I sure am sorry I didn’t think to post this recipe for International Talk Like a Pirate Day – I just missed it, on September 19. Ajvar is pronounced aye-var, and it’s awfully fun to say it with a little nautical sneer and swagger. Arrrr!

This is still an apt time of year to talk about this recipe, when the last of the eggplants and tomatoes are ripening. Somewhere between a spread and a condiment, ajvar is a Balkan staple and was at least partly responsible for my substantial weight gain in the years we were living in the former Yugoslavia. You can buy ajvar at almost any grocery store there, and we discovered that the uglier the packaging, the better the product. My personal favorites generally came from Macedonia, but homemade is really the gold standard. It’s not hard to make, I discovered, but messy. The smell of peppers roasting (often just cooked directly on the stove burners) is for me one of the characteristic aromas of the Balkans, just a whiff and you’re there.

As for the eating, my personal favorite is to use it rather like ketchup, on sandwiches. When Valerian and I were first living together, we bought a little sandwich press, and I proceeded to toast up many, many grilled cheese sandwiches with ajvar, to the point where it was getting hard to button my pants. Oof. I recommend a little more moderation, but ajvar really does perk up a sandwich, makes a great topping for crackers, and could easily work as a pasta sauce rather like pesto if you’re so inclined. The sweet peppers contrast with the very slight bitterness of the eggplant, all playing against a smoky backdrop – it’s a savory trip to Southeastern Europe, right there.

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Ajvar

The usual red bell peppers in the US are not quite the same as the peppers you’ll get in Europe, but they work fine in this recipe; if you can find a more typical European pepper, like Pritamin or the others mentioned in Valerian’s pepper guide, use those. Ajvar is often made with hot peppers, too, if you like things a little spicy.

Ingredients

Makes about 2 cups of ajvar

• 4 large red peppers
• 2 medium eggplants
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt & pepper

Method

• Preheat the oven to 450° F (230° C) and line a large baking sheet with foil.
• Pierce the eggplants’ skins a few times with a fork or tip of a knife. Place them and the peppers on the baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes or until the skins are blackened in spots and starting to shrivel. Be bold and let them get well cooked, the smokey flavor will be your payoff.
• Put the peppers in a large bowl and cover with a plate, then set them aside.
• Allow the eggplants to cool, then peel back the skins and scoop out the flesh into a medium bowl or the bowl of a food processor. Try to leave out the seeds, although this is very messy and difficult.
• When the peppers have cooled, peel off the skins and discard. Also toss out the seeds, core and stem. Roughly chop the peppers and add them to the bowl with the eggplant.
• Grate or finely mince the garlic, and add about half to start – since it’s raw, go easy at first and taste to see how you like it.
• Using an immersion blender or food processor, puree the mixture to a thick, still somewhat chunky consistency. Season to taste with more garlic and the salt and pepper, and stir it all together.
• Keeps in the fridge for at least a week; this is best a day or two after it’s made.

 

Some of you have been concerned that recent recipes have been too healthy and light. Well, fret no more, friends. This one suffers from no such delusions: it’s rich and oh my, it’s good.

Both kids are back in school as of this week, and we’re still working out the schedule in its various daily permutations. (Is there some school rule that says that no day can be like another?) One thing that has made things dramatically easier is getting lunches together the night before, especially by cooking a little extra at dinner to tuck into the lunchbox for the next day.

This recipe is so good, though, we were lucky to have any leftovers at all – you’ll catch yourself swiping bites that were meant to get packed away. And while it’s true that this dish, which is essentially macaroni and cheese with a kick, isn’t going to get on anyone’s low-calorie list, it will surprise you how rich and creamy it tastes with a pretty small application of cheese.  Bet your kids will gobble it up, and you will too!

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Daddy’s special mac & cheese

You can serve this pasta dish two ways – just noodles and sauce, à la Kraft, or give it an extra sprinkle of cheese and slip it under the broiler to get a crunchy top. Equally good, just take your pick!

