Hungarian Potato Stew (Paprikás krumpli)

Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a great week. Recently my boyfriend was mentioning how much he misses Hungarians stews! These rich, hearty dishes, in Hungary are enjoyed year round! Although the August heat makes me crave lighter dishes, I decided to give this delicious dish a try, and I was pleasantly surprised that we managed to devour it all in less than 15 minutes! Hope you give this dish a go and don't forget to tag me @seasonandsavour since I always enjoy seeing your creations!

Ingredients: (serves 2 to 3)

• 3 waxy potatoes 
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic 
• One can of diced tomatoes
• 2 heaped tbspn of sweet paprika
• 1 tspn of smoked paprika
• 3 slices of bacon (chopped into cubes)
• 1 chicken/vegetable stock cube dissolved in 500ml of boiling water
• 1 tub of sour cream

Method:

1. Saute the onions until translucent in 3 tbspns of vegetable oil in a pot on medium heat
2. Add the potatoes, bacon, garlic and lightly fry with the onions
3. Add the paprika and season accordingly, make sure all the paprika is well integrated with the onion and potatoes
4. Add the stock and boil the vegetables for 30 minutes on low-medium heat
5. Once the stew thickens and the potatoes are cooked through, serve with a dollop of sour cream and some fresh parsley. 

Hungarian pea-stew (Zöldborsófőzelék)

Hello everyone!

Today we will be discussing how to make a simple, yet hearty dish which can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes! This dish pairs nicely with fried, boiled or poached eggs, or our favorite, home-made breaded meatballs! (I will be posting my signature recipe down below also!) Don't forget to tag me @seasonandsavour if you happen to try out this dish!

Meatballs recipe (for 2)

Ingredients:

• 300g minced beef (lean)
• 2 tspn Italian Seasoning
• 1 tspn garlic powder
• 2 tspn smoked paprika
• 1 tspn onion salt
• 1 tspn salt 
• 1 tbspn breadcrumbs
• 2 whole egg
• 5 tbspn flour (for dredging)
• 5 tbspn breadcrumbs (for the coating)

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix the ground beef together with the Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon on smoked paprika and 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs. Add salt and pepper accordingly and mix together until well combined. Mix in one egg and set aside.
2. In the meantime, heat some sunflower oil in a non-stick pan in order to shallow fry the meatballs before transferring to the oven to cook through.
3. Shape the ground beef mixture into balls and dredge in flour - egg - breadcrumb mixture. You can add smoked paprika to the breadcrumb mixture, since I believe this elevates the flavors!
4. Fry the meatballs until golden in color, transfer on a baking sheet and oven bake for around 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Hungarian pea stew (for 2)

Ingredients:

• 2 tbspn sunflower oil
• 400g frozen peas
• 2 tbspn sugar
• 400 ml of water
• 1 vegetable stock cube (crumbled) I used Alce Nero since I simply love that brand!
• Salt and Pepper to taste 
• 2 tbspn all purpose flour (plain flour)
• 100ml of skimmed milk (I used lactose free)

Method:

1. Heat the sunflower oil in the pan and add the peas. Allow the peas to cook for at least 5 minutes. 
2. Next add the water, sugar, salt and allow the mixture to start simmering. Once it's nearly boiling, crumble in the stock cube and mix thoroughly. 
3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and milk until the flour is well-dissolved. Do not skip the process or the flour will clump up into tiny little spheres!
4. Add the roux slowly, stirring continuously until the stew thickens.
5. Serve with the meatballs for a scrumptious meal!  

Hungarian zserbó

Today I will be writing about this decadent Hungarian dessert, named after a famous confectionery by the name of Café Gerbeaud in the stunning capital city of Budapest. To be honest, I didn't know  much about this rich dessert, until I was browsing for some ideas for a rich treat, after a traditional Easter lunch. My boyfriend mentioned this dessert and I was immediately intrigued, since it was one of his favourite desserts growing up and I wanted him to savour once again a taste from his home country. 

Ingredients for the dough

• 350g of plain flour
• 180g of cold butter (finely grated)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
• 1 egg
• Two heaped teaspoons of yeast
• 100ml milk 
• 50g sugar

For the filling: 

• 200g of roasted walnuts
  
• 100g of icing sugar
• 400g of homemade apricot/peach jam

For the Chocolate glaze:

• 120g of 50% dark chocolate (roughly chopped)
  
• 55g of butter
• 50ml reduced fat cream

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix the grated butter and flour and the vanilla powder.
2. Add the yeast to the warm milk, together with 1 teaspoon of sugar to start the fermentation
3. Add the milk-yeast mixture to the bowl with the butter and flour. Add the egg and sugar and mix. Proceed onto kneading the dough until you have a thick cylinder.
4. Before attempting to roll out the dough, divide the thick cylinder into 4 equal parts, wrap in cling film and place inside the fridge for an hour (this will help you roll out the pastry without it crumbling)
5. While the dough is resting, proceed onto roasting the walnuts for 6 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius. Once they are roasted, grind the walnuts with the icing sugar to form a paste.
6. Start rolling out the dough balls, and place the first layer (dough ball) into a 9 inch square cake pan and add a thick layer of apricot jam. Add the crushed walnuts and repeat using all the available dough, as if assembling a lasagna, each time adding a pastry sheet and filling it with jam and apricots. You should end up with 4 layers of pastry.
7. Prick the last dough layer, cover with a warm kitchen towel and allow to proof for 1 hour.
8. Place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for around 35 minutes until golden brown.
9. Let it cool in the pan before attempting to cover it with the chocolate glaze.

Chocolate glaze:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate together with the cream until melted and well combined.
2.  Quickly remove from the heat and add in the chopped butter to form a creamy chocolate mixture which will retain its shine.
   
3. Once the pastry is cool, add the chocolate using a scraper and spread all over. Let it set over the pastry at room temperature.
4. Proceed to slicing the dessert the following day once the glaze has completely set.
5. Last but not least, enjoy and savour every piece of this decadent dessert!