Fried dough - lángos

When I was a kid and we went to the market with my Grandma I could always smell the fried dough (or langos as it was called) all through the place. Freshly fried, dripping with fat ot or oil, with garlic sauce, sour creme and grated cheese, served on a piece of paper... It was amazing!
I tried it at home since once or twice, but it never was the same.
However today I was stuck for lunch ideas to serve with the soup. Then I decided I'll give this a go. And it was a success, kids loved it too!

Ingredients:
400 g flour
2 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled, mashed (or someleftover cooked potatoes)
7 g dried yeast
100 ml warm milk + extra
1 small tsp sugar
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp oil
oil or lard for frying

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the potatoes. I used a sieve to press them through so they get very fine. Mix 100 ml milk, the yeast and sugar in a mug and leave in a warm place until the mixture gets frothy.

 Pour the yeast mixture to the flour, add the salt and the oil. Mix with a wooden spoon carefully adding more milk until it starts to come together.

 Knead with your hands until a soft dough forms. Cover and leave to rise for about an hour.

 Heat some oil or lard in a large frying pan. Take a small appleful of dough and pull with your hands into a flat patty. Don't worry if there are holes on your langos :) When the oil is hot fry on both sides until brown.

 You can serve this with some garlic sauce on top. Crush a few cloves, mix with water and salt and leave to stand for an hour or so.

 Bon appetite!

You can serve these with sour cream, grated chese, tomatoe sauce or even chopeed boiled egs on top. If you try them let me know how you like these and which topping was your favourite! ;)

Mini cottage cheese scones

I love savoury treats! And this one is soooo tasty! And so simple. And stays fresh for ages. Not that it stands any chance in our house of being around for ages... If I make a trayful they are usually gobbled up in an hour :)

 So, here is the recipe.
Ingredients:
200 gr butter
250 gr cottage cheese ( the drier, crumbly version, I usually get this in the Polish shop)
appr. 100 gr cheddar cheese, grated
250 gr flour
1 tsp salt
egg, beaten, to glaze

 Mix all your ingredients well, except the egg, using your hands. Leave to rest for an hour. Roll out to about 2cm thick, slash the top with a knife. Using a small round cutter cut out shapes, place them on a greased baking tray. Brush with the beaten egg. You can sprinkle them with sesame or sunflower seeds if you wish. Bake in a pre-heated (200 C) oven for 15-20 mins, until golden brown. Don't overdo them or they'll be dry!

And if you are having a party they are excellent as nebbles with your beer!
Let me know if you try them! :)

Pancake Tuesday recipe III. and IV.

  

Another pancakey dinner! :) But be warned, it's really heavy and filling!

 Meaty-mushroomy pancake bake

Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp oil or a generous knob of butter

1 packet (250g) mushrooms, chopped

salt, pepper

100-120g smoked meat, chopped

large bunch pasrsley, chopped

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 cup grated Cheddar

1 egg yolk

3-4 tbsp soured cream

1 pinch nutmeg

10-12 pancakes

 Sautee the mushrooms in a large frying pan, adding salt and pepper.

 Add the smoked meat, eggs, parsley and stir.
 Spread the filling on a pancake and top with another pancake.

 Roll up the double pancake.
 Cut it in 3 pieces and stand them up in a greased ovenproof dish.

 Mix the yolks, nutmeg, soured cream and half cup of cheese and spread on top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cook in a pre-heated (200 C) oven for about 20-30 mins or until top is golden.

 I whisked the remaining egg yolk and mixed it with some salt and cheese, poured over and put back in the oven for another 15 mins. Just didn't want to waste the white ;)

And for the desert:

Triple layered cottage cheese pancake bake

I love pancakes filled with cottage cheese! As my Grandma used to make it - a tub of cottage cheese, 1 egg yolk, sugar (I added 3 tsp) some raisins and lemon zest. (These are best cooked in the oven afterwards, but if you eat them raw do so straight away and use only the freshest eggs!)

 As my friend's Mum used to make it - 1 tub cottage cheese, 3 tsp sugar, 3 tsp soured cream, raisins, lemon zest.

Or as I make them when I'm in a hurry (you know, kids screaming for more pancakes, you are tossing them with one hand and spreading the filling with the other while making more cottage cheese filling with the third...) - cottage cheese, sugar, lemon zest. 

