REINVENTING the LEFTOVERS

1. Potato Nokedli 

Not to be confused with the potato based small dumplings called rolled potato dumplings, these were leftovers from small flour based dumplings, called egg dumplings or nokedli. Nokedli of course is best when fresh, so I try to add the leftover to soups or as in this case remake them into something completely different. I cooked a large potato and combined it with the leftover nokedli, hence the name Potato Nokedli. 

1 cup leftover egg dumplings 

1 large potato, chopped 

1 Tbsp oil 

2 Tbsp butter 

salt and pepper to taste 

fresh parsley leaves, optional 

• Peel, and chop the potatoes into bite size pieces. 

• Cook them in water until soft. 

• Drain and add them to the leftover nokedli. 

• Add the oil and the butter to a fry pan and place on medium heat. 

• When the butter melts, add the potato/nokedli mixture to the pan and stir to combine. 

• Season the mixture with salt and ground pepper to taste and heat through. 

• Add the fresh parsley leaves and serve. 

the addition is chopped, boiled potatoes

2. Potato Pasta from Paprika Potatoes Leftover 

My darling always enjoyed Potato Pasta and with the leftover Paprika Potatoes we were halfway there. You may ask why bother to write another recipe when I already have a perfectly good Potato Pasta recipe. But for those of us who regularly cook Hungarian dishes this makes sense. I don’t think I ever managed to make paprika potatoes for only one sitting. We always have leftovers, but never enough for another dinner. Besides what is Potato Pasta? It is the combination of Paprika Potatoes and Cooked Pasta. In this case we already had one of the components I just had to make a batch of square pasta. Combine the cooked pasta with the leftover paprika potatoes, heat it through and voila potato pasta! I just never thought of it before.

the addition is homemade square pasta

PAPRIKA STEW WITH POTATOES – KRUMPLIS PÖRKÖLT

The world calls it goulash, but in Hungary this is called pörkölt. What the Hungarians call gulyás [goulash] is actually a rich paprika laden beef soup. 

According to the dictionary “pörkölt” means roasted, which could imply roasting in the oven. That would be inaccurate. Roasting in a cauldron over a fire or roasting on top of the stove would be more precise. In Hungarian the word “pörkölt” actually means drying, through heat-exposure, in other words stewed. Krumplis Pörkölt therefore is the Hungarian version of a stew. 

So what is the difference between Pörkölt and Goulash? Both are paprika based but one is a soup, not a stew, made from meat, potatoes and carrots. Pörkölt, on the other hand, is a rich stew that can be made with different kinds of meat. And, if you add sour cream to Pörkölt, it is called Paprikás. These seemingly identical stew dishes are made from the same base, fat, onions, and paprika, we call “goulash base.” They all originated from Hungary, but are eaten throughout Central Europe. 

Paprika Stew with Potatoes

 

200 g lean pork tenderloin, cubed 

3 Tbsp oil 

1/2 medium onion, diced 

1 Hungarian or 1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced 

1 tomato chopped 

1 1/2 Tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika 

homemade meat stock or water as needed 

salt and pepper to taste 

3 potatoes, sliced into wedges

14% sour cream for serving, optional 

• Dice the onions. 

• Heat the oil in a non stick sauté pan. 

• Add the chopped onions and sauté until translucent. 

• Add the cubed pork and brown it lightly and turn to sear every side. 

• Add the green pepper and the tomato. 

• Stir in the paprika and salt it lightly. Keep in mind the stock will be salty already. 

• Add stock or water to cover half way up the meat. 

• Bring to slow, steady simmer, cover with lid and cook until almost tender. 

• Meanwhile peel the potatoes, wash, and slice them into wedges. 

• Add the potatoes to the pan and a little bit of stock or water to barely cover the potatoes. 

• Bring it to a slow simmer and cover. 

• Cook until the potatoes are tender. 

• Adjust the salt and add pepper to taste. 

• When the potatoes are fully cooked remove from heat and let it rest for a few minutes before serving. • Serve with 14% sour cream on the side.

WALNUT DOBOS – DIÓS DOBOS

North American bakeries popularized it as a tiny cake bar, just a bit larger than a petit four, some of them so removed from the original I would not recognize it in the showcase without the label “dobas”. One more time, dobos has a candy top, stefania is the same only with bitter cocoa powder over the buttercream top. 

