Spicy Hungarian Kettle Goulash

Goulash is a typical "outdoor soup". Each time hiking, rock-climbing or simply camping, a huge kettle of Goulash - a spicy meat and potato soup would be cooked. In Slovakia, we recognize two types of goulash soup: Hungarian Goulash and Kettle Goulash.
Hungarian is traditionally chopped beef sautéed in its own juices with paprika powder and bay leaf, cooked to perfection.
Kettle Goulash is a typical garden-style soup that is usually cooked among friends while outdoors. This type of goulash usually takes up potatoes in addition to the meats. Here is my "indoor" version of it. I have also thought of Lisa, a vegetarian spice lover, who is hosting No Croutons Required, (co-hosted with Holler of Tinned Tomatoes), a monthly festival of vegetarian soups. I simply could not have not participated this month´s Spicy Soup theme. Lisa, here it is, a soy nugget:

SPICY HUNGARIAN KETTLE GOULASH:
(Štipľavý maďarský kotlíkový guláš)

• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 big red chilies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
  
• salt
• soy nuggets
• vegetable broth
  
• potatoes
• mushrooms
• bay leaf
• mild paprika powder (I used Hungarian Smoked variety)
• 1 slice a day or two old bread (optional)
• dried marjoram
  

Boil the soy nuggets in vegetable broth until soft. Drain, reserve the water for the soup.
While the nuggets are cooking, blend the chilies with salt into a thick paste.

In a big casserole, heat up the oil and sauté thinly sliced onion and chopped garlic cloves. Once browned, add the chili mixture. After a minute, add the sliced mushroom, cubed potatoes and stir well. Let the mushroom release some liquid, so the potatoes soften a bit. Add the broth reserved from the soy nuggets, throw in the bay leaf and bring to boil. Add the soy nuggets and add enough water to cover the "meat".
Bring to boil, lower the heat and let cook until the potatoes are all soft. Towards the end, stir in the old bread and let dissolve (this will thicken the sauce a lot, giving the soup a nice hearty taste). Adjust the salt to taste and stir in the paprika powder and marjoram.

Serve still hot with a slice of warm bread.

Red Beet Borsch Soup

Borsch is a typical Russian winter comfort food - well flavored red beat, pork and cabbage earthy stew. I remember growing up with a Russian family as neighbour's, whose mother would make gallons of borsch on a monthly basis. She would always invite us for a bowl, which we never refused. I remember it being a nightmare for us kids, since we weren't a big fan of cabbage of red beet. Then one year, the family moved out and we never had borsch again (which left only my dad upset).
Ever since I became veggie-friendly I have re-discovered red beet in my cooking. And last Saturday, for the very first time, I managed to re-create that wonderful earthy taste of:

RUSSIAN BORSCH:
(борщ)

• 600 g chopped red beets
• 1 tbsp oil
  
• 1 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 400 g chopped root vegetables (traditionally celery root, parsnip, cabbage, carrot)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt, black pepper to taste
• vegetable broth
• chopped fresh parsley leaves
• sour cream (to garnish)
• horseradish (to garnish)
  

Peel the red beets and chop into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil in a pan and brown sliced onions and garlic. (if you re thinking about the meat version, add the sliced pork/beef cubes at this stage and brown properly). Add the cumin seeds and the chopped vegetables. Coat well and fry over low heat until the veggies are soft, but crispy. Add the broth to cover the vegetables. Bring to boil, cover and let cook until soft. Add the black pepper and salt to taste and squeeze in the lemon juice.
Pure half of the soup (unless there is meat in it) and bring back to the boil. Mix in the parsley leaves and serve.

Shred the horseradish very finely and mix in with the sour cream. Serve the soup with a slice of rye bread and a good dollop of the spicy sour cream dip.

* Note: This soup freezes well, so do not be afraid to make a gallon just like my Russian neighbour.

