Hungarian Székely Gulyás

This popular Eastern European dish is said to have been originally created in the town of Szeged which is the third largest city in Hungary, others believe that this dish was named after the famous Hungarian writer, and screen writer János Székely.

The name may sound unusual or complicated but it's a very simple to make pork and sauerkraut stew. This recipe version is one that Mom used to make on occasion during the winter.   My brother and I both loved this stew when she served it and later on my family, even my picky kids, loved it.

One of the best things about this recipe is the pure simplicity of a few ingredients left to simmer and mellow into an extraordinary blend of aromas and flavors. These ingredients really do work well even if at the outset you don't think it would. (Like me!)  I was very surprised that Mom added the sour cream to this dish the first time, but it works!  This dish is also fine without the sour cream but it does enhance the dish with a richer broth.  The sauerkraut from the cooking loses some of it's bite and mellows into a delicious shredded sauce.

If case you don't know much about Hungarian paprika, it has more flavor than the run of the mill brands in many stores labeled as just "paprika".  It's much easier to find now than it was years ago.   The Hot paprika can pack a good bit of heat so...add slowly if you're not a spicy food lover.  If you're familiar with the Scoville Scale  of peppers,  Hungarian Hot Paprika is around 500 while ancho chilis are about 1500 Scoville units and cayenne pepper is up around 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units. By contrast the Sweet paprika is rated at 0 for heat on the Scoville Scale.

I firmly believe that when you cook you should prepare recipes to your family's taste.   If you don't like spicy...please by all means use just the Sweet paprika but 2 Tablespoons instead of the 1 Tablespoon of each type as listed in the recipe.  If you love spicy....go ahead and go all Hot paprika.

A great addition to this recipe would be to substitute a few slices of diced bacon in lieu the oil to brown the meat. If you use the bacon, cook that till almost crisp then remove the pieces from the Dutch oven before adding the meat so there will be no chance of the bacon pieces becoming overdone or blackened.

This is a great weeknight meal since you can easily prepare this ahead on the weekend and serve later.  Like most stews and soups the flavor improves as it sits so the ingredients absorb all the flavors from each other.

Hungarian Székely Gulyás  

Hungarian Székely Gulyás 

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients

2 pounds pork, trimmed and cubed
1 large white onion, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons of flavorless cooking oil
2 pounds sauerkraut either fresh or in a bag
1 Tablespoon Sweet Hungarian Paprika
1 Tablespoon Hot Hungarian Paprika  (for not spicy all sweet paprika instead)
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt
Pepper

Fresh Sauerkraut

Preparation

Trim and cube the pork into 1 inch cubes.  Cut onion into a course chop.  Since this will cook down and blend into the sauerkraut the pieces need not be small.

Drain the sauerkraut and reserve the juice.  I always like to check for salt and acidity before using the sauerkraut in cooking.  If the sauerkraut is too salty, go ahead and give a quick rinse.  I like to save that juice to add more flavor if needed later.  If the sauerkraut is one you could eat as is...go ahead and add the juices to the pot when it's time to add the sauerkraut.

                                                                                         

Hungarian Paprika comes in both Hot or Sweet varieties
Like a bit of heat in your food?
Use the Hot!  But add a little at a time it has good amount of heat

 Cooking

Heat a Dutch oven and then add the oil to heat till it shimmers.  Slowly, and in batches add the pork cubes making sure their surface is dry so they brown a bit to add even more flavor.  As they brown remove each batch to a plate before adding more. Next add the onion and sauté until just starting to brown.  Return the pork cubes to the pot, add the sauerkraut plus the paprika and just a bit of black pepper. (If you did the bacon instead of oil add it back now.) You can always adjust salt and pepper later.

Add the sauerkraut and use as liquid either the kraut juice or some water so the meat will stew just to barely cover things.  Cook covered over low heat and check the meat for tenderness in 50 minutes.  It will probably take longer than that to finish.  Continue cooking the pork is very tender and the meat almost starts shredding.

Székely Gulyás ready to simmer.
Notice it's not totally covered in liquid.

If you have made the stew ahead, when your ready to serve heat to serving temperature.  Now add the sour cream and stir well.  I have also completed this dish with the sour cream addition and then stored overnight before serving.  If you don't like sour cream this dish still has nice flavor without the addition.