Using the authentic dobos recipe for the cake with chocolate-walnut icing is a twist on this iconic Hungarian. I debated calling it stefania, but since the majority knows it as dobos, I too did the unthinkable. I cut a sheet cake into three, made a long rectangle cake and called it… a dobos well walnut dobos to be precise. I shudder at the thought of further complicating the dobos issue, but then again it was very good. 

Walnut Dobos 

Cake: 

1 cup flour 

3/4 cup potato starch 

9 egg whites 

1 cup sugar 

9 egg yolks 

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest 

Chocolate-Walnut Buttercream: 

3/4 cup soft unsalted butter – must be unsalted! 

2 cups icing sugar, sifted 

1/3 cup cocoa, sifted 

1/8 cup whipping cream 

1 cup finely ground walnuts 

• Line a full size baking sheet with parchment paper. 

• Preheat oven to 350F. 

• In a bowl sift together the flour and potato starch. 

• Add the grated lemon zest and set aside. 

• In a beater bowl beat the egg whites to soft peeks. 

• Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat to stiff glossy peaks. 

• Gently transfer to a clean bowl. 

• Add the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar to the beater bowl and beat on high speed for 5 minutes. 

• Gradually add the flour and potato mix to the yolk mixture. 

• Stir some of the beaten egg white into the egg yolk mixture. 

• Gently fold in the remaining whites. 

• Spread the batter on the parchment lined sheet pan. 

• Bake at 375F until light golden. 

• Remove pan from the oven, loosen the edge and place on wire rack for 5 minutes. 

• Slice the cake crosswise into 3 equal parts. 

• When the cake is cooled down somewhat peel off the parchment paper. 

• While the cake cools to room temperature make the chocolate-walnut buttercream. 

• Beat the butter with an electric beater until fluffy. 

• Gradually add the sifted icing sugar. 

• Beat on high for 4 minutes or until fluffy.

• Add the cream and beat it for 2 more minutes. 

• Add the sifted cocoa and beat to combine. 

• Add the ground walnuts and beat to combine. 

• Spread each layer evenly with the buttercream and stack them on top of one another. 

• Leaving the sides of the cake bare, chill for half an hour before slicing.

PEA PURÉE

Pea purée is not just baby food. It can make a tasty accompaniment to many dishes and very easy to make. If using fresh peas make sure they are FRESH. The sugars are quickly lost after the harvest. Frozen peas on the other hand are available year around and are easy to use. Use a blender or a powerful food processor to purée the peas. It should have a velvety smooth consistency to fully appreciate the flavour. Immersion blenders and inexpensive food processors fail the task. 

Pea Purée 

1/2 cup frozen peas per person 

water 

salt to taste 

• Bring a pot of water to the boil and blanch the peas for 3 to 4 minutes. 

• Drain the peas, but keep the pea stock. 

• Add the peas to a blender along with a bit from the pea stock. 

• Blend the peas, adding more pea stock if needed to a silky smooth consistency. 

• Salt it sparingly. 

• I would not add lemon juice or ground pepper or sugar. These would only muddle the wonderful pea flavour. 

POPPY SEED MANDARIN CAKE BARS

Too many mandarins why not make cake? Mandarins already have a richer flavor, but the poppy seeds add further excitement to this delicately flavored and textured cake. Other than the central pith, mandarins have no pith and once you pick out the seeds the entire mandarin can be utilized. 

Poppy Seed Mandarin Cake Bars 

Cake: 

2 mandarin oranges 

1/4 cup sugar 

2 cups flour 

2 1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 cup 1% milk 

1/4 cup 14% sour cream 

2 tsp orange extract 

1/3 cup butter 

1/3 cup vegetable oil 

3/4 cup sugar 

3 eggs 

1/4 cup poppy seeds 

Icing: 

1/4 cup unsalted butter 

2 cups icing sugar 

juice of 1 mandarin orange 

• Preheat your oven to 350F and fully line a square pan with parchment paper. 

• Peel two mandarin oranges. 

• Place the peel and the orange segments minus the central pith into a food processor. 

• Add 1/4 cup sugar and process to smooth consistency. Set aside. 

