BAKONY PORK FILLET - BAKONYI SERTÉSBORDA

Authentic Bakonyi Sertésborda contains 100 g of fried smoked bacon. [It also contains more oil.] Smoked bacon would add another layer of flavour, but I don't believe it's necessary. Even without bacon and a lower fat content - this remains a delightful dish of complex flavours.

BAKONY  PORK FILLET

4 medium thick pork chops
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 Tbsp Hungarian paprika
1-1/2 cups mushroom, sliced
½ yellow pepper, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp flour
4 heaping Tbsp sour cream

• Remove the fat and bones from the pork chops.

• Pound chops thin and season with salt and pepper.

• Drench the chops with flour until well coated.

• Place 3 Tbsp olive oil in a fry pan.

• On medium heat braise the chops.

• Meanwhile dice the onions, the tomato and the yellow pepper.

• When chops begin to get color remove them from the pan and set them aside.

• Add 1 more Tbsp olive oil to the pan.

• Add the diced onions to the pan.

• Stir to deglaze as you sauté the onions.

• When the onions are soft; stir in 2 Tbsp of Hungarian paprika.

• Immediately add 1-1/4 cups of water.

• Add the diced tomato and pepper.

• Stir in the mushrooms.

• Bring sauce to simmer.

• Add the chops back to the pan.

• Bring everything to a simmer.

• Adjust the salt and the pepper.

• Place a lid on the pan and cook until tender.

• Remove the chops and place them in a serving bowl.

• In a small bowl combine 1 Tbsp flour and 4 Tbsp sour cream.

• Add the sour cream mixture to the sauce and stir.

• Pour the sauce over the chops and serve.

• Serve with Egg Dumplings.

CHEESE PIZZA

I gave the old friend a face lift; my old pizza crust has a new face. But don’t worry, everything stayed the same except the flour. One day I was almost out of all-purpose so I put in some bread flour. Wow! The crust was superior and henceforth I will use 1-1/2 cups of bread flour with 1 cup of all-purpose flour. For those who prefer a thin crust pizza, continue to use the regular flour. It will be still delicious. We are crust people and we changed it up a bit.

The recipe still makes two wonderful 12-inch pizzas. When I double the recipe, I often end up with extra dough. I shape the unused dough into a loaf and let it rise until it doubles. Then I bake it at 400F and presto we have Italian bread.

CHEESE PIZZA

1-1/2 cups bread flour

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt 

2-1/4 tsp instant yeast [2-1/4 tsp = 1 package]

1/4 cup oil

1 cup lukewarm water

2/3 cup pizza sauce

3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

desired toppings

• Place the flours sugar, salt and instant yeast in a large bowl.

• Add the oil and the lukewarm water.

• Mix well. 

• Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

• Place dough on a floured board and kneed until elastic.

• Cover dough and let it rise for 1-1/2 hours.

• Punch down. 

• Divide dough and shape into two balls.

• On floured board roll two (12 inch) pizzas.

• Lightly oil the pans and lay in the dough.

• Turn the edges under. 

• Spread it lightly with your favorite pizza sauce.

• I like to crumble a bit of feta cheese before the Mozzarella. 

• Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

• Let the pizza rise until the under turned edges are nicely risen. 

• Bake at 400F for 25 minutes or until golden.

my pizza from all purpose flour

Pizza Perfection

BREADED CUTLETS - RÁNTOTT HÚS

Breaded cutlet was a standard Sunday fare in my family. My grandma dared not to deviate with a stuffed pepper or a roast chicken often, certainly not without complaints from us kids. We didn’t get to eat meat all that often so in retrospect we ate more breaded pork chops than any other ‘festive dish’ while growing up. Breaded pork chops were everywhere. In pre-McDonald days it was one of the favoured ‘food on the run’ for Hungarians; a cold breaded chop in a crusty bun handed over with the tiniest square of tissue paper. They sold it over the counter, in the theatre, on the ferry, at the pub, at recreational events, in general wherever Hungarians gathered for a good time. You can prepare veal cutlets, fish fillets and chicken strips the same way. Breaded veal cutlets are also known as Wiener Schnitzel or wienerschnitzel. And wienerschitzel is NOT supposed to be swimming in some awful brown gravy concoction. Wienerschnitzel should be thin, crispy and light. Just like Hungarian rántott hús.

