wasp nests (darázsfészek)

Darázsfészek is a typical Hungarian roll and there are a few different versions out there - as always - but I am giving you my mothers recipe. Last Easter we had all kinds of "new" things, but this year I asked my mother to cook up a traditional Easter breakfast/lunch/dinner. Of course I couldn´t resist to bake brioches that we ate warm with homemade mango ice cream (a winning combination!) but baking the wasp buns was (IS) my mother´s thing.

The wasp nests look a bit like Swedish cinnamon buns but there is no cinnamon involved in these, only a sweet butter filling. Another difference is that while the buns in the oven, you "sprinkle" (can´t find the right word for that, feels like it´s more then sprinkling...if you have a suggestion, please tell me, don´t hesitate, I would like to use the right term. thanks :)) them with sweetened milk so they get a crispy caramely surface, remaining soft and moist inside.
Yesterday a kind soul enlightened me so now I have the word: it´s baste!!! Thanks again, Anonymous :)

From Merriam-Webster: (this is a note for myself and other non-english speakers)
2baste
bast·ed; bast·ing
: to moisten (as meat) at intervals with a liquid (as melted butter, fat, or pan drippings) especially during cooking

Darázsfészek - Wasp Nests

15g yeast
2 tbsp flour
200ml lukewarm milk
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt
500g flour
3 egg yolks

Filling:
200g butter
150g sugar
1tsp vanilla

For the basting:
250-300ml milk
add sugar and vanilla to taste

Start with combining the yeast, sugar, milk and the 2tbsp flour, cover and set aside until it starts to bubble. Measure up the flour in a large bowl, make a well in the middle and add the egg yolks, salt and the yeast mixture. Combine with a wooden spoon or your hands and turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic.

Place in a floured bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a rectangle (about 1 cm thick). Spread with filling and roll up from a long side. Cut into 3cm slices and place with cut side down in a greased baking pan. Cover and let rise again, until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 200 degrees C until golden brown (it takes about 30 minutes). Now, here comes what makes the difference. When the rolls start to get a slight color, take out from oven and baste with the sweet warm milk. It´s the same thought as with a steak here, you don´t want it to dry out, so you can "ladle" 2-3 tbsp of milk on every roll. Put back in the oven and when the rolls start to have more color and start drying out, you take it out again and repeat the sprinkling procedure a second time. And don´t be shy with the milk! :)

Best eaten warm!!! (Umm, not for your tummy, but it´s the best thing you can have with a glass of cold milk)

First basting

Round two

Note: This is the original taste, then there are several varieties: you can add 100g of walnuts or shredded coconut to the filling or 2 tsp of cocoa.

turnip soup - karalábé leves

Today I worked afternoon and evening and I needed something quick, easy and springy to eat before leaving. Yesterday when buying rocket for one of my favourite salads, I noticed the shop had fresh turnips and couldn´t resist to buy just a few. At that point I didn´t know what I will make with it but I knew I´ll come up with something.

So, today I remembered a spring soup that is quite common where I come from, and these tender turnips are just perfect for it. There are several versions, you can make a cream soup and serve with tiny meatballs but that recipe uses both milk and flour and that´s too much for my stomach. Then there is another version that contains many typical Hungarian elements: you don´t saute the turnip, just start cooking in water, then use roux (it is frequently used in traditional Hungarian cooking) with paprika (gives you a guaranteed heartburn if you have a week stomach :D)and is served with galuska (dumpling). Of course you can add other vegetables too, like green peas or/and carrot, parsnip but then it becomes a vegetable soup, according to my opinion. Finally I settled for a lighter version that tasted lots of turnip and spring.

What you need for 2-3 bowls of soup:

1 tbsp lard (or vegetable oil)
3 smallish turnips, diced
1 tbsp flour
a handful of rice
salt
one good handful of parsley (or more)
1-2 tbsp Greek yogurt
broth or water

My mother uses one egg yolk and sour cream (of course) instead of the yogurt. I found that the creaminess of the yogurt made up for the lack of the egg and I was perfectly satisfied. I tried this version because: first, I didn´t want to use one egg for such a small portion (yes, I am a bit economic;P) and second, I don´t have access to organic eggs and then I rather pass on the raw egg yolks.

Melt lard or butter over medium heat. Add turnip, salt and half the parsley and saute until the turnip is translucent. Sprinkle with the flour, stir it until smooth, add the broth or water. Bring to boil, then Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetable is half done, add the rice and cook til rice is ready too.

Combine egg yolk, sour cream and remaining parsley if you are making this version, otherwise just the yogurt and parsley, take 2 tsp of this creamy mixture in a bowl and ladle hot soup over it. Bon Appetit!

The tender turnip has got a wonderfully sweet taste that I love, especially when it blends with the tartness of the yogurt or sour cream. Oh, I love spring!