I thought, it would be nice to eat them all together :) So. I made 9 pancakes. Filled three with first variety, 3 with second, 2 with third (ran out of cottage cheese :O ) and a final one with Nutella :D

Then mixed 1-2 egg yolks, 100 ml cream, 3 tbsp warmed honey and a generous tsp cinnamon.

 Then I put the pancakes in layers in a loaf tin. Poured some sauce over each layer and tossed a handful of walnuts on toop.

 

Put it in the oven at 200 C for 15 mins and slice & serve. It's even better when cooled!

Pancake Tuesday recipe I.

I just realized Pancake Tuesday is next week this year!!! So, I dug out a few of my fancy pancake recipes ;) This one is excellent for dinner (we are having it right now with the girls!) or for a light lunch. It's inspired by a friend's recipe I learnt at a pancake party :D

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter

1 onion, finely diced

125g mushrooms, chopped

salt, pepper

dried parsley, appr. 1 tbsp

3 tbsp soured cream

50ml cream

1 tbsp flour

5 thick pancakes

for the sauce:

1 egg

3-4 tbsp soured cream

3-4 tbsp cream

salt

grated cheese to sprinkle on top

 Heat the butter in a large frying pan. Add the onion and sautee until softens. Ad the mushrooms, salt, pepper, parsley and cook, stirring continuosly until mushroom is done.

 Sprinkle with ther flour, stir and add the soured cream and cream. Simmer on a low heat, stirring frequently until thickens.

 Mix together the topping ingredients in a bowl with a fork.

 Spread some of the mushroom mixture on each pancake and fold like a burrito.

 Place them into a buttered ovenproof dish.

 Pour over the sauce and sprinkle with the cheese.

Put in a pre-heated (200 C) oven and cook far 20 mins or until sauce has set and top is golden.
Enjoy!

Potato scones

This is one of my favourite savoury recipes. Very easy and simply delicious!

Ingredients:
600 g flour
400 g cooked potatoes, mashed
6 tbsp milk
1 sachet yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
250 g margarin

Mix the milk, sugar and yeast and leave at a warm place until frothy.

 Put all the ingredients in a bowl and add the frothy yeast mixture too.

 Knead until you have a soft dough.

 Roll it out about  1-2 cm thick, score the top and cut circles with a cookie cutter. (Or a glass)

 Place on a baking tray and brush with milk. Put in the pre-heated oven (200 C).

You can sprinkle something on top if you want to make it prettier.
Enjoy!

Pertzels

These pertzels are just simply delicious with a mug of milk (or with a pint for grown-ups!). They are really easy to make and even your little one can help making them.

You will need:
1 kg flour
1 tbsp salt
500 ml milk
1 sachet yeast
120 gr lard

Mix the yeast with a little milk and when frothy stir into the other ingredients. Knead until you get a stiff, elastic dough.

Without leaving to rest roll long sausage shapes from the dough with the flat of your palm. The longer the better!

Shape them into pertzels (or circles or anything else you want to) and put them on a greased (with lard!) baking sheet.

Mix together 1 tbsp flour, 1 tbsp salt and some water until you get a thin paste.

Drizzle this over the pertzels. Put them in a pre-heated hot (220 C) oven and bake for about 15 mins.

Enjoy!

Savoury swirls

A rainy day... What shall we do? 'Let's bake!' said my little girl. And so we did.

This is one of my favourite recipes, very simple, quick and yummy!

Savoury swirls

For the dough:

750g flour

2 tsp salt

1 sachet yeast

500 ml milk

100 ml oil

Mix the yeast with a little milk and mix with the rest of the ingredients when frothy. Knead the dough and no need to rise, roll it out 1cm thick straight away!

For the filling:

200 gr margarin

2 egg yolks

2 tsp salt

egg whites for brushing

seeds for sprnkling

Beat the margarin with the salt and egg yolks and spread it on the dough. Roll it up like a swiss roll and cut into finger thick rolls. Lay the swirls on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Brush witht the beaten egg whites and sprinkle whith the seeds. Put into pre-heated oven (200 C) and bake for about 30 mins. Enjoy!

We love it with a mug of milk!