BREADED CUTLETS

4 thin slices of pork chops

salt

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup flour

2 well-beaten eggs

1 cup fine breadcrumbs

oil for deep frying

• Trim off all the bones and the fat.

• On a board pound the meat with meat tenderizer very thin.

• Sprinkle with salt.

• Place cutlets in a bowl and pour the milk on top.

• Cover and place in fridge for 2 hours.

• Place the flour, the eggs, and the breadcrumbs on 3 separate plates.

• Beat the eggs with a fork until slightly frothy.

• Remove the cutlets from the milk, discarding milk.

• One by one dip the cutlets in the flour; coat well.

• Next dip them in the beaten eggs; coat well.

• Finally dip them in the breadcrumbs, coat well and press firmly.

• To avoid cutlets from sticking, separate them with plastic wrap.

• In a large heavy pot, place enough oil for deep frying.

• Heat the oil to medium hot and drop in one or two cutlets.

• Fry cutlets one by one or two at a time depending on the size.

• The oil is hot enough when bubbles form around the cutlets.

• Fry the cutlets to golden crisp. Do not cover the pot.

• To minimize oil absorption, flip cutlets only once.

• Drain cutlets on paper towel.

• Leftover cutlets are best eaten cold. But if you must reheat them, place them side by side in an ovenproof dish and bake them briefly at 320F.       

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

This is so chocolaty it was hard to photograph. Use good quality, pure chocolate chips just any other chocolate chip will not do. I got the version of this recipe more than twenty years ago from Crestline Daycare. It wasn’t a particularly good day care, but the food they served was always tasty and nutritious.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

1 cup chocolate chips
2- 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup cocoa, sifted
1-1/2 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
1 Tbsp vanilla

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder.

• Add the butter and with clean hands rub into the flour until well combined.

• Stir in the sifted cocoa.

• In a smaller bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla and the milk.

• Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture.

• Stir until dry ingredients are just moistened.

• Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

• Spray the muffin tins with cooking spray.

• Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

• Bake at 400F for 30 minutes, until golden brown.

• Makes 12 large muffins

SMARNI - CSÁSZÁRMORZSA

Part of my Austro Hungarian background, kaiserschmarren or better known in Hungary as smarni, the official Hungarian name of course is császár morzsa or emperor crumbs. The names vary but the method of preparation seems endless. It’s a quick [sweet] fix when the fridge and pantry are sparsely stocked. Its peasant food and an emperor’s favourite. The main ingredient is flour or farina. You can cook it in a fry pan or bake it the oven. You can put raisins in it or not. I prefer the flour-oven method with the raisins. One thing is certain. In either of its form, smarni is best eaten hot, right out of the oven with jam and a sprinkling of icing sugar. And you don’t want to eat a lot of it. The recipe here will feed 4 people.

SMARNI

1 cup flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
sprinkling of salt
2 yolks
1 cup milk
1/8 cup butter, divided
1/4 cup raisins
grated rind of 1/2 a lemon
2 egg whites
jam
icing sugar for sprinkling

• Preheat the oven to 375F.

• Combine the flour, icing sugar and sprinkling of salt,

• In a medium sized bowl whisk the egg yolks. Add the milk and whisk to combine.

• Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine.

• Melt half of the 1/8 cup of butter and add to the batter.

• Stir in the raisins and the lemon rinds.

• In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until hard peaks form.

• Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter.

• Butter a baking pan with the remaining butter.

• Place the batter in the pan and bake it until nicely browned.

• Remove pan from the oven and cut the cake into irregular shapes with a spatula.

• Serve immediately with jam and a sprinkling of icing sugar.

CHOCOLATE CHIP MERINGUES

These can be fabulous cookies or sickly sweet, depending on the chocolate chips used. It is imperative to use pure bittersweet chocolate chips like Ghirardelli. The alternative is to omit the chocolate chips altogether and just melt a few squares of bittersweet baking chocolate and drizzle it over the top. Meringues have high sugar content already and you don't want to increase that with the addition of sweet or semisweet chocolate chips.

