pirogi, pierogi, perogi, perogy, piroghi, piroshki, pirozhki, pyragai, piroghi, pirogi, pyrohy, пирог and пирожок

while the classic pierogi are of eastern european origin these semi-circular dumplings are no strangers to the regional cuisine here in the bohemian forest in upper austria. there are some well known regional varieties in austria like the schlutzkrapfen in tirol or the kasnudeln in carinthia. in germany, or more specific in swabia, they have the famous maultaschen. that's what we call them too. pierogi are really big north america where immigrants added them to the cuisine. i did not know that either.

i don't make them that often and i never made them totally from scratch, but i mostly make them savory and stuff them with minced meat or cabbage. i also like to drown the pierogis in tomato sauce ... mmmmmmh ...

the other day i came across another interesting variation of the pierogi, the karjalanpiirakka from finland and i decided to give it a try. so here we go!

(makes 6 pierogi)

75 ml water
50 g rice (originally puuroriisi or grötris, i used risotto rice)
salt
150 ml milk

50 ml cold water
1/2 tsp salt
50 g flour (wheat)
25 g flour (rye)
12 g melted butter

butter
water

1/2 egg
25 g butter

1. boil the rice in water and a dash of salt until all the water has been absorbed
2. add milk and cook for another 30 minutes on low heat
3. mix water, salt, flour and butter until well blended
4. roll out the dough into circles on a lightly floured surface. make sure it is thin enough
5. place a spoon full of the rice on each circle and fold the edges up
6. bake 5-10 minutes at 275-300°c
7. melt a knob of butter in some water and brush the freshly baked perogies with the mixture
8. serve warm with an egg-butter mixture (dice one hard boiled egg and mix with butter)

actually, i have no idea how the karjalanpiirakka are supposed to taste and i can only imagine how they should look like ... well, my version seems to be totally bent out of shape *ggg*. making a dish you don't even know can be some sort of a blind flight, but this recipe just sounded too cool not to try. it tastes pretty good and bearing the fact in mind that i really have no idea about the real taste of this dish, i think i did a good job with this version of the pierogi.


ps: i have seen this picto broswer in a few blogs lately. i thought i'll try it too. if you want to know more just click here.

is it goulash?

there are two methods of cooking i frequently use when i am out of ideas: frying and stewing.

i once even had a little stewing-phase when i cooked nothing but stews for a few weeks. that phase is fortunately over but even today if i can not come up with a decent recipe or i can't decide what i am craving for dinner i'll stew something up.

i especially like all kinds of goulash, my favorite of all time being the szegedin goulash with pork and sauerkraut (my mama makes the best szegedin goulash, by the way!). every food that only resembles goulash and has lots of paprika powder in it is very comforting for me! we had it pretty often when i grew up and i could not get enough of the gazillion variations my mama is able to create.

i even invented some of my own. stews that taste a lot like goulash but use vegetables instead of meat. though i am not a vegetarian i hardly ever crave meat and i could easily live without it. actually, i often do live without meat for weeks without even noticing! when i was a child i used to push the goulash meat to the side of the plate and i only ate the paprika-sauce with lots and lots and lots of white bread. i still love to dunk a slice of bread in the sauce and i'd probably lick off the plate if you guys wheren't watching ...

i actually wanted to make hummus today and soaked some chickpeas overnight, but when i came home from work (very wet and very cold!) i was suddenly craving something else ... something goulashy ... and so i quickly added lots of paprika powder to a plain and simple chickpeas and tomato stew

1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 large hand full of dried chickpeas
(how much could that be in gramms? i have no idea!)
3 tomatos
olive oil
salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp of paprika powder

1. soak dried chickpeas in water overnight and cook them in water until they are soft enough. you can also use canned chickpeas.
2. in a pot, fry onion and garlic in plenty of olive oil
3. add the spices and keep stirring
   
4. dice and add tomatoes
5. let simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes
6. add chickpeas
7. cover the pot and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes

the rich thickness of a gulash usually comes from the meat, so i thought i'd throw in some tomatos to give the dish some hearty flavour. eat it with bread! i think that could be a side dish as well but for a single gal like me it's more of a quick fix - well, not so quick after all, stewing still takes some time!

bratwurst & potatos, zucchini, fennel

tagged with: cooking + food + bratwurst + fennel

simple vanilla noodles

0,25 l milk
10 g butter
1/2 vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
75 g noodles (ribbon noodles or any pasta you like)
salt
cinnamon

01 bring milk to boil and add vanilla, sugar and lemon zest.
02 cook till noodles are tender and the liquid is nearly absorbed
03 serve with stewed fruit or sprinkle with cinnamon

my ascetic drive hasn't lasted very long ... i decided not smoke for a while instead of not eating. this makes me feel better too, to be honest ...

putengeschnetzeltes with potatoe wedges

putengeschnetzeltes ... is there a translation for "geschnetzeltes"? originally it is a swiss dish. it's small pieces of white meat, usually pork, turkey or veal, cooked in a pan with onions, garlic and a heavy cream and wine sauce. it is usually served with rice, noodles or spätzle.

150 g turkey (hen)
125 g onions
150 ml vegetable stock
5 tbsp. sour creme
salt
pepper
parsley
olive oil

01 cut turkey into small pieces
02 heat oil and roast turkey gently
03 remove meat from pan
04 cut onions into thin slices
05 stirfry onions till slightly brown
06 add vegetable stock
07 let simmer for 10 minutes
08 add sour creme and stir well
09 reduce heat and let onion sauce boil down till creamy
10 if necessary add some flour or starch (farina) to thicken the sauce
11 add meat and let simmer for about 10 more minutes
12 season to taste, add chopped parsley
13 enjoy with a nice glass of white wine!

oven roastet potatoe wedges

3 potatoes
salt
herbs (i took ground cili)
olive oil

01 cut potoatoes lengthwise into wedges
02 place in a pan
03 drizzle with olive oil
04 if desired sprinkle with salt and herbs
05 stir to coat
06 bake uncovered at 220 °C until tender