Hungary: Tisza Fish Paprikash; Mushroom Lecsó & Spaetzle

Hungary is a landlocked republic in Central Europe bordered by Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, Slovenia to the west, Austria to the northwest, Slovakia to the north, The Ukraine to the northeast & Romania to the east. Hungarian cuisine is therefore eclectic being influenced by its many neighbours. The food preparation methods in Hungary are mainly in the northern continental European style, yet some key ingredients are more Mediterannean being derived from eastern and southern Europe. Hungarian food is typically heavy on dairy, cheese and meats  & the defining spice of Hungarian cuisine is Paprika.

Our menu included:

Tisza Fish Paprikash

with

Mushroom Lecsó

&

Spaetzle

Served with fresh baked sourdough bread & unsalted butter

Bon appétit! Or as the Hungarians say: Jó étvágyat!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

TISZA FISH PAPRIKASH

INGREDIENTS

·      I kg  catfish fillets – we can’t source Hungarian Catfish in Australia so we used fresh Sweet Lip

·      2 onions

·      2 red peppers/capsicum

·      2 tomatoes

·      400ml sour cream

·      1 tablespoon plain flour

·      100ml sunflower oil

·      Salt

·      2 tsp ground Hungarian paprika

METHOD:

1.    Remove skins from tomatoes by the following method -
     cut a shallow cross into the tomato skins then drop them into boiling water;
     when skins begin to peel scoop tomaotes out & plunge them into ice water. 

2.    When the tomatoes are cool their skin will easily peel off easily

3.    Dry tomatoes with paper towel & dice the tomato into small cubes.

4.    Dice the onion and capsicum into fine pieces

5.    De-bone the fish fillets with a knife or tweezers & cut the fillets into large cubes

6.    Season fish pieces with salt & fry them in hot oil until sides are seared, then put aside.

7.    mix sour cream and flour together

8.    Brown the finely chopped onions in the same oil as you used for the fish.

9.    Then sprinkle with ground paprika and add the chopped  peppers and tomato & cook together

10.         Add the sour cream/flour mix  & stir all ingredients together

11.         Add the fish fillets gently stirring  so all the fish is covered in the sauce,
12.   cover the pot,  turn down to a low heat & don’t touch the pot again for 20 minutes

TIP: Don't be tempted to remove the lid or stir the fish as this will make it fall apart. The only thing you  can do is carefully jiggle the pot occasionally or turn it around.

Recipe is a Q-Zine original  adapted from several found on the internet including:

http://www.best-things-in-hungary.com/catfish-paprika.html

http://www.fast-ed.com.au/paprika-chicken-csirke-paprika

MUSHROOM LECSÓ

INGREDIENTS:

·      8 green Hungarian peppers / capsicum

·      4 tomatoes

·      1 large onion - diced

·      2oogm mushrooms – peeled & sliced

·      1 tsp salt

·      1 teaspoon of paprika

·      1 cup white rice

·      2 tbs sunflower oil

METHOD:

1.     cut the green peppers open, remove the seeds and membranes then cut into slices.

2.     Peel and dice the tomatoes (see directions for peeling tomatoes in fish recipe).

3.     Heat sunflower oil in a large pot

4.     add the onions  and fry

5.     Add the mushrooms and fry a little

6.     Add the paprika and stir in the tomatoes and the green peppers

7.     When a quantity of moisture from the tomatoes has formed in the pot, stir in the rice

8.     Bring back to the boil

9.     Turn down to the lowest heat & cover with a lid

10.  Leave pot for 10 minute then switch off the heat & let it sit for 10 minutes

11.  Don’t take the lid off until you are ready to serve the Lecso

This is a Q-Zine original recipe informed by:

my guest Valerie’s memories of Hungarian Lecso 

Rosalie’s knowledge of how to cook rice

& the internet: http://visitbudapest.travel/articles/hungarian-lecso/

SPAETZLE

INGREDIENTS:

·      1 cup plain flour

·      2 eggs

·      ½ cup milk

·      ¼ tsp salt  plus an extra 1 tsp salt for the water

·      1/8 tsp fine white pepper

·      2 handfuls of ice

·      2 tbs butter

·      4 tbs chopped fresh parsley

METHOD:

1.     Bring a large pot of salted water to boil

2.     whisk the flour, eggs, milk, salt and pepper together in a large bowl until a smooth batter is formed – don’t over whisk or the resulting noodles will be tough.

3.     Hold a colander over the pot of boiling water & pour the batter mix through the colander 

      so the batter streams into the water to form noodles 

      (use a wooden spoon to push it through if you need to) 

4.     Keep the water on a gently rolling boil & cooking the noodles 

      until they begin to floating (about 5 minutes) 

5.     Now scoop the noodles out of the water  & plunge them into a dish of iced water. 

6.     When the noodles are cooled drain them & tip them onto a clean cloth to dry

7.     When you are ready to cook the noodles heat a large frying pan with the butter NOTE: you will need to fry the Spaetzle in a large enough pan to give the noodles room to crisp up

8.     When the butter is sizzling toss in the noodles

9.     When the noodles begin to brown toss the pan to brown the noodles all over – do not mess with them too much or they will turn to mush

10.  When the noodles are browning all over add the chopped parsley & toss it through as well

This is a Q-Zine original recipe. Credit goes to La Goulue Restaurant, Crows Nest, Sydney, where I first learned to make Spaetzle in the 1980’s