Feb 6, 2012

Hungarian gulyás – goulash

1,5 kg beef
4 big onions
1 canned tomatoes or 3-4 tomatoes
3 big potatoes
6 pepper (red, yellow, green)
1/2 tbsp (or more) caraway
1/2 (or more) tbsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp (or more) sweet pepper
1/2 tsp chilli
oil

Dice the beef, onions and pepper.

Fry the beef for 5-10 minutes, add onions and fry for another 5 minutes. Then add canned tomatoes and diced pepper.

Season and make it spicy. Fill the pot with water, so that it covers the ingredients. Cook for about 1 hour till the beef is soft.

At the end dice the potatoes and add to goulash, cook till soft.

Items for drop dumplings:

1 egg
2-3 tbsp water
flour

Add 2-3 tbsp of water to the eggs and add enough flour to the dough, so that the consistency is such that the dough does not drip off the spoon, just stretches and tears. When the dough is ready, take a teaspoon and using the tip, scoop up small quantities of dough and place them gently into the goulash.

Boil the goulash for another 5 minutes.

Now you can savour the taste :)

martushka food 0 drop dumplings, goulash, gulyás, Hungarian gulyás

Feb 5, 2012

Tatiana is making shooba

At the begining of this year I mentioned Ukrainian shooba. And today my friend Tatiana agreed to make it for me. And helped me write this post :)

herring fillets in oil
onion finely chopped
big potatoes
carrots
beets
mayonnaise

Chop onions finely. Boil whole potatoes, beets and carrots – don’t overcook. When cooked, remove from boiling water and let cool to room temperature.

Dice the herring and place in the bottom of a plate or dish.

Spread onion over the herring.

Spread mayonnaise evenly over the onions.

Using a grater, shred the potatoes evenly over the mayonnaise.

Spread mayonnaise evenly over the potatoes.

Then grate the carrots evenly over the mayonnaise.

Spread mayonnaise evenly over the carrots.

Using the same grater, shred the beets evenly over the mayonnaise and spread the mayonnaise over the top.

Shooba is ready :)

Thank you, Tatiana, it was delicious! :)

martushka food 0 shooba, szuba, Tatiana, Ukrainian shooba

Feb 2, 2012

Carrot cake

The best carrot cake I ate in Starbucks in Edinburgh. Let’s try to make it :)

Stir together in a large bowl:

250g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher (sea) salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice

Combine and beat for about a minute:

300g golden caster sugar
300ml (1/2 pint) corn oil
3 eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the wet mixture with the dry stuff. Mix until batter is smooth.

Add:

140g chopped almonds or walnuts

150g shredded carrot

Pour batter into a baking pan.

Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely.

Make the frosting by mixing:
230g (8 oz) cream cheese, softened (I used Mascarpone)
1 tblsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
200g icing sugar

When the cake has cooled cut it across.

Place one cake, flat-side up, on a platter. Spread part of the icing over the top of the cake.

Top with the second cake, flat-side up, and spread the remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake.

Bye bye Starbucks :)

martushka cake, food 0 cake, carrot, carrot cake

Feb 1, 2012

Chocolate muffin

Makes: 18 servings.

Whisk together:

175g (6oz) self-raising flour
2½ tbsp cocoa powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda or baking powder
150g (5oz) caster sugar

In a separate bowl, whisk together:

2 eggs
150ml (¼pt) corn oil
150ml (¼pt) milk
2tsp almond extract
3 tbsp Carnation Caramel

Add wet to the dry ingredients.

Stir together until the mixture is smooth.

Pour batter into prepared muffin cups.

Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F. Bake about 18 minutes.

Coffee or tea? :)

martushka cake, food 0 cake, chocolate muffin

Jan 24, 2012

Potato pancakes

1 kg potatoes
2 onions
1 or 2 eggs
3 tbsp flour
salt and pepper

Grate the potatoes and the onions in a food processor or on a hand grater.

Add the egg and flour, then stir and season, and if the mixture is to runny then add another egg.

Fry on both sides in oil.

You can eat them on it’s own…

…or serve with cream and sugar.

Potato pancakes are tasty with meat and gravy, they are called Hungarian Style Potato Pancakes with Goulash.

martushka food 1 pancakes, potato, Potato pancakes

Jan 22, 2012

Almond panna cotta with strawberry sauce

Ingredients for the panna cotta:

250ml (9fl oz) double cream
250ml (9fl oz) milk
4 tbsp sugar
10 drops of almond extract
9g gelatine

For sauce:

fresh strawberries

Simmer together cream, milk, sugar and almond extract just before it starts to boil.

