Hungarian Heritage Review, 1987 (16. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-04-01 / 4. szám
(üultnarg ;Art of 39ungarg = HUNGARIAN MIXED VEGETABLE SALAD 2 cups cucumbers, sliced 2 cups firm tomatoes, sliced 2 cups onions, sliced 2 cups green pepper rings, sliced 1 clove garlic Slice all vegetables into V* inch slices. Lay half the sliced cucumbers in the bottom of a large glass bowl. Put on top of them half the tomatoes, then half the onions, then half the green peppers. Repeat so that the peppers are on top again. Slice the garlic thin and drop into the water. Stir in salt, pepper, sugar, and 3 cups water 2 teaspoons salt Vi teaspoon white pepper 3 tablespoons sugar Vi cup white vinegar vinegar. When sugar is dissolved, pour the mixture through a fine sieve onto the salad. Discard the garlic and let stand at room temperature for about an hour. Pour off this liquid twice and pour back again. Then chill the salad for a couple of hours in the liquid and serve, or, if you wish, pour off the liquid and serve. HUNGARIAN CHEESE PALACSINTÁS 2 cups baker’s cheese 2 eggs, separated 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1/2 cup seedless white raisins, soaked in hot water for one hour 1 portion palacsinta batter 1 tablespoon butter 1 cup sour cream 1/4 cup sugar Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, mix baker’s cheese with egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, and raisins. Beat egg whites until stiff. Gently fold a small portion of the egg whites into the cheese mixture. Then fold in remaining egg whites. Lightly butter an ovenproof dish approximately 9 by 6 by 2 inches. Divide the filling into 12 portions and place one portion on each palacsinta. Roll up jelly-roll fashion and place the rolls next to each other in ovenproof dish. Heat sour cream in a small saucepan, gently stirring it with a wire whip until it liquefies. Pour half of it over the palacsintás, spread it evenly and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Cover with remaining sour cream and serve at once. If you can’t get baker’s cheese, buy 1 pint of large curd cottage cheese and press it through a fine sieve. If the consistency is too loose, add 1 tablespoon fine bread crumbs. The lemon zest is the outside yellow, thin part of the skin on the lemon, which contains the lemon oils. PALACSINTA BATTER 4 eggs 1 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-1/3 cups milk 1/2 cup club soda (plain carbonated water) 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup oil Break the 4 eggs into a bowl; add the flour and salt and vigorously mix with a wire whip until the mixture is smooth. Slowly add the milk and keep stirring until all has been added. Let it stand in a covered bowl at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This is important. Add club soda and stir. In a small pan, over medium heat, heat together the butter and oil. Place an empty 8-inch diameter heavyaluminum frying pan (the bottom will be 6 inches in diameter) over medium heat. When it is hot, pour in the whole amount of melted shortening back into the small pan. Heat the heavy-aluminum pan for another 2 or 3 minutes and then start to make the palacsintás as follows: Place a s^aut tablespoon of hot shortening in the pan and swirl pan with circular motion. Holding the pan in the air with one hand, pour a scant 1/4 cup of the batter into it, swirling it until batter covers entire bottom. Place pan over medium heat and cook until batter firms up and edges start to look cooked. Dip the edge of a metal spatula into the hot shortening and loosen the edges all around. Ease the spatula with a wiggling motion under the palacsinta and turn it over. Finish cooking. The palacsinta should be creamy yellow, with very light brown areas on it. Holding the handle, shake the pan back and forth. When the palacsinta moves, lift it out to a plate covered with absorbent paper. Repeat until all batter is used. This recipe will make at least 12 palacsintás. This is really a dish in which the more important part is the cook’s skill and not the ingredients. In mixing the batter, don’t hesitate to make any small necessary adjustments in the amounts of flour or liquid used to compensate for the fact that flour is not as consistent as salt, sugar or shortening. For frying palacsintás, a mixture of lard and oil is, in my opinion, the very best. If you keep the shortening hot and maintain a very hot, even pan temperature throughout the preparation, you will need very little shortening and the palacsintás won’t be greasy. 24 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW APRIL 1987 CHEF’S SECRET Cubinellos or the sweet banana peppers are much tastier for this salad then green bell peppers. If you use green bell peppers, soak them after slicing in 2 cups tepid water; then rinse and pat dry. Red bell peppers add a nice color and a very desirable taste to this salad.
