city at night

city at night

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Hungarian in Mexico

As I have mentioned on previous occasions, when I am at Alejandro's house I usually do a bit of cooking to give Alejandro and his sister a break from preparing meals for the family.

Before I had left for Mexico, I found an easy recipe for paprikash sauce that I thought might be something different to serve them.  I tried it out at home.  A native Hungarian might turn his nose up at it, but I thought that it came out quite well.  So, I took the recipe with me, and, unsure of how available paprika is down here, I packed a small container of it in my suitcase.

Yesterday I went to the supermarket and bought the other ingredients, and then I started cooking.



The recipe calls for chopped bell peppers, but since Alejandro's nephew Ezra does not like bell peppers, I put in mushrooms instead.  (Ezra does like mushrooms.)  I know that genuine chicken paprikash is served with whole pieces of chicken.  But I made it easier and simply bought a package of cooked, shredded chicken breast and added it to the sauce.  Also at the supermarket I could not find egg noodles, so I served the paprikash over pasta.

After Ezra came home from school we had our afternoon dinner.  They really liked my version of chicken paprikash... and they weren't just being polite.  Alejandro's dad and Ezra both had second helpings.  I asked Ezra if I should make it again sometime, and he said "sí".  Of course, before I leave Mexico I will have to make Ezra's two favorites... spaghetti and meatballs, and "chilaquiles".

5 comments:

  1. My grandmother's recipe uses shredded chicken.
    https://whatsintheoven.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/chicken-paprikash-gummys-style/

    She used to make spetzle, but we buy it now. Egg noodles work too :)

    Pasta seems like a good substitute.

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    1. Thanks. Good to know. So maybe my dish was not so far off from the real thing. Are mushrooms ever put in it?
      Most important thing was that they liked it.

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  2. My mom always served paprikash with drop dumplings, which are very easy to make:

    3 cups flour
    1 tsp salt
    2 eggs
    1 can evaporated milk

    Mix all ingredients together. Drop by tablespoonfuls into large pot of boiling water. I usually cook them 20 minutes.

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    1. My mom used to make spaetzle, but served them with sauerkraut, not paprikash. She must have learned how to make them from her Swiss grandmother, but there was no written recipe. I've looked up recipes and tried making them, but they have never come out like my mom's. It wasn't until I visited my Swiss cousin Hans Peter, and then this summer when I went to Vienna that I had spaetzle as good as hers.

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    2. I'll have to give your mom's recipe a try sometime.

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