Hortobágyi palacsinta is savoury meat filled crepes folded like burritos. The meat can be veal, pork or chicken. Served for the first time at the 1958 Brussels World Fair, although something similar already appeared back in the thirties in several Hungarian publications. Home cooks tend to use leftover pörkölt for this dish, and ground the meat afterwards, which I think is a messy proposition. The original recipe calls for a pörkölt from minced meat, which is what I opted for. I prefer extra lean ground chicken and the result is always great. With a green salad, this amount is perfect for two people.
HORTOBAGY CREPES
Pörkölt:2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced onions
250 g extra lean ground chicken [about 1/2 pound]
2 tomatoes, skin removed and diced
1/4 large yellow pepper, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1-1/2 Tbsp Hungarian paprika
sprinkling of caraway seeds
1 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sour cream
Crepes:
1/4 cup diced onions
250 g extra lean ground chicken [about 1/2 pound]
2 tomatoes, skin removed and diced
1/4 large yellow pepper, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1-1/2 Tbsp Hungarian paprika
sprinkling of caraway seeds
1 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sour cream
Crepes:
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
Sauce:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
Sauce:
sauce from the pörkölt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/8 cup flour
1/2 cup sour cream
1/8 cup flour
• Cook the Dice the onions.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan.
• Add the chopped onions and sauté until translucent.
• Add the meat and sauté, and break up the meat with a spatula and stir often until no pink is showing.
• Add the tomatoes and the diced pepper.
• Stir in the paprika, the caraway seeds and the flat leaf parsley.
• Add the water and slowly sauté until meat is tender.
• When the pörkölt is finished, stir in a bit more paprika, but no more than 1/2 Tbsp Hungarian or 1 Tbsp Spanish paprika. This helps to intensify the flavour.
• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Add 1/4 cup sour cream to the meat and stir to combine.
• Remove the pan from heat and place a large fine sieve over a bowl.
• Add the pörkölt to the sieve and let the pörkölt. sauce collect in the bowl below.
• Meanwhile, make the crepes.
• In a medium sized bowl, combine the eggs, flour and the milk.
• Whisk with a balloon whisk until smooth.
• Heat up a crepe pan or a non-stick fry pan on high medium heat.
• Add 1/4 tsp oil to the warm fry pan, and ladle about a fifth of the batter into the pan.
• When the top is no longer runny, flip the crepe and lightly fry the other side.
• Crepes should remain soft and have a light golden color.
• Repeat with the remaining batter until you have five crepes.
• Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Divide the meat between the crepes and fold them up burrito style.
• Place the crepes in the prepared casserole and set aside.
• Combine the pörkölt sauce with 1/8 cup of flour and a half a cup of sour cream.
• Whisk with a balloon whisk until smooth.
• Pour sauce over the crepes and place in a preheated 350F oven to warm through.
• Serve hortobágyi palacsinta with a green salad.
