Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Its capital, Budapest, is bisected by the Danube River. Its cityscape is studded with architectural landmarks from Buda’s medieval Castle Hill and grand neoclassical buildings along Pest’s Andrássy Avenue to the 19th-century Chain Bridge. Turkish and Roman influence on Hungarian culture includes the popularity of mineral spas, including at thermal Lake Hévíz.
Food & Lit August
Library Books
HUNGARY
FOOD
Goulash!!!!
2 pounds (up to 2.5 pounds) beef stew meat – cut into 1-inch pieces
6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. salt
freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
3 large onions – diced
5 garlic cloves – minced
1 red bell pepper – seeds and ribs removed, then diced
1/3 cup of red wine
3/4 cup beef broth (or vegetable broth)
2 small ripe tomatoes – diced
2 bay leaves
3 + 1/2 Tbsp. sweet Hungarian paprika powder
dash of cayenne pepper
cooked egg noodles, for serving
Instructions
FIRST, PREPARE THE MEAT:
1. Examine the chunks of beef, if you find some are too large, cut them in half to make them smaller, bite-size pieces.
2. Next, allow the meat to sit on the counter to warm up to room temperature, for at least 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prep and chop all the vegetables.
Recipe for Traditional Hungarian Goulash on STOVE-TOP:
In a large (6-quart size) Dutch oven pot, (or any large saucepan) and on moderate heat, heat olive oil. Toss in the meat and scatter the salt and freshly cracked black pepper over the meat. Brown the meat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the beef is no longer pink.
Next, add in the onions, garlic, and red pepper. Cover and saute for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions are translucent.
Pour in the red wine and beef broth. And add in the chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, Hungarian paprika powder, and cayenne pepper. Stir with a large wooden spoon until the mixture is well combined.
COVER with a lid and simmer on low heat for 1.5 hours, then remove the cover and simmer the remaining 30 minutes uncovered. Stirring occasionally. This will help thicken the stew and its gravy.
Turn off heat. Taste and adjust with salt to your taste. Fish out and discard the bay leaves, then serve in individual plates. Serve with a side (or over) rice, noodles, or fettuccine pasta.
Recipe for Traditional Hungarian Goulash in a CROCKPOT or SLOW-COOKER:
Follow the same recipe, but brown the meat in a large skillet or pan, and saute the onions, garlic, and red pepper as well. Then transfer everything into the crockpot or slow-cooker and add the rest of the ingredients.
Cover and cook for 4 hours on “High” or “low” for 6 hours.
Then serve into individual plates and serve with a side of noodles, zoodles, roasted potatoes, or quinoa.
via 2Sistersrecipes.com
Goulash began as a humble soup-stew, cooked over an open fire by Hungarian herdsmen. The addition of refined varieties of paprika from ground red chilies made the dish an international staple.
I love all forms of Goulash!
– 1 medium onion
– 2 tablespoons oil
– 1 pepper, diced
– 1 tomato, diced
– 1 cup rice
– 2 cups water
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 4 ounces Gefen Tomato Sauce (optional)
– 1 eggplant, peeled and cubed (optional)
– 1 zucchini, cubed (optional)
Prepare the Letcho
1. Sauté onion in oil until transparent.
2. Add pepper and tomato and sauté for 20 minutes over low heat.
3. Add rice.
4. Sauté for another five minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Add water, salt and tomato sauce and cook, covered, for half an hour.
6 servings
Ingredients
For the cake:
1/4 pound butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 pint sour cream
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla
For the topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup nuts, chopped
1 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the beaten eggs and vanilla.
Sift the dry ingredients together and add alternately with sour cream to the butter-sugar-egg mixture (about 3 additions of each).
Pour half of the batter into a greased and floured pan. Add half of the topping mixture. Then add the remaining batter on top of that, followed by the rest of the topping.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
I’ve already read This Rebel Heart and it was quite good, unexpected and I shed a few tears… so good. It’s a TEEN aka YA read.
📙A tumultuous tale of the student-led 1956 Hungarian revolution—and an all too timely look at the impact of Communism and the USSR in Eastern Europe—set in a fabulist, colorless post-WWII Budapest from Sydney Taylor Honor winner Katherine Locke. “A haunting, beautiful read that centers queer Jewish characters.”
I absolutely love this reading challenge. Every month, every year I find books I would have never known of or sought out. Just lovely.
ART
Marianne Stokes was an Austrian painter. She settled in England after her marriage to Adrian Scott Stokes, the landscape painter, whom she had met in Pont-Aven. Stokes was considered one of the leading women artists in Victorian England. She did massively gorgeous paintings of the people of Hungary.
Marianne Stokes (1855-1927), ‘Child With Fowl’, ”Hungary” by Adrian Stokes, 1909
Just stunning…….
