Espaguetis con Atun y Salsa de Tomate (Spaghetti with Tuna and Tomate Sauce)

This is a dish from a collection of recipes from Almonte, Andalucia, Spain.  It is a very simple dish, you can use store-bought tomato sauce, or make your own.

Ingredients:
400 gr. (1/2 lb) Spaghetti
can of tuna
can of tomato sauce (or homemade)
grated cheese
olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
bay leaf
ground nutmeg
salt and pepper

In a large pan, heat olive oil and saute garlic.  As soon as they start to turn golden, add cooked spaghetti, ground nutmeg, tuna (broken-up with a fork) salt and pepper.  Then add the tomato sauce and mix.

Serve with grated cheese and chopped parsley.  You can also put the finished product in a casserole and bake until crispy on top.

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!

Shepherd's Pie

This was one of my favorite dishes when my mom used to make this growing up.  Its surprisingly easy, I find that the trick is to make sure that the meat mixture and mashed potatoes are both seasoned.  I like to add grated Cheddar cheese to the top during the last 10 minutes of baking and allow it to get crispy.

Ingredients

For meat mixture:
half pound ground meat (I used half lamb and half beef)
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrots, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
couple dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
bay leaf
dash of ground allspice
1 bottle of dark beer (I used Guinness)
salt and pepper to taste

For potato mixture;
5-6 medium sized potatoes, cubed and boiled until soft
1/3 stick of butter
half a container of sour cream
milk (add until you have a creamy texture)
halt a cup of grated vintage cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Start with browning your meat, when brown, drain all but a bit of the fat.  In the remaining fat, brown the onion, carrot, garlic and tomatoes.  Then add the meat, bay leaf, Allspice, Worcestershire Sauce and dark beer.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for about an hour or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the remaining liquid becomes like a gravy.  Pour this mixture into the bottom of a medium-sized baking dish.  In the meantime, peal and boil the potatoes.  When they are tender enough, drain the water and mash.  Mix with butter, sour cream, cheese and milk until you have a smooth consistency.  Preheat oven to 350F (175C).  Then use a spatula and cover the meat, ensuring that the top is nice and smooth.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Then grate a little extra cheese, after the 20 minutes have past, take this cheese and place over top of the mashed potatoes and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese browns lightly on the top.  Take out of the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Serbian Bean Soup

Although the name suggests its from the Balkans, this recipe actually came out of an Austrian Cookbook I bought when I was in Vienna.  I think the history behind this dish is that it migrated to Vienna during the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Like most soups and stews this soup benefits from being made a day before enjoying.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. dried white beans, soaked overnight
4 oz. bacon bacon (cubed if available)
4 oz. Smoked sausage, cubed
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
bay leaf
teaspoon marjoram
teaspoon thyme
splash of vinegar
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
4 cups beef stock
2-3 medium sized-potatoes, peeled and cubed
 
Soak the beans overnight it a bowl with water covering an inch over beans.  In a dutch over or soup pot fry bacon, sausage and onions together until onion is soft and bacon crispy.  Add garlic and cook for a minute, stirring.  Meanwhile, drain the beans and rinse, set aside.  Add bay leaf, marjoram, thyme, paprika and salt and pepper to the sausage onion mixture.  Add the beef stock and then beans  Bring to boil, and lower to simmer.  Simmer for aboot 1 hour or until beans are tender.  About 20 minutes before beans are done, add the cubed potatoes to the pot.  Continue simmering until beans are tender and potatos are soft.  Best served with crusty bread.

Lamb Goulash with Green Beans (Lammgulasch mit grünen Bohnen)

I found this recipe in a cookbook my boyfriend bought for me called Das Thüringen Kochbuch.  I've never made goulash with lamb before but figured I've give it a try.  Green beans were in great abundance at the market and figured it was a perfect match.

Ingredients:
1 lb Lamb meat (cut from Shoulder, without bone)
1/2 lb. fresh green beans
6 potatoes
1 carrot
2 onions
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon of each, savory, rosemary and thyme
butter for saute
1.5 Liters broth (instant or homemade)
salt and pepper

1. Wash the meat, dry with paper towels and cut into mouth-sized pieces.  Wash the beans and snip the ends and cut into pieces that will easily fit a spoon.  Wash and peel the potatoes.  Carrots grate and set aside.  Peel and chop the onions.  Mince the garlic.

2.  In a dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter in a pan.  Add the meat and brown on each side.  Add the onions and garlic and continue sauteeing.  Cover with the broth.  Cover and let cook on middle heat for 50 minutes.

3.  Then add the beans and the herbs (no salt at this point) and continue cooking for 10 minutes.  Then add the grated carrots and the potatoes and cook an additional 10 minutes.  Serve warm.  The soup can also be garnished with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream.

