Tag: vegetarian

Vegetarian moussaka with polenta and lentils

I am excited to present my new recipe for a vegetarian moussaka. It is a vegetarian dish but is not only for vegetarians! I have to admit I was a bit nervous before I started creating this recipe but it was a fun challenge at the same time. I really like how nicely the soft polenta works with the mushrooms, the lentils and all the other ingredients. This recipe instantly became a family favorite as if it hadsbeen in the family for years!

We think of Greece when we hear the word moussaka but most likely it originated somewhere in the Middle East. It is a popular dish across all the Balkan countries and can be easily made in the Midwest of the United States or anywhere. Well, I have to admit I have never been to Greece or the Middle East for that matter but have eaten traditional moussaka before… I can say moussaka is a very tasty dish!

My new recipe is a vegetarian version of the meat filled moussaka. When we were in Croatia last summer, we happened upon a fabulous vegetarian moussaka dish in Pula at the restaurant Konoba Bocaporta. It sounded really interesting so my husband and I both had to try it, while the kids ate something with seafood from the Mediterranean Sea. We don’t have the exact recipe, I was just inspired by this dish so I tried to recreate it here at home. I really like how it turned out.

The original recipe had polenta, eggplants and mushrooms in a vegan sauce. I am guessing the vegan sauce might have been made with cashews. I don’t have their recipe so for now I make it with Béchamel sauce and think it works well. The dish at the restaurant had polenta so instead of using potatoes that are often used in moussaka dishes, I used polenta. I also did some research and found in fact polenta is often used traditionally.

This vegetarian moussaka is a complete vegetarian dish. Often, when meat is taken out of a dish, the substance and the flavors are removed as well. When I created this recipe, I tried to make sure that the substance and the flavors were both kept. The meat is replaced with the lentils, mushrooms and the cheese. Mushrooms are traditionally used with polenta and they complement each other nicely … and everything is pulled together with the fragrant spices of the region.

This recipe can easily be made gluten free. Instead of the Béchamel sauce use the yogurt sauce. This is a pretty authentic replacement as Croatians use a yogurt sauce for the top. Béchamel sauce is not Greek but is in fact French. The Béchamel sauce was added to Moussaka by the Greek chef Akis Petretzikis in the 1920’s when he was trying to Europeanize Greek cuisine. I actually use yogurt quite regularly to make simple lentil dishes but the Béchamel sauce is a nice treat for sure.

COOKING TIPS

  • Seasoning, seasoning and seasoning !!! This dish needs a lot of seasoning and salt added. Don’t be alarmed when you see the amounts.
  • I used portobello mushrooms but the crimini mushrooms work well too.
  • This is not a quick dish, it takes a long time to make like any casserole dish but it is not difficult. It is usually made for occasions because of the complexity of the dish but you can treat yourself, family or friends to it anytime.

This is my version but please feel free to experiment and let me know what you did. If you post it, please reference this blog.

FUN FACT: One thing all the countries in the Balkan region agree on is that Moussaka is a fabulous dish.

I developed this recipe so if you would like to post it you will have to contact the author at twincitiesherbs.com.

RECIPE

Author: twincitiesherbs

Serves 4-6 people

INGREDIENTS

Quick overview of the ingredients as a group

LENTILS: 1 cup of uncooked lentils, oil, 1 large tomato, 3 cups of water, 3 cloves of garlic, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp all spice, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 fresh thyme spring, 1 tsp salt and red pepper flakes (optional).

POLENTA: 1 cup of polenta, 3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock, 1 tsp salt, freshly ground black pepper, 1 thyme spring, 1 cup of graded hard cheese ( 1/2 cup of Gruyere, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese), 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil and 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

MUSHROOMS: Portobello mushrooms, oil, crushed garlic and 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar.

EGGPLANTS: olive oil, 1 medium sized eggplants, 1/4 cup of tomatoes sauce, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp oregano, salt and black pepper.

BÉCHAMEL SAUCE: 1/4 cup of butter, 1 /2 cup of flour, 2 cups of warm milk, 2 egg yolks, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp salt and ground pepper, 1 thyme spring, 1/2 cup hard cheese. Omit if using Yogurt sauce).

YOGURT SAUCE: Yogurt sauce in place of Béchamel sauce: 1.5 cups of yogurt, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 garlic clove, cucumber slices. (Omit if using Béchamel sauce).

DIRECTION

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Wash the polenta removing any foreign particles. Soak in cold water overnight.

Wash 1 cup of lentils and soak in cold water for a few hours hours.

