Here’s a weeknight special from the menu plan. Paraj (“pa-rye”) is a Hungarian comfort food classic. It’s something you can get from one of the fast-food főzelék places around Budapest, or even pick up in the frozen food aisle at the grocery store. But it’s ridiculously quick and easy to make yourself, and you can make it lighter or creamier to suit your taste (or suit your suits, if you’re dieting). The addition of an egg on top makes it a filling and nutritious meal, but you might also toss in chunks of potato, croutons or cheese. With its vivid green color and soothing flavor, this is a favorite bright spot for a grim chilly day.

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Paraj – creamy spinach soup

We always use frozen spinach because we inevitably have some in the freezer, but there’s no reason an equal weight of fresh spinach wouldn’t work just as well. Don’t overcook it; you want to just soften the leaves enough to make a smooth puree. We use whatever milk we have on hand, usually 1 or 2%, but for a creamier soup, use whole milk.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 pound frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
• 1 Tbs good-quality olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups milk
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• 4 eggs (for serving)

Method

• Warm your olive oil gently in the bottom of a medium stock pot and add the garlic. Cook the garlic for about a minute, watching carefully that it doesn’t brown.
• Add the spinach and saute for 3-4 minutes over medium-low heat, until most of the liquid has cooked off. Add the milk and salt and bring to a simmer.
• Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until you have a fine, bright green puree. Taste for seasoning and then simmer over low heat for another 5 or so minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the eggs to your liking (fried, poached, or hard-boiled are all delicious and worth a try).
• Ladle the soup into bowls, topping each a cooked egg.

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 this pretty often when I was growing up, mostly because cauliflower is widely available here and it is cheap. The best way to eat cauliflower is to deep fry it and eat it with tartar sauce and fries.  But fake brains is second best thing. It is less caloric and in many ways it’s even good for you. It is also very easy to prepare. I would recommend this recipe to all beginner chefs.

I don’t know why is it called “fake brains”. My only guess would be that it resembles cooked pigs’ brain, which used to be considered a delicacy here.  I remember that during socialism in Czechoslovakia we used to have plenty of “fake” meals, which were supposed to imitate the real stuff that was not available. To calm down the vegetarians among us, this meal does not resemble the flavor or texture of cooked brains (at least as I remember them from my childhood).

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Fake brains

Try to avoid winter cauliflower, because it tends to be bitter. This recipe makes fake brains for 2 greedy or 4 normal people.

Ingredients

Makes 2 portions.

• 3 tbs oil
• 3 big onion
• 1 cauliflower head
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Method

• Cut off the cauliflower florets and cook them in salty water (big pinch of salt) until tender. It takes 10-15min.
• Chop the onions and steam over low heat with 3tbs of oil. Add the salt and the pepper. You want the onions translucent, not fried. If they are getting too brown, carefully add a little bit of water.
• Strain the cauliflower and let it “steam dry”. Once they’ve dried (in about 3 min), smash them with a fork into small chunks. Watch the onions!
• When the onions get translucent, add the cauliflower, stir and cook together for another 10 minutes.
• After 10 min, add the eggs and stir again to scramble them. Once the eggs are done to your liking, your meal is ready. Taste it and season it if necessary. Do not burn your tongue (as I do all the time ).
• Serve with good rustic bread.

Lecsó (or letcho) is an important part of Hungarian cuisine. Summer in the village smells of people making letcho, as the gardens overflow with ripe tomatoes and peppers. Letcho is the basis for plenty of Hungarian meals, including goulash, paprikash, or porkolt. This time of year, people are starting to open the jars of letcho they put up during the summer to have a little taste of sunshine when the days are short.

As with most of the basic dishes from this part of the world, there are many variations in how to prepare letcho. Letcho can be a main dish when made more substantial with rice, sausage, eggs, bacon, tarhonya (Israeli/large grain couscous) etc. Depending on the peppers you use, letcho can be hot or mild. The letcho I mention here is my very old recipe. I used to make it for Katy when we were living in Banja Luka (in Bosnia) and it is one of the first meals I learned to prepare for myself  when I was 10.

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Letcho

This is a recipe for 2. Simply, because I used to make this for 2. You can make it bigger by just multyplying the ingredients.

Ingredients

Makes 2 portions.

• 2 tbs oil
• 1 big onion
• 4 Hungarian or red bell peppers
• 4 medium tomatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tbs marjoram – optional
• 1 Tbs paprika
• 2 eggs

Method

• Chop the onions and saute over low heat in a large pan with about a Tbs of oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Cut the peppers into rings and add them to the pot when onions are starting to get brown.
• Roughly chop the tomatoes.
• Once the peppers are soft, add the marjoram and paprika. Stir and add the chopped tomatoes. Lower the heat and cook until tomatoes begin to break down.
• Beat the eggs in a small bowl and add to the pan, stirring as you pour them in. Cook another 5 min.
• Serve with fresh bread. Best with a country loaf, ciabatta, or similar bread that can soak up the juices.

Katy asked me to come up with a recipe for the day after Thanksgiving, something light, something to soothe a possibly upset stomach. My thoughts went to the time just after our son was born and he was not really happy about it. People told us, “he is colicky, make some caraway soup for your wife.” I always liked this soup and when my mum showed me how to do it I was shocked. It costs maybe a dollar to make it, and it is pretty good. I do not know if it really helps treat colic. It did not help us, but neither did gripe water or other medicines. But this soup is probably something new, and it really does help your digestion. Enjoy.

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Caraway Soup

There are slight variations to this soup. One of them to cook in some potatoes, another is to add garlicky croutons on the top of the soup. For extra fancy soup you can use chicken or vegetable stock instead of water. Experiment and make your own version.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1tbs flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups water
• 1-2 eggs

Method

• Crush the caraway seeds with a mortar and pestle. You don’t have to pulverize them, just crush them in order to help them release the essential oils.
• Heat the oil and toast the caraway seeds for approximately 3-5 minutes over low heat until you smell their aroma.
• Add the flour and let it brown a bit. Add the paprika and the water.
• Cook for 25 minutes.
• If you are picky about biting on seeds, it is time to strain the soup. If you are not picky skip this step.
• Beat an egg or two eggs for extra yumminess and pour them into the simmering soup. Stir gently and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Nothing left but to enjoy.