Fall broth with acorn squash and kale

Soups are a staple in the Hungarian kitchen, for gathering it is expected to have at least a soup and a main course, and all kids love a good, simple soup. I chose to cook Hungarian until the kids were home as for me cultural identity is an equal mix of food, language, books, traditions, music, and more.. and food takes a highly elevated position :). Now that we are "home alone", also known as empty nesters, I can venture to any taste, any time. Having loads of time at disposal, and no worries about schedules and college admission, also gave me the patients to follow recipes, which I notoriously avoided up till now.

First documented trial is an adaptation of a soup recipe from "Sunday Soup", in an attempt to make smaller portions suitable for the two of us, and maybe even for the kids to try.

 Ingredients

1/2 acorn squash, approximately 350 - 400 g peeled, chopped into about 2x2 cm cubes

1 package bacon, anything between 100-150g

1 medium sized onion

1/2 cup pappardelle pasta, about 2 small handfuls

1.5 liters chicken broth (6 cups), or 1 liter broth + 0.5 liter water, aka 4 cups broth + 2 cups water

1 bunch of kale, maybe about 150g, coarsely chopped or torn in stripes (original recipe asked for Swiss chard, I may try it next time) it should loosely yield about 0.5 liter (loosely fill about 2 cups)

paprika powder (you can omit the paprika powder if you prefer a transparent, pale broth)

pinch of cayenne pepper, and a small red chili pepper for spiciness and serving

5 cm x 5 cm piece or1/2 cup coarsely grated parmigiano reggiano

Preparation

Prepare the acorn squash by cutting in half, peeling it, cutting it into 4-5 slices as it is more convenient, and then cut them into about  2x2 cm, or 3/4x3/4" cubes. We will use only half in this recipe, reserved the other half for later.

Slice the bacon and finely chop the onions (you should have about 200-250 ml, slightly shy of 1 cup), and set aside until you prepare the bacon. 

Saute the sliced bacon in medium size pot (about 4 liters / 4 quarts) util golden brown and crisp. Remoce the bacon from the pot, set aside on a paper towel to remove excess fat.

Add the onions into the hot bacon fat and saute until they get that golden, translucent shine. Remove from the heat and add 1 tsp paprika powder. Stir until combined with the fat. Place it back to the heat and add a cup of broth. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.

Add the cubed acorn squash and pappardelle pasta with  the remaining liquid (broth, or broth+water).

Let it simmer for 13 minutes, as it is indicated on the pappardelle cooking instructions.

Add the kale, and boil for another 2 minutes.

Serve with the small red chili pepper and add some freshly grated, or the coarsely grated parmigiano reggiano.

Bon appetite!

Tomato soup

 

New recipe in da house, and one to stay, for sure.

My hot zoupp'a'day new year commitment was failing today as I had little in the fridge to work with, so I improvised, and added a twist to my childhood favorite tomato soup.

If in California do as Californians, and put those lovely organic citrus form the yard to a good use. Our Navel orange trees are ripening, so I added the zest of half a large navel orange, and to help the taste blend I went over-and-above, and added a dash of vodka. Shhhh... no need to tell hubby, he doesn't touch any alcohol, it would be hard to explain myself why I spike his soup. 😅

Ingredients (yields a little less than 3 liters / quarts)

vegetable oil to lightly cover the bottom of the pot + 1/4 cup (60 ml) more to make the roux

1/2 large or a medium yellow onion, chopped

1 liter (4 cups of chicken broth)

2 cans of 400 g, 14.5 ounce canned diced tomatoes

1 heaped tbsp (add 2 as you please), of minced green bell pepper paste (or Ajvar)

1 tbsp butter

3-6 garlic heads

zest of 1/2 orange

1 dash of vodka (1 liquid ounce, or 30ml, basically a Hungarian "kupica")

4 heaped tbs all purpose flour

1 tbsp dried lovage leaves or chopped dried or fresh celery leaves. If none available you could probably use parsley or basil, but I'll be honest, I haven't tried.

salt & pepper

To serve

yogurt, 1/2 - 1 tpsp / plate to be added when served

For topping and sides there are MANY options. Tonight I will use baguettes with toasted provolone, Swiss or Gruyere cheese on top.