I prefer serving this in bowls with some nice crusty bread or biscuits on the side.

Egyűnk!   (Let's eat!)

As always love to hear your comments and suggestions on all recipes.

Dessert in a hurry....Baked Cranberry Orange Rice Pudding

Love to exercise my creative side especially in the kitchen!  How often have you been bored making the same old thing even though you have favorite recipes?   Always great to have a change of pace in life whether it's wearing something new, trying a new restaurant, or even traveling. 

Often I just head to the kitchen and see what's there and experiment.  Not everything turns out as perfect as it sounded in your head!  Inspiration for this recipe was a large container of white rice from the local Chinese restaurant that was leftover.   I could have turned this into a quick fried rice but had a sweet tooth that needed satisfying!   

What's on hand and what can I create?

Rice....dried cranberries and that led me to think cranberry orange relish flavor profile!  Always have the staple of milk, eggs, vanilla, natural extracts and usually fruit too. Find it quite handy to keep the Cinnamon and Sugar blend on hand also which is a great addition to oatmeal, hot coffee, tea, dusting on toast or a warm buttered muffin.  Yum!!  Keeping a nicely stocked with basics pantry allows you to "create" things in a hurry and on the fly.   Kind of the home version of Chopped with ingredients you know!

This is a super easy dessert to throw together quickly any night of the week.  Perfect to make ahead too for the next day. 

Ciao for now!!

JPKC

Baked Cranberry Orange Rice Pudding

2 cups cooked rice

2 cups milk

2 eggs

1T butter

½ tsp orange extract

1 tsp orange zest

1/4 tsp almond extract (or real vanilla extract)

½ cup sugar
 pinch of salt (if the rice was not cooked with salt)

 1/8 tsp nutmeg

 ½ - ¾ cup dried cranberries (or raisins)

 Cinnamon sugar blend (see below)*   

**Note:  If you want this really rich try using part half and half or cream for part of the milk.                                   

                                                      

Preparation:

Butter baking dish or casserole 2-1/2 quart will work unless you're making a larger batch.  Add cooked rice to casserole.   I use my fingers to break the grains up so they're loose. Do that only if the rice is cold and coming out of the refrigerator. Then once grains are loose, mix in the cranberries or other dried fruit.   If your rice is still warm cool it to room temperature first so the eggs won't seize and scramble.  The dried fruit can be mixed into hot fresh cooked rice without a problem.

In a bowl, beat eggs, add to milk, extracts, zest and sugar; stir to blend.     

Pour into buttered baking dish on top of the rice and fruit mix. 

Ready for oven...notice the way all the rice is covered with the liquid.

Bake 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes until set.  Take a sharp knife go straight down into the middle, if it comes out clean, the pudding is done. 

While hot, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix so that it melts onto top

Remove from oven, give a light sprinkle of *cinnamon sugar blend. Cool, serve with or without vanilla whipped cream.

Serve in a nice glass, desert dish or stem ware

*Cinnamon Sugar Blend

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Blend well.  Great to keep on hand.  Store in an airtight container.

Is the Super Woman Complex Dead yet?

All of us lead busier lives than our parents ever did! So how does this affect our home life? Hectic! It is still possible to plan and cook healthy from scratch meals quickly but it just takes a little more thought, organization and planning ahead.  Maybe I had the super woman complex for too many years, and quite honestly that is an understatement!  Just a tiny bit about me:  I have run multiple corporations -- at the same time, while working on a variety of charity projects and also sat on board of directors (mostly children's issues). I am the proud Mom of four marvelous children - two human and two furry.

One of my favorite kitchen tools over the years had been a stand alone freezer which I no longer have. The freezing ideas I'm sharing will still work. So many things can be made ahead and even frozen for quick weeknight meals.  I love love love entertaining friends and family!  Drop ins are very happily welcomed! Great food, family, friends sharing time together...does it get any better than that?

Packaging food correctly for freezing and rotating inventory is the key and will keep you way ahead for quick meal prep.  Healthy foods such as a delicious marinara, bolognese, soups, stocks, cookie dough, pastry for pie shells and bread freeze especially well.  I don't know about you, but anything I have trouble pronouncing or spelling I really don't want my family to eat! Another benefit of planning and freezing - unexpected company? No problem!  You'll have great food you can share quickly!