CHOCOLATE CHIP MERINGUES

1/2 cup egg whites, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
1-1/3 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
3 Tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
cooking spray

• Preheat oven to 300F.
• Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Spray parchment paper with cooking spray.
• Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
• Beat in the cream of tartar and the vanilla.
• Continue beating and begin to add the sugar gradually.
• When all the sugar has been added, beat in the sifted cocoa powder.
• Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Drop meringues 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
• Cookies should be firm and the bottoms lightly browned.

FLATBREAD

Soft, roll-able, wonderful flatbread

FLATBREAD

1-1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water, at room temperature

• Place the flour in a bowl and add the salt.
• Add the olive oil and work it into the flour with a fork.
• Add the water and stir.
• Dough should be pliable, but not wet.
• Knead the dough for five minutes and divide it into four parts.
• Roll each into a ball.
• Flatten into a disc shape.
• On a floured board roll the dough out, into the size of a dinner plate.
• Heat a large non stick fry pan on medium heat until hot.
• Do NOT grease the pan.
• Place a flatbread in the pan and dry fry both sides for 2 minutes.
• When golden brown patches appear on both sides, flatbread is ready.
  Makes 4 flatbreads

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

This is my breakfast version of bread and butter pudding. The focus is on the cinnamon bread and not on the custard.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

4 slices of cinnamon bread
1 Tbsp butter
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

• Cut the cinnamon bread in half, and butter each slice.
• Beat the eggs, sugar and salt until well blended.
• In a saucepan bring the milk and cream just to boil.
• Stir this mixture very gradually into the egg mixture.
• Add the vanilla extract.
• Butter a square baking dish.
• Arrange the bread slices in the prepared dish with buttered sides up.
• Strain the custard mixture on the top.
• Set the dish in a roasting pan.
• Fill the roasting pan with hot water to a depth of 1 inch.
• Bake at 375F for until a knife inserted comes out clean.
  Serves 4

• Scoop some hot pudding on a plate and pour Apricot Sauce on top.

APRICOT SAUCE

Serve Apricot Sauce over Bread and Butter Pudding or over vanilla ice cream.

APRICOT SAUCE
2 cups apricot jam
1 cup water
2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp brandy (optional)

• Combine the jam, water and sugar in a saucepan.
• Cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Force the mixture through a fine sieve.
• Stir in the brandy.
• Let cool and serve. [it will thicken]
  

OVEN BARBEQUED PORK RIBS

Baked at 320F these are very tender and flavorful ribs. Our good friend, Jan Snyder cooked this for us in Prince George.

OVEN BARBEQUED PORK RIBS

500 g pork ribs

salt

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tbsp mustard

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp celery seed

• Salt the ribs and bake in a covered roasting pan at 320F until tender.

• In a frying pan sauté the onions and garlic in oil until translucent.

• In a bowl combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard seed, celery seed, and pepper.

• Add the sautéed onions to the tomato sauce mixture.

• Pour this sauce over the ribs.

• Add 1/2 cup of water beside ribs.

• Bake the ribs for 1 to 2 hours longer.

• Increase the oven temperature to 350F and bake for 20 minutes longer

• Serve with rice.

EVERYTHING SOUP

Once I served this to our dear old friend Norm Gill. He called it the “everything soup” – “by gully everything is in it” said he.

EVERYTHING SOUP

3 mild Italian sausages
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
3 cups of canned tomatoes, chopped
3 cups water
basil
salt
pepper

• Chop the sausages, pull off and discard casings.
• In a soup pot, fry the sausage bits.
• Add the sliced green pepper and mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, and 1 cup of water.
• Add the salt and pepper.
• Bring to a slow simmer.
• When peppers are tender soup is ready.
• Serve this with a rustic loaf.

FREEZER ICE CREAM

I used to have a 4 liter electric ice cream maker. It made good ice cream, but I had to feed it ice and salt in huge quantities. Imagine the ice and salt costing more than the cream! Then I bought a small Donvier. After that I never had to worry about having enough ice or salt again.