Käsesuppe mit Porree (Cheese Soup with Leeks)

 This is my version of a recipes I got from the side of a package of leeks I bought at a grocery store here in Germany.  After seeing the originial recipe, I did some research online to look at other versions.  Most of them did not have mushrooms, and if I made it again, I may omit the mushrooms, but since I'm a big fan I figured they would be yummy.  Also, no version of this recipe called for garlic, but it is very difficult for me to make a dish without garlic.  This is what I came up with.  This soup is certainly not healthy, but super super delicious.  Most of the recipes I found said to make the soup one day, chill and serve the next.  Because I looked up the recipes on the same day it was not possible, but the leftover the following day were divine!

1 lb. ground meat (beef and pork mixture)
4 strips bacon, chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 stalks leeks, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
400 g. cream cheese (roughly one package)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1.5 liter broth

In a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium high heat, add the bacon.  Then cook until the bacon release its fat and the bacon begins to crisp.  Then add the onions and leeks.  Cook for about 5 minutes until they soften.  Then add the ground meat, stirring so the meat does not clump together while browning.  Add the mushrooms, garlic and dried herbs and stir well.   Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, lower broth to a simmer for about 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, add the cream cheese and mix until blended.  At this point you can allow the soup to cool, then transfer to a container and store in the refrigerator overnight.  You could alternatively just put the dutch oven in the fridge if you had enough room.  Reheat the next day and serve with bread.

Tuna Casserole

I was really feeling an itch the other day for Tuna Helper.  Now I'm generally opposed to ready-meals and strange out-of-the-box creations, but Tuna Helper was something my dad would always made.  Luckily, Irma Rombauer had a homemade version in her cooking compendium, The Joy of Cooking.  I modified it a little, adding peas and carrots because I feel that a needed a little more veggies, you could easily add broccoli or any other vegetable for that matter.

Ingredients

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3/4 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup cooked peas
1/2 cup carrots,diced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cups shredded Cheddar (I used Gouda as Cheddar is hard to comeby in Germany)
12 ounces (2 cans) of tuna, drained and broken into chunks
2 cups cooked egg noodles (4 ounces uncooked)
1/2 cup minced parsley
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs (I used crispy onions for the topping)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Grease a 1 1/2 to 2 quart shallow baking dish.  Melt in a medium saucepan over medium heat the butter.  Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic and carrots.  Cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in the milk.  Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking, then turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and add, whisking until hot the cheese and the tuna.  Add and stir together the egg noodles, minced parsley, cooked peas and then salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Mix together and sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top.  Bake for about 25 to 35 minutes or until browned on top.

Kotopita

This is one of my all-time most requested dishes.  Once I made this for somebody, they usually request me to make it again.  The best way to describe it is Greek Pot Pie.  Being Greek, it uses Phyllo dough instead of a traditional pie crust.  I came across this dish originally in a Greek restaurant back in Norfolk, Virginia.  It sounded good in the discription, but once it arrived, it was mediocre.  I decided that I could make it better.  This recipe is what I created after comparing various recipes I researched online.  It does take a bit of time to make, but it it totally worth it.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
3 cups stock (made from stewing chicken)
1/3 cup butter
1 bunch scallions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 cups Feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons mint, chopped
1 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper
3 eggs, beaten
12 to 14 sheets Phyllo dough
1/2 cup melted butter

1. Place the chicken, stock or water, salt and pepper into a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate, reserving the broth, and set aside to cool. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it with your fingers.
2. Heat the butter or oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour, reduce heat to low and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Pour the reserved broth into the skillet all at once and whisk to eliminate any lumps. Simmer the broth for about 5 minutes to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the feta, dill, parsley, mint, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and the thickened broth and stir together. Adjust seasoning and then stir in the beaten eggs.
5. Grease a 9x9-inch baking dish or a deep-dish pie tin. Lay a layer of filo into the dish and brush it with meltied butter or olive oil. Add 5 or six more sheets of filo, brushing each with oil or butter and laying them at different angle to cover the dish. Press the filo gently down into the corners of the dish or pie tin.
6. Pour the chicken-cheese filling into the dish and spread it out evenly. Lay the remaining layers of filo over the top of the filling, brushing each layer with butter or oil and draping the excess over the edges of the dish. Trim the filo to leave about 1 1/2 inches draping over the edge. Roll the filo edges up toward the center of the dish to form a rolled edge.
7. Place the dish in the oven and bake for anywhere from 45-75 minutes, or until the center is bubbly and the crust is nicely browned.
8. Remove from the oven, cool about 15 minutes and serve with a salad.