SUMMER SOUP - NYÁRI LEVES

I love it when the garden starts producing a variety of fresh vegetables. Generally I don’t add onion to this soup, because my home made stock had onions cooking in it already. 

SUMMER SOUP

2 carrots
2 parsnips
1 cup green or wax beans
1/2 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 pkg. flat leaf parsley
3 cups meat stock

• Slice the carrots, parsnip, kohlrabi, green beans, and whatever else fresh vegetables you happen to have on hand. Slice thinly.
• Dice the onion if needed and mince the garlic.
• Finely chop half a package of fresh wide leaf parsley.
• Heat 2-3 Tbsp olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat.
• Add the diced onion, the minced garlic and all the sliced vegetables to the pot.
• Finally add the chopped parsley and sprinkle with salt.
• Stir to coat the vegetables with the oil and sauté for five minutes or so.
• Add a little stock to prevent browning.
• When the vegetables are brightly coloured, pour in the stock.
• Adjust the salt and season with freshly ground pepper.
• Bring to boil and slow cook until vegetables are tender.
• Spoon the dumpling dough into the simmering soup.
• When dumplings float to the top remove from heat and cover pot.
• Let dumplings swell for ten minutes before serving.

APRICOT CUSTARD PASTRY – VANILIA KRÉMES BARACK SÜTEMÉNY

This is a nice and versatile pastry recipe. You can use peaches, apples or pears instead of the apricots. Do not omit the Fruit Fresh though, the fruit will loose its nice color and brown without it. Another thing, it is hard to resist the hot pastry, but if you want to serve this to guests or to cut into larger squares,  wait until the pastry is at room temperature before slicing into it.

APRICOT CUSTARD PASTRY

12 apricots
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1/2+1/8 cup margarine, room temperature
1 egg
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp Fruit Fresh
2 Tbsp sugar
cooking spray
2/3 cup whipping cream
3 eggs
2 pkg. vanilla sugar
1/2+1/8 cup sugar

• In a large bowl combine 1/3 cup sugar, the flour and the salt.

• Add the margarine and with clean hands rub into the flour mixture.

• Add the egg and 1 Tbsp vanilla.

• Combine ingredients and form into a ball.

• Wrap the dough and place in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.

• Wash the apricots, remove the stones and cut each half into 4 or more pieces.

• Place the apricots in the bowl and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp fruit fresh.

• Sprinkle 2 Tbsp sugar on the top and toss.

• Spray a rectangular baking pan with cooking spray.

• Line the pan with the chilled dough, bringing the dough up the sides a little.

• Poke dough with a fork and place in a preheated 400F oven.

• Bake until the pastry has a bit of color. [Just about the time the kitchen fills with the aroma of your pastry.]

• Take out the pastry [keep the oven going] and make the custard.

• To a medium bowl add the whipping cream, eggs, vanilla sugars and 1/2+1/8 cup sugar.

• Whisk together until well combined.

• Scatter the apricots over the hot pastry.

• Pour the custard on the top and put pan back in the oven.

• Lower the oven temperature to 350F and bake for 30 minutes.

• After 30 minutes remove pan from the oven.

• Let pastry cool slightly to allow the custard to settle.

HUNGARIAN DILL SAUCE - KAPOR MÁRTÁS

Hungarians make good soup and the start for these soups is generally meat stock. Of course there is always more meat that can be consumed WITH the soup so the solution is to serve the meat, be it pork, beef or chicken attractively sliced and heated with some delicious sauce. Dill sauce is one of the many sauces we use to consume the meat that has been cooked to make soup stock. You need fresh dill though, dried dill will never do.

HUNGARIAN DILL SAUCE

1 pkg. fresh dill
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp flour
1/3 cup table cream [or half an half]
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup soup stock

• Wash the dill well and chop it very fine.

• Heat the table cream in the microwave. Do not let it boil.

• Make a light roux with the oil and the flour. Keep it light, do not brown.

• Stir in the warm table cream. Keep stirring so no lumps form.

• Stir in the lemon juice and the sugar.

• Stir in the dill. Bring the sauce back to slow simmer.

• Keep stirring and cook for a couple of minutes.