My grandma also served her tomato soup with a heap of mashed potatoes placed on one side of the soup bowl and poured the soup on top.

 You can also reuse already cooked rice and quinoa from the fridge, or add 1/2 cup to the broth when you leave it to simmer,

Boiled potato wedges and simple croutons will also work wonderfully. Try them one by one!

 

In a large pot that accommodates 3 liters heat some oil and saute the onions.

When glossy, or lightly browned at the edges add the broth, the 1 tbsp pepper paste, 1 flat tsp salt, 2 cans of tomato, including the sauce, the orange zest, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Bring to boil.

Add the vodka and simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

In a small pan heat the 1 tbs butter and add 3-6 garlic cloves, brown the lightly, and add them to the simmering soup.

While the soup is simmering prepare the roux. 

 

Heat 1/4 cup of vegetable oil of you preference ( I like avocado or sunflower, but olive oil is great, too) add 4 heaped tbsp all purpose flour, and on medium - high heat fry them to a nice creamy color, stirring constantly.

Add 1 liter of cold water, use an immersive blender to make a smooth broth. Add the 4 tbsp of roux, and bring it back to boil stirring constantly, until the roux cooks and thickens the broth.  Adjust saltiness. I had to add 1/2 tsp salt.

 

Serve while warm, with your chosen topping and side.

Bon appétit!

Beef-asparagus patties

I made some rice with asparagus to accompany chicken thigh for school lunch from Costco-s frozen asparagus but the bottom end of the asparagus was too fibrous for anyone's liking. Well, at least some of them.
For "safety", eg not to have the school lunch returned uneaten, I ended up chopping of the bottom third, but really didn't feel like throwing it away. I decided they'll go into some patties, especially that I already had minced beef at home.
After school I manually picked out the "bad" ones, they looked more yellow than the rest, and chopped them into very small, max 1/2 inch pieces, well, most of it.
It all weight about 90g..

Ingredients (serves 4)
300g lean minced beef 
about 200 g dry-ish bread (stone hard my take long to soften, but works, too) soaked in water and lightly squeezed
90-100 g asparagus, boiled and chopped
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 egg
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt (adjust the salt to your liking)
pinch of minced chili, absolutely optional
avocado oil for frying

Serving
Basmati rice, in my case, but would go well with the potato salad, or most of potato side dishes really.


I washed and boiled the Basmati rice. How to do it.. follow the instruction on the packaging, I might add a short post later. (It takes 15-20 minutes starting with washing until it is cooked).
While the rice is cooking soak the bread, chop the asparagus, chop the garlic, and the parsley. 
Place the meat in a medium sized bowl. 
Squeeze most of the water out from the bread, add it to the meat, add the chopped asparagus, parsley, salt, pepper, mixed until evenly combined, and at the end mix in the egg.

Add about a generous quarter inch of avocado oil in a frying pan, and heat the oil. Reduce the heat back slightly, and form about 80-90g patties adding them straight to the pan. Mine were about 1.5 cm, or 1/2 inch thick.

Fry them about 3 minutes each side, or 4 if you like them more well done. They should be slightly springy when done.
Remove from the pan, on a paper towel lined plate, and serve while hot.
I offered soy sauce on the side with the rice as my family is big fun of it, but it is up to you. Potato dishes definitely don't need soy sauce.
It would definitely go very well with a mustard sauce, I'll come up with some variations next.

Easy grilled trout

Just one, before last, main dish "recipe" before the year ends..
Very easy, ready in about 40 minutes including preparation, budget friendly, too, still a festive enough dish, at least for us, for Xmas eve.

