Stíriai metélt or Styrian "noodles"

It's funny when you hear that a certain food is an "old" Hungarian dish but you've never heard of it.
Sure enough, when the recipe asks for 2 pounds (1 kg) of cottage cheese and another pound of sour cream, you kinda become dubious that it must be :D, and feel tempted to try it.
This is exactly what happened with the "stíriai metélt", and here is the outcome.
For my Hungarian speaking friends I'll just post the link for the original recipe on Coocpad, and for the English speaking the translation comes soon, well, after my master bath is ready, but I just had to post it for those who speak Hungarian to have a chance to try it, as it should happen ASAP!!!

The only way I can imagine this one to improve is to caramelize and sauté the apricots in a bit of bourbon or plum palinka :D, but maybe next time.
Meanwhile enjoy! (at least the view!)

Bon appétit!

Squash pottage

Uhh, one of the strengths of the Hungarian kitchen are the various kinds of vegetable pottages, called főzelék, which can be compared to a VERY thick American style vegetable soup.
It is usually served as a side dish with some meat stew, ribs, schnitzel, but it makes a very tasty vegetarian or diet dish as well with small twists.

Today I made some spaghetti squash pottage, but it can be made from zucchini as well, is equally tasty and probably faster, I just didn't have any home. If you use zucchini cooking time might be shorter than for the spaghetti squash.

Ingredients (serves 3)
1 larger spaghetti squash or equal amount of zucchini
1 small onion
1 branch of fresh thyme
1 tsp fresh dill
salt
black pepper
1 flat tsp Hungarian powder paprika
4 tsp all purpose flour
3-4 tbsp oil
vinegar to taste
125 ml (1-2 cup) half-half

Cut the spaghetti squash in two and microwave for 10 minutes with cut side down, or bake for 30 minutes if you prefer baking. Scoop out the content into a bowl.
If you use zucchini, grate the zucchinis.

In a medium pot heat the 4 tbsp of oil, and add the chopped onions, and sauté until lightly transparent.
Add the powder paprika, mix with the oil and immediately add a dash of water to prevent the burning of the paprika powder as it becomes bitter.
Add the squash/zucchini and let sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add water until it covers the squash.
Add salt, pepper, thyme and dill, and under a lid simmer for 10 minutes, or until you like the crunchiness.
Mix the half-half with 3 tbsp of flour, and after the 10 minutes add it to the squash. Let it simmer for 5 more minutes. If you feel it too runny, sift in the additional tbsp of flour.
Remove from heat, let it cool slightly, and add 2-3 tbsp of vinegar, or more if you are a vinegar addict as we are.
Serve as a side dish, or just eat it as is.
Goes very well with smoked and barbecued or oven fried ribs or steak.
This time we served with the pork ribs we prepared earlier. The minor change on the rib prep was that I exchanged part of the ajvar with minced chili peppers, known in Hungary as Erős Pista.

Bon appétit!

Rolled oats with a twist

The family loves the traditional Hungarian tejbegríz, alias grits boiled in milk, but I always tried to sneak in some more rough parts. I suppose I just like to chew a little more :D.
This proportion seemed to please everybody who enjoyed it for our 4th of July breakfast, so I thought worth making some notes for the future generation.

Ingredients (for 2-3 people)
1 liter (4 cups) milk
250 ml rolled oats
60 ml grits
pinch of salt
1 dash of vanilla 
2 tbsp sugar

Serving
cinnamon
1 tsp sugar / plate
1 sliced strawberry 

In a medium pot heat the milk until starts boiling, while also adding the sugar, salt and vanilla.
When boiling add the grits, boil for 2-3 minutes on low heat, then add the oats and boil for an additional 8 minutes.
Serve while hot, first sprinkling the cinnamon + 1 tsp sugar. Decorate with sliced strawberries.

Bon appétit!