• Add soup stock as needed.

FRENCH POTATO SALAD

No story other than this was made at the height of summer from plentiful of freshly picked ingredients.

FRENCH POTATO SALAD

16 small new red potatoes or 4 medium firm red potatoes
3 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsp chopped dill [or 2 tsp dried dill]
4 green onions
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

• Scrub and chop the potatoes.

• Drop them in boiling water. Do not add salt yet.

• Cook the potatoes to the point of almost tender. They should be on the firm side.

• While the potatoes cook, chop up the parsley and the dill.

• Chop the green onions, including the green stalks.

• Dice the red onion and the bell pepper.

• When the potatoes are done place them in a large bowl.

• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

• Add the chopped parsley, dill, green onion, red onion and red pepper.

• Do not toss yet.

• For the dressing: whisk together wine vinegar, olive oil, and Dijon mustard.

• Mince the garlic and add to the dressing.

• Pour enough dressing over the hot potatoes to lightly coat.

• Toss gently until all the ingredients are coated with dressing.

• Chill thoroughly and serve.  

UKRAINIAN BEET SOUP - BORSCH

The first time I had Borsch was in the dead of winter in the backyard of friends during a sauna party. It was a heady soup cooked with red beets and served hot with sour cream. Fast forward two decades to one of the many trips we took to Nelson visiting son’s family we would drive thorough Grand Forks. One of the larger eateries was advertising Borsch and we went in. It turned out to Green Borsch made with a mixture of summer vegetables and cabbage. I like them both, though the second Borsch was less exotic if not familiar. Today I made the robust Borsch with fresh beets from our garden.

UKRAINIAN BEET SOUP

8 cups of meat stock
2 red beets
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
2 parsnips
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 white cabbage
1/4 Savoy cabbage
2 Tbsp chopped dill
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice [optional]

• Cook the beets just until they can be pierced with a knife.
• Meanwhile peel and thinly slice both the onion and the garlic.
• Add the olive oil to a medium soup pot.
• Stir in the onions and garlic and sauté until translucent, but not brown.
• Set the pot aside.
• Cut the carrots and parsnips into matchstick strips.
• Add the carrot and parsnip strips to the pot.
• When the beets are done, place in cold water.
• Slip off the peels.
• Cut the beets in half and slice them very thin.
• Add the sliced beets to the pot.
• Stir in the tomato paste and gently sauté the vegetables until al dente, but not soft.
• Very thinly slice the cabbages.
• Add the sliced cabbage to the pot and sauté for two minutes.
• Add the stock.
• Stir in the chopped dill and salt and pepper to taste.
• If desired add the lemon juice.
• Bring soup to gentle simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Serve very hot with a large dollop of sour cream.  

BEAN SALAD

I make it only for a party. I mean how much bean salad can you eat? A visitor brought it once. Even though I told her don't bring food, I cook, you won't go hungry. Well she brought an ice cream bucketful of bean salad I had to jam into my fully stocked fridge. We ate some, I gave away some and in the end some had to be discarded. What is it with us older women and the need to feed people?

BEAN SALAD

fresh wax or green beans, a handful
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of chick peas
1 can of apple jelly
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cider vinegar
4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 red onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1/2 red pepper, chopped

• Wash, clean and chop the green beans.
• Cook or steam until tender but still bright green.
• Drain and let cool completely.
• Place cooled beans in a serving bowl.
• Drain the canned beans.
• Add the drained beans to the green beans.
• In a saucepan cook the apple jelly, salt, vinegar, cornstarch until thickened.
• Let the apple jelly mixture cool completely.
• Stir the cooled apple jelly mixture into the vegetables.
• Chop the onion, celery and bell peppers and stir into the beans.
• Chill the bean salad for 4 hours and serve.

HAM AND ASPARAGUS QUICHE

Omit the ham or replace the asparagus with peas or use white cheese. Or double the quantity and bake the quiche in a 9X4 pan. All good.

HAM AND ASPARAGUS QUICHE

1/2 recipe Pie Pastry

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
10 ounces asparagus spears, cut to 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound ham, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
ground pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

• On a lightly floured surface roll dough into a 12-inch circle.
• Fit rolled dough into a 9" quiche dish or heavy ceramic pie pan.
• Transfer dish to the freezer and chill for 30 minutes.