Just an observation: I see that this recipe is one of the most popular ones and it only got three comments...feel free to give feedback, it's always fun to read :)

e for excellent

Two days ago I received my first blog award (see the optimist here? am I unconsciously hoping for more? ;)) from Kitchen Goddess over at Culinary Travels of a Kitchen Goddess...Usually I have difficulties with accepting things, favors, gifts and compliments and this time was no exception. I didn´t feel that I have been doing my best lately and so on, but somewhere deep inside it feels just wonderfully warming and energizing :) Therefore I decided to accept AND thank George for this award, I know it´s not an Oscar or something but I do feel honoured ;P

Also, I would like to forward the baton to some bloggers who inspire me:)

Lisa at The Chambermaid
Paula at In My Life
Eszter at Fûszer és Lélek (Spice and Soul?)
Shaun at Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow
Pistachio at Pistachio en la Cocina

Yay!!! This feeeeeels good! :D

new cookbooks and ugly bagels

I know I haven´t been posting for a very long time but I guess I should aim for 2 posts per month and then I wouldn´t disappoint anyone :D

For Valentines day I did a Mr Bean...I ordered myself a few "gifts" and then I pretended surprised every time the postman came with a book. I know Valentines day feels far away now, but some books came all their way from the US, so it took time.
So here´s my spring harvest:

During this time I have been cooking and taking photos, just didn´t have the time to blog about them, but I will eventually. This weekend I had lots of energy so I have been cleaning the house, the closets, parts of the pantry (or is it larder?...don´t know the difference unfortunately) AND have been cooking and baking. I have been thinking of baking bagels for a very long time now, but this weekend I did it. I didn´t use one of my many cookbooks of course, but I chose a recipe from the King Arthur Flour Bakery´s site.

I started on Saturday evening (does this sound pathetic? Perhaps that´s the reason for me still cooking for one ;P) and finished it off on Sunday morning. I followed the recipe slavishly...ummm...with a little exception: I mixed the wheat flour with rye. Everything went well, I loved my bagels! Of course I feel that I should mention one tiny detail: I have never had "real" bagels, original bagels, so I don´t have the slightest idea what they should taste like:D These bagels were chewy (as I read they should be) were slightly crispy on the surface (that´s from boiling them is sugary water before baking them) BUT they didn´t look great. In fact they look strange. Of course, as I read later on a blog, one shouldn't´t use the "poke-a-hole-in-the-bun-with-your-finger"-method, because it´s not great for a Bagel´s look. So I noticed.

You see, uneven and kind of bad skin :)

Anyway, whatever bagels should taste like, I loved these ones. I am already planning on baking a new batch withing two-three weeks, trying a different recipe and method. Also the idea that you boil them before baking them makes me believe that it is healthier for my stomach, as it stops rising and I am guessing that it affects the starches forming in the bread. Don´t know if this is true, but if not, then it had some kind of placebo-effect on me, because I didn´t feel a thing after eating 2 still-slightly-warm bagels ;P
I did forgot to take a photo as I had so many other things to do, but I have a strong feeling that I would have remembered if they came out gorgeous... I´ll see if I can take a reasonable pic tomorrow as I take them out of the freezer. Yes, from the freezer. When I read that bagels are best eaten fresh, I put most of them in the freezer as I couldn´t possibly eat a dozen bagels all by myself. This way, I´m hoping to have fresh bagels every morning for a week.

Sunday afternoon I got a sudden craving for something sweet and recalled a pear & walnut muffin I´ve seen on Pistachio´s blog. I didn´t think twice, they looked and sounded great, now was the time to make them. They were delicious!!! The thought of using wholewheat flour was appealing but I only had graham at home, so I went with it and it came out great. I was a bit doubtful, whether they would be heavy or compact but they weren´t. They were soft and juicey inside but crunchy on top, actually just perfect. Thanks Pi for the inspiration:)


Tonight I cooked meatballs in pomegranate molasses and a thick ground almond sauce after a recipe that I got from Julie P over at MrX Cooks. This was another success and it is also perfect for Passover.


MEATBALLS WITH POMEGRANATES & ALMONDS

1 kg chopped/minced meat
1 medium onion grated
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 tbsp. oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups of ground almonds

sauce:
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/3 cup pomegranate molasses
2 cups water
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup dried apricots, soaked in water for 2 hours
1 tsp. allspice

Mix the meat, grated onion, salt and pepper and shape into small meatballs. Brown the meatballs in the oil so they retain their shape; remove. In the same oil, saute the onions till golden. Add the almonds and the meatballs.
Add the sauce ingredients to the pan and bring slowly to a boil. Mix occasionally so the bottom doesn't burn. Lower the flame and cook, covered for one hour stirring gently now and then. Serve hot over rice.

Not a great photo but the dish certainly tastes good

And then I started to think. With all those new cookbooks around me I was using recipes from virtual friends, other blogs or just surfing the web for new ideas. It IS fun surfing around on Amazon and try to have a peek into some book I don´t own. It is fun imagining the wonderful recipes and stories I am going to read about and cook when I have the book. But then very often I get disappointed. Either no stories in the book or no pictures I like or great photos but uninspiring recipes...
So I´m asking myself, why I need new cookbooks? Is it the hunt? Or is it just greed? :D