Kalács - Hungarian sweet bread

Kalács (pronounced [ˈkɒlaːtʃ]) is a typical and very popular Hungarian sweet bread that is very similar to brioche. It is usually baked in a braided form, and traditionally considered an Easter food. However, my family can't imagine Christmas without grandma's delicious kalács. The lovely sweet bread is often consecrated together with ham in Catholic churches

Kalács or Challah (plural: challot/challos) is also a special Jewish braided bread which is eaten on Sabbath and holidays.

In the Ukranie 'кaлач' kalach is a symbol of luck, prosperity, and good bounty, and are traditionally prepared for 'Свята вечеря' (Holy Supper). The ritually braid a round loaf and put a candle or Christmas branch in the middle. 

Ingredients:

• 375 g all purpose flour
• 14 g dried yeast
• 240 ml lukewarm milk
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 70 ml oil
• 2 ek. dark cocoa powder
• 1 package of vanilla sugar
• 1 egg for the egg wash

Directions:

Sift flour into a large bowl. Mix it with sugar and dry yeast. Add lukewarm milk and oil. Mix with a wooden spoon or with your hand until just combined. Divide dough into two. Add vanilla sugar to the one, and cocoa powder to the other one. Mix both well, then coven with wet kitchen cloth and let it rise in a warm place for an hour or until it has doubled in bulk.

Punch down the risen doughs and turn out onto floured board. Divide in half and knead each half for 5 minutes, then divide each dough into another two pieces.  

Roll out each into 0.5 cm thick square form. Stack one atop the other, start with white one, put a brown one onto it, then another white one, and finish with the brown one. Roll it up tightly. Cut the roll lengthwise while keeping one end attached (otherwise it would fall apart) and start twisting the 'snakes'. Attach the end by pinching the snakes.
Grease a baking form with butter and carefully place finished braid in it. Set aside and let it rest for 1 hour. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C (360F). Beat the egg and brush a generous amount over the kalács. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before slicing.

Idea: If you like it, add rum soaked raisins to the dough. Skilled and experienced ones can try making a braid and form a gorgeous braided wreath of it. 

Pörkölt, the Hungarian goulash

The sun is shining, everybody is hungry, wonderful smell is hanging above the patio (and above the whole neighbourhood as well), men are standing around the fire, goulash/pörkölt is currently in progress. 

Ingredients for the pörkölt:

• 2000 g pork shoulder cut in cues
• 3 medium onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 medium red coloured Californian paprika
• 3 tomatoes
• 40 ml dry red wine
• 20 ml water
• salt, pepper
• ground cumin
• red paprika powder
• 4 Tbsp. lard
• 3 1/4 Tbsp. chilli (Erős Pista)
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce

Ingredients for dumplings (nokedli/galuska):

• 1000 g flour
• 2-3 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. salt
• water for the texture of the dough
• water for cooking/boiling dumplings

Ingredients:

Melt and heat lard in a Kotlich on camp fire over medium heat. Cook onions in oil until soft, stirring frequently. Add red paprika powder (carefully! make sure it doesn't burn otherwise it's bitter) then meat cubes and freshly pressed garlic. Add the cubed meat and while stirring the meat will begin to fry, releasing its natural juices. Sprinkle salt and pepper over it while adding herbs and chilli. The meat should thus be cooked in its own juices for about 1,5 hours. 
Then: add vegetables cut in smaller pieces, red wine and let it cook/sauté for another 2-2,5 hours. Once the juice has virtually evaporated, a small amount of water or dry wine can be added. The liquid must never cover the meat. Don't forget to stir once in a while.
Serve hot/warm with dumplings/rice/noodles/smashed potatoes/parsley potatoes. 

For the dumplings: combine all the ingredients. Add as much water as needed to get a quite thick dough. Stir until dough is smooth and no longer sticks to spoon.
Bring salted water in a large pan to boil.  

Preferred tool for making dumplings is a spaetzle plane. 

Push the batter through a spaetzle plane propped on the pot, or use a spoon to tear off pieces of the batter and drop them into the water. Drop dumplings into rapidly boiling water; boil covered and cook until rise to the top of the water.

Hungarian fried bread = langos

Langos, sometimes called Hungarian pizza, became part of the country's cuisine centuries ago when it was introduced by the Turks during their occupation. Today it's a favourite street and fair food and It is usually eaten as an appetizer or snack, mostly simply rubbed with garlic and sprinkled with salt. Variations are to serve langos with rasped cheese, sour cream and/or dill. There is also a sweet version known: with cinnamon sugar or powder sugar.

