World Recipes

Pierogi

1 cup cooked and mashed potatoes
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Filling
1 pound dry cottage cheese
1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Mash peeled, chunked potatoes that have been boiled for 20 minutes in lightly salted water over medium-high heat When cooled, add egg and blend well in a medium-size mixing bowl. Add flour and salt. Blend with a wooden spoon to combine.

Place mixture on a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if necessary to completely bind all ingredients. Roll out the mixture on the same lightly floured surface, and cut into 3-inch squares or rounds.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling in a separate mixing bowl by thoroughly combining the dry cottage cheese, egg and additional yolk, lemon juice and sugar.

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and place over medium-high heat to prepare to boil Pierogi.

Fill the Pierogi by placing a spoonful of the filling mixture a little to one side of the center of each square or circle of mashed potato dough. Moisten the edge of the dough by dipping your fingertips in a bowl of cool water and running them around the edge of the dough; then press firmly to seal and prevent the filling from running out during boiling and frying.

Cook the Pierogi in boiling water until they float to the top. Dry slightly on a clean dish towel before sauteing for about 2 minutes in melted butter in a large skillet set at medium heat, making sure to turn at least once during frying.

Serve warm with salt and pepper for seasoning.

Chicken Paprika with Dumplings (Csirke Paprikas, Hungary)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (2 1/2 to 3 pound) broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon
2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch strips
Dumplings
1 cup dairy sour cream

Heat oil skillet until hot. Cook chicken over medium heat until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken. Cook and stir onions and garlic in oil until onions are tender; drain fat from skillet. Stir in tomato, water, bouillon, paprika, salt and pepper; loosen brown particles from bottom of skillet. Add chicken. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add green pepper; cover and cook until thickest pieces of chicken are done, 10 to 15 minutes Longer. Prepare Dumplings.

Remove chicken to heated platter; keep warm. Skim fat from skillet. Stir sour cream into liquid in skillet; add Dumplings. Heat just until hot. Serve chicken with Dumplings and sour cream sauce. Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Dumplings
8 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt

Heat 8 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt to boiling in Dutch oven. Mix eggs, 1/2 cup water, flour and 2 teaspoons salt; drop dough by teaspoonsful into boiling water. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes; drain. The dumplings will be chewy.

Chicken Paprikash

2 whole fryer chickens, cut up
1 medium onion, diced
Sweet Hungarian paprika
Vegetable oil
8 to 12 ounces sour cream
2 cans chicken broth

Spaetzle (Sinkers)
3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
6 to 8 eggs
Pinch of salt
Water, if necessary

Saute onions in about 1/3 cup vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup of paprika, being careful not to let it burn.

Place chicken in skillet to fry, dusting one side again with paprika. Brown about 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally. Take chicken out and place in roasting pan.

Add chicken broth until it covers chicken. Cover the pan and bake at 375 degrees F for about 2 hours or until the chicken is tender.

Remove chicken from roaster. Cover and set aside. Put roaster on top of stove and bring remaining contents to a slow boil.

Gravy: Mix sour cream into some of the hot broth from roaster, whisking until smooth. Add back into roaster with boiling broth.

Pre-mix flour, water and salt. Whisk until smooth. Gravy should have a nice salmon color. Add more paprika if desired.

Spaetzle: Mix ingredients in a bowl. Dust hands and mix with flour. Knead into a ball. Flatten to about 1/8 inch thick.

Boil chicken broth in a pot. Keeping a spoon wet, section off pieces of spaetzle dough. Cook in the broth for about 3 to 6 minutes.

Place chicken and spaetzle on a plate and cover with gravy.

Hungarian Stew with Noodles

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large garlic clove
5 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 medium onions, sliced
3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (16 ounce) package bow tie macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed

In an 8-quart Dutch oven over medium heat in hot oil, cook garlic 1 minute (discard), add stew meat and onions. Cook until meat is lightly browned. Stir in tomato paste, water, paprika, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours or until fork-tender, stirring often.

Cook noodles, drain and toss with butter and parsley.

To serve, sprinkle stew with lemon peel and caraway seed.

Serves 12.

Bohemian Potato Dumplings

6 medium cooked and well mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (do not beat)
1/3 cup Cream of Wheat
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Mix potatoes, salt, eggs and Cream of Wheat thoroughly. Add milk and sifted flour. Mix all ingredients well. Knead on floured board. Shape into oblong rolls. Drop in boiling salted water. Boil 20 to 25 minutes.

Beef Piroshki

1 pound ground round
2 medium onions, chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon dried dill (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
5 (7 1/2 ounce) cans buttermilk biscuits
1 egg, well beaten

In a large skillet, cook ground round, onions, and garlic over medium-high heat, stirring often to break up lumps of meat, until beef has lost its pink color, about 5 minutes. Drain off excess fat. Off heat, stir in hard-boiled egg, sour cream, dill, salt and pepper; let filling cool completely.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

One can at a time, separate biscuits. On a lightly floured surface roll out each biscuit to a 3 1/2 -inch circle. Place about 1 tablespoon filling in the center of each circle. Fold in half to enclose filling. Press edges with a fork to seal closed. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with beaten egg. Bake piroshki 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Keep unbaked piroshki batches covered with clean kitchen towels. Serve warm or at room temperature.

NOTE: Baked piroshki can be frozen and kept for up to one month. Thaw and bake as instructed.

Runza (Meat Pies)

Note: Rhodes frozen rolls can be substituted for the Dough. Just roll out thawed dough into 6-inch squares.

Dough
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 packages dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs

Filling
1 pound lean ground meat
2 small onions, chopped
4 cups chopped cabbage
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a large bowl, place 1 3/4 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt.

Heat milk, water and shortening to 120 degrees. Pour over flour mixture; add the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low until blended. Beat 3 additional minutes on high. Stir in remaining flour; knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, brown beef and onions in a skillet. Add the cabbage, salt and pepper; cook until cabbage is wilted.

Punch dough down; roll into 12 (6-inch) squares. Top each square with 1/3 cup meat mixture. Fold into triangles. Pinch edges tightly to seal and place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot.

Yield: 12 servings.

Czech Dill Gravy

3 cups water
Handful of dill, chopped
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 1/2 cups cream
3 tablespoons flour
Salt
12 whole eggs

Cook vinegar and dill in salt water. Mix cream and flour until smooth. Add to water mixture and stir until thick. Add raw eggs and simmer until eggs are done.