Ingredients

Makes enough for two kids’ dinners with enough for their lunches the next day

• 5 oz (140 g) pasta, any shape
• 2 strips bacon or turkey bacon
• 2 oz (55 g) firm cheese such as cheddar, grated, plus more for topping

Method

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions (time depends on the shape of your pasta).
• Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a large skillet until crisp; if you use especially fatty bacon, you may want to pour off some of the grease.
• When the pasta has finished cooking, drain it, reserving one cup of the cooking water. Dump the pasta into the pan with the bacon; add the cheese and toss to coat.
• Add the pasta water, a little at a time, until you get the saucy consistency that looks right to you. We used the whole cup.
• You can serve it as is, or, if you prefer a crispy crust, slide the pasta into an ovenproof dish, top with more cheese and broil until the top is toasted and bubbly. Yum!

 

Being totally honest, I’ve never liked raw tomatoes all that much. I put them in salads and sandwiches but I often eat them without much enjoyment, more a sense of duty. Duty? To a fruit? Anyway. I always supposed that California is a perfect tomato-growing climate, but particularly after these past two cool summers, that’s clearly not the case. And it’s not just our shady backyard (where we have yet to get a flower on our little stunted tomato plants this year), all the local tomatoes leave something to be desired. I remember eating a tomato in Sarajevo in the summer of 1996; it was hardly the most auspicious place for fresh produce, what with the war just ended and all, but that tomato was a revelation, so sweet and juicy. And while we had hard times with the tomatoes in Slovakia, so many of which split and cracked and fell prey to Colorado beetles, I miss being able to gather a nice bowlful for supper on a hot summer evening.

On the other hand, the firm, bland little cherry tomatoes we’ve been getting at the store are perfect for pickling. It seems a shame to fuss about with a lovely ripe tomato (or peach, or plum), but when they’re this unremarkable, a shot of vinegar does wonders.

My mother taught me how to make these when I was a teenager, and I had forgotten about them for years before this summer. Now I can’t get enough – as soon as we eat through one batch, I am nicking the skins for the next round. It is a little tedious to peel cherry tomatoes, and in fact you can just as well just slice up a large tomato and let it soak in the oil and vinegar; the pulpy insides may spill out, but that’s only an aesthetic issue. I find it relaxing to slip the little ones from their skins, it’s the perfect thing to do while listening to the radio on a sultry afternoon.

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“Pickled” tomatoes

The quotation marks in the title here are because these aren’t true pickles (you need to follow proper canning procedures for those). I just keep them in the fridge, where they last about a week in the unlikely event they’re not gobbled up. I sometimes toss in halved artichoke hearts, which take up the vinegar nicely themselves.

Ingredients

• 1 pound (about ½ kilo) cherry tomatoes
• ¼ cup Sherry vinegar
• 3 Tbs olive oil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 scallions, sliced

Method

• First, blanch the tomatoes to make them easier to peel. Bring a large pot half-full of water to a boil. In the meantime, make a small nick or x at the stem end of the tomatoes. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and a slotted spoon. When the pot of water boils, carefully add the tomatoes and let them cook for about one minute; if the skins start to split or peel, take them out with the slotted spoon, and drop them in the ice water. Drain them off and then peel each tomato, discarding the skins.
• Whisk together the vinegar, oil, and oregano in a small measuring cup.
• Put the tomatoes, scallions, and garlic in a sealable container, the smallest they’ll fit into. Pour the vinegar mixture over the top, and gently tip the container to mix.
• Tightly seal and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

I just realized I’ve been making this salad for six or seven years, and every time I make it I seem to add something more, to the point where by now it’s less of a bulgur salad than a salad with some bulgur in it.

Are you sitting there wondering what bulgur is? It’s sometimes (incorrectly) called cracked wheat; I was able to find it in our regular supermarket in Slovakia, and here in California it’s a bulk-bin staple. No longer an obscure health food item, it’s a bit heartier than couscous but occupies a similar niche. And it’s extremely easy to prepare, which endeared it to me from day one.