We bought a new fridge. I placed my Donvier in the freezer the night before as I always do, and the next morning I proceeded to make ice cream. I wait and wait an hour passes and still no ice cream. Did you read the instruction says Jim? Then Jim says the freezer section of the new fridge is set differently and that I should have put the Donvier in the downstairs deepfreeze. Good to know, but now its too late to make ice cream. Or is it? I pour the stuff into a regular bowl and put it in the not so cold freezer upstairs with a whisk and leave it. I come back a few times to whisk it and by the evening we have vanilla ice cream. I still prefer my small Donvier, but now I know I can make ice cream in a not so cold freezer too. 

FREEZER ICE CREAM

4 cups half and half

1 cup icing sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla

• In a bowl combine the cream, sugar and the vanilla extract.

• Place it in a not so cold freezer [it should still freeze the stuff, just not rock hard]

• Put a strong metal whisk in the bowl and leave it.

• Whisk it once every couple of hours.

• In 8-10 hours the ice cream is scoop-able.

the Truth About Creams:
Heavy Cream 36% FAT
Whipping Cream 30% FAT
Table Cream18% FAT
Half & Half 10% FAT
 

BASIC RISOTTO

Requirements of a good risotto are Arborio rice, very rich [homemade] chicken broth and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Omit or replace any one of these and you don't have risotto.

BASIC RISOTTO

2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 onion, chopped finely
1 cup Arborio rice
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• Heat the butter and oil in a large based saucepan or deep fry pan.

• Add the chopped onion and sauté until soft.

• Stir in the rice and fry it for 2-3 minutes.

• Add 1/2 cup chicken broth; stir until liquid has been absorbed.

• Continue adding broth, always 1/2 cup at the time and stirring often until each addition has been absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup.

• Keep adding and stirring until the rice is cooked through.

• Cooking time is approximately 30 minutes.

• Finished dish should be creamy.

• Just before serving stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

CUCUMBER SALAD - UBORKA SALÁTA

I like it with sour cream, but the Jim doesn't, so we always had two kinds of cucumber salad at our table. The sour cream version is most often served in Hungary and the one without it is for the minority, I think, simply because sour cream is the crowning of oh so many Hungarian dishes. The good news is you can make it all at once and at the end just take some cucumber out and combine it with the sour cream. If you use the sour cream, 14% gives the best results.

CUCUMBER SALAD
1 or 2 English cucumbers
1 Tbsp salt
1 cup water
sugar and vinegar to taste
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup sour cream [optional]

• Peel the cucumbers and slice them very thin.
• Sprinkle generously with salt and let stand for 30 minutes.

• Meanwhile make a pleasant brine from water, sugar, and vinegar. Set aside.

• Squeeze out most of the juice from the cucumbers.
• Discard the juice and place cucumbers in the brine.
• Stir in the minced garlic and let flavours merge for 30 minutes.
• With a slotted spoon move the cucumber to a serving dish.
• Stir in the sour cream and serve.
• For a different type of cucumber salad, leave the cucumbers in the brine and sprinkle with Hungarian paprika or ground pepper or both.

• Always, always seal cucumber and garlic combinations before storing in the fridge.

   The way Jim likes it, with Hungarian Paprika, no sour cream.

CRISPY CRULLERS - CSÖRÖGE

This is a Margit néni recipe. Bíró Margit, nee Fehér Margit was my grandmother's older sister. The recipe comes from her ratty old cookbook that was already falling apart and had to be re-bound at the time I got it in my hands in 1967. It no longer had a title page and the index stopped halfway through the T's. But there is a chapter on how to deal with the "servants". I would estimate it's age to be around 120-150 years old. It must have been an acid free publication, but with several generations of heavy use the pages are cracking up. I will keep using it while I can. It will be chucked when I die, none of my children speak Hungarian.

CRISPY CRULLERS

1-1/2 cups flour
3 Tbsp sugar
dash of salt
1 egg
4 egg yolks
3 Tbsp sour cream
2 tsp rum
oil for deep frying
icing sugar to dust

• Place the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.