** Note: This also makes a nice dip for crackers or spread on bread.

This is a contribution to the No Croutons Required challenge event hosted by Lisa of Food And Spice... Her debut theme is Vegetarian Soup. Have a spoonful, Lisa ;-)

Baked Vegetable Stew

I was very happy to hear about this month´s Weekend Cookbook Challenge theme - Vegging Out! for it gave me a perfect opportunity to present the latest item in my cookbook collection - Vegan by Tony Weston and Yvonne Bishop (with their own blog!).

After gorging out at every meal occasion in London two weeks ago, me and Tompa simply could not think clearly any more. Our celebratory New Year´s trip turned into a feast quest. Brick Lane, Oxford Street, Baker´s, China town... how can you just pass by all those wonderful smells of fresh bakery, curry sauces and noodle soups?

It was not only until on one of our last days in The Chubby Camp, we ran into a little tiny corner eat out - vegan, organic, happy looking. Bamboo interior, earthen jugs and pots were yelling for attention. Since we both used to eat "those" things (and I do not mean earthen pots or bamboo interiors) in our separate pasts, we agreed to fill up on a bit of nostalgia and some "earthen stew".
An interesting menu consisted of large "scooped plates". After some mathematics, we decided to share a "5 scoop plate". Huge jars filled with curries and stews appeared in front of us with friendly explanations. Out of probably 15, we scooped out "Japanese Seaweed Stew, Mexican Bean Chilli, Mushroom Stroganoff, Chickpea Curry and Moong Dal".
Splashy scoops were socializing with each other as we carried the plate to find our tiny table with even tinier wooden stumps to sit on. Two spoons on side, our apetites ready, we dug in.
Maaaaan, was that the best and most diverse vegan food we ever got (outside our kitchen,... ehm.. excuse my shameless self-promotion ;-)... It was then, when Tompa proclaimed: "Honey, I could totally eat like this again".... And it was then, when I pleased him: "Ohhh... But let us do it, then." So we went to the store and bought the book from which I now get all my daily dinner inspirations.
We decided to go pure vegan for a month. It has been two weeks now and I feel like am back on the top of the hill (and gossip - I lost 2 kilos)...

Here is one successful sample from last night adapted from "The Book":

BAKED VEGETABLE STEW:

prep time: 50 minutes
serve: 3 people

• 2 small potatoes
• 25 g dried mushroom (I used wood ear)
• 125 g small lentils (I used Puy lentils)
• 600 ml vegetable broth
• 125 g mushroom (I used champignons)
• 1 red onion
• 1 carrot
• 120 g frozen peas (I used green beans instead)
• 125 g cabbage (I used Chinese cabbage)
• 2 heaped tsp cornflour
• 2 tsp carob powder
• 2 tsp vegan bouillon powder
• 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
• 1 tsp yeast extract (or flakes)
  
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce (mixed with 1 tsp of chili flakes)
  
• 125 ml sherry (I used dry red wine)

Prepare the vegetables: chop the potatoes, break the dried mushroom into pieces, slice the onion, chop the carrot and the cabbage and finally, slice the fresh mushroom.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (350F).

Place the potatoes, dried mushrooms and the lentils into a bigger pot, pour in the veggie broth and 200 ml water. Bring to boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Meantime, mix together the cornflour, bouillon powder, yeast flakes and carob and slowly mix in the molasses, tomato sauce and finally, the wine.
Pour this mixture slowly into the veggie pot and stir until the stew thickens.

Transfer the stew into a baking dish and bake for another 30 minutes. Garnish with a handful of fresh chopped parsley leaves and serve warm.

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

When I first saw The Ugliest Gourmet hosted by Cathy of Not Eating Out In NY, I was rather amused, yet seriously thinking about participating... I just wasn't sure what to make. Not that I am an amazing food designer or photographer, but somehow, the food itself turns out somehow "lookable". I guess it is the color or shape of certain ingredients that lightens the dish up.