The first time I remember eating bulgur was in Bulgaria – no, really! I was in Sofia for a meeting and my colleague took me to a Lebanese restaurant where I nibbled my way through a rather vast array of hummus, toasts, and tabbouleh, which of course is a kind of herb salad with bulgur. It takes a lot to tear me away from Bulgarian food, especially in situ, but that was a really memorable meal. This salad is another category entirely, but I think you’ll find it’s a tasty place to be.

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Bulgur salad with chickpeas, feta and lots of other things
adapted from epicurious

I just keep adding stuff to this salad, and this recipe reflects the most recent iteration. You can definitely change the ingredients around as you like; you could probably even swap the bulgur for quinoa or something else. Grain salads are like that, which is one of the reasons I love them.

Ingredients

Serves four as a substantial side dish

• 1 cup plus 2 Tbs water
• 1 cup bulgur
• 1 tsp salt
• ¾ cup frozen peas
• 1 can chickpeas
• 3 medium tomatoes (about 1 cup), diced
• 3 scallions, sliced thin
• 1 small carrot, sliced into thin coins
• ⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley (a good handful)
• 1½ cups baby arugula
• zest from one lemon
• 3 Tbs lemon juice
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Method

• In a small pot, bring the water to a boil, add the salt, bulgur, and peas and stir. Cover and remove from heat; allow to stand for 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
• Dump out the bulgur and peas into a large bowl, fluff with a fork and allow to cool.
• Toss with the remaining ingredients and serve.

So, I have become kind of obsessed with this corn “relish” recipe from the most recent Everyday Food. It’s about as simple as it gets, there’s no cooking involved. None! As we were chowing down tonight, Valerian asked “why do we even cook corn?” because it is so so tasty hacked right off the cob. And I’m not talking about any pampered organic superstar corn from the farmers market; I think it’s way too early for that anyway, especially since California apparently took a holiday in Oregon this spring and we’ve had weeks of unseasonal rain. No, this corn came from the grocery store, 33 cents an ear, and delicious as all get-out.

Although I’ve managed to make a meal of the relish several times (leaving guests whimpering as I greedily cleaned out the serving bowl), I wanted to bulk it up a little to make a more substantial dinner. I tossed in some black beans and for the omnivores among us, topped it off with some chicken cooked on the panini press my mother handed off to us when we moved. For myself, a little feta added some salty goodness but that’s optional, I’d say.

This was such a satisfying meal and so simple, it’s a good one to throw together for these weeknights when the sun stays up so long it’s easy to forget how late it is. Gluten free, too! It’s a delicious taste of the summer to come, just look at these gorgeous tomatoes:

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Fresh corn salad with grilled chicken
Adapted from Everyday Food

To keep the salad snappy and fresh, dress it last; I’d recommend cooking the chicken first, then assembling the salad; the chicken could easily be made in advance and kept in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.

Ingredients

for the chicken

• 1 lb. boneless chicken breasts or thighs
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 3 ears fresh corn
  • 8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 scallions, sliced thin
  • 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, about 1½ cups, drained
  • juice of one lime
  • 12 ounces baby spinach
  • feta for serving (optional)
  • About an hour and a half before you want to eat, trim any excess fat from the chicken, season it with salt and pepper and place it in a sealable container or bag. Stir together the buttermilk and cumin in a cup, then pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover/seal and refrigerate for an hour.
  • To cook the chicken, preheat a panini press or grill to medium heat. Place the chicken parts on the grill (discard any remaining marinade) and cook for about 10 minutes, until there are nice grill marks on the pieces and the juices run clear.
  • While the chicken is cooking, cut the kernels off the ears of corn.
  • Toss the corn, tomatoes, scallions and beans in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the lime juice over and toss again.
  • Serve on a bed of baby spinach, with the chicken or feta on top.

  Serves three to four as a light meal.

Lívance are a bit different in that they are made with yeast, so you can’t just whip up a batch in three minutes. That said, they aren’t otherwise very difficult to make. They’re typically made in a special pan with indentations like a crumpet or egg poaching pan to cook the pancakes to a uniform shape, but that’s not necessary. The batter doesn’t spread too much on a standard frying pan anyway.

