"Budapest eat finger's!!!"

We said our byes to Patrick and his family, then hopped on a bus, then a train then another train into Hungry.

Our destination was Budapest, to see Jess. We planned to arrive for her birthday, and luckily things worked out. She met us at the train station, then took us to her gorgeous flat in the Jewish District. After being in the countryside for just under a week, it did feel a little bit discombobulating being in a new and unfamiliar city. But being a city girl, I soon adjusted. I fell in love with Budapest instantly. It was vibrant, unpretentious and oozed charm. Everywhere I looked, I found myself being awestruck, either by the architecture, street art, interiors and even the people. Little pockets of the city stood frozen in time, as if going into movie set.

Three-D Tree

Naomi, Jess’s sister also joined us in Budapest for birthday celebrations. We went out in town, had a few drinks, a nice Greek dinner and finished of with some super fancy cocktails at the Warm Up bar.

Birthday cake from mama wise!

Budapest Eat Finger's!!!... ?

Great cocktail bar serving fancy cocktails and shots in the Jewish District

In the morning Jess and I went to the local shops to pick up some food. It was a bit of a strange combination of ingredients: bread and hummus from the Jewish shop, Hungarian sausage from the butchers, and pomelo from the green grocers. Nonetheless, it was perfectly pleasant, and set us up for our busy days.

Breaky

Laura and I went to explore the town whilst Jess went to classes and Naomi worked from home. We went to the Hungarian House of Photography where we found this guy outside. I couldn’t resist, I had to take a picture:

Homeless man peacefully asleep on statue

We did some food shopping on our way home, to make bryndzové halušky in the evening as Jess and Laura had both brought some bryndza from the festival. Wilson, a friend of Jess’s also come over for dinner and was interested in seeing the process.

Wilson helping Laura in the kitchen

Bryndza (sheep's cheese)

Laura’s bryndzové halušky

Laura’s bryndzové halušky
Despite buying the wrong type of flour, the halušky turned out great. We made a few alterations, like making a sour cream and chive sauce to accompany the dish. But it worked pretty well. That night some of Jess’s friends came over and later we went out till the wee hours of the morning. I don’t remember feeling hungry once. It’s a workingman’s dish and can make you feel very sleepy after. Portions don’t have to be too big, although often it’s hard to resist as it taste so good. I find drinking palinka whilst cooking, and before and after the meal helps.

Ingredients (Feeds 6):
4 medium sized potatoes
4 cups of wholemeal flour
1 egg yolk
Bryndza, or a soft sheep's cheese
Smoked pork belly 400g, cubed (must be very fatty)
Sour cream
Chives, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Method:
1. Start by putting the cubed pork belly in a frying pan on a very low heat. It doesn’t require any oil. Check on it from time to time
2. Grate the potatoes on the finest side of a grater. It is hard work, but worth it. I recommend doing it with friends and taking turns. Also have some palinka on the go, it helps
3. Mix in the flour and egg yolk into the potato mixture till it resembles the consistency of mashed potato
4. Bring water to boil in a large sauce pan. Add a pinch of salt
5. Using a flat grater on the smooth side, slowly press through the potato mixture into the boiling water. The halušky will sink at first, so be paitent, and wait till it floats on the surface. You will have to do this in batched. Keep the cooked halušky in a warm container/pot
6. Once all cooked, add the bryndza to the halušky and mix through
7. Make sure your belly lardons are crispy and golden, and that there is enough hot fat in the pan. This is especially important and it melts the cheese a little
8. In a separate bowl mix the sour cream and chives together
9. To serve, spoon some of the halušky mixture onto a plate, add some of the sour cream and chive mixture and top with the belly lardons and some hot fat

Rolling in the hills

To make most of our day we woke up early, made a quick breakfast and headed out in Patrick’s car with his friend Michel. Our destination was Banská Štiavnica, a small medieval town in the central region of Slovakia. It’s known for its historical buildings and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On the way, we made a few pit stops at scenic viewpoints. 

Rolling hills of Central Europe

We stopped at a restaurant on our way into town, which was recommended to us. Unlike the more traditional Slovakian restaurants that had similar menus, the Penzion Na Kopci not only had a female chef, but she was known to brake a few rules when it came to Slovakian cuisine. Her menu is less conventional, as it combines traditional dishes with a more international flair. We all started with some venison pate served with wildberry compote. The boys followed this up with the Pyramida: roasted chicken breast, pork fillet, chicken liver, Ermine cheese and a roquefort sauce. Laura had the baked camembert served with a creamy blueberry sauce, whilst I was glad to see some fish on the menu, so ordered potatoes stuffed with smoked salmon and sour cream.  