Keeping this in mind, I was looking for ingredient, that is rather hard to work with. Finally, I found one:

Jerusalem artichoke, also known as topinambur or sunroot. This beautiful earthen vegetable, you ask? Well, I do agree that there is something stunning about this unusually shapy pinkish root, but trust me, once you peel this beauty off, you re left with rather spotty transparent "potato". I say potato, because I use it as its healthier substitution whenever potatoes are required.

The biggest disadvantage of its transparency is that it absorbs any color it comes into contact with. Therefore in Slovakia, we traditionally cook it in broth and milk, and lightly season with salt and black pepper at the end. This way, you end up with rather snow-white soup. Jerusalem artichokes are considered weed back home, because once you plant them, they just start widely spreading all over your garden. However, back in the olden days, when the harvest wasn't so fruitful, these little pink weeds were highly appreciated in daily cuisine and gradually became very popular among the peasants. Today, a simple topinambur soup is proudly occupying its place among other "peasant dishes".

regardless of your take on this "weed", you must agree with me that generally, mashed "baby food" such as porridges or blended soups look rather unappetizing (therefore known as "prison food" when as a kid referring to our school canteen food. I still remember queueing with other classmates slowly approaching our big fluffy "cooking mama" who with a giant soup spoon splashed recklessly some blended "stuff" into our plates).

Combining these several ideas in my mind, I did finally came up with something rather ugly looking, yet fabulous tasting:

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE SOUP
(Polievka z Topinambur)

prep time: 30 minutes
serves: 2 people

• 1 tbsp oil
  
• 1 big red onion
  
• 2 big Jerusalem artichokes
• 1/2 cup chopped veggies (I used brocolli)
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup (soy) milk
• salt
• black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• marjoram
  

Peel the artichokes and chop them roughly. Slice the onion very thinly.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the onions. Add the Jerusalem artichokes and fry until a bit soft, yet crispy. Add the milk. Stir well and add the broth. Sprinkle generously with marjoram, add the bay leaf, black pepper and salt to taste. Stir well. Add the rest of the veggies, pour in the broth, cover and let cook for about 15 minutes or until soft.
Blend in a blender roughly leaving some crunchy veggie bites.

Serve warm with a slice of fresh bread.

What made this dish real ugly you ask? In this case it was the above mentioned transparency of the sunroot, the blended brocoli, but foremost the soy milk. I think it tends to become rather brownish, foamy and "grainy" once really cooked and mixed with water. Nevertheless, the taste was unbeatable. Cathy, enjoy ;-)

Zucchini Cream Soup

I know it is not winter yet, but there has been such a cold weather in Sweden that in the evenings, there is no better idea than slurping a cup of hot soup. My absolute favorite soups are those thick pureed ones. Therefore, when Tami of Running with tweezers announced her Super Soup Challenge Rematch, I couldn't resist...

The following soup is one of my absolute favorites, particularly for its creaminess. The original recipe calls for a combo of zucchini and carrots, but I have used different “creamy” veggies, such as parsley, broccoli, potatoes or cauliflower. Great as a soup together with fried breadcrumbs, or as a dip for crackers or kuftas:

(This beautiful spoon I got from my Russian friend Natascha, while we still lived in China...)

ZUCCHINI CREAM SOUP

spice ladder: **

prep time: 30 minutes
makes: 4 bowls

• 2 onions
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 zucchinis
  
• 2 carrots
• vegetable broth
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• handful of parsley
  

Chop the vegetables, onions finely and zucchini and carrot roughly. Heat oil in a pan, add onions and brown them. Add the zucchini and carrot chunks and so much water that the veggies are covered. Bring to boil with other ingredients except for the parsley. Boil until the carrots are soft. Puree the soup, garnish with parsley and serve. You can leave couple of zucchini or carrots aside while you puree the soup and them mix them back in, so you have something to chew on :)

Update March 21st - Lovely KC of Kitschow decided to re-create my soup last week. She used cauliflower instead and made a lovely "Z" sign with smoked paprika powder. Now isn't that cute?