Any leftover lívance can be stashed in the freezer, and being sturdy and even a bit cakey, they stand up well to toppings like peanut butter to make a more substantial meal. We had a big ol’ dinner planning disaster last night, when the slow cooker failed to take a pot of bean soup beyond crunchy. Happily, we had pancakes in the freezer, and after a couple of minutes under the broiler they were ready to go. Dinner saved! Yep, if you have pancakes in the freezer, you’ll be a hero to almost any kid, I’m telling you.

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Lívance – Czech raised pancakes

These are traditionally served with jam, but there’s no reason not to go the maple syrup route if you’re so inclined. I like to fry them in butter, for extra fattylicious crisp edges.

Ingredients

Makes about 1 dozen pancakes

• 1 C/250 ml milk
• 2 Tbs/25 g butter
• 1½ C/200 g flour
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 egg
• oil or butter for cooking

Method

• Warm the milk and butter together in a small pan, until the butter is beginning to melt.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Checking that it’s not too hot (about body temperature is good), pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir well. Beat in the egg.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for about an hour, or put it in the fridge overnight. You should have a very bubbly, quite liquid batter.
• To cook the lívance, heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Coat the pan with a film of oil or butter; if the butter sizzles gently, it’s time to cook. Using a ladle or muffin scoop, drop about ¼ cup of batter onto the pan. I can usually fit about three pancakes on my largest pan.
• Cook about three minutes, turning the pancake when bubbles form on the surface and the the first side is a rich golden brown. Cook about three more minutes. Serve warm with jam, syrup, or just plain.

There are about as many different ways of making pogi as there are bakeries, and everyone has an opinion about where to find the very best. Some are rich and flaky, more like an American biscuit, while others are more solid, rather like a scone. They come in different sizes, too, from just an inch or so across to as big as a fist. You can get pogácsa made with cheese, with potato, with pumpkin seeds, with little bits of pork crackling, or any combination of all of that. Naturally, our favorite Budapest czukraszda, Daubner, makes some of the most tender, delicate and delicious pogácsa – they’re worth waiting in the long lines to get some hot from the oven.

Unlike some other bakery specialties, like Dobos Tort or Sacher Torte, though, you can make pogi at home easily and successfully. Valerian’s mother makes a version that is as much potato as flour, and every family seems to have its own treasured recipe. The ones we’re making here are both flaky and fluffy, studded with seeds and tangy with chèvre. Maybe you’d like to make some to bring to the office, as a change of pace. We took some to the preschool for Valentine’s Day, so instead of the traditional little rounds, we cut them in heart shapes. Whatever shape yours take, let us know how you like them!

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Pogácsa – Hungarian cheese biscuits

This is a yeast dough, so factor in a couple of hours to let it rise. If you prefer, leave the pumpkin seeds whole for a different texture.

Ingredients

Makes about 2 dozen small pogácsa

• 1⅓ cups flour
• 1 Tbs instant yeast
• 2 heaping Tbs salt
• 4 oz/113 g chèvre (soft goat cheese)
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 4 Tbs olive oil or pumpkin seed oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sour cream
• yolk of one egg, for the wash

Method

• In a dry pan over medium heat, toast the pumpkin seeds until they begin to hiss and pop. When they have cooled a bit, pulse them a few times in a food processor, or roughly chop with a knife.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, yeast, and chèvre to form a soft dough. Stir in the whole egg, the sour cream, and the the pumpkin seeds. With a wooden spoon or in a stand mixer, knead the dough until it forms a shaggy, somewhat sticky ball.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350° F/190° C.
• Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Sprinkling more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking, roll it out to about ¼”/1 cm thick, then fold it in half, in half again, and one more time. Roll it out again to ¼” thick and repeat the folding twice more.
• Rolls out the dough to about half an inch thick, and cut out your pogi with a biscuit cutter or even a small glass. Reroll as necessary to use up all the dough. Put the cut shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Lightly beat the egg yolk and brush it over the tops of your pogácsa for a nice shine.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are nicely golden. Place on a wire rack to cool, and enjoy!

