A family favorite, but I never thought about adding it to the blog because I did not have a recipe, as usual. I cook what I ate a child, stick my nose in the pot, and adjust the taste. It's such a simple dish, too... Why would anybody not Hungarian cook it?
The reason it's here now is my BFF, Janine, who asked for the recipe for her kids at our last get together. While it's been at least two months, I finally have it to share..
Traditionally Hungarian, but adjusted to our own taste, as we don't like the white thickening added to it originally, and I definitely add lots of ingredients that are stolen from some international kitchens.
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
cooking oil, I use avocado or sunflower oil
1 medium or 1/2 large yellow onion
3 pounds frown green peas
1 cup bone stock
2 tbsp all purpose flour
paprika powder, salt, pepper
2-3 tbsp of mild or spicy red pepper/tomato/garlic sauce, a kinda salsa. I use pinjur, adjika, ajvar, or just spicy red pepper paste, whatever I have in the fridge. I also prefer the spicy version of each, but whichever works for you.
1-2 tbsp fresh salsa, but again, just chop a tomato and some fresh onion, or leave it out completely. I like the taste of the fresh tomatoes from the salsa in addition to the pepper paste from above.
Sometimes I throw in a tsp of chopped lovage leaves, but it is not necessary.
Additions
Serve with sunny side u eggs, fried bacon, fried sausage, or just plain
The best part? Ready in 30 minutes.
Chop the onions. Heat some oil at the bottom of a 3 quart casserole dish and sauté the onions until golden, with some (or none) browned spots.
Remove from the heat, add a tbsp paprika powder and mix well with the oil and onions. Reduce to medium heat, place the dish back to the heat, add a good dash (2-3 tbsp) of water, and cook stirring continuously until the water evaporates.
Add the frozen peas, let them thaw a bit, then add 1 cup of bone broth (could be water), and 1/4 cup of water. A total of 2 1/4 cups, or 600 ml (250 ml bone broth, 350 water).
Add a tsp of salt, black pepper to taste (I confess, if I cook that's 1 tsp black pepper 😋), add the adjika, the fresh salsa, and bring to simmer. Cover the dish, and let it simmer for 8-ish minutes.
Meanwhile in a small sauce pan add 2-3 tbsp oil, heat it up, add 2 tbsp flour, and make a light roux. We will use it to thicken the pottage. You can still ad a tsp of paprika 😜 if you feel the Hungarian gods whispering in your ear "more paprika". Oh, well, or just stick to the roux.
Add the roux to the pea pottage while still simmering, mix it well, and let the roux thicken the pottage while stirring continuously. If you feel like there isn't enough sauce around the peas, just add another 1/2 cup of water (125 ml). If you added some extra water mix it thoroughly until the sauce is evenly covering your peas like a shiny velvety blanket.
Let it sit for a few minutes while the eggs, sausage and bacon is ready.
Voilá!
Serve with fresh bread, it is just heavenly to dip the bread in the sauce and clean the plate with it, instead of licking it.😉
Bon appétit!
OBS.
If you don't have adjuka, ajvar, or salsa, no worries. Just chop 2 medium mild or spicy red peppers, 2-3 medium to large tomatoes, and 2-3 garlic cloves. Add them at the beginning after sautéing the onions, and let them cook thorough before adding the peas.