Keep your pantry, fridge and freezer organized!   Make a list of what you will need  or are running low on. Note: keep the reminder list somewhere where you can find it! Yes I have lost those lists too! When you have some time, reorganize your pantry shelves and keep like items in the same location.

What do you like to eat? Any food allergies or health problems?  That is the starting point to keep in mind when stocking up!  I have gone organic fully in this past year....but more about that another day!

Some of my favorite pantry staples are dried pasta, dried beans and lentils, low sodium canned beans, and quality boxed chicken, vegetable or beef stock. I prefer the low salt organic ones for best flavor. Boxed stock will save on available freezer space and is a great time saver!  Once you open the box it will keep a couple of days in the fridge.  Don't need the rest right away?  Pour into ice cube trays and freeze.  Once frozen, store in a labeled zip bag.  These stock cubes give a quick flavor boost to sauces that only need small amounts. I love home made stock but I'd rather use the space for a finished soup now that I have a just the freezer space in my fridge. With just little changes in how you approach your cooking and your kitchen will create big benefits in health and save you money. Is there anyone that doesn't like to save?  You pay for the convenience of pre shredded cheeses (compare the price per ounce)  and prepared dishes. Buy the block of cheese and shred it yourself.  When you buy pre-shredded cheese it's coated in a starch so it doesn't stick together in the package.  Tip: A quick pop in the freezer for 10 minutes makes cheese easier to shred.

You don't have to be a slave to take out and processed food, you can do this!

Freezing basics:

1-  Label the containers and packages!!  Just using small white mailing labels works well and are reasonably priced.

2-  Soups or sauces - Use quart and pint containers keep 1/2" space at the top for expansion as liquids freeze.

3-  Baked Breads, cakes, muffins - it's best to freeze the same day you bake.  I use heavy plastic storage bags I purchase in bulk from King Arthur Flour*.   Removing excess air from the bag will help discourage freezer burn. Tip: Close the bag snuggly with a drinking straw inserted, then suck the air out the bag and seal tightly. I know that sounds odd but it works!  If you feel the need for a vacuum sealing system those are very nice too.

4- Unbaked bread dough, pizza dough, pastry dough - portion the dough to size you will need, wrap tightly eliminate the air before sealing the packaging. To use the frozen dough I usually defrost overnight in the refrigerator. The day you plan on using the dough let the pizza and bread dough come to room temperature and rise if needed per your recipe.  Pie dough can wait in the fridge until you need to use it.

5- Cookie dough - mix the dough, form long rolls, wrap tightly and freeze. If you only want to make just a few cookies at a time cut the rolls prior to freezing to make just as many cookie slices as you want.  Just pull out what you need, slice and bake per recipe when you want some fresh homemade cookies.  Great for drop in company or play dates.

6-  Chops, steaks, chicken - I love buying larger family sized meat packages especially on sale and breaking them down before freezing.   Wrap individually chops, steaks, chicken breasts, legs in small bags. Zipper sandwich bags are great for small wrapping but be sure to use heavy duty freezer bags to consolidate the individually wrapped pieces. Smaller packages also defrost quicker and you can pull out just the amount you need.  Tip: Defrost the meat on a plate, tray or bowl in the fridge to keep and defrosting juices from soiling the refrigerator. That has saved me from many clean ups!  Great idea to use with fresh meat too....remember low shelve in a bowl or tray with a lip to contain any dripping juices.

You may not have thought of freezing...

Chopped, washed and dried fresh parsley, or peeled sliced fresh ginger root.
Squeeze fresh lemons or limes, freeze the juice in old fashioned ice cube trays.

Single Loaf Bags*

Herb butters....just slice and use for fish, steaks or anything else you like herb butter on.

Keep coming back to Angel's Food Paradise for plenty of recipes and tips to help simplify your meal prep, entertaining and life, better yet sign up for the newsletter and have it delivered right to you inbox. Any questions....just email me!

Go forth and play with your food!

Ciao for now!!

JPKC


 King Arthur Flour*

Double Loaf Bags*

(I love King Arthur Flour and this is not a paid endorsement)