Creamy Salad {Francia Saláta}

Hungarian "Francia Saláta", literally translates to "French Salad", is often served in new year's eve party platter. The origin of this salad is unknown to me, but this year I thought why not make my own instead of serving the store bought one.

Creamy Salad {Francia Saláta}
source : http://www.nosalty.hu/recept/franciasalata

Ingredients (I have halved from the original)
150gm frozen green peas
100gm carrots, diced
1 apple, diced
1-2 pcs of gherkins, diced
185ml sour cream
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp sugar, or to taste
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Method
1) Cook diced carrots in cold salted water. When carrots are almost done (al-dente) add in frozen green peas, when both are ready, drained and set it aside to cool
2) When carrots and peas are cooled, start the dressing by mixing mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, salt and lemon juice.
3) Finally mix in carrots, peas, diced apple and gherkins.
4) Keep in the fridge until time to serve. You can serve this as a side to any main meals or cold cuts.

Ischler Cookies

For this Christmas, I've written Ischler cookies in my baking list, thinking that I would use the recipe featured here before but then I came across this one from The Eccentric Cook . Hers look absolutely scrumptious, so I thought "why not give it a try?".
These turned out crumbly and nutty, just the way I (or we) like it! Since these cookies are better the longer you keep them, you could bake them few days before serving. Just keep in an air-tight container and store in a cool place.

Ischler Cookies
makes about 15 cookie sandwiches (or depending on the cutter you used)
source : http://theeccentriccook.blogspot.hu/2012/12/ischler-cookies.html

Hungarian Walnut Cookies {Diós Kifli}

Hungarian Walnut Cookies {Diós kifli} 
http://www.nosalty.hu/recept/mezeskalacs-kifli


Ingredients for 6 people
125 g of flour
50g ground hazelnuts or any ground nuts
50 g of  powdered sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
100g butter, at room temperature
1 egg yolk pinch of salt

For coating
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125 g of powdered sugar

Method
1. Toast nuts in heated pan and grind finely. Mix the flour, sugar and ground cinnamon.
 2. Combine well, soften butter with pinch of salt and egg yolk . Add in dry ingredients to form a smooth dough. Wrapped dough in cling film and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
3. After dough rests in refridgerator for 1-2 hours, start pre-heating oven at 160 ° C.
4. Let dough sit for 5-10 mins. in room temperature after taken out from the refrigerator before working on it.
5. Shape dough into croissants shape, place on baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 10-15 mins.
6. Coating cookies by tossing in sugar-spice mixture when it is still hot.

Hungarian Fish Soup { Halászlé}

 
Hungarian fish soup is a must during Christmas time; however, we love our fish soup, so I try to cook it as often as possible. The recipe that I am about to share might not be from scratch as most Hungarian would cook it, but this is how my late father-in-law did his. And this version is so easy that it is ready in just an hour!

Hungarian Fish Soup
Serves : 4-5 pax

Ingredients
1 whole carp, filleted or 3 frozen fillets of white wish (defrosted)
1 medium-size Onion, sliced or minced
1 medium-size tomato, quartered
1 Hungarian green pepper, halved
3 tsp of smoked paprika powder (spicy or sweet) - you can also mix, eg. 1/3 sweet + 2/3 spicy
1 ltr of water
fish paste concentrate,
fish stock cubes, to taste

To serve : Match stick pasta

Method
1) Sauté onion with some oil in a pot. When onion is soften, remove from heat and put in the smoked paprika. Stir it a bit , add a little cold water and return it to the stove, let it come to a boil.
2) When the liquid boils, you can add in the green pepper,  tomtato and salt. Cook until pepper and tomato are almost done. Then add in fish paste and fish stock cube and simmer further for 20 mins.
3) Add in the fish fillets and cook until done. Do not over cook fish.
4) Serve very hot with match stick pasta.

If you wish to try cooking the soup from scratch, this link may be helpful.

Chocolate chip and raisins cookies

As much as I like chocolate chip cookies, I haven't tried baking them before this. Turns out, it is so easy to just bake it at home with just some basic pantry staples.

Chocolate chip & Raisins cookies

source : ohbin

Ingredients :

100g butter (room temperature)
80g caster sugar
1 egg *
170g flour (sifted)
1/2 tsp baking soda (sifted)
1/8 tsp salt

170g choc chips

60g walnuts (chopped into small pieces)**

* I've used only left over egg white, as a result, the cookies weren't yellow in colour. 

** Replace walnuts with raisins (soaked in milk for one hour prior to baking, just drain milk before putting into cookie mixture)

Method:
1) Pre-heat oven to 180°c
2) Mix butter + sugar until fluffy.

3) Crack in egg and mix
4) Mix in flour, baking soda and salt.

5) Put in choc chips and walnuts, mix a bit.
6) Put a tsp full of dough onto the baking tray (with baking sheet on it) and bake for 10-15mins

Canned sardines fish curry

I love sardines! Fresh sardines are of course better than canned but I have been eating canned sardines since I remember. Anyway, canned sardines can be very versatile. You can use them as filling for sandwich or empanadas, serve them with rice and make into curry like I did recently.


Canned Sardines Fish Curry
serves : 2-3 pax

Ingredients
2 cans x 90 gm sardines in tomato sauce
1 medium onion, slice
3 cloves garlic, mince
cooking oil
red or green chilli, slice, to taste
1 dried bay leaf
salt & pepper
lemon or lime

spice paste
2 tsps ground paparika powder, spicy
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 dash of fennel seeds
a little water

Optional2 medium potatoes, diced
Hard boiled eggs

Method
1) Mix ingredients for spice paste together with a little water. Set aside.
2) Heat a little oil, sauté sliced onion until translucent and then add in the minced garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant. Next pour in the spice paste and bring it to a boil. Be careful not to burnt it.
3) If you're using potatoes, add in now, and pour in tomato sauce from canned sardine (not incl. the sardines) , if the liquid is not enough to barely cover the potatoes, add in some stock or water. Throw in the red / green chillies and dried bay leaf. Let this cook for a bit until potato is ready.
4) Once potatoes is ready add in the sardines and simmer for 10 mins. and it is ready.
5) You can add hard boiled eggs into the gravy before serving with your choice of carbs.