Mix gelatine with 6 tbsp of cold water. Leave to soak for 10 minutes. Add it to your hot (not boiling) mixture. Stir constantly until the gelatine is completely dissolved.

Pour mixture into glasses. Then cool and store in the fridge until set (it will take about 1 hour).

Blend strawberries until smooth.

Spoon over the sauce.

Delicious Italian cooking!

martushka cake, food 0 almond, dessert, panna cotta, strawberries

Jan 21, 2012

Spanakopita

Spanakopita is one of the best delicacies which you can taste in Greece.

1 kg (2 lbs) of fresh spinach
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
6 spring onions
2 eggs
200g (7 oz) feta cheese
250g (8,8 oz) ricotta cheese
1 tbsp fresh dill
1 tbsp fresh parsley
12 sheets of filo pastry
1 pinch of nutmeg
some olive oil
salt and pepper

Clean spinach well in cold water. Drain and roughly chop, then place it in a steamer.

Steam for 10 minutes or until the leaves are soft. Squeeze out the excess water from the spinach.

Fry chopped onion and spring onions.

Add the garlic.

Add 2 eggs and crumble the feta cheese into the bowl with spinach.

Add the onion and spring onions, herbs and nutmeg.

Add ricotta cheese and season with salt and pepper if you like.

Spread half of the filo pastry into an oiled baking form. Spread out some oil in between the sheets.

Make sure you spread some oil in between the sheets.

Place the filling in the middle of the baking tray and spread it out.

Now cover the filling with the remaining sheets.

Fold the ends of the upper sheets with the ends of the lower sheets so the filling is enclosed.

Preheat the oven to 350F (or 180C). Bake for about 25 minutes.

Of course it doesn’t taste like that one eaten on the streets of Athens. Or maybe it does but the scenery is not the same ;)

So remember if you are in Greece you have to taste spanakopita!

martushka food 0 pie, spanakopita, spanakopita pie

Jan 12, 2012

Martushka’s mom cheesecake

My favourite cake :)

1 kg (35 oz) cottage cheese
6 eggs
330g (11,6 oz) icing sugar
250g (8,8 0z) margarine
16g (o,56 oz) vanilla sugar
2 heaped tbsp potato starch
raisins

Beat the egg whites to a light froth.

Grind cottage cheese, until smooth.

Beat the egg yolks with icing sugar and vanilla sugar, add margarine and make this creamy.

Next add the cottage cheese…

…and flour then mix it well.

Finally add the beaten eggs’ whites and gently mix.

You can add some raisins if you like.

Preheat the oven to 180°C, 356F.

Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes.

Sprinkle cake with icing sugar.

That cheesecake is lovely warm but it’s even better the following day.

martushka cake, food 1 cake, Cheesecake

Jan 10, 2012

Chicken and leek pie

4 chicken breasts
ham (how much you like)
bacon (how much you like)
3 leeks
4 big potatoes
150ml (5fl oz) white wine
150ml (5fl oz) chicken stock
1 tbsp crème fraîche
300g puff pastry sheet
olive oil
salt and pepper
thyme

Fry chopped chicken, ham and bacon.

…chop the leek and fry for few minutes

…stir the chicken, ham and bacon into the leeks and season.

Add crème fraîche, wine and chicken stock and stir, then cook for few minutes. Season again if needed.

Chop potatoes and cook them for 5 minutes.

Spoon into a baking dish.

Slap the pastry on the dish, press down edges, trim any excess. Brush pastry with beaten egg or milk.

Preheat the oven to 200C ( 392 F), and bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Bon appetit :)

martushka food 0 chicken pie, leek, leek pie, pie

Jan 2, 2012

Tsinandali

My Ukrainian friend Michail always has got a lot of interesting bottles of wine from all over the world. Last night he served Tsinandali 2009 white dry wine. And it is the first wine I realy like. It is produced in Kakheti in Georgia, from white-grapes (85% Rkatsiteli, 15% Mtsvane). Tsinandali is IWSC (International Wine&Spirit Competition) bronze medal winner in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2009 – Gold. Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2008 – Silver. That wine is very nice with chicken, salads and fish.

martushka beverage, food 0 Tsinandali, wine

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