• Add the egg, egg yolks, sour cream and rum.

• Combine ingredients to make a  soft dough.

• Add more flour or more sour cream to get the right consistency.

• Kneed the soft dough for 10 minutes. [Don't skip this]

• Cover with kitchen wrap and let it rest for 1/2 hour.

• On floured surface roll out dough very thin and cut into rectangles.

• Make a slit in the center and pull one end through to make crullers.

• In a deep fry pan deep fry crullers until golden. Turn only once.

• Drain the crullers on paper, and dust with icing sugar.

RUM BALLS

 

To make ahead: Layer rum balls between waxed paper in airtight containers and refrigerate or freeze for up to 1 month.

RUM BALLS

1 cup icing sugar

1 cup ground almonds
3 oz (90 g) bittersweet chocolate, grated
1/3 cup dark rum
1 tsp vanilla
variety of coverings

• Line trays with waxed paper and set aside.

• In large bowl whisk together icing sugar, almonds and chocolate.

• Gradually stir in 1/4 cup of the rum and vanilla to form a mound.

• Consistency should be light and moist, but not watery.

• Press together with clean hands.

• Chill until firm enough to roll, about 15 minutes.

• Roll a teaspoonful into balls.

• Moisten and wipe hands with damp cloth as needed.

• Place on prepared trays.

• Arrange a variety of coverings in shallow bowls.

• Pour remaining rum into a bowl.

• One by one, roll balls in the rum then in desired covering.

• Press lightly to adhere.

• Let rum balls dry on tray for 1 hour.

• Refrigerate until firm.

STUFFED PEPPERS - TÖLTÖTT PAPRIKA

Some people like cold Chinese for breakfast or cold pizza. I like those too, but what I like the best is cold stuffed pepper before my coffee. This goes back to my childhood. Nagymama made töltött paprika in the paprika season, which is in the height of summer. We were a big family so there were always leftovers. And being poor and with no refrigeration, the leftover töltött paprika was placed in the kitchen window for the night. Well next morning before the temperatures rose it had to be all eaten up, hence my obsession with cold töltött paprika.

Peter in 1972 - Visiting in Budapest  

STUFFED PEPPERS
12 Hungarian yellow wax peppers (or 4 yellow bells)
500 g fresh ground pork (never buy it frozen)
handful of rice
1 small onion, diced
2 + 2 Tbsp oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg
salt and ground pepper to taste
water
1/2 bunch of fresh parsley
4 Tbsp flour
2 small cans of tomato paste
sugar to taste

• In a small pot of water partially cook the rice.
• Drain off liquid the and set rice aside.
• De-core the peppers, removing seeds and inside ribs.
• In a large skillet sauté the onions in 2 Tbsp oil until soft.
• Place the ground pork in a large bowl.
• Add the soft onions, the garlic, the partially cooked rice, and the egg.
• Sprinkle salt and ground pepper on the top.
• Combine meat mixture thoroughly.
• Stuff the peppers loosely with the rice-meat mixture.
• Form meatballs from the remaining stuffing.
• Arrange the peppers and meatballs in a deep oven proof dish.
• Add enough water to cover the stuffed peppers part of the way.
• Add the fresh parsley to the pot.
• Place the dish in the oven and bake at 320F for 2 hours or more. Baking time will depend on the size of the peppers used.
• Remove stuffed peppers with a slotted spoon into a clean dish.
• Reserve the broth for later use.
• In a skillet make a light roux from 2 Tbsp of oil and flour.
• Add the tomato paste, stirring all the time.
• Gradually add the hot broth and stir it smooth.
• Smooth the sauce with a stick blender or force it through a fine sieve.
• Season with salt and pepper and sweeten with sugar.*
• Bring the sauce to boil and pour over the peppers.
• Let the peppers cool and place in the fridge for overnight.
• Next day slowly heat through and serve.
• Stuffed peppers need overnight rest to combine and relax the flavours.

*The taste should be mildly sweet.

These were made from frozen Hungarian peppers and homemade tomato sauce.

CREAM BISCUITS

When a dessert calls for biscuits, these are excellent. They are soft and light and have none of the heaviness of ordinary biscuits.