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Hungarian Potato Bread

If possible use bread flour. In this video I am using Trader Joe’s all-purpose flour. Russet potatoes are ideal for this recipe, because they are nice and floury. The potato has a few roles in the bread making: it keeps the bread moist, adds a mild potato flavor to the crumb and a light bitterness to the crust.

Ingredients

Makes 1 medium loaf.

• 3 cups bread flour
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 large russet potato
• 1 1/3 cups water

Method

• Peel and dice the potato, then rinse off the starch in a colander. Cook it until soft enough to pierce with a fork. Once soft strain the water and let it cool.
• In a large bowl mix flour yeast and salt. Mash the potato (or put it through a ricer) and add it to the flour mixture.
• Add 1 cup of water and then more if necessary. The dough should be on the sticky side. Put it in a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• Let it rise at room temperature for 12-18 hours. After 12-18 hours you should have a elastic and a little bit sticky dough.
• Prepare a baking dish ( I used a small square stoneware baking dish) put it into the oven and preheat the oven to 500 F.
• Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and fold it into a loaf. Generously sprinkle with flour. Let it rise another hour.
• Dust the baking dish with flour and carefully put in the loaf. Cover it with tinfoil and bake it for 25-30 minutes.
• After 25-30 minutes, uncover and bake another 30-40 minutes or until the bread gets dark and crusty. That is what we want!
• When the first loaf is ready you can bake the second one as above.
• In the video I promised you a secret trip for extra crusty crust. When the bread is almost done, say 10 minutes before you want to take it out, turn off the oven and leave it open slightly (1″).
• Let it cool before you eat it.

If you’re looking for a soft, yummy, eggy bread recipe, this is the one. I have to admit failure here, though: I just can’t seem to get the stacked braids to stay upright when I cook them. I finally resorted to my old standby six-strand braid, and the results are much more attractive.

This vianočka is pretty close to the version you can buy in the shops in Slovakia, and it’s easy enough to make the dough in the evening then bake in the morning. It’s sweet, lightly flavored with lemon, and makes great french toast if you don’t manage to eat the whole thing before it gets a little stale.

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Vianocka – modern version

This is a largeish recipe – I’ve taken to dividing it in two and leaving half the dough to sit in the fridge to bake a second loaf a day or two later. If you bake a half-sized loaf, it should be done in about 25 minutes. I often substitute about half a cup of oil for the butter when I’m in a hurry or low on butter.

Ingredients

Makes one loaf

• 4 cups/480 grams flour
• 1 packet instant yeast
• 1 cup/240 ml milk
• 3 oz/85 g butter
• 3 eggs, plus one yolk for the egg wash
• 1/3 cup/80 g sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• zest of one lemon (about 1½ tsp)
• 1/3 cup/40 g raisins (optional)
• ¼ cup/20 g sliced almonds for topping (optional)

Method

• Warm the milk and butter in a small saucepan until butter has melted; set aside to cool. Stir together 1 cup of the flour and the yeast in a large bowl. When milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, stir it into the flour mixture until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until it is bubbly, about 15 minutes.
• Add the three eggs, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Mix in the flour gradually until you have a soft dough that is still a bit sticky. Stir in the raisins.
• Turn out the dough and knead until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a large clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise until doubled, about two hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.
• When dough has doubled, divide it into 6 portions, each weighing about 6oz/180 grams. Roll each portion into a rope, and braid the six ropes together, pinching each end to seal.
• Cover the braid with a cloth and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f/190 C.
• Brush the braid with the egg yolk mixed with about a teaspoon of water; sprinkle almonds over the top if desired (the loaf expands quite a lot when baked, so you can be generous with the topping!).
• Bake for 50-55 minutes or until top is a dark golden brown.

All I want to say is that körözött is a staple food of Hungary. They are lucky, because they can go to the local Tesco Hypermarket, pick up a tub of the classic spread, or even try “impure” körözött and buy it together with a hearty dose of additives and preservatives. You, the unlucky ones have to make it yourself. The good news is, that it can be kept in the fridge for quite a time even without the pesky additives and preservatives.  Well, enjoy your Hungarian experience!