• In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside 

• In a smaller bowl combine milk sour cream and orange extract. Set aside. 

• Beat the butter and the oil with the sugar until fully combined. 

• Add the eggs one and the time beating after each addition. 

• Continue beating until very light. 

• Add the orange mixture to the egg mixture. 

• Alternating add from the flour mixture and the milk mixture until everything is combined. 

• Finally add the poppy seeds and whip to combine. 

• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. 

• Place cake on a wire rack to cool. 

• Meanwhile combine icing ingredients and whip until very fluffy. 

• When the cake cooled to room temperature spread the icing on the top. 

• Serve at room temperature.

BUTTER CHICKEN MEATBALLS

Adapted from Jo Cooks, this was amazing. What caught my interest were the meatballs, they were pretty much how I make mine. The recipe looked mild; the hot stuff no longer works for the two of us. I changed up a few ingredients in part because of preference or simply that’s what I had on hand. The proof of the pudding might be in the eating, but for me the question has always been would we want to eat it again? Otherwise why write a recipe? 

Make the meatballs first. Extra lean ground chicken has minimal fat content, so care should be taken to keep the meatballs intact. And as with any meatballs, the outer layers should be cooked before sauce is added. Grating the onion helps, but you will need far less from grated onion than from diced. 

As for the spices, I make my own garam masala and keep it in the deepfreeze. Commercial garam masala in my opinion is vastly inferior. That’s one of the Indian spices I refuse to buy, even from the Asian store. Similarly I keep fresh tomato sauce in the deepfreeze; unfortunately I used up the last bit for this recipe. Our tomato plants suffered this year and for the first time in decades we don’t have an abundant supply of tomatoes. Until the next crop of fresh wine ripened tomatoes I will have to rely on Passata, which is the best alternative. I find canned tomatoes harsh and for the same reason I rarely use tomato paste. I only use imported Hungarian Paprika; no other paprika gives the dept of flavour and vibrancy. As for curry powder there is mild or hot, but make sure it’s specifically for chicken. I buy mine from an Asian store and keep it in the deep freeze in a secure container. 

Spices are expensive so people tend to hang onto them for decades… Never buy spice in bulk. Aromatics should be double, triple packed and stored in the deepfreeze for up to one to two years. Never keep paprika, chili powder, garam masala and curry powder in the cupboard. People don’t realize these spices have a short shelf life and will quickly loose their potency and colour. More about this here. 

Butter Chicken Meatballs 

Meatballs: 

2 Tbsp olive oil 

~300g extra lean ground chicken 

1/4 onion grated 

1/3 cup fine breadcrumbs 

1 egg 

1/4 tsp garam masala 

salt and pepper to taste 

 Sauce: 

2 Tbsp butter 

2 grated garlic 

1 heaping tsp grated ginger 

1/2 cup fresh tomato sauce or passata 

1/2 tsp turmeric 

1/2 tsp ground cumin 

 1 heaping tsp mild madras curry powder 

1 1/2 tsp garam masala 

1 Tbsp Hungarian Paprika 

1/2 cup homemade chicken stock 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

cilantro freshly chopped for garnish 

• Start with the meatballs. 

• Truly combine meatball ingredients in a shallow mixing bowl. 

• Oil your hands or lightly wet them with water and form egg sized balls from the mixture. 

• Add the oil to a non stick sauté pan and cook the meatballs on medium heat a couple minutes on each side, gently turning them over. 

• Gently transfer meatballs to a plate and set them aside. 

• Next make the sauce. 

• Add the butter to the pan. 

• Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. 

• Add the tomato sauce or passata, turmeric, cumin, curry powder, garam masala and Hungarian Paprika and chicken stock and stir.

• Bring the sauce to a simmer and slow cook for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens. 

• Stir in the cream. 

• Add the meatballs to the pan and simmer for a few minutes to heat through.

• Sprinkle the top with cilantro, and serve with rice.

RUM SOAKED DRIED PEAR AND PRUNE STRUDEL

The first casualty of climate disaster was our plum tree. It used to supply friend and neighbor with juicy yellow fleshed Italian plums. I cooked and baked with those plums for decades, but no more. The prunes we made in the past couple of years of course are dwindling. To make it go a bit further I paired them with a small amount of dried pears in what I thought was an unusual combination. Both were pretty dry so I soaked them in premium rum overnight. Now Jimre always loved prunes, his family used to have an orchard in the Village of Ölbő. I was never a fan and that is why I decided to soak them in rum. As an experiment using commercial filo made perfect sense. My only regret I didn’t make two strudels. It must be because of the rum. 