Cooking the lentils. Remove soaking liquid. Discard. Add 3 cups of cold water. Cook covered for 1/2 hour or until lentils are soft. Turn off heat and let lentils stay in covered pot for about 15 minutes so they can soak up more liquid. Set aside.

Prepare the tomato sauce for the lentils. Chop up 1 large tomato. Warm up some oil, sauté the onion for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add 2 tsp oregano, fresh thyme springs, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp all spice and the crushed garlic. Stir well for 1 minute and quickly add the 1 chopped tomato. Cook for 5 minutes or until tomatoes become ‘saucy’. Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium heat and add the cinnamon stick. Cook for 10 more minutes covered on low medium heat. Set aside.

Cooking lentils. Drain the cooking water off the lentils. Discard. Combine the tomato sauce with lentils. Take out all the larger spice pieces. Set aside.

Preparing the eggplant. Slice the eggplants and pan fry them. Please, check my previous recipe for cooking Eggplant Parmesan for directions. (You can also bake the eggplants in the oven if you prefer). Set aside

Preparing the polenta. Discard soaking water. Bring 3 cups of stock to a boil. Add the drained polenta slowly while stirring constantly. Add 1 thyme spring and cook for about 20 minutes or until the polenta is creamy. Stir frequently because it can burn easily. When done add 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil, 1 tsp salt, cheese, thyme and stir. Set aside.

Preparing the mushrooms. Slice up mushrooms. Warm up some oil and sauté the mushrooms until soft on medium high heat. At the end, add a little crushed garlic and saute for 1 minute. Turn off heat and add freshly ground pepper and 1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Stir. Set aside.

Preparing the Béchamel sauce. It is not too hard just follow the steps. I used a double boiler and a whisk. Warm up 1 stick of butter on low heat in the top portion of the double boiler, when melted increase the heat to medium high and add the flour slowly, stirring continuously. Then start adding the milk slowly, stirring after each addition to let the flour mixture soak up the milk. When you start seeing bubbles, it is done. Take off heat. Grade some nutmeg. Add 1/4 cup of Gruyere cheese, thyme, salt and 2 egg yolks. Mix well. Set aside.

Yogurt sauce in place of the Béchamel sauce. This recipe can easily be made gluten free if you you prefer. Instead of the Béchamel sauce use 3 cups of yogurt, 3 lightly beaten eggs, garlic, salt, freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2-1 cup cheese. Follow instructions for Béchamel sauce.

Mix the polenta and the lentils.

From here, everything is easy! Preheat oven to 350 F. I used a 2 QT size baking dish (8×11.5 x 2 in). Coat the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Start layering: polenta with the lentils, mushrooms, eggplants, the Béchamel sauce or the gluten free yogurt sauce and 1 cup Parmesan/Gruyere cheese on the top. Put the dish into the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Wait for at least 1 hour to let the flavors melt into each other. The dish should not be runny so you might have to wait longer until it sets.

Serve hot with yogurt, scallions, parsley.

enjoy!

Recipe, photo and text by Twincitiesherbs.

Plum dumplings (szilvás gombóc)

Plum dumplings brings 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 …

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 …

Honestly, it doesn’t matter who invented it, indeed it is a fabulous dish. The main ingredient is 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. So take a bite of this intriguing history …

RECIPE

Makes about 18 balls plus the little gnocchi pieces

INGREDIENTS

  • about 1 lb russet potatoes (4-5 potatoes)
  • 2 cups flour + more for kneeding
  • 1 Tbsp semolina flour (optional)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp apple pie spice or cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 18 sweet plums – depending on the size of your plums

Coating

  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 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 + more for serving
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Cooking the potatoes. Add cold water to medium sized pot, bring the water to boil. Place the potatoes with the skin on in a large pot. I like to put the potatoes on a metal steamer. 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.

Puree the potatoes. Using a potato masher, puree the potatoes while they are still warm. (You can use a potato ricer if you would like to get a smoother dough). Set aside.

Making the dough. Sift flour and salt. Add egg and butter, mix. Add the mashed potatoes from earlier and mix until combined. Make a ball shape.

Let the dough rest for 1 hour. You can put it in the refrigerator if the room is too warm or in the oven with pilot light on. Do not turn the oven on).

Meanwhile, prepare the plums. Wash them and take out the pits. Set aside.

Make the bread crumb coating. Melt the butter on low heat and add the crumbs stirring until the crumbs soak up the butter and become golden brown. Use lower heat so the butter doesn’t burn. When heat is turned off, add the cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg and chopped walnuts. Mix. Set aside, this will be used to coat the balls.