Let's start with the fact that is from Costco. :) They sell the most fresh trout I can find near and far, not to mention the cleanness, and as bonus a smell free fish section.
That's not the only reason while these are one of my favorite food on the party food list.. The main reason is the simpleness...
The fish is reasonable clean as is, but I recommend to open each one and rinse well as they sometimes have clogged blood stuck along their spine.
In addition, I like to lightly scrape the skin under running water to scale them, even though there isn't much to clean.
It will take 30 seconds each side, so totally worth it.
Wrap them in aluminum foil, fold back the top and bottom (the juice will be dripping) and place them on a pre-heated table grill (griddle).

I recommend 1 fish/person for a hungry bunch.
We serve it with Jasmin or Basmati rice and salad, and some drips of soy sauce on the rice..
If you are not superstitious to believe that eating fish is bad omen for the new year as it will swim away with your fortune, this is a very easy entertainer for the New Year Eve ahead.
Bon appétit!

PS. I serve it with the wrap on, they keep warm until people are ready to eat. And in our family... well, you never know when that moment comes.

Orange - coconut cake

Smelly problem arose in the house. I picked the oranges from one of our trees to let the new harvest enjoy the nutrients, but I had too many.

One full bag, and not so many enthusiasts to eat it. Luckily I stumbled upon this recipe on one of the Finnish blogs I check every now and then, and it looked like it should become a family favorite as hubby likes coconut and everybody likes a savory orange kick.

Ingredients

1 cup, (2 ½ dl) pastry or all purpose flour (NOT bread flower)
1 cup (2 ½ dl) grits
1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil (any oil that is tasteless, and light)

1 cup orange juice

10 gr, 2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
orange zest, from 2 oranges
1 tsp vanilla extract
coconut for decoration

Juice for moisturizing 
1 cup apple juice 

1 tbsp lemon juice 
130 gr sugar (1/2 cup). I tried. If you ask me CUT the sugar at least in half, and I might not add any sugar if it is served without the unsweetened whipped cream. If you plan to serve it with the whipped cream, try with the full amount of sugar. You decide. There will be a second try, trust me :).

Serving

unsweetened whipped cream (optional), decorated with few mint or basil leaves

Line the bread pans with baking sheets. In my case the old fashioned brean pan worked better than the silicon, the cake came out higher and less burned on the surface.

Preheat the oven to 350 F, 180 C.

Mix eggs with the sugar, and add the oil, orange zest, orange juice, until well combined. Add the tsp of vanilla, and pinch of salt (optional, but whenever I add vanilla to a batter, especially with grits, salt comes automatically).

Mix in the dry ingredients lightly, aiming for an even batter. No need to overmix.

Place the batter in two bread forms,  and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. I turned the heat a bit higher at the beginning, hence the little bit burned top, and in my oven 40 minutes would have been enough, so keep an eye on it.

While the cake is baking, bring the orange juice with the sugar to boiling point, and boil it for couple of minutes until sugar is properly dissolved. Let it cool slightly.

When the cake is ready pour the juice on top of the cake as it comes out of the oven.

Let it cool slightly, then cool for at least 2 hour in the fridge before serving.

Enjoy by itself or with whipped cream if desired.

Bon appétit!

Potato wedges

With young guests coming and going I am always looking for a crowd pleaser, but I try to avoid overdoing the preps.
With kids I had the most trouble, obviously, as many of them are unfortunately picky, and even if they eat home made food or veggies, they like the taste of home..

I have another reason to publish these very simple recipes. My only daughter won't enjoy my prepared meal, so I'll post some she can reproduce on her own :). Maybe I won't miss her so much by doing so :).

These potato wedges are soo simple, that in 50 minutes they were baked, eaten, and this blogpost was born :) (well, almost :)),  obviously not so artistic pictures, but you can't feed pre and teenagers with pics :D.