Rum Soaked Dried Pear and Prune Strudel 

1/3 cup premium rum 

1 2/3 cup prunes 

1 2/3 cup dried pears 

3 Tbsp honey 

1 pkg vanilla sugar 

grated peel of 1 lemon 

6 sheets of filo pastry 

1/2 cup melted butter 

• Place the frozen filo dough in the refrigerator for overnight. 

• Place the dried fruits in a smaller bowl to soak in the rum. 

• Turn it over a few times to cover all the fruit with rum. 

• Cover and leave it soaking overnight. 

• Next day add the honey, vanilla sugar and the grated peel to the rum soaked fruit. 

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

• Next take out 6 sheets of filo and place it on a large piece of plastic wrap on a smooth, clean surface. • Cover the filo right away with a large piece of plastic wrap. 

• Rewrap the unused dough tightly, box it and put it back in the freezer or refrigerate it up to two days. • Preheat the oven to 375F. 

• Melt the butter. 

• Place one sheet of filo on a sheet of parchment paper. 

• Dip a soft pastry brush into the melted butter and lightly brush it all over the pastry. 

• Place the next filo on the top, repeating with the remaining sheets. 

• Try not to position tears on top of one another. 

• After the last sheet is buttered, gently arrange the prepared fruit near the long end of the filo sheets. 

• Using the parchment paper, loosely flip the filo over the filling forming a log. 

• Gently lift the log onto the parchment lined baking sheet. 

• Tuck the ends under. 

• Brush the top first with butter and then with the egg wash. 

• Sprinkle sugar on the top 

• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown. 

• Remove from the oven and let the strudel cool to room temperature. 

• Dust with icing sugar and cut into slices 

• Cover up leftovers with a clean kitchen towel and store on the counter or in the cupboard. It will keep for a couple of days. However strudel is best on the day it is made.

ORANGE CAKE BAR

 

This is a very pleasant cake. It can be baked in two round cake pans, but if you don’t want to fuss with cake decorating, a cake bar is always a sensible option. I made it with freshly squeezed oranges, but pure orange juice will work too. The orange zest can be replaced with lemon zest or omitted altogether. 

 

Orange Cake Bar

1/3 cup soft butter 

1/3 cup oil 

1 cup sugar 

3 eggs 

2 1/2 cup cake flour 

2 1/2 tsp baking powder 

2 tsp orange zest 

1/3 cup fresh orange juice 

1 tsp Grand Marnier or orange extract 

Orange Frosting 

6 Tbsp soft unsalted butter 

2 1/4 cups icing sugar 

2 tsp Grand Marnier or orange extract 

2 Tbsp of fresh orange juice 

1/8 cup 14% sour cream 

• Preheat oven to 350F. 

• Fully line a rectangular cake pan with parchment paper. 

• Cream the butter and oil. 

• Gradually add the sugar and whip until fluffy 

• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

• Continue beating for 5 minutes. 

• In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and the orange zest. 

• Add the dry mixture alternately with the orange juice to the creamed mixture. 

• Add the Grand Marnier and beat only until smooth. 

• Bake in the prepared cake pan for 25-30 minutes or until the middle springs back. 

• Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool. 

• Before frosting the cake bar it has to cool down to room temperature. 

• Combine frosting ingredients and whip on high speed for 4 minutes. 

• Spread the frosting over the cake and chill for easy slicing. 

• Serve it at room temperature.

UKRAINIAN STYLE CABBAGE ROLLS

 

Back in the day at the Canada Day celebrations l would race over to the Ukrainian tent at Riverside Park and line up for a plate of cabbage roll with perogies and sausage. Years went by and some of the tents were replaced by newcomers. Sushi and Tim’s didn’t entice. OK, I liked the peaches at the Italian tent, but I didn’t particularly care for the pasta they served. I have eaten at the Colombo Hall so I am well aware what Italian pasta should taste like. But mostly I just missed the cabbage rolls. 

