Hungarian Stuffed Peppers (Töltött paprika)

This is a very hearty and delicious Hungarian meal.  Here in Germany its possible to find the long 'corno' peppers from Hungary, otherwise any long and green pepper will do.

Ingredients:
8-10 green peppers (sweet or mildly hot)
500 g (1 lb) ground beef and pork
1 small onion, grated
50 g (1 3/4 oz) lard (or butter)
50 g (1 3/4 oz) rice
1 kg (2 lbs) tomatoes, chopped
40 g (1 1/2 oz) flour
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the top off the green peppers, remove the seeds and ribs.  Add the onion in some lard or butter, stirring frequently.  Mix the ground meet with the rice, onion, salt and pepper.  Loosely fill the green peppers with the stuffing and make a hole in the middle with the end of a spoon so they have room to expand.  Place the stuffed peppers in a pot and pour hot, salted water on top and cover them.  Cook on low heat for 50 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a another pot, cook the tomatoes with a little water and reduce to a pulp, pass through a food mill or blend with an immersion blender.  Prepare a roux from the flour and some lard (or butter), stir in the tomato puree. flavor with sugar, salt and pepper.  Then pour over the stuff green peppers and cook for another 10 minutes.  Serve with boiled potatoes or dumplings.

Hungarian Bean Soup

I am a huge fan of bean soups.  Recently on my trip to Budapest I bought a Hungarian Cookbook.  This soup is very hearty and should be served as a main dish.  I served a small green salad with Hungarian-style dressing as a starter to this meal.

Ingredients:
200 g (7 oz) dried beans (pinto or other small bean)
2 bay leaves
1 medium carrot, cut in small cubes
1 medium parsnip, cut in small cubes
1 slice celery root, cut in small cubes
1 peppers, chopped
1/2 lb. smoked sausage (if you can't find Hungarian, than Polish Kielbasa will work as well)
butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon white vinegar (helps prevent gas from beans)
sour cream
chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Soak the beans overnight.  The following day, put the beans in a big pot, with the sliced sausage and 1 1/2 liters (1 1/2 qts) of water and the bay leaves.  Bring to a boil and then simmer, let cook until the beans are tender, between 45-60 minutes.  When the beans are tender, add water to the level where it was when you began (there is usually a residue line). Add the carrot, parsnip, celery root and pepper and continue cooking until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. In a separate pan, melt the butter and add the onions and garlic and saute until tender, then add a bit more butter and add the flour.  Cook until the flour is a light golden color.  Remove from heat, then stir in the teaspoon of paprika (this is done to prevent the paprika from turning bitter).  Add this mixture to the soup and bring to a boil, the soup will thicken slightly.  Salt and pepper the soup to taste and add a little vinegar and sour cream, continue cooking on low for about 3 minutes.  Serve in deep plates with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of paprika on each serving.

As mentioned, I served this with a small green salad.  Its basically Romaine lettuce with sliced green peppers.  The dressing was 3 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of sugar mixed well with a little water and salt added to make it go further, seems simple but makes the salad taste very fresh.  I also served this dish with a nice Hungarian red wine, it was a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot cuvee. jó étvágyat!