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Hungarian Spicy Cheese Spread – Körözött

This is the basic, the elemental soul of körözött. People tend to over-complicate this simple spread. Silly, when it is best enjoyed simply with bread or vegetables; tomatoes and peppers make a perfect companion. You might want to reduce the amount of onions, but remember that after chilling the spread will be milder. If you want to go fat free, go for it and use reduced fat or fat free cottage cheese and cream cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 small tub (8 oz) large curd cottage cheese
• 1 smaller or ½ a large onion
• small package (3 oz) cottage cheese
• 1 onion
• 3 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp caraway powder
• 1 cup red wine

Method

• Put all the ingredients except the onion into a big bowl.
• Grate the onions into the mixture. You can go either chunky or fine.
• Stir the mixture well and then process it with a stick/immersion blender or in a food processor.
• Put it back into the cottage cheese tub and chill it for few hours, best overnight. There will be a little bit leftover which will not fit into the tub. You go ahead and eat it.
• Enjoy with a great rustic bread.

One of the first questions I get when I introduce my wife is “Where did you two meet?”. I don’t know why, is an American-Slovak-Hungarian combo that weird? So make it even more weird — I say “in Kosovo”.  That always takes the conversation away from us and transforms it to a discussion about Kosovo. Yes it is true, we met in the Balkans and we worked together and we fell in love with each other, then got married, had kids and started this blog.  Maybe when someone asks me how I met my wife, I should say “while we were eating Shopska salad”. Is this true? Most likely yes, because being in the Balkans was all about eating a lot of Shopska salad.

The Shopska mountains are a range in Bulgaria, and so maybe the dish originates there, but every restaurant south of Hungary seems to have its version of this summer staple. For Katy especially, Shopska was often the only thing on the menu she would eat, being vegetarian. So much that after we came home, we decided never again! But it seems we have developed some weird addiction to it and when the tomato season comes, we always find ourselves making a nice cold Shopska salad.  You should make it too!

You might thing that this sounds like Greek salad. No, it is not Greek salad and tastes different. It is similar, but if you will insist that it is Greek salad, I will have to poke you with a FORK! The lack of olives and olive oil makes the salad lighter and is fresher. Also the cheese should coat the tomatoes and the onions making the salad creamy.

A disclaimer: I love Greek salad and I love its depth and lack of creaminess. With this paragraph I just wanted to point out the differences between Greek Salad and Shopska salad. Sometimes you have the mood for different tastes. I love Greece. Please do not impale me! Thank you.

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Shopska Salad

This is a very simple recipe with limited ingredients. It is important that you use the best ripe tomatoes you can get. Depending how salty your feta is, you might add a little bit of salt. The ratio of tomatoes to cucumbers should be something like 2:1. Feel free to alternate if you like cucumbers more. “White cheese” in the Balkans varies a lot.  Some is hard and crumbly, some is softer and more creamy. If you see “Bulgarian Feta” which is harder but not too soft, try it.
Ingredients

• 1 medium cucumber
• 3 medium tomatoes
• 12 oz/340 g Bulgarian feta cheese
• ½ small onion

Method

• Dice the cucumber and chop the tomatoes into ½ – 1 inch bits. Dice the onion.
• Add the ingredients into a bowl.
• Take 1/3 of the feta and grate it over the vegetables. Chop the rest into ½-inch cubes and sprinkle over the vegetables.
• Toss all the ingredients together, and chill.
• Usually Shopska is enjoyed as a side dish.

Many of our recipes end with the sentence: “Enjoy with a good rustic bread”. Bread is the staple food of Central Europe. We eat bread with everything. One of the challenges of moving was to find an everyday bread -  frankly, supermarket “sandwich” bread here is pretty bad. Sorry my friends, it is the truth. It is full of preservatives, different crazy sounding items and of course, sugar (that is true about everything. Everything tastes sweet here. It is like non-stop candy time). On other hand there are artisan breads. Well, those are amazing! The only problem is they are not priced for everyday eating. A good bread, which our family polishes off in 30 seconds, is $4. If you eat it once in a while, yes, it is the right price for something “special/artisan”. But if you eat it as Europeans do, yikes!
So we make our own. Katy is a great baker and she has been making all kinds of amazing breads. The only thing I missed was the rustic Hungarian potato bread. So in order to surprise her one night I made the “no knead bread“, added a potato and adjusted it accordingly. I was amazed with the results – exactly what I was hoping for! Now I’ll share this Hungarian recipe with you.

