Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Serbian beef stew

800g stew beef, in bite size pieces
oil
2 onions, finely chopped
5 red or yellow peppers, diced
5 large tomatoes, chopped
Some stock
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
Parsley

Brown meat in oil, remove. Saute onions and peppers for 20 min. Add tomatoes, stock, meat, herbs, salt, and pepper. Simmer 30 min or until meat is tender. Add parsley.

Source: Serbian Culinary Art by Jasmina Masala

Wild Mushroom and Leek Soup

2 leeks, white and pale green parts, chopped
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
600g wild mushrooms, roughly chopped
5c vegetable stock
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp flour
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp dill, chopped
1 tbsp mint, chopped
 
Saute leek in 1 tbsp butter for 10 minutes. Add mushrooms, cook 5 min. Add stock and garlic, boil, simmer, 20 min. Blend until smooth, return to heat. Blend 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp flour into a paste, add slowly to soup. Add milk, herbs, salt and pepper, simmer 10 min.
 
Source: Serbian Culinary Art by Jasmina Masala

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Vegetarian Bigos

Oil
8oz mushrooms, halved
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 bay leaves
4 allspice berries
3 cloves
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp smoked paprike
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp dried savory or thyme
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 lb sauerkraut, drained and chopped
5 cups vegetable broth or water
1lb cabbage, cored and chopped
1 apple, preferably granny smith, cored and grated coarsely
1/2 cup smoked plums (optional; don't use unsmoked plums)
1/2 cup dried mushrooms
1 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup green lentils
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tsp honey
Chopped dill, for serving

Saute mushrooms until golden brown, 5 minutes. Add honey and salt, set aside.
Cook onion in butter, add all the spices, cook a couple minutes. Add sauerkraut, salt, and half the broth, cook 40 minutes or until sauerkraut softens.
Add everything else, simmer 3 hours or until you're tired.

Source: Fresh from Poland by Michał Korkosz

Tomato-apple soup with poured noodles

Pomidorówka z lanymi kluskami

2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tbsp dried marjoram
1 15oz can crushed tomatoes
1 medium gala apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp sour cream
salt and pepper

For noodles:
2 large eggs
2 tbsp sour cream
salt
6-8 tbsp flour

Heat butter, add garlic and marjoram, cook 1 minute. Add everything else but the sour cream, cook 10-15 minutes until apple softens, puree with immersion blender.
Combine 1/4 cup hot soup with sour cream, then add back to pot.
Make the noodles: whisk together eggs, sour cream, and salt, then whisk in the flour a little at a time.
Boil water, add a spoonful of batter to the water, then pull it out with a slotted spoon when it rises to the top of the water. Repeat until you use all the batter.

Source: Fresh from Poland by Michał Korkosz

Dill pickle soup

Ogórkowa

3-4 russet potatoes (300g), peeled and chopped
1/4 cup butter
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 bay leaves
8oz kosher dill pickles
4 cups vegetable broth
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1/3 cup heavy cream (optional)

Boil potatoes in salted water with 2 tbsp butter. Cook 20 min or until softened. Drain, saving 1 cup of cooking water.
Heat 2 tbsp butter, cook garlic and bay leaves 30 seconds, add pickles and cook 15 minutes or until they soften. Add broth, potatoes, potato water, and dill. Simmer, season with pepper, add cream if desired.

Source: Fresh from Poland by Michał Korkosz

Amchoor Chana

2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 black, green, or white cardamom pods
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp amchoor/mango powder or lime juice
1 tbsp coriander, ground
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp turmeric
3 cups cooked chickpeas
4 tbsp cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

Heat oil, add cumin seeds, cardamom, and cinnamon, cook until aromatic, 10-15 seconds. Add tomatoes, mango powder, coriander, ground cumin, salt, cayenne, turmeric. Simmer 5-10 minutes. Add chickpeas, 1 cup water, 2 tbsp cilantro. Simmer 20-25 minutes. Add onion and 2 tbsp cilantro, serve.

Source: 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Chilled Beet Soup

Chłodnik Litewski

1 1/2 lb beets with greens
1 tsp sugar
3 medium Kirby cucumbers (or 6 little ones)
5 radishes, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups buttermilk or kefir
1 1/4 cups sour cream
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
3 tbsp chopped fresh chives
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 medium-boiled eggs, halved (optional)
5 medium yukon gold potatoes, cooked and chopped (optional)

Chop beet greens, set aside. Peel beets and cut into 1/4 inch chunks.
Boil water with sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook beets 20 minutes or until tender. Add greens and stems for the last 5 minutes to lightly wilt, then drain, saving 1 cup.
Combine the beets, greens, and stems with half the cucumbers and radishes, buttermilk, sour cream, 2 tbsp dill, 2 tbsp chives, garlic, and reserved cooking water. Season with salt and a lot of pepper. Chill at least 2 hours.
Top with all the remaining ingredients, serve with eggs and potatoes.

Source: Fresh from Poland by Michał Korkosz