• Line the pastry with parchment paper, pressing into corners.
• Fill at least two-thirds with dried beans.
• Bake at 350F for 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes.
• Carefully remove parchment paper and the weights.
• Poke pie bottom with a fork.
• Return to oven for additional 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool while making the filling.
• In a large non-stick skillet heat the oil over medium high heat.
• Add the onions and cook stirring, until translucent but not brown.
• Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.
• Place the quiche dish on a baking sheet to catch any run-off.
• Sprinkle half the cheese evenly over the bottom of the crust.
• Spread the asparagus and ham over the cheese.
• Top with the remaining cheese.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, cream, eggs and pepper.
• Pour milk mixture over the cheese.
• Place dish in the oven.
• Bake for 30- 35 minutes until just set in the center.
• Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before slicing.

PEROGIES

These perogies are deliciously soft. The Ukrainian babas make it like this; they don't use fancy gadgets, it’s actually quicker and easier to make perogies the old fashioned way. You will need additional flour to kneed and roll the dough and to shape the perogies. But don't be liberal with the flour, add the flour sparingly. If you add too much flour, the perogies will be hard to seal and the end product could be stiff. The recipe yields 24 perogies. You can freeze uncooked perogies on floured trays and then transfer the frozen perogies to zyplock bags. To cook frozen perogies, plunge perogies into rapidly boiling water. They are as good cooked frozen as cooked on the day you make them. When reheating leftover perogies in the microwave, I always add a bit of water and cover them with a plastic dome. That way they nicely soften up. The flavour changes though. Perogies are best eaten right out of the boiling water. One more thing! If you have access to kefir, substitute 1/2 cup of full fat kefir for the 1 cup of full fat yogurt. Kefir elevates this recipe to the magnificent, but kefir is not readily available everywhere. If you use kefir, you will get fewer perogies, oh about twenty. Scroll down, photos tell the story.

PEROGIES

Dough:

2 cups flour
1 large egg
1 cup full fat yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Filling:
2 potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/2 small onion, diced
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg

• Place the flour in a mixing bowl and make a well in the middle.

• Add the baking soda, salt, and egg.

• Add the yogurt and mix everything together.

• Kneed the dough and form it into a ball.

• Place a little bit of flour on the cutting board and put the dough on it.

• Cover with the bowl and let it sit for 1 hour, minimum 30 minutes.

• While the dough rests make the filling.

• Peel and mash the cooked potatoes.

• Dice the onion and sauté in 2 Tbsp butter.

• When onions are soft add them to the potato mixture.

• Grate the cheese and add to the potatoes.

• Add salt and pepper to taste.

• Stir in the beaten egg.

• Combine potato mixture and set aside.

• Roll the dough into a long snake and cut it into 24 pieces.

• Dust each piece of dough with flour while roughly shaping it into a flat circle.

• Dusting the rolling pin often, flatten each circle to a 3-inch diameter.

• Spoon a tablespoon of the filling on top of each circle.

• Fold a circle in half and seal in the center, sides, and in between.

• Give a once over to make sure the perogy is well sealed.

• Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Rolling boil is important.

• One by one quickly drop the perogies in the boiling water.

• Give it a gentle stir to keep perogies from sticking to the bottom.

• Maintaining constant rolling boil, boil the perogies for 1 minute.

• Put 1 Tbsp of butter inside the serving bowl.

• With a slotted spoon take perogies out and pile them into the bowl.

• Pour 1/4 cup of melted butter on the top and shake the bowl slightly to butter all the perogies.

• Serve the perogies with lots of sour cream.