Sugar filling for the inside of the balls. Mix the 3 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of salt for the stuffing.

Preparing the dough. 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 gnocchi, Hungarian nudlis.

Assemble the dumplings. Very important! The dough needs to be at room temperature (78-84F) to work with. Place one of the dough squares into your palm. Put a plum 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.

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

Cooking the plum balls. In a 4-5 quart size pot boil cold water. Drop the dumplings in the water one by one with a slotted spoon. Also, you can add the little nudlis in this water. Try to gently stir them to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook for 5 more minutes after the dumplings come up to the surface of the water. Remove them with a slotted spoon.

Coating the plum balls with bread crumbs. Put the dumplings into the bread crumb coating mixture that you prepared earlier and roll them around until they are well coated.

Serve warm with a little vanilla sugar or honey.

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

enjoy! Jó étvágyat!

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.  

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 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 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.

Hungarian spaghetti squash stew (tökfözelék)

Some like it white, some like it red … others use flour, some don’t … and could be served hot or cold …  Well, I like it red with flour and served hot. The red color comes from the paprika and the others should make sense. 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 cups 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

chopped dill

Using the large hole grater
grated squash

  • 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 (uborkasaláta)

This simple Hungarian salad has a 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 main dishes.

Recipe

6 servings

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

  1. Peel cucumbers. Traditionally cucumbers are peeled completely but I sometimes leave a little peel on.
  2. Slice cucumbers very thin, you can use a potato slicer.
  3. Place cucumber slices in a medium sized bowl.
  4. Sprinkle with salt and mix well. Let the salt sit on the cucumbers to release their liquid for at least 15 – 20 minutes.
  5. 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).
  6. 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.
  7. Put the salad in the refrigerator and leave it macerate overnight.
  8. Serve it cold or at room temperature.

enjoy!

Recipe, photo by twincitiesherbs.

Pesto

twincitiesherbs.com

Pesto is a nice sauce to serve on pasta on a hot summer day. We just spent some time in the Mediterranean region of Europe 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 cups 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 farmer’s 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. 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 them in health food stores, farmer’s 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.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lb sour cherries or soft cherries (Please see note above).
  • 1 cup goose berries, currants (optional)
  • water
  • enough water to well cover the content of the soup
  • 1/2-1 cup sugar (depending on your taste)
  • 2-3 lemons (juice and the rind)
  • 1 tsp dried orange peel
  • 1 Tbsp fresh ginger (chopped)
  • 3 whole cinnamon sticks
  • 3-5 pieces of cloves
  • 1-2 cup white wine (Vermouth is fine)
  • water
  • 1/4 cup 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 lager pot along with the sugar, and salt. Add water, wine and brandy. (The liquid should be about 1-2 inches above the cherries).
  • Bring to a boil. Turn heat down and add ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat with the lid on until the fruits are soft.
  • Turn off the heat and take the cover off. Wait for 10-15 minutes before adding the egg yolk to the soup. Mix the yolk with a little liquid from the soup. Stir in gently so it is mixed nicely in the soup.
  • Add the lemon juice and the the chopped up rinds.
  • 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 larger pieces.
  • Serve cold with whipped cream.

enjoy!

Text, photos, recipe by twincitiesherbs.

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 was mading 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.

It has a distinct earthy, nutty flavor and is mildly sweet. It 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 their beautiful vibrant color but there is no difference in flavor.

Kohlrabi tends 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 or 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.

EDIT: I changed the picture. The soup was made by my son for his date night.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • oil (lard or 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 authentic Hungarian sweet paprika powder
  • 6 cups 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!

Photo and text by Twincitiesherbs.

Authentic Hungarian sugar snap pea soup (zöldborsóleves)

twincitiesherbs.com

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 grandmothers also made it. We had it regularly in the summer. It is such a tasty soup and has become a big favorite now in my family now too. I practically make it every day during July.

This nourishing soup is refreshing with a mildly sweet flavor. It is made with sweet peas and carrots and is cooked in a pea shell stock seasoned with Hungarian paprika. I like to add dumplings (gnocchi) and serve it with parsley. You can add some chilly pepper if you wish.