Venison pate

Pyramida

Baked camembert

Stuffed potatoes

The food was fantastic. It was fresh, different and really well thought out. The flavours were well balanced and the meal didn’t feel overly heavy compared to more traditional Slovakian cuisine we had tried before. Our view from where we were sat on the terrace of the restaurant was also rather breathtaking. 

Banská Štiavnica

After lunch we went to a cute little coffee shop where we ordered coffee as well as every cake on the menu. We had two cakes each. Gluttonous? Not at all! 

Time slipped away fast, and there was still so much to see. We hopped back in the car and headed to one of the nearby lakes, Velka Vindsachta. We chilled there for a little bit, then headed back towards Krupina to pick up Michel’s girlfriend then headed over to his family farm. 

Velka Vindsachta

On arriving to the farm, we were greeted by three of Michel’s family members sat outside around a large vat of boiling water, plucking three plump headless chickens. Their father was in the barn milking the family cow. We had a tour of the farm, but unfortunately I was unable to take any decent pictures as it was already dark by now. This is the best of a bad bunch. Some very cute curious sheep.

Curious sheep

Paneer Frankie, Mumbai Style

For those of you who have ventured down to Chapati Beach in Mumbai, you may well have had your eyes delighted with the colourful sights of neon lights, funfair rides, sparkly toys, and of course the street food. But as you may also have experienced, these all come with some kinda risk factor… and I don't think I need to explain why. The absence of sea-foods and meat is probably assuring for weary travellers, but dangers still lurk in and around the masala stained stalls. Pani Puri is probally the most risky of all street foods, due to the “pani” (water) component. The iffy tangy, spicy, brown, chut pani could be anything. But, in the eyes of most Indians, you haven’t lived till you try it. Find a Pani Puri Valla, place your order, watch in amazement as your puri is prepared for you, douse with the pani and quickly pop the soggy bottom beaut in your mouth. Once you pop, you will not be able to stop, the pani puri valla will be your best chum for the night.

Mumbai is known for its fast pace of life and for the huge diversity of people who call the city home, for this reason, it has probably the best variety of street food in the country. Mongolian barbeques, club-sandwhiches, dosas, pau bhaji, dhai vadas etc etc. All available 24hrs a day, on every street corner. The only time and place when rich and poor share the same taste. One such dish I have a close affinity to is the Paneer Frankie. Soft, slightly charred paneer cooked in the tandoor, along with peppers, onions, and tomatoes, wrapped in a light fluffy chapatti with a concoction of tangy, spicy and sweet chutneys. It isn’t just paneer that makes a Frankie, you can get a lamb Frankies, aloo Frankies, egg Frankies, chicken Frankies, or even aloo-egg-chicken Frankies. A simple but genius idea and a great way to use up left-overs, wrap the curry form last night in the chapatti from last night and sell it for lunch. Indians are very resourceful people…

… So being a resourceful Indian, I decided to ask my mum how to make home-made paneer, and to use the paneer in making a Mumbai Paneer Frankie. Instead of using peppers and onions, I chose to use local seasonal ingredients that my pure-vegetarian granddad could eat. I substituted onion with celery and radish, and the peppers with rocket, spinach and watercress. I also made two home-made chutneys: once tangy, spicy tomato chutney; and a cool dill and yogurt sauce.  So, I kinda pushed the boat out a little, but it was so very worth it, and now that I have learnt to make paneer, and have actually come to realise the difference in taste and texture, I will never… and I swear by this… I will never buy shop bought, pre-made paneer ever again.    

Ingredients:

To Make the Paneer:

5 pints of milk

Juice of two large lemons

Marinade for Paneer:

2 cups Greek Yogurt

3 Chillies

½ inch of Ginger

 Small handful of Coriander

1 tbsp of Garam Masala

Frankie Salad:

6 medium sized Radishes

3 stalks of Celery

Handful Spinach

Handful of Watercress

Handful of Rocket

Yogurt and Dill Dip:

½ cup of Greek Yogurt

Small handful of finely chopped Dill

Chopped Chilli

Tomato Chutney:

20 Plum Cherry Tomatoes, quatered

2 tbsp of Sunflower Oil

2 Cloves

Small Dried Chillies

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

1 tsp Coriander Seeds

1 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar

1 tbsp Tomato Puree

1 tbsp Tamarind Paste

2 tbsp Cider Vinegar

Pinch of Rock Salt

Wrap of your choice. Chapattis are ideal, but flour tortillas are just as good. I used Swedish flat bread, just cause I had some that needed to be used up.