HUNGARIAN MEATLOAF - EGYBESÜLT FASÍRT

For most Canadians, the word meatloaf, not the rock band, brings to mind the dreaded stinky dish made from hamburger meat. And not always the lean ground round either. I used to feed the very thing to my my poor kids and they hated it. Why did I do that? Consciously from the beginning I wanted them to experience Canadian culture and didn’t want to saddle them with Hungarian values. I suspect that the meatloaf so many of us learned to hate originated from the British Isles. Canadian cuisine of course is not Anglo Saxon as the seventies and eighties cookbooks would have you believe. Once I realized this I embraced the food culture I came from. It seems every country has it own version of a loaf shaped ground meat dish. Italians’ made the meatloaf a bit more palatable, but Hungarians have the best version of meatloaf anywhere and of course they make it from pork and not beef. The Hungarian version is true comfort food; serve it hot with mashed potatoes or thinly sliced cold.

HUNGARIAN MEATLOAF

700 g lean ground pork

1 onion, diced

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, grated

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp caraway seeds, finely ground

1 Tbsp dried parsley

2 tsp marjoram
2 Tbsp Hungarian paprika
2 eggs
1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs
GLAZE [optional]
1/2 cup catsup
1/8 cup brown sugar

• Place 2 Tbsp olive oil in a non stick pan.
• Add the onions and sauté until translucent.
• Place the ground pork in a large bowl.
• Add the sautéed onions and the grated garlic.
• Add the salt, pepper, ground caraway seeds, marjoram, parsley and Hungarian paprika.

• Add the eggs and the breadcrumbs.

• With clean hands combine the meat mixture.

• Place the meat mixture on a board or a plate and form it into a loaf.

• Spray an ovenproof dish with cooking spray. This is important.*

• Bake the meatloaf at 350F for an hour.

• Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the ketchup with the brown sugar.

• Spoon it on top of the meatloaf and bake for another half an hour.

* You have to add copious amounts of grease to the dish not to have your meatloaf fall apart with the bottom half sticking to the pan when you try to slice it or to remove it to a serving plate. Some people grease the dish and sprinkle breadcrumbs on top. But this just makes a soggy mess out of the bottom half of the meatloaf. Use cooking spray instead and you can slice it or move it within 5-10 minutes.

RUSTIC FRUIT TART

I made this tart a couple weeks ago before this current heat wave started. I tend to make rustic fruit tarts when I want to use up some leftover pie pastry and then I wonder why I even bother with traditional pies when this tart is so incredibly good. A 1/4 of my pastry recipe is enough for a lovely tart. I used apple this time, but cherry, apricot, peach, strawberry or strawberry and rhubarb are just as good as the apple. The filling is the same as my apple pie recipe. The only difference is I sprinkle the top with ground walnut and a bit of sugar so there is no need for a top pastry.

RUSTIC FRUIT TART

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp Fruit Fresh
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups of fresh sliced fruit
1/4 cup finely ground walnuts
2 Tbsp sugar
1/8 cup butter

• Roll the pastry dough into a large circle 1/8" thick.
• Lay the rolled out dough into a large pie pan.
• Let all the excess pastry hang over the edge.
• In a large bowl combine sugar, Fruit Fresh, flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Add the sliced fruit and mix to coat.
• Add the fruit to the pie pan.
• In a small bowl combine the ground walnuts with the sugar.
• Sprinkle the walnut mixture over the fruit.
• Dot with bits of butter.
• Fold the dough border in toward the center.
• Bake at 400F until pastry is golden.
• Let stand for 30 minutes to allow juices to settle, and then slice.

GREEK SALAD

Day old Greek salad is soggy right? Well it doesn't have to be. Serve the dressing and the feta cheese on the side. This helps the calorie conscious and the leftovers remain fresh for a couple of days.

GREEK SALAD
2 Tbsp Greek seasoning
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Romaine lettuce
1 English cucumber, sliced into thick half-moons cubed
1/2 red onion, sliced into rings sliced
1/2 green pepper, julienned
2 tomatoes cut to wedges
4-6 small pickled hot peppers (optional)
1/2 cup black olives, pitted
1/4 cup feta cheese

• Place the Greek seasoning, lemon juice, vinegar and oil in a small jar with a screw-top lid and shake to combine.
• Wash, dry and tear the lettuce into manageable salad sizes.
• Chop the vegetables.
• Place the lettuce and chopped vegetables in a large bowl.
• Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving.
• Distribute the hot peppers on the top. (optional)
• Top with crumbled feta cheese.