Hungarian Bean Soup
- 1 lb.large navy or pinto beans (0.5 kg)
soaked in cold water overnight,
- 1 onion chopped very fine
- 2 cloves of garlic minced or pressed,
- 4 tbsp. Thickener (60 mL)
- 1 tsp. paprika (5 mL),
- 8 cups Smoked Stock (2 L),
- 1/2 cup sour cream -optional-(125 mL)
- Csipetke
In a large pot place the rinsed and drained beans,
6 cups (1.5 L) of the sock, onions and garlic and
boil slowly until the beans are tender. In a saucepan
melt Thickener, add paprika, mix and add the rest of
the Smoked Stock (the stock must be cold).
Mix and add to the beans, bring to a boil, taste and
adjust salt, add Csipetke. Simmer 5 minutes, add
sour cream and serve. This is a favorite of all those
who have tried it !
Thickener
As you will see it is the base of all sauces and many soups. The recipe below makes 2 tbs. (30 mL); however if you are going to make several Hungarian dishes, I urge you to multiply this recipe and refrigerate the extra Thickener. It really saves work.
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1 tbsp. cooking fat | 15 mL |
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2 tbsp. flour | 30 mL |
Melt fat, mix in the flour and gently fry to a golden beige color, stirring constantly. Use low heat; the flour scorches easily. It keeps for months refrigerated in a tightly covered jar. The sticks of sauce sold in grocery stores are the same thing, although some of them contain seasoning.
Csipetke
1 egg, 1/2 tsp. salt (2mL), 1/2 cup flour (125 mL).
Place flour on a small board, make a well in the flour, add salt and egg, mix taking up the
flour bit by bit. Knead well. This should be a very stiff dough. Stretch by hand into a plate size circle and pinch off bean-size
bits to drop into soup. It is easier if your fingers are floured or oiled.
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Palacsinta
Palacsinta is a crepe-like pancake of hungary. This is the ultimate favorite food of young and old alike. A thin melt-in-the-mouth palacsinta
is also the measure of the good cook. No doubt successful preparation takes some practice, but the result is worth it.
- 4 eggs,
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (375 mL),
- 2-3 cups milk or club soda (750 mL),
- 1tbsp. oil (15 mL),
- 1/2 tsp. salt (2 mL).
Using an electric beater, blender or food processor, beat eggs, add flour and 2 cups (500 mL) of the liquid. Mix thoroughly, add 1 more cup of liquid (250 mL) if making very thin palacsinta. Add oil and fry immediately. The batter should be like thin syrup.
To fry, heat 1/4 tsp. (1 mL) of vegetable shortening in the crepe pan on medium heat. Swirl to cover all parts of the pen. The shortening must be very hot before adding the batter; otherwise it will stick. Using a soup ladle or measuring cup pour enough batter in the pan to cover about 2/3 of the area, about
1/4 cup (50 mL) for a 9-inch (23 cm) pan. Swirl to cover the rest of the pan.
The edges will start to curl and the top will begin to dry. when the entire top is dry, loosen the pancake with a spatula and turn over. The underside should
be golden brown. The second side takes only seconds to turn color. Slide out from pan onto a flat plate and fill. Mix batter often while it sits.
This a rather large recipe and can be easily halved; however, because palacsinta freezes well, I usually make a large batch when I have time. this way I can conjure up a special meal on short notice.
Fillings
Jam:
Roll 1-2 tbsp. (5-10 mL) of firm jam into each hot pancake and transfer to warm oven-proof dish. keep the serving dish in the oven at 200 F (95 C)
while the rest of the pancakes are frying or reheat the whole dish in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Cocoa:
Fill with an equal mixture of cocoa and sugar. Increase the temperature of the oven to 300 F (150 C) for 10 minutes before serving and the filling will melt.
Walnut or Poppy seed:
Sweeten ground walnut or ground poppy seeds to taste with sugar or honey. Roll into pancakes.
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