them cool. Set aside.
Prepare the stuffing. Sauté the onion in the oil. When onions are soft but not brown, add peppers and continue sautéing for about 10-15 minutes. Add spices (mint, cumin, paprika), crushed garlic and then the tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes or until tomatoes are well cooked and there is a nice sauce.
In a separate pot, warm up some oil and sauté the lamb quickly for about 7-10 minutes. If lamb is not fatty enough, you might have to add more olive oil.
Take off heat. Put the stuffing mixture into a bowl. Add rice, lamb, meat, salt, pepper, parsley and hot pepper flakes. It is optional but I also added graded cheese (I used 1/2 cup). Mix. (The stuffing can be made a day ahead).
Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Gently cut a slit in the middle down from the top of a whole eggplant making sure you don’t cut through the skin. Take out the seeds. You can use the seeds to make babaganoush or just simply discard them. Just like its name suggests, stuff the inside of the eggplants, their bellies with the stuffing. You can put a little graded cheese and a thin slice of tomato on the top. Put eggplants in a baking dish. Pour boiling water into dish about 1 inch deep. Place dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Take them out of the oven when top is brown. Let them cool.
Cut off the ends before serving them.
Serve warm with cucumber yoghurt sauce.

Yoghurt sauce (cacik)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of yoghurt
1 longer English, slicing cucumber
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp of vinegar
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1 Tbsp of dried mint
fresh mint

Preparation

Peel and slice the cucmber. Place the slices in a bowl, salt and let it sit for 15 minutes. Strain, squeeze out and discard the liquid.
In a separate bowl mix together all the other ingredients, stir well. Put in the cucumbers and gently stir mix them in.
Garnish with fresh mint. Serve with the eggplants.

enjoy!

Sources

Paul pitchford: Healing with Whole Foods
Sally Fallon: Nourished Traditions
Nancy Harmon Jenkin’s Mediterranean Diet cook book.

Text, recipe and photo by twincitiesherbs.com.

Hungarian spaghetti squash stew (tökfözelék)

Some like it white, some like it red … others use flour, some others don’t … and could be served hot or cold … Well, I like it red with flour and served hot. This is one of my favorite recipes and I believe it would make a nice transition into the late summer days as well.

This dish is based on the Hungarian tökfözelék recipe. The sweet spaghetti squash definitely is the main ingredient. It is growing right now and would be perfect for the end of the summer. The other important ingredient that everybody uses regardless of other preferences is dill.

Dill is a unique sweet plant that gives the zesty, tangy flavor with slightly bitter undertones. It helps digestion and calms the mind. I like to balance the sweet flavor with pungent flavors, in this case, the onions and the garlic will do that. Of course, we also have the sour, acidic flavor from the vinegar and the Hungarian staple, sour cream. At the end, we add the salt to create this pleasant sweet and sour dish.

RECIPE

Ingredients

vegetable oil (sunflower)
1 larger onion, chopped, or graded
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika powder
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 cup cold water
1 smaller spaghetti squash (about 2 lb) (Not exactly what we use in Hungary but it is a perfect substitute).
4 cup chicken stock or water
4 dill springs, (about a hand-full)
sour cream
1 tbsp white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

Preparation

Prepare the spaghetti squash. Peel and grate through the larger holes of your cheese grater.
Soak in 2 tsp salt for 20 minutes. Squeeze water out. This step will make the squash less watery and taste better.
Chop the onion fine or you can grate too.
Have a 1/4 cup of cold water ready.
Sauté the onion with a pinch of salt in a little oil until translucent. When you can smell the aroma of the onion, add paprika powder and garlic, stir and after 1 minute add the cold water quickly that you set aside earlier. Stir.
Add the squash meat, stir and cover with water or stock.
Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium heat and cook covered for 30 minutes.
Also mix 1 Tbsp of flour with cold little water and add a little hot liquid from the dish. Whisk well and add it to the dish.
Bring the dish to a quick boil, cook for a few minutes and turn heat off.
Add vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir.
You can serve immediately but it will taste the best the next day.
Serve with chopped dill, a dab of sour cream and some protein (egg or beef dishes would go well). I served it with my Eggplant Parmesan dish. The bitter eggplants complemented this sweet and sour dish nicely.

Enjoy! Jó étvágyat!

Text, photos, recipe by twincitiesherbs.

Hungarian cucumber salad (uborkasalát)

This simple salad has an unique flavor. It is prepared in a vinegar base with Hungarian paprika, garlic and dill and is macerated in the fridge overnight. It is usually eaten with meat or vegetarian main dishes.