CREAM BISCUITS

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups whipping cream

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Whisk dry ingredients together in medium bowl.
• Add the cream.
• Stir with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds, or until the dough forms.
• Place dough on a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball.
• Knead dough for 30 seconds or until smooth.
• Pat dough into a 3/4-inch thick circle.
• Cut the biscuits into rounds using a 2 or 2-1/2″ biscuit cutter.
• Place the biscuits on a baking sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 1 dozen 2″ biscuits.

FRENCH TOAST

This is a delicious snack on it's own, without jam or syrup. But in that case add a 1 tsp of sugar to the egg mixture. Using table cream makes all the difference, milk alone would make it too ordinary. You can use any type of white French bread, but rye or whole wheat would defeat the purpose. This is a revised version of Ina Garten's Challa's French Toast.

FRENCH TOAST
3 eggs
1/2 cup table cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
6 thick slices from a French loaf
1 tsp butter and 1 tsp oil per batch for frying

Serve with maple syrup, jam and icing sugar.

• Preheat oven to 250F.
• In a shallow bowl whisk together eggs, table cream, vanilla and salt.
• Cut 6 [3/4-inch thick] slices from a French loaf.
• Soak the slices in the egg mixture for 2 minutes, turning once.
• In a large fry pan heat up one batch of butter and oil over medium heat.
• Cook the soaked bread for 2- 3 minutes on each side, until nicely browned.
• Place cooked French toasts on a sheet pan and place in warm oven.
• Fry the remaining slices, adding the butter and the oil as needed.
• Serve hot with maple syrup, raspberry jam and sifted icing sugar.

• Serves 2.

WAX BEANS STEW - SÁRGABABFŐZELÉK

A funny thing, I saw only wax beans growing up, at least wax were the only fresh beans Grandma ever bought. She used to call it "zöldbab" which translates green beans. Green of course referring that it was fresh and not of green colour. Unbeknown to me there could have been actual fresh green beans in parts, but I was not aware of that. I am pretty sure by now there are actual green beans available in Hungary... and I wonder if Grandma was alive what would she call wax beans, haha, yellow green beans? 

Well it is the reverse now, wax beans are hard to come by in Kamloops, which is a pity, because I think they are superior to green. But with the Jim growing it, I get to have my fill year after year after year. 

WAX BEANS STEW

4 cups or 4 large handful of fresh yellow wax beans, chopped 
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1 garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream
additional sour cream for serving

• Remove the bean ends and pull off the tough stringy bit from the sides.
• Rinse beans under cold running water.
• Chop into 1-1/2 inch lengths.
• Place chopped beans in a wide bottomed pot [like smallish dutch oven].
• Add water to the level of the beans.
• Bring it to boil, reduce to simmer and place a lid on the pot.
• Cook beans until almost tender.
• Remove pot from heat and set aside.
• To make a roux, place a non stick fry pan on medium heat.
• Heat up the olive oil and stir in the flour.
• Continue stirring until the roux begins to get a bit of color.
• Stir in the paprika and the minced garlic.
• Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of COLD water.
• Stir the mixture smooth.
• Gradually add the roux mixture to the pot of cooked beans.
• Place over medium heat and bring it to a slow simmer.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Slowly simmer beans for a couple of minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.
• Serve the "zöldbabfőzelék" with extra sour cream.
  Recipe serves 4 as a meal and 6 as a side dish.

PORK ROAST HUNGARIAN STYLE

The first time I met my mother in law she fed me pork roast. Anyu was a good cook.

PORK ROAST HUNGARIAN STYLE
650 g boneless pork loin
salt
4 garlic cloves, slivered

• Wash the meat and pat to dry with paper towels.
• Salt generously, and let rest for 2 hours at room temperature.
• Discard juices.
• Poke holes in the meat and insert garlic slivers.
• Place in a roasting pan and cover.
• Slowly roast at 325F, for 2 hours or more.
• Baste often for best flavor.
• When done, meat thermometer should reach 165F.

It is important to check the internal temperature of pork meat. It must reach a safe temperature in order to be safe to eat.