Ingredients
Gold potatoes or baking potatoes, about 2 large, or 3 smaller / person
oil for brushing
pink pepper (if you don't have at home I recommend buying some!, but you can use rosemary as well if you prefer or you can;t get pink pepper)
salt 

Serving
Greek or Strauss' European yogurt
sour cream, about 1/3 of the amount of the yogurt
1 larger green onion chopped into small pieces
1/2 tsp mustard
salt, pepper
1 small cucumber, optional
shredded hard cheese, optional

Preheat the oven for 425-450 F, 225-250 C.
When it comes to potatoes, for this purpose I prefer Costco's Premium Gold Potatoes, those that are beautifully yellow when peeled. Unfortunately they don't sell consistent quality, but this batch I bought last was among the best ones!
Peal the potatoes, and depending on their size, and your preference, cut them into 4-6-8 slices. They don't have to be perfectly same. The smaller the crunchier, and a bit dryer, too.
Place them in a tray covered with parchment paper, brush them with oil, sprinkle salt to taste, and grind some pink peppers as well.

Bake on the higher rack in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, depends on the type of tomatoes you use and your oven.

Enjoy!

M'semen

Two days after the operation and I was already "starving" for some tidbits. Not sweet, as you might have guessed I'm not the biggest fun of sweet stuff, except the ones with yeast and just a little sugar :).
So, for 8th March I asked hubby to make lángos instead of buying me flowers. Recipe coming soon, promise. We had them with sour cream with LOT of garlic.. Yummm...
Today however, four days after the operation, I just couldn't hold myself back from some cooking/baking.
We had székely káposzta for dinner (another versatile Transylvanian goodie worth cooking, I'll try to write down a recipe for it soon), but after dinner I still wanted something fried, something like lángos, but different. "Sweet".
I decided to go for some m'semen with honey.
I'm not a frequent cooker of Arabic meals, but the m'semen stole my hart long, long time ago.
In Finland I made it differently, without yeast, mainly because I didn't find the right semolina flour, but also because that's the traditional one. However I have to say the ones with yeast are much, much lighter, and better.

Well, here not finding something is luckily not an issue, with so many nations living together you'll find basically everything, and I had my semolina waiting in the storage for a while..
And here it goes, the lovely layered m'semen with honey, and it's my absolute favorite accompanied by strong mint tea with honey (not so sweet as they serve it in the Arabic kitchen) and pine seeds. Watch the video for easier instructions and good music.

Ingredients (makes 10 m'semen)
2 cups flour (bread flour)
2 cups semolina flour
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
~ 2 cups lukewarm water, you'll need a bit less than the full 2 cups, add it slowly

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup oil

In a larger bowl mix the dry ingredients, and start adding the water until the dough clings together but it still feels sticky. Should be a soft, light dough.
Knead it for 5-10 minutes, knead it well together in a smooth dough. You'll feel how it softens under your fingers while the flour absorbs the water.
Let ir rise for 30 minutes, it will grow to ~double size.

Melt 1/3 cup butter, add 1/3 cup oil.
Roll a bit the dough and pull 10, about same size, balls apart. Flatten and fold to make the layers.
Use the melted butter-oil mix to oil the table, and, with oily hands, start flattening the balls until they are so thin that they start to ravel.

Then fold them from the sides towards the middle in three (or four), to make a streak. Fold both ends towards the middle, and then fold the half streak in two (basically fold in 3 again, starting from the two ends). Flatten it a bit and you'll get nice squares. Between each folding oil your hands or even the dough. It is advisable to have oily layers (don't add to much though or you'll find it difficult to fold) as they will separate nicely the dough layers and they will look gorgeous.

With oily hands start flattening the squares until you get squares of a size of a small plate.

Heat a pan, sprinkle with the butter/oil mix leftover and start frying the m'semen like you fry palacsinta (crepes). The pan should be hot enough to make the m'semen grow nicely, however not too hot to burn too fast. I adjusted my heater to somewhere between half and 2/3rd capacity.

They need very short frying, maybe about 1 min/side, or less.

Enjoy while still warm/fresh with honey, maple syrup and mint tea.
Hubby, who has even less of a sweet tooth than I do, had them as is.