Recipe

INGREDIENTS

2 medium garden cucumbers with large seeds or 1 large slicing cucumber
2 tsp salt
1/8 cup vinegar + 1 cup water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
a handful of dill, chopped
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika powder
pinch of sugar
1 bunch scallions, optional

DIRECTIONS

Peel cucumbers. Traditionally cucumbers are peeled completely but I sometimes leave a little peel on.
Slice cucumbers very thin, you can use a potato slicer.
Place cucumber slices in a medium sized bowl.
Sprinkle with salt and mix well. Let the salt sit on the cucumbers and release their liquid for at least 15 – 20 minutes.
Squeeze out all the liquid with your hands. Discard this liquid. I like to wash the cucumbers with some cold water to get some of the salt off. (Salting helps remove water so the salad won’t taste watery).
Put the cucumber slices in a medium sized bowl. Add the garlic, chopped dill, oil, paprika, sugar and scallions. Adjust water, vinegar, salt, garlic to taste.
Put the salad in the refrigerator and leave it macerate overnight.
Serve it cold or at room temperature.

enjoy!

Recipe, photo by twincitiesherbs.

Pesto

Pesto is a nice sauce to serve on pasta on a hot summer day. We just spent some time in the Mediterranean region where it was very hot. Pesto was great to eat during the day just to satisfy our quick hunger. I really like how the fragrant basil with all its ingredients olive oil, cheese, garlic, and pine nuts can create such a unique dish. Just make sure you use the best ingredients you can find!

Pesto is a unique and delicious sauce that originated in Genoa, Italy, around the 16th century. Originally, it was made in mortars and according to Genoese cooks, pesto can only be made in mortars. In fact, its name or its verb version ‘pestare’ means to pound and grind. Today, we have food processors that would be a fine replacement, just keep in mind that pesto is meant to be pounded and not so much chopped so in other words don’t over process it in the food processor and fold the cheese in at the end by hand.

Recipe

Ingredients

4 cup tightly packed fresh basil
1 cup fresh, cold pressed olive oil
1/2 cup chopped up pine nuts (walnuts are fine too)
4 garlic cloves
salt
1 cup freshly grated parmi-giano-reggiano cheese
4 Tbsp grated romano cheese (optional)
1 pound of pasta (farfarelle or any pasta with a large surface area)

Directions

Take the leaves off of the stems and wash them well in cold water. Clip off the flowering tips and any brownish leaves if there are any. Put them in a colander and let the water drain off. By the time you have everything else ready the basil should be ready too.
Start boiling water for the pasta. Continue according to the package. Drain the liquid. Save 4 Tbsp cooking water for the pesto. Set aside.
Measure out all the ingredients.
Chop up the garlic with the blade of a sharp knife.
I do not have a mortar but I have a small food processor. The following directions are for a food processor. Put the basil in the food processor and process until chopped. (You are chopping at this stage). Add olive oil, pine nuts, chopped garlic, salt and chop quickly, gently just until they are nicely blended.
Transfer this mixture into a clean bowl. You will continue mixing in the cheese with a spoon by hand. (Please see explanation above).
When adding the pesto to the pasta, add 2-4 Tbsp of the reserved pasta water.
Serve with vegetables at room temperature.

enjoy!

Sources

Marcella Hazan: Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking

Hungarian sour cherry soup (meggyleves)

When I was a little girl I used to go to the farmers’ market with my grandmother to sell her goods. I was in charge of the fruits. Whatever I was able to pick the day before, I could sell. I loved climbing up the tree and picking the fruits. We took the train to the nearest town where the market was. So of course I sold the cherries and the sour cherries too. I remember I used to wonder though why the heck people got so excited about sour cherries, why not just buy the delicious sweet cherries. Well, try this soup and you will understand too :).

Honestly, nothing tastes as good as a bowl of cold sour cherry soup on a hot day. Sour cherry soup is popular in many Central European countries. I added a small amount of ginger, cloves and cinnamon to offset the sweetness and sourness of the cherries and orange peel and salt to balance it out nicely. At the end, I thickened the soup with egg yolks. Oh and I added a bit of alcohol, more exactly white wine and brandy (pálinka). The alcohol content will boil away so no worries, kids can have it too.

The main ingredient is the sour cherries. If you have a tree growing in your back yard, it is the best source for sure. I have seen it in health food stores, farmers’ markets and some specialty shops too but otherwise it will be most likely hard to get fresh. You can get frozen sour cherries, they will work well as long as they are tasty, of course. Also, you can use soft cherries too but the harder kind, the bing cherries will not work. I leave the pits in but take the stems off. In addition to the cherries, I like to add some goose berries or currents to the soup, too.