Method:

To make the paneer, heat up the milk in a non-stick pan, and wait for it to boil. Once it starts to boil, turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Leave for ten minuets. Get a small holed strainer ready, and pour the milk mixture over. The curds will stay in the strainer and most of the whey will pass through. Transfer over to a muslin cloth (I just used an old cut up t-shirt) and squeeze out as much mater as you can. Leave it to hang over the sink if you can, or in a strainer till the paneer starts to firm up.

Take it out of the muslin, it should be slightly crumbly.

Place it into an appropriately shaped container and pack in tightly. Most of the water should have been removed before doing this. Weigh the paneer down with some tins of beans and place in the fridge for about three hours or even better over night to set. 

Whilst the paneer firms up, make the marinade. Grind the chilli, ginger and coriander together. Mix into the yogurt, the mixture should turn a light, almost pea green colour. Add the garam masala. I love the colour contrast of the cool green of the yogurt and the dark brown of the spicy powder. Taste the marinade. It shouldn't be too hot, if it is, add some more yogurt.

The chutneys can be made at this point as well, giving them enough time to sit in the fridge to cool down. The yogurt sauce is simply, the finely chopped dill and chopped chilli mixed into the Greek yogurt. To make the tomato chutney, heat up the oil in a saucepan, once the oil is hot, add the spices and dried chillies, and wait for the seeds to pop. Add the tomatoes and resist poking them, just swirl the pan around, so they hold their shape and don't realise too much liquid. Add the tomato puree, tamarind paste and the sugar. Once the tomatoes start to naturally break down add about a quarter cup of water and the vinegar. Bring to the boil then turn down and allow to simmer for about ten minuets, or until the chutney thickens. Seasona and taste. If the chutney is tangy, sweet and just slightly spiced, then it’s done. Leave to cool down, then place both sauces in the fridge.

The paneer, once firm, can be cut up into the ideal size, although, too large and they will not absorb enough marinade, and too small, they may just fall apart. It depends on how the paneer has turned out. In the image bellow you can see two different types of paneer, the ones on the right, are slightly yellow and look more crumbly, this is the home made paneer. The ones on the left are white and shop bought. I did this as an experiment to see if I could notice any difference in cooking and tasting. 

Marinade and place in the fridge for about 2 hrs. When ready to cook, heat the oven to 220° and place the marinated paneer pieces on a baking tray and on the top shelf of the oven. The aim is to get them slightly charred on the outside, but soft on the inside. As expected, the, shop bought paneer, being firmer, didn't have as much water content as my home made paneer. Becauce of this, the intense heat made the shop bought paneer rather dry. The home-made paneer released what I though was either fat or whey/water which when mixed with the marinade and turned the bottom side of the paneer crispy. This meant there was a very fine line between slightly charred and very charred. They were in the oven for about 15 minuets, and came out perfectly charred.

I very quickly and generously assembled the Frankie whilst the bread was heating up over the griddle. I rolled it up and chowed it down even faster. It’s great fun to make, and there are short cuts you can take if you don't have time to go through all the steps I took… although, if you love paneer as much as me, I highly recommend making it at home, it keeps in the fridge for a few days… and that only means an excuse to have paneer the next day as well! 

Mexican style cheese on toast

I know the Mexican make good dips, but I only found out recently they also make good pickled accompliments. One of which is pickled onion with gloves and lime. I made this the other day by simply slicing 2 large white onions really thin, then pouring the juice of three limes over them and a drizzle of rice wine vinegar over the onions, and adding a handful of gloves to the concoction. I stored it in a jar, and in a couple of days it was good to use.

Delicately spiced, yet acidic in flavour, the onions became soft and almost sweet. I had some sweet, nutty Manchego in the fridge and decided to make a rather special cheese on toast. I toasted a couple of slices of crusty white bread, and liberally spread the grated manchego over. I added the onions, some finely chopped green chilies and corriander, then seasoned and drizzled with olive oil. I placed under the grill and let the sweet, glovey, and fragrant smell fill the kitchen.

