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!

Gnocchi with butternut squash and gold beet

It's summer, and a verrrrrry hot one, no good (by Trump :D).
It means we don't really feel like eating all the meaty meals, but would rather stick to a lighter one. 
Speaking for myself, I was also in for something new.
Gnocchi is known as an italian potato dumpling, but it is actually a Hungarian pasta as well that's running under the name of nudli.
It is one of my childhood favorites with nothing but tossed in roasted bredcrumbs and a pinch of salt.
Today I was in for some boost from those beautiful butternut squashes I found, as well as the bunch of fresh golden beets. The outcome got a thumbs up from every family member.

The nudli (gnocchi) could be home made, but I was way too lazy and settled with some store bought ones, more precicely some Costco bought gnocchis. Worth every penny, not to mention that $5.9. A steel..
The topping is also very simple, and could be a side dish on its own.

Butternut squash topping (baked for 30 min at 350F/180 C)
Ingredients
1 medium sized squash
4 garlic heads
salt (about a small teaspoon, but alter based on your taste, try with less and add salt as needed)
freshly grated peppercorn mix
olive oil (2-3 tbs)

Gold beet topping (baked for 20 min at 350F/180 C)
Ingredients
2 large gold beets, peeled
2 garlic heads
salt (a large pinch, but alter based on your taste, try with less and add salt as needed)
freshly grated peppercorn mix
olive oil (2 tbs)

Gnocchi
1 bag (16 oz) home made, or store bough gnocchi

Fresh leaves
Fresh beet leaves, thinly sliced (try other salads, too, I think a rucola could work well)
or pea shoots

Serving
fresh-fried bacon slices

Preheat the oven to 350F, 180 C. Lay parchment paper in two smaller, or one large tray. I used two smaller ones because I removed the beets a bit earlier from the oven, and it was way more convenient to remove the whole tray than scoop them out from the larger one. However, if you have one large tray, go for it, it might be a bit of inconvenience, but all worth it.

Peel the butternut squash, slice and chop into about 1"x1" cubes, maybe a bit smaller, like 2x2 cm.
Slice the gold beets as well into 1/6" thin slices, about 2-3 mm thin.
Place a parchment paper in both trays and spread the squash cubes into one, and the gold beet slices into the other. Sprinkle with salt, ground a little peppercorn on top, and drizzle with olive oil, until they are lightly coated.  Mix with your fingers, or just joggle the trays to coat them.
Place them uncovered in the preheated oven, and bake for 10 minutes.
Turn the beets, mix in lightly the squash, and bake for additional 10 minutes.
Now you can remove the beets, and leave the squash for additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Prepare the gnocchi/nudli according to the instructions, and serve while hot, topped with some bacon and beet leaves.
Enjoy!

Bon appétit!

Creamy squash - or - zucchini soup

I am rarely raging about something when it comes to food 'cause I've been spoiled with fresh, home made food.
Squash is however the best ever vegetable I can think of (zucchini will do as well), and the fresh zucchini season just started at our local food store.

We had this soup on a regular bases as soon as the squash was rape in our garden, and it is a pleasure to have on hot summer days as it can be consumed both cold or warm.
The way grandma made was lighter, but when my hubby found this recipe we all fell in love with it, and adopted it to fit our ways of cooking.

Ingredients
3 pounds of squash or zicchini
2-3 carrots
2-3 parsley roots (if you can't find any use parsnip, though not quite the same)
1 middle sized onion
vinegar to taste(start with 1-2 tbsp, we usually add at least 4-5 tbsp)
salt
pepper
     powder paprika (optional!!)
2 small bunches of fresh dill
fresh savory or small pinch of crumbled dry savory (borsikafu avagy csombord)
1-3 tbsp olive (preferably non tasty one, I use sunflower oil)
2 dl sour cream
3 egg yolks

Before you start the next step, you have to decide how you like your soup. I you like it very smooth, and creamy, start grating your ingredients on the larger side of the grater. (you can use a food processor as well, but don't overdo it).
If you like your soup more chunky, cut the carrots and parsley root into thin slices, as well as the squash/zucchini.
Cut the dill as well into tiny pieces, leave some for garnish.
1. In a large pot (I'd choose a minimum 3 quart pot) heat the oil, and stir in the onion.
2. When they are getting "glassy" add the carrot and parsley slices. Saute together shortly, 1-2 minutes, than add 2 liters (2.2 quarts) of water.
3. Add the savory, salt and pepper (2 generous pinches) to taste, and  boil them together for 5 minutes.
4. Now add the squash/zucchini and the fresh dill cut into small pieces. Adjust saltiness, add and boil for additional 15 minutes.
5. Mix the egg yolks with the sour cream and the vinegar in a 1-2 quart bowl. Add one ladle of the hot soup, lightly stir, add one more ladle of hot soup, stir again, and now add the mixture back to the boiling soup. Wait for 1-2 minutes until you see the first VERY SMALL bubbles as a sign of boiling, and remove immediately from heat.
Do NOT boil it again, or the egg will make your soup look like a too liquid omelet...
It is delicious both warm and cold, and it is a veggie in season, so enjoy! 


Garnish with additional dill, and enjoy!

Bon appétit!