Enjoy some Hungarian folk music while you are having the soup … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiv06rzysaU

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

2 lb sour cherries or soft cherries (Please see note above).
1 cup goose berries, currants (optional)
water
1/2-1 cup sugar (depending on your taste)
1 lemon, sliced
1 Tbsp dried orange peel or 2 Tbsp dried
1 Tbsp fresh ginger (chopped)
1-3 whole cinnamon sticks
3-5 pieces of cloves
1-2 cup of white wine (Vermouth is fine)
water
2 Tbsp of brandy (cherry would be ideal but others are fine too)
1/8 tsp of salt
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
whipped cream for serving

DIRECTIONS

Wash the cherries.
Put them into a medium sized pot along with the sugar, orange peel and lemon slices. Add water, wine and brandy. (The liquid should be about 1-2 inches above the cherries).
Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat with the lid. Continue cooking as you add the cloves, cinnamon, ginger and and cook for 10 more minutes on low heat with the lid on. We add the ginger, cinnamon and cloves in later because they only need 10 minutes of cooking.
Turn off the heat and take the cover off. Wait for 5-10 minutes before adding the egg yolk to the soup.
Add the egg yolk. Mix the yolk with a little liquid from the soup. Stir in gently so it is mixed nicely in the soup.
Let the pot cool on the counter.
Chill the soup in the refrigerator overnight but at least for a couple of hours.
Take out the cinnamon sticks, lemon slices and cloves.
Serve cold with whipped cream.

enjoy!

Text, photos, recipe by twincitiesherbs.

Lacto-fermented pickles (kovászos uborka)

Pickles are so easy to make and are so good for you. It is just a win-win situation so why not give it a try? Fermenting fruits and vegetables has a long history and today it is more popular than ever. I remember my relatives had their pantries filled with jars of pickled vegetables. One vegetable that they made regularly was cucumbers or more exactly pickling cucumbers.

Our ancestors used fermentation to preserve fruits and vegetables so they could eat them all year along. It is hard to imagine today but they had no freezers or canning machines. To supply food for their families they had to rely on the process of lacto-fermentation. So let’s look at what this process is.

Lactic acid producing bacteria that is abundant on roots and leaves of plants converts starches and sugars in vegetables and fruits into lactic acid. Lactic acid acts as a natural preservative preventing the formation of putrefying bacteria.

The salt also aids this process creating an alkaline environment that helps destroy the bad bacteria and helps the good, probiotic ones to thrive. This environment will help keep the bad bacteria out. Using whey can also aid this process.

In addition to its preserving ability, lacto-fermentation also has health benefits for people. Today, these benefits are well known as it is living its renaissance … but for the records, here it goes. Eating smaller amount of fermented foods helps our digestion as it particularly helps revive the beneficial bacteria in the intestinal flora by improving the growth of healthy Lactobacillus acidophilus. So the same substance that was responsible for the preservation of the foods is also beneficial for our digestion. They create enzymes and are antibiotic and anti-carcinogenic as well. In fact, historians believe that pickled vegetables were one of Cleopatra’s beauty secrets for a good reason.

It is easy to make but you will need to get fresh pickling cucumbers. I find farmers’ markets to be a great place to get them or even better if you can grow them yourself. It is crucial that the cukes are fresh and firm as they spoil in a week after they had been picked. Ideally, they should be made within a day of picking. If you can’t make them within a day, you need to keep them in the refrigerator. Also, if your cukes become soft, I found a trick – hehe obviously I have done it many times before. Soak the cukes in cold water and they will become nice and firm again. You need to do this step anyway because soaking will remove the dirt.

Another consideration is size. Any size works great, there are smaller ones and bigger ones. I personally prefer the tiny cucumbers (gerkins) because they are crunchier and have a stronger skin. Some people like the bigger ones. They tend to have larger seeds and are softer. Size also makes a difference in how you process them. If you get bigger ones, you will need to cut them up into four parts or make four slits inside. You do not have to cut the small ones.

So what else will you need besides the pickling cucumbers? You need sterilized large mouthed bottles, salt, water, and spices. This is fairly easy process and should not be skipped. Just boil the bottles in water for 5-10 minutes and that is it. Or you can sterilize them in your dishwasher if it has the ability to sterilize.

I personally prepare my pickles the European way. My favorite combination is dill, mustard seeds, cayenne peppers, horseradish roots and garlic. Of course this list is endless and you can use whatever your heart desires. My great-grandmother also put in grape wine and leaves to enhance the health benefits but you can put other leaves in as well like cucumber, white oak, raspberry, mugwort leaves etc. Oh speaking of health benefits, I always add a slice of sourdough bread. Sourdough is highly nutritious and added to the pickles will further enhance its intestinal flora promoting property.

