Rice Pudding

As a child, rice pudding was a special treat that I'd get on trips to the diner with whipped cream, cinnamon, and sometimes even vanilla ice cream. I never got over this creamy, luscious confection, but it remained a memory of youth rather than a present pleasure. And then, a few nights ago I had a craving for something sweet but had no money to go out and buy anything. Upon inspection of my meager kitchen supplies, I discovered that there was one thing I could make with only ingredients I already had. And it turned out to be the perfect dessert.

2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup rice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon

Start by combining rice, milk, water, and salt in a saucepan. Set over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When liquid starts to boil, move saucepan to low heat, cover, and let cook for 20 minutes. Be sure to stir periodically so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom and burn. Add extra water as needed for consistency and rice tenderness.

In a separate bowl, beat an egg and mix in the brown and white sugar. When the rice mixture has reached the desired consistency, remove from heat. Add spoonfuls of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, stirring constantly until the egg mixture is hot. (This is an important step, if you add the cold egg directly to the hot rice, it may curdle on contact, so heat the egg mixture gradually and with constant beating.) Now add the hot egg/sugar/rice mixture back into the larger rice pan. Place back on low heat and stir for a few minutes. Add vanilla and butter and stir until melted.

Serve either hot or cold with cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Sausage and Peppers

This is another Hungarian-inspired dish. Here it is called Lecsó (pronounced Letch-oh), which is basically a vegetable stew composed of peppers, onions, and tomatoes. There seem to be a million variations on Lecsó, but here is my rendition.

1 large onion (cut into pieces)
2 cloves garlic (cut into small pieces)
5 banana peppers - or bell peppers (cored, seeded, cut into strips)
2 tomatoes (cut into small wedges)
1 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Salt
1/2 pound Hungarian sausage (cut into rounds)
Bread
Spicy mustard

Heat oil and sauté onions and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add the peppers and continue sautéing for 5 to 10 minutes, until peppers are soft. Next, add tomatoes, paprika powder, and tomato paste. Stir well. Salt to taste. Cover the saucepan and let it cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Add the sausages and cook for another 10 minutes or until sausages are hot. Serve on toasted bread or rolls with some spicy mustard.

Sour Lentil Soup

Lentils are a fantastic ingredient because they are cheap, delicious, and can be stored for over a year in dried form. These qualities make them the perfect food for low-income, somewhat disorganized food lovers like myself. This soup is savory and filling, ideal for a cold winter night in Budapest.

1 cup dried lentils
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
3 stalks celery (sliced into small crescents)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 pound Hungarian sausage (cut into rounds)
Sour cream (for dolloping on top of individual servings)

Start by soaking the lentils in cold water for several hours. Drain the lentils and replace them in a large pot. Add 4 cups of fresh cold water. Add the onion and the celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and put on low heat for about 1 hour.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Stir in about 2 tablespoons of flour and cook until slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add more flour for a thicker consistency soup. Add half a cup of water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the flour mixture and stir constantly to develop a paste. Add this paste to the lentils. Chunks of paste may stick together, so be sure to whisk thoroughly. Soup can be thickened with more flour paste or thinned with more water. Add salt, pepper, and vinegar to adjust flavor at this point.

Fry the sausages briefly with olive oil, then add them to the soup. Let the whole thing simmer together for a few minutes, making sure the sausages are heated all the way through. Add a spoonful of sour cream on top of your serving for authentic Hungarian flavor. Delish!

Stovetop Mac and Cheese

Macaroni & cheese is not something I eat very often when I am in the states, but living overseas always makes me crave this comfort food. Of course Kraft and Annie's have not yet tried to conquer the European market with their product (probably for the better), and this leaves me with a hankering that is hard to sate. Until today! I am pleased to announce the success of my super-easy stovetop mac & cheese:

Macaroni or Shell pasta
Cheddar cheese (finely grated)
Sour cream
Salt
Pepper
Bacon

Fry the bacon in small pieces while the pasta cooks in boiling, salted water. Drain the pasta, and put it back into cooking pot. Take off the heat and immediately add the shredded cheese. Add about 1 tablespoon of sour cream and stir to mix the sour cream and cheese into a sauce. The cheese should melt from the residual heat of the pasta. If it's not melting well put on low heat briefly. Cooking the cheese too much will cause it to become stringy so be careful. Adjust amounts of cheese and sour cream to taste. Add bacon pieces. Salt to taste. In one portion I even added a little Erős pista, a Hungarian hot paprika paste which contributed a nice kick. At the end I ground a little black pepper on top and voilà, macaroni & cheese. Easy and gratifying every time.

Homage to my Favorite Vegetable: Romanesco

I first discovered this divine species of produce while wandering the vegetable markets in Bologna, Italy, and since that time it has made an appearance in my cooking whenever I am fortunate enough to stumble upon one.

Romanesco is a type of cauliflower from the plant species Brassica, making it a close relative of cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, and mustard seeds, to name a few. It is composed of many small masses of densely packed immature flower stalks. It is most delicious prepared the same way as broccoli or cauliflower, but what is so striking about this vegetable is its appearance! This fractal food is an exquisite expression of nature's bizarre beauty. Selecting, preparing, and photographing one is just as much fun as eating it.