The combination isn’t by any means authentic Mexican, but it has good potential if used in a quesadilla instead of Warburtons crusty white bread…

RED ONION, BASIL AND THREE GOATS CHEESE QUICHE

Ingrediants

200g Plain flour
100g salted butter
3 tbsp water

5 red onions, thinly sliced
Hand full, fresh basil
Good quality balsamic vinegar
Olive oil

Three british Goat’s Cheese:
Abergavenny Goats Cheese: full fat soft cheese with a smooth texture
Gevrik Goats Cheese: a soft mould ripened goats' cheese, rich and nutty Cornish goats cheese
Somerset Goats Cheese: a mild creamy soft cheese

1 cup Jersey milk
3 large eggs
Salt and pepper

Method

I started by making the pastry, by simply adding the flour, and butter to a food processer and blitzing till the contents resembled bread crumbs. I slowly added the water through the funnel whilst continuing to blitz. Once the mixture came together, I wrapper it up in cling film, and let set in the fridge. It’s essential, the mixture never gets too warm, as this can cause the dough to loosen up.

An hour later, and I started on lining my quiche tin. I heated the oven to 180°c. I then rolled out my dough, keeping things dry with plenty of flour on my work surface. Once the dough was an even thickness, and large enough to line my tine, I lifted it up with my rolling pin and gently placed over the tin. I carefully pressed in the sides and trimmed the edges. The lined tin was left to set in the fridge for 30minuets. I then blind baked the pastry in the oven for 15 minuets with baking paper and rice. After 15 minuets, I removed the rice and baking paper and allowed further cooking for 5 minuets. Once coloured and cooked, I poked the base with a fork to allow any air to escape when cooking the quiche.

Whilst the pasty was in the oven, I cooked my onions in some olive oil on a low heat, and allowed to reduce to half the size. This requires constant stirring and attention, as to make sure the onions don’t burn. Once just nearly caramelised, I added the basil, roughly torn, and the balsamic vinegar. I continued cooking for a further 5 minuets, until the harshness of the vinegar turned into a gooey sweetness. I seasoned, then added the onions to the base of the quiche. The three cheeses was roughly chopped and also dotted around with the onions.

In a separate bowl, I whisked up the eggs and the creamy jersey milk. I added salt and pepper, and poured the mixture in and around the onions and cheese. I mixed things around with a fork, so some of the onion and cheese came to the surface. I think it’s always nice to have the ingredients of the quiche visible on the surface, instead of sunken at the bottom. I placed the quiche back in the still hot oven at 200°c. After 15 minuets, I turned it down to 160°c for 20 minuets. This ensures a soft, well cooked centre. After 35 minuets of impatience, the quiche came out, to be cooled by an open window on a cooling rack. After it was cool enough to handle I took it out of the tin and sliced it up into generous portions, for all to share and enjoy : )

souffle time!

i had a horrible nightmare the other day... i stood in my kitchen with all the ingredients to make a souffle. my egg yolks and whites were separated, and as i began to whisk my whites, i realised all i had to whisk them was a bent fork! Horror! I stood over my whites trying to beat them to stiff peaks, but i was getting no where. Nightmare. My souffle was a disaster! Baack to real life and the following day i was watching ready steady cook, and a french chef was making souffle. Right! i thought, this is too wired a coincidence, i have to make souffle just to prove to myself i can. I'd never made it before, but knew roughly what went in and how to make it. I had goats cheese in the fridge, eegs, milk, flour, butter and some cranberry sauce! perfect. so i set about making my souffle... came to whisk my egg whites and i broke out into a sweat... shit! no whisk... this is gonna be a failure! "look in the middle drawer," suggested my house mate. There in the middle drawer lye a sorry looking electrical whisk, with one half of the whisks missing. this won't work. but i had no other choice. I fiddled around with it for a bit and made the lone whisk rotate at a very slow rate. i stood over my egg whites a whisked and whisked.... nothing happened at first, and i felt a da ja vu coming on. "give it a while" my house mate encouraged.so i did, and slowly but surely my whites started to double in size... Beautiful! great stuff, so i made my goats cheese sauce, added the yolk and slowly added it to my white. This is meant to be the crucial stage.. but it was a breeze. i filled my butter and parmesan coated ramekins and put it in the oven for 20 mins. 20 mins later, i had 6 lovely, fluffy and well risen souffles. Put some cranberry sauce on it and voila! They were very yummy. So ever since, i can't stop! i've been making camembert souffle, which is my personal favourite. Next i want to try to make a lactose free souffle with cauliflower and broccoli souffle using rice milk for lactose free friend who would otherwise never get to try souffle in her life. this is not acceptable.