Once ready, taste the unique tangy flavor that is produced with the lacto-fermentation process. It will not be over-powering like the pickles that are made with vinegar but it will have a refreshing, mild flavor. When you try the pickles and they are still raw, just leave them in the jar for another day and try again.

I always try to drink the liquid, the brine that pickles were processed in. It is also beneficial for digestion, so don’t throw it away… and I believe it makes a fabulous summer drink. Once you make it yourself, you will never want to buy pickles at the store again.

Pickling cucumbers

Recipe is for a quart of water

Sterilized wide- mouthed mason bottles (3 pint or 1.5L)
about 15-20 pickling cucumbers (3lbs)
3 T salt
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp mustard seeds
3 flowers of fresh dill or 1 tsp dried dill. I prefer the larger pickling dill but the dried one works too.
Small piece of Cayanne pepper
Small piece of horseradish root
1 grape leaf and its top or other leaves like cucumber, white oak, raspberry, horseradish or mugwort would work great too.
sour dough bread (To prevent the bread from getting mushy, I use the dried out crust or rolls) or 1 larger piece of potato.

Directions

Sterilize the bottles. Put the bottles in a big pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and keep boiling for 5 more minutes.
Meanwhile soak cukes in cold water for at least 1/2 hour.
Boil water. When done turn off heat.
Meanwhile, I put all the seasoning on the bottom of the jar except the sour dough bread that I put on the top.
Rinse the cucumbers well. Cut the bigger ones like I mentioned above. Cut off the blossom end of the cucumbers. Tightly place them in the jar in a vertical position. It is important that you put them tightly into the jar because you will be able to fit more in and also you want to make sure that they don’t move around and are covered with water.
Pour in the water. You want to make sure the water covers everything including the bread on the top as well. Put a plate on top and let it sit for 3-7 days in a warm place. (In Hungary, you can see pickle jars ‘brewing’ in window seals all over the place. It is quite impressive how creative people can get who live in small places). The time will depend on the amount of heat it is exposed to. It will take 3 days on hot days but can take up to 7 days if it is cooler. You will see bubbles while the brine is ‘cooking’. Avoid hot, direct sun.
Check the bottles everyday and add more boiling water if needed.
Do a taste check after 3 days or when you think they are ready. They are ready when they don’t taste raw but are not mushy either.
When they are done put them in the refrigerator. This stops the process of lacto-fermentation that would make the cucumbers too soft if continued brewing too long.
Now it is ready, enjoy!

If you find this blog helpful, please consider liking it. Thank you!

Sources

Paul Pitchford: Healing with Whole Foods
Sally Fallon: Nourishing Traditions
https://www.thespruceeats.com/lacto-fermentation-without-added-salt-1327599

Kohlrabi soup (karalábé leves)

Yes Kohlrabi soup! … a simple and tasty soup! I am vacationing at my parents’ house and rediscovering this interesting vegetable. My mom apparently used to make it when we were kids but somehow it didn’t get my attention back then. I do throw it into soups in the summer but have never thought of using it as a main ingredient. What an amazing soup with an interesting flavor.

Honestly, when I heard she made kohlrabi soup, I can’t believe but I actually told her that the kids will not eat it. Well, to my biggest surprise, my kids loved it and asked for seconds! So I think I can add, it is a kid friendly soup as well.

Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea) is in the Brassica family as its Latin name also suggests and is related to cabbages, broccoli. Yes, they do look different but they are in the same family. Kohlrabi is popular in the Northern European countries. The word has a German origin and the Germans have brought it over to the US back in the 1800’s.

Kohlrabi is a cross between wild cabbages (kohl) and turnips (rabi). It has a distinct earthy, nutty flavor and is mildly sweet and pairs well with the sweet carrots. There are several varieties and can be purplish and white greenish in color. I personally like the purple ones for its beautiful vibrant color but there is no difference in flavor.

They tend to be ready late spring and early summer. If they are left on the vine too long, they get too big and woody. Try to pick them on time to avoid this as it can effect the flavor and also buy the smaller or medium sized ones avoiding the larger ones. The meaty part above the ground is used in general but the leaves are edible, too. In fact, the leaves have even more vitamins and minerals than the meaty part.