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Hungarian Potato Bread

Use bread flour. I used King Arthur bread flour. Russet potatoes are ideal for this recipe, because they are nice and floury. The potato has a few roles in the bread making: it will keep the bread moist, adds a gentle potato flavor to the crumb and a light bitterness to the crust.

Ingredients

Makes 2 small loaves or 1 big one.

• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 large russet potato
• 1½ cups water

Method

• Peel and dice the potato, then rinse off the starch in a colander. Cook it until soft enough to pierce with a fork. Once soft strain the water and let it cool.
• In a large bowl mix flour yeast and salt. Mash the potato (or put it through a ricer) and add it to the flour mixture.
• Add 1 cup of water and then more if necessary. The dough should be on the sticky side. Put it in a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• Let it rise at room temperature for 12 hours. After 12 hours you should have a sticky goo, basically.
• Prepare a baking dish ( I used a small square stoneware baking dish) put it into the oven and preheat the oven to 500 F.
• Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and divide it in half; each blob will be a small loaf. Try to fold the dough over onto itself few times. Shape them and sprinkle with flour. Let the first one rest for 30 minutes.
• Dust the baking dish with flour and carefully put in the first loaf. Cover it with tinfoil and bake it for 25 minutes.
• After 25 minutes, uncover and bake another 35 minutes or until the bread gets dark and crusty. That is what we want!
• When the first loaf is ready you can bake the second one as above.
• Let it cool before you eat it.

I had a great day in Sonoma tasting some wine. I specifically went to try out the Cline cellars, since I was very excited about trying their wine; I had it for the first time on the way to California on the BA flight. I love the idea of grapes grown on 100 year-old vines. The yield is low but very mature and sophisticated. I am a big fan of Cline and their Ancient Wines line. With a little luck you can get these wines from under $10, which is my comfortable price limit for a bottle of wine. After the tasting at their cellars, I could not come home empty handed, and I decided to share this gem with my family. Since good wine must be accompanied by good food, I decided to make a Czech classic: roasted duck with red cabbage and Czech dumplings.

This Czech meal consist of three separate segments. You have to roast the duck, make the cabbage and the dumplings. It is a bit more labor intensive, but again remember that a good wine must be accompanied by a good meal.  I’ll post them as separate segments because the cabbage and the dumplings are often used with other meals and later I might refer to these recipes.

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Roasted Duck

For this recipe I used duck legs. For bigger parties or hungry individuals, you can count on 2 legs per person, for a lighter meal go with 1 duck leg per person. You can use other parts of the duck if you wish. The amount of apples and pears depends on the amount of duck you are going to roast. I use fruit in order to achieve light fruity tones and preventing the meat from drying out.

Ingredients

• firm apples, such as Braeburns
• pears, any variety
• red wine
• salt
• water
• duck legs
• caraway seeds

Method

• Slice the apple and pear and lay them directly on the roasting pan. Add few cups of red wine or water. The liquid should barely cover the fruit.
• Salt the duck legs on both side, place the legs on the fruit bed and sprinkle them generously with caraway seeds.
• Preheat the oven to 340F, cover the roasting pan with foil and bake until the meat is soft (2 -2.5 hours).
• When the meat can be easily pierced with a fork, remove the foil and broil until the skin is nice and crispy.

Red Cabbage

While the duck roasts you can do the red cabbage. This is a special cabbage used with few Czech recipes and you can use the leftovers in many good ways, as a side dish, in sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 1 medium red cabbage (1.5-2pounds)
• 1 big onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 3tbs vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 orange
• 3 cups of red wine
• 1tsp caraway seeds
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

• Slice the cabbage into thin ribbons, removing the hard bits and nibbling on them while you salt the cabbage and let it rest for 30 minutes.
• Chop the onions.
• Heat the oil in large pot and add the onions together with the bay leaf. When onions become translucent, add the sugar and caramelize it.
• Add the caraway seeds and 10 seconds later add the red wine and the juice of one orange.
• Bring the mixture to boil and add the cabbage. Cook the cabbage on medium temperature until soft.
• When cabbage is soft add the vinegar and season with extra salt (1/2tsp maybe).