Thought it was time to try my hand at making it. Recognizing there are endless varieties and mostly vegetarian versions, I picked a video that seemed close to my own cabbage rolls. The stuffing had more meat than rice. I can’t claim authenticity, I had to simplify it... a lot. Still, the six cabbage rolls I made were surprisingly tasty and we enjoyed them on three consecutive nights with various accompaniments. 

At the end I found a lovely video of a Ukrainian lady preparing cabbage rolls with a dreamy quality to it. Enjoy it or make her recipe. She made a large pot of it. Mine makes only six.

Ukrainian Style Cabbage Rolls

8 leaves of white cabbage 

1/2 cup rice 

Vegetables:

2 Tbsp oil 

1 onion, chopped 

2 cloves of garlic, crushed 

2 Carrots, finely grated 

2 Tbsp quality preferably homemade tomato sauce 

3 sprigs of fresh parsley or 1 tsp dry

salt and pepper to taste 

200g lean ground pork 

2 Tbsp + 3/4 cup 14 % sour cream

1 1/2 cup homemade pork or vegetable stock 

Prepare ingredients: 

• First separate the cabbage leaves from a full head of white cabbage. 

• The instructions are HERE. 

• Once the leaves are separated, cook them in simmering water until they are soft enough to roll. 

• Trim off [don’t cut them off, just trim] thick parts of the stem for easy rolling. 

• Then set them aside to cool.

 

• Next cook the rice and set it aside to cool. 

Next prepare the vegetables: 

• Slow fry the onions in a large non stick skillet. 

• Add the garlic and the grated carrots and the parsley. 

• Stir in 2 Tbsp tomato sauce. 

• Slow cook stirring the vegetables on low medium heat for a few minutes. 

• Transfer the vegetables to a food processor and puree. 

• Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. 

• Divide the pureed vegetables. 

Make the stuffing next. 

• Add the ground pork, the cooked rice and half the pureed vegetables to a large mixing bowl. 

• Add 2 heaping Tbsp of sour cream, salt and pepper to taste and truly combine the mixture wearing food safe grade plastic gloves or with your clean hands. 

• Divide the stuffing six ways and wrap them inside 6 of the cabbage leaves burrito fashion.

• Set them aside. 

• Next add 2 Tbsp of oil to an ovenproof pot. 

• Take the remaining 2 cabbage leaves and lay them inside the pot. 

• Arrange the cabbage rolls on the top. 

Next make the sauce: 

• Add the remaining pureed vegetables in the skillet with the tomato sauce and the pork stock. 

• Bring to a slow simmer. 

• Stir in 3/4 cup sour cream and remove skillet from the heat. 

• Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls. 

• Cover and place in a 300F oven for 3 to 4 hours. If making larger quantities, increase oven time. 

• Serve with buttered pasta. 

• Yields 6 cabbage rolls.

 

REMOVING CABBAGE LEAVES

It is difficult to remove cabbage leaves without tearing. And the one thing I always hated when making cabbage rolls was boiling the cabbage and separating a couple of hot leaves from the head and then putting the cabbage back into the boiling water so a few more leaves can be taken off. My hands are accustomed to handling heat, still this is no fun. Then there is the waste. 

You repeat the process several times and by then the small leaves that remain will be cooked and useless for anything else. I tend to make a large amount of Hungarian cabbage rolls and depending on the cabbage I may need two heads, but I never seem to use it all up. Now that’s a lot of leftover partially cooked cabbage! Oh I intend to use it up, but then I never do, and why would I? I just made cabbage rolls! So the unused cabbage gets chucked. 

Or what happens when you only need a half a dozen cabbage leaves? Throw the rest of it away? I never thought I will say this, but lately cabbage has been expensive! 

Have no fear; you don’t have to boil the cabbage to remove the leaves. Takes a bit of patience but the leaves will separate from the cabbage like magic. All you have to do is place the remaining cabbage on a kitchen towel to dry, wrap it and put it back in the fridge as fresh as before. 

Removing Cabbage Leaves

 

• Cut and scoop out the hard center core of the cabbage with a small sharp knife. 

• Run slow tap water into the gap between the leaves. The water accumulates in the gaps and the leaves peel off naturally because of the weight of the water in the gaps. It’s physics dear Watson!