The recipe

Ingredients

oil (I used sunflower seed)
1/4 cup of water
2 medium sized kohlrabi or 4 smaller ones, shaved with a cheese grader
1 medium sized carrot cut into long or circular pieces
1 tsp curry powder or 1 tsp caraway seed, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika powder (make sure it is authentic)
6 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup of millet or rice
croutons or twice baked bread pieces
parsley
salt to taste

Directions

Make the stock. Omit if you already have the stock.
Peel the kohlrabi and shave it on a grader, – this is my mom’s secret. She claims that the shaved pieces make this soup pleasant instead of cutting them into chunks. You can keep the leaves from the top and put them in the soup as well.

Peel the carrots and cut them into small pieces.
Satué the kohlrabi in a little oil for 5-10 minutes. Add the curry and the paprika in for about 20 seconds, stir and add a little cold water, stir. If you don’t use curry, you can add caraway seeds, thyme and marjoram here.
Add the carrots and the millet and cover well with the stock. Bring to a boil and cook on low heat for 20 minutes. (The millet needs 20 minutes to cook).
Serve hot with the croutons, parsley and hot pepper.

Enjoy!

Source:

https://www.hazipatika.com/taplalkozas/zoldseg_gyumolcs/cikkek/karalabe_az_eltekozolt_levelek/20080110163701?autorefreshed=1

Hungarian sugar snap pea soup (zöldborsó leves)

We just celebrated the Summer Solstice and suitably sugar peas are ready! When I can make pea soup, I know summer is here. So why is pea soup so special? We can buy frozen peas all year long. Yes, it is true but we cannot make Hungarian pea soup with frozen peas alone, we need the fresh shells as well.

This soup brings back some very nice memories. My mother and my paternal grandmother also made it. We had it regularly in the summer. It is such a tasty soup, looks it a big favorite in my family now too. This nourishing soup is mildly sweet, filling and refreshing.

Unfortunately, these vegetables are becoming harder and harder to find. You will not be able to find them at supermarkets easily. However, they should be readily available at farmers’ markets and health food stores. Or just simply grow them in your garden. Again, the tastier your vegis are, the better your soup will be!

RECIPE

Ingredients for the soup

2 lbs of sugar snap peas with the shells, divided
oil (I like sunflower)
1 tsp of sweet Hungarian paprika (make sure it is authentic)
6 stalks of fresh carrots, sliced
1-2 kohlrabies
1 tsp of salt or to taste
parsley for serving
red hot pepper to taste (optional)

Ingredients for the dumplings (csipetke)

1 large egg
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup semolina or white wheat flour – possible a bit more
1 tsp of oil

Directions

Start shelling the peas. Put the shells and the peas in separate bowls.
Wash the shells and put them into a larger pot. Add 3 stalks of carrots and 1 kohlrabi and enough water to cover all vegetables. Bring to a boil and cook on medium low heat for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the dumplings (csipetke). This can be a little tricky. Lightly whisk the egg, add the salt and the oil. Start slowly adding the flour, enough so a ball is formed. You don’t want it to fall apart in the soup but you also don’t want it to be hard as rock either. Try to find something in-between. The amount of flour really depends on how much the egg takes up. Once you find the right consistency, keep kneading it for about 5 minutes. Let the dough rise for 1 hour if possible. Set aside.
Have 1/4 cup of cold water ready for the soup.
Start preparing the soup. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot with a thicker bottom. When ready, put in the peas and stir. Sauté the peas for 5-10 minutes (the younger ones for less, the older ones longer). Make sure there is enough oil for the flour. Add 1 Tbsp flour and stir. This thickens the soup. Then in 5 minute you can add the paprika and stir. (This activates the paprika). In 1 minute add the cold water and stir making sure there are no lumps in the soup.
Add the pea shell stock made earlier. Make sure the solids are strained from the liquid.
Wash and scrape the outside of 3 carrots. Cut them up into bite sizes.
Peel the kohlrabi and cut it into small, bite sizes (optional).
Put the carrots and the kohlrabi in the soup.
Bring to a boil and cook on medium low heat for about 20-30 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, we will make the dumplings. Cut the dough (made earlier), into 6 long pieces and roll each to finger thickness. Each will make about a 6 inch long dough. With your thumb and index finger you can pinch a little piece off the dough or you can use a knife for this too. ‘Csipet’ means ‘pinch of’ in Hungarian hence where the name csipetke for this dumpling came from. When the soup is done, you can put the little dumpling pieces in the soup. They should be ready in a few minutes when they come up to the surface of the water.
Add the salt and red hot pepper to taste.
Serve hot with parsley.

enjoy!

Sources

George Lang: George Lang’s Cuisine of Hungary

Paul Pitchford: Healing with Whole Foods