Steamed dumplings – knedliky

The Czech knedliky or “steamed bread” is a real Czech classic. It is served with variety of foods, especially with sauce. This is a simple knedliky recipe; unfortunatelly they are great only on the first day. After that they lose their freshness rapidly, so try to use them right away. You will need a steamer to make these (obviously), one with a flat bottom is the best.

Ingredients

• 1tsp sugar
• 1tsp yeast
• 3½ cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup of milk
• ½ cup lukewarm water

Method

• Make a sponge: mix the lukewarm water, sugar and yeast and leave until bubbly, about ten minutes.
• Mix the flour with salt, add the sponge, eggs, and 2/3 cup of milk (if necessary keep adding more milk).
• Let it raise for 30 min, then punch it down.
• Let it raise again until doubled.
• Prepare the steamer: put a few inches of water in a large pot, and lightly oil the steamer basket. Bring the water to a boil.
• Shape little oval loafs and put them in the steamer basket. Steam them for 10-12 minutes until they are resilient and have a firm outer skin.
• Let them cool and cut them into slices just before you serve them.

Scrambled eggs were for me the ultimate cooking experiment – I have tried them so many ways. One of the first meals I made for my wife were scrambled eggs “valcs style” (valcs is my old nickname). And from time to time, she requests it again. That, however,  is a recipe for another time. I thought that after our long break, we should start up with something simple. I found out that in the US it is still possible to find a good honest bacon, which is a basis for this Hungarian style recipe.

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Hungarian Style Scrambled Eggs

There is no exact recipe for this. It is more a rundown of ingredients and the ratio that I like best. In the summer I used to add one pepper and one tomato 3 minutes before I added the eggs. If you don’t like bacon (if there are such people) you can skip it and add just a plain vegetable oil. If you are scared of bacon for health reasons, try to add just a tiny bit. And if you don’t eat bacon for health or religious reasons, then instead of 1/2 tsp of red paprika use 1 tsp of Spanish smoked paprika. Serve it with really good fresh bread.

Ingredients

This is a 1 person recipe. Multiply it as you wish.

• 1 onion
• 1 strip of REAL bacon
• 3 eggs
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp marjoram
• 1/2 tsp red paprika

Method

• Roughly chop the bacon and start to fry it on a medium high temperature and render some fat.
• Add the onions, salt them and cook them until they are caramelized
• Add the red paprika, stir and add the eggs.
• As soon as I add the eggs I remove the skillet from the heat and let the eggs cook off the heat source. Usually this provides you with creamy but well-cooked eggs.

My mum used to make these amazing Slovak potato pancakes. She would come home during her lunch break and make lunch for us, so it would be waiting for us when we came home from school. She made sure there was some soup and a main course. By the time we would get home, Mum was back at work, but she always left a note about what she cooked and how much we can have — with three hungry boys she left nothing to chance. I still remember that we could have 5 pancakes each.

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Potato Pancakes – Zemiakove placky

This traditional Slovak recipe is delicious as a snack or as a main course after a substantial soup.

Ingredients

Makes enough for 3-4 people

• 2 pounds/1 kg whole potatoes
• 1 egg
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp majoram – optional
• 1 cup/240 ml milk
• 6 tbs flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
  • Boil the potatoes in a large pot of salted water until you can just pierce them with a fork. Drain and let them cool for a minute or two.
  • Peel the potatoes and grate them on a fine grater.
  • Add egg, smashed garlic, pepper, salt, majoran, milk and the flour. Batter should be a thick liquid.
  • Preheat a crepe pan or a nonstick pan to medium low heat. Grease it and add about a ladle’s worth of batter. Fry 4 minutes on each side.
  • Enjoy

Method