Unfortunately, the peas 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!

pea flower

RECIPE

8 servings

Ingredients for the soup

  • 2 lbs sugar snap peas with the shells, divided
  • about 1/4 cup oil (I use sunflower)
  • 1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika (make sure it is authentic)
  • 1 – 1 1/2 cup diced carrots (bite size) for the soup (1 cup)
  • 1 diced parsley root (optional)
  • 3 stalks carrots for the stock
  • 1-2 heads kohlrabi
  • 1 Tbsp flour
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste
  • 1 bunch parsley for serving
  • red hot pepper to taste (optional)
soup stock
dumplings

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 if needed
  • 1 Tbsp 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). Lightly whisk the egg, add salt and oil. Start slowly adding the flour and mix until a ball shape is formed. You don’t want it to fall apart in the soup but you also don’t want it to be too hard either. The dough shoold not be sticky or too hard. 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 some oil in a 4 quart size pot with a thicker bottom. There should be enough oil so the peas can comfortably be sautéed, so not too little but not too much either. When ready, put in the peas (about 1 cup) 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 for a few minutes. Add paprika and stir for 1 minute. Add the cold water and stir making sure there are no lumps in the soup.
  • Strain the stock. (Make sure the solids are strained from the liquid). Discard solids.
  • Add the pea shell stock made earlier. Add enough liquid about 10 cups so the content of the soup is well covered, should be about 1 inch above the ingredients.You will most likely have some left over stock, I just use it for another soup.
  • Wash and scrape 3 carrots and 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 minutes or until all vegetables are ready to eat.
  • While the soup is cooking, make the dumplings. Dust the surface of a cutting board. Cut the dough (made earlier), into 12 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!

Photos and text by Twincitiesherbs.

Native American black bean burger

Summer is here! Burgers are great for summer grilling. This is a vegetarian burger made with black beans, wild rice and quinoa. Each one of these ingredients is native to the Americas and has a rich history. Usually I am not a big fan of food substitutes but I think these burgers are very tasty. It seems like this burger even tricks my feisty, meat lover corgi too. Seriously, he just sits and stares at me, hoping to get a little.

Black Bean Burger Recipe

  • Makes 8- 10 burgers
  • The inspiration for this recipe came from Heid E. Erdrich’s Original Local cookbook.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried black beans (heirloom is the best if you can get it) or 1 can (14oz), rinsed and drained well.
  • 1/2 cup uncooked wild rice (preferably the hand harvested )
  • ¼ cup quinoa (or replace with 1/4 cup of wild rice) 
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp ground black pepper or to taste
  • 1 tbsp oil (olive, sunflower)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • ½ cup bread crumbs
  • 1/4 tsp dried hot pepper (optional)
  • oil for cooking the patties

To garnish  – your choice

  • 1 onion, thinly sliced and sautéed or raw
  • 8 – 10 heads of portobello mushrooms grilled or cooked
  • lettuce, arugula
  • mustard
  • ketchup
  • 8- 10 buns
  • cheese
  • tomato slices
  • mayonnaise
  • pickles
  • sheeps’ milk cheese

Directions

  • Soak beans and quinoa (if used) overnight or at least for 3 hours. 
  • Rinse water off of the beans and discard liquid. Place the beans in a bigger pot, cover well with fresh water, bring to a boil and turn down the heat. Cook for 1.5 hours covered on low heat. You can also use a pressure cooker to cook the beans (check pressure cooker manual for cooking time). (Omit if using canned beans).
  • Rinse the quinoa and discard the liquid. In a small pot add the rinsed quinoa and 1/2 cup of fresh water. Bring it to a boil, turn down and cook on low heat covered until the liquid is absorbed, for 12-15 minutes. (omit if using wild rice instead).
  • Cook wild rice in 1 cup of water. Bring it to a boil and then turn the heat down and cook for 20 minutes half way covering the pot. Do not cover the pot completely. (Use 1.5 cup of water for 3/4 cup of wild rice).
  • In a large bowl, mash the cooked beans leaving it a bit chunky. This is a quick and easy process, I would not use a machine.
  • Add the cooked quinoa, cooked 3/4 cup of wild rice, the cooked beans and the rest of the ingredients. Mix. 
  • With your hand, form patties.
  • Heat a pan with some oil over medium heat.
  • Place the patties in the pan and cook them for 5-10 minutes on each side. Use a wide spatula for turning and taking the patties out. 
  • Slice the onions. Sauté the onions for about 10-15 minutes over high medium heat or until they turn slightly brown. (If using).
  • Sauté the portobello mushroom heads in a little oil for 10-15 minutes or until mushrooms are soft. (If using).
  • Serve patties warm and garnish with condiments, vegetables of your choice. See earlier suggestions.

enjoy!

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