Ingredients:

• 0,5 kg flour
• 20 ml kefir
• 2 eggs
• 25 g yeast
• 10 g salt
• 1 sugar cube
• 10 ml milk

Directions:

Get 10 ml hand warm milk (do not use hot one. it kills the natural bacteria in the yeast)  and combine with 1 sugar cube. Put yeast to it, let it raise.

Add flour, kefir, eggs, and salt into a large bowl (the dough will rise, you really need a large one) and as much milk as it is needed to get a soft dough. mix it well. 

Cover it with a clean fabric kitchen towel. Let it raise for about 2-3 hours.

Put the raised dough onto a lightly floured wooden pastry board. Flatten and stretch dough to about 3-4 cm thickness. 

Take out about a handful of dough and work it to make a large pancake. I started by squishing it in the middle and then going around the edges pushing the dough out. It also helps if you first wet your hands with cold water. This will make the dough more malleable.

Place the into hot oil and fry each side until it gets golden brown. 

Serve warm. Rub the top with garlic, top with rasped cheese. It's absolutely up to your taste. 

Note: the dough itself can be hold in the fridge covered by kitchen film for maximal 3-4 days. Make sure you take a large bowl, it raises in the fridge!

Pictures here

Peppered pork ragout with peas- Borsos tokány

This dish probably originated from Transylvania, which used to belong to Hungary long long time ago. It is said that the recipe originates from the time before red paprika appeared in Hungarian cuisine. Originally it was based on lamb meat, later on this place was taken by pork or beef. Nowadays, you can actually use all kind of meat you like. This dish is strangely similar to Hungarian stew (pörkölt) but the meat is not cut in cubes but stripes (=in old Hungarian language it means tokány). The another difference is the absence of red paprika powder and significantly much more ground pepper is added. Not to mention peas I added to enrich the meal.

Ingredients:

• 500 g pork fillet
• 2-3 tsp. lard
• 1 small cup of sour cream (tejföl)
• bacon
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 3 small pieces bay- leaves
• salt, pepper
• flour
• water (on demand)

Directions:

Cut meat and bacon into slices.
Fry bacon on the pan. Add the meat slices, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Sauté for a few minutes. 
Press garlic and add to the ragout. At last add peas and cook it together until cooked. If necessary add a little bit of water. 

Mix flour with a small cup of sour cream (tejföl) and thicken the ragout. 
Boil it up another time then serve hot with rice. 

Authentic Hungarian chicken ragout soup

I felt a little sick so the last few days I spent in bed. This 'experience' motivated me to surprise myself with a soup that makes me stronger again.

Ingredients:

• carrot
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• green peas
• salt, pepper
• parsley
• chicken fillet
• chicken bouillon
• oil
• vermicelli

Directions:

Wash and cut the vegetables into pieces. Heat the oil in a large pot. Turn heat down to medium and add the chicken (chopped into cubes). Add salt and pepper. Keep stirring and sauté for a few minutes.
Add the chopped vegetables (except for peas otherwise it gets overcooked and falls apart!). Don't forget to lightly salt them as well.
Add the chicken bouillon (or water mixed with bouillon cube). Bring soup to a very slow simmer, but don't allow to come to rolling boil. Cook it this way for about 1,5-2 hours or until meat is soft. Don't cover your pot.
After about 1,5 hours add parsley and peas. In the last 5 minutes add vermicelli. If needed, adjust with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Authentic Hungarian style creamed spinach

I am convinced that this is the Nr.1 food in Hungary people love or hate or rather love to hate :)

Ingredients:

• 450 g spinach or Swiss chard (frozen chopped)
• 200 ml milk
• 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped or pressed
• salt, pepper
• 1-2 Tbsp. bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. butter

Directions:

Melt in a small saucepan over low heat 2 Tbsp. butter with the finely chopped/ pressed fresh garlic cloves. Sauté garlic in butter for a few minutes. (Note: do not let garlic burn or it will be bitter!) 

Add the frozen and chopped spinach to it while adding gradually milk. 

Season with salt and pepper.

Thicken it with bread scrumbs or blend 2 Tbsp. flour in a little oil (in another pan) to make a roux and add it.

Serve it with boiled egg, fried egg, baked bacon (oven fried bacon) and/or mashed potatoes.