William Penn Life, 2008 (43. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2008-04-01 / 4. szám
íhe J-toggrto Kitehet Dinner for 4 Hortobágy Palacsinta 1 lb. diced chicken breast or lean veal 2 medium white onions minced I teaspoon kosher salt Vi teaspoon white pepper % cup all purpose flour 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika 2 tablespoons lard 1 Zi cups sour cream 12 palacsinta Fresh chopped parsley for garnish In a skillet with a lid, melt the lard and sauté the chicken or the veal, then cover and cook another 5 minutes. Drain the pan juices and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons of sour cream to meat mixture, stir well and cook another 10 minutes. Adjust taste with salt and pepper. Make 12 palacsinta and divide portions of meat mixture into each. Roll the crepe 2 inches, then fold in ends and finish rolling. Put crepes on a serving dish side by side and warm in oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. Mix the flour, remaining sour cream and paprika with the pan juices to make a sauce. Bring to a boil then ladle over the crepes. Garnish with parsley and serve your family. and how they work to enhance the flavor of any food. We also reviewed how to substitute items in a marinade recipe to obtain the flavors you want to bring out when you cook the food. All the recipes serve as examples of how to prepare food using the marinating process. You know the basics of working with marinades and the approximate time to marinate food, so the rest is left up to you and your creativity in the kitchen. I mentioned SALT early on in our discussions and want to clarify a few things about the product. Salt is a universal spice that can be used before, during and after food is prepared. I'll leave all the specific details about salt for another column. For our current purpose (i.e., marinades), salt is used not so much to add flavor but to draw out the bland flavor in any food in the form of moisture. Since the salt is highly concentrated, it takes a lot of water or moisture to break it down. If you take a highly concentrated spice like salt and combine it with water or the moisture of a food product, the end result will be salty liquid. This happens because the bland concentration of water will offset the high concentration of salt by absorbing as much as it can. Since the liquid needs to mix with the salt, it leaves the food source to attack the salt crystals. When most moisture is removed from a food product, you're left with a concentrated flavor of that food. Think of a tomato that has all the moisture removed. A dried tomato has much more flavor than one fresh from the garden. Understanding how salt works will let you bring out the best flavor in food. By marinating a piece of meat with salt, you will get a stronger tasting meat. Try marinating a piece of chicken with salt and pepper, then cook it next to a plain piece of chicken. You will be amazed at the difference in taste between the two pieces. If you're concerned about too much salt in your diet, or if you can't have any salt, you can leave it out of any recipe and adjust the marinating time to get pretty much the same result. When moisture is removed from food by salt, space is available for other flavors to enter the food product and change the taste of the food. While the bland moisture comes out of food using the front door, the back door is wide open to allow other spices or herbs to enhance the product. That's enough about salt and what is does. Now, a little more about marinades.... We have learned that marinades can tenderize food as well as give it flavor. You can also give flavor to cooked food using a marinade. Let's say you had a roast chicken for dinner but had meat left over. You could marinate the cooked meat in an Italian marinade and make a chicken salad. You could do the same with fish or any other meat after it has been cooked. Refrigerating food when using a marinade and turning it at timely intervals creates a better flavor profile. The more evenly the marinade is dispersed, the better it works. We also learned that wet marinades penetrate and add more flavor than their dry rub counterparts. This is because the dry rub only works on the surface of the meat. Another thing to remember is that you control the final product from start to finish. This is the best advice I can give to create or use a marinade. First, think of the best pieces of meat you ever had and analyze what made them taste that way. Now follow the steps in putting together a marinade based on your past experience and knowledge learned about marinades. If you can think it, you can make it! If you need other information, just remember there is always helpful hints on the internet. Have fun with these recipes and creating your own marinades! TRIVIA ANSWER: Soy Sauce is one of the oldest marinades used to soak meat and vegetables, dating back 3,000 years. Jo föszo/íáós "TheHungarian Kitclien" is a trademark of William S. Vasvary. William Penn Life, April 2008 9
