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The Really Healthy Oils in the Kitchen by Clara M. Czegeny - The Hot Hungarian Chef

The Really Healthy Oils in the Kitchen...

Hi folks. Back again with some up to the minute news about health and cooking and ingredients.

I do a lot of research and reading on and off line, so naturally, I come across some good-bad-ugly stuff. I share the good stuff!

Most recently, I came across some very wrong information. Actually - it delves into the off-base weird stuff that someone posted on Facebook and their blog about Healthy Oils in the Kitchen. Wonder what they were "cooking up"?It certainly wasn't health!

Let's be honest, As Hungarians, we often get a beating for using so much sour cream, butter and bacon in our recipes. So, since health is always at the top of my priority list when preparing food and recipes, I thought this would be a great opportunity to  redeem our coveted Hungarian heritage recipes and put those bad reports to bed. 

Ok - the recycling bin!

A GIFT!

Here's some great comforting news. I bumped into a gal in the know called the Kitchen Kop on Facebook and she had some pretty good news to share which fits quite nicely into my research. 

I won't re-write the article, because it's great as is.

It's called...

"Get Rid of the Bad Fats in Your Kitchen!"

 

BAD GUYS: Sunflower, Safflower, Corn, Soybean, Canola, Cottonseed.

GOOD GUYS: Butter, bacon grease, animal fats, ghee, evoo, cocoanut oil, lard, tallow and palm oil!

  
Yeah! - we win! Us Hunkies didn't have it all wrong after all!

 ~~~~
To read the whole article, 

click here.

For more recipes, stories, chef hints and media blurbs,  please visit our website at...

Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes

the ONLY Hungarian Heritage Cookbook you will ever need!

Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes presents...Lekváros Bukta- Hungarian Sweet Rolls Recipe

Hungarian Sweet Rolls Recipe

 - Lekváros Bukta

PHOTO BY 

Hungarian Jam-Filled Sweet Roll or Bukta
© Barbara Rolek licensed to About.com, Inc

Hungarian sweet rolls are known as bukta. When they are filled with jam, they are known as lekváros bukta. Bukta are called buchty in Czech and Polish. I adapted this recipe from "Helen's Hungarian Heritage Recipes" by Helen Szabo and Clara M. Czegeny. The recipe calls for sour cream but I substituted plain Greek yogurt because that's what I had at home and it worked out well. The dough is easy to make and wonderful to work with. It can be served without the jam filling but are even better when stuffed with apricot or plum lekvar. Optional fillings are poppyseed, walnut, and sweetened cheese. I had just made some spiced plum jam and decided to use it and it worked like a charm. As with most recipes, there are endless variations and bukta are no different. Helen Szabo uses a sweet yeast-raised dough similar to what might be used for cinnamon rolls or houska without the raisins.

Clara Czegeny says, the word bukta comes from the expression "ki-bukni," which means to "spill or fall out haphazardly," because when the rolls come out of the oven, they are flipped out or spilled out of the baking pan.

"Originally, Buchteln were a Bohemian sweet dish," Czegeny says. But, over time, they became part of the Austro-Bavarian-Hungarian cuisine. What an extraordinary treat these would make for an after-school snack, still warm from the oven!

Here is a larger photo of Hungarian Jam-Filled Sweet Rolls or Lekváros Bukta

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Rise time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Yield: 50 Hungarian Bukta

Ingredients:

Proof Yeast:
2 packets active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
 
Basic Sweet Dough:
4-5 cups all-purpose flour
4 large egg yolks
1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
Filling of choice
2 ounces melted unsalted butter
1 large beaten egg
Confectioners' sugar
Vanilla Custard:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1 scraped vanilla bean
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preparation:

1. To proof the yeast: In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, combine yeast with 1/2 cup lukewarm milk and sugar. Sprinkle with flour and mix with a fork. Let proof until bubbly.
   
   
2. To make the dough: In a large mixing bowl using a Danish dough whisk or wooden spoon, or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together flour, egg yolks, yogurt or sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Add 4 cups flour and mix. Dough will be crumbly at this point. Add the yeast mixture and remaining 1/2 cup milk, and mix until well incorporated. If necessary, add up to 1 additional cup flour to achieve a smooth, but sticky, dough. The dough will probably not clean the sides of the bowl. Scrape down sides of bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
   
   
3. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Roll to 1/2-inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut dough into 2-inch by 2-inch squares (you can cut larger squares, if desired). Let rest, covered, 10 minutes while you prepare the baking pans. Line two (13x9-inch) pans with parchment paper (don't skip this step), then butter the parchment paper. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling of choice on each square of dough. Roll up, enclosing the filling completely. Place 25 rolls each, seam side down, into prepared pans, brushing tops and sides of rolls with melted butter. You want the rolls to be fairly close together so they grow together.
   
   
4. Cover rolls with greased plastic and let rise until almost doubled. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush risen rolls with beaten egg. Bake 25-35 minutes or until golden. Remove immediately from oven. Let rest 5 minutes, then flip out onto a cutting board. Flip back, right side up and brush with any remaining melted butter. Place sweet rolls onto a plate and dust immediately with confectioners' sugar. Serve hot with hot vanilla custard sauce, if desired (see below). Bukta freeze well.
   
   
5. To make the vanilla custard sauce: In a small saucepan, bring cream, milk, scraped vanilla bean, and 1/2 cup sugar to a boil. Reduce heat, add cornstarch and whisk constantly until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Serve hot over bukta.

originally posted on...

Eastern European Food About.com Hungarian Bukta Recipe

HUNGARIAN GOLDEN DUMPLING COFFEE CAKE Arany Galuska

HUNGARIAN GOLDEN DUMPLING COFFEE CAKE
Arany Galuska 







A traditional Hungarian dessert. This is very simple but good eating. This recipe consists of many sugary balls of coffee cake dough drenched first in melted butter, then dipped in a sugary walnut and cinnamon coating creating a crunchy texture with melt in your mouth sweetness. Usually baked in a tube pan. When you take the sweet bread out of the oven, you just tear away at the sugary dough pieces (literally). It’s amazing!

2 pkgs active dry yeast
½ cup water, lukewarm
½ cup shortening
½ cup sugar
1½ tsp salt
4 -5 cups sifted flour
½ cups milk, scalded
2 eggs, well beaten

This is not a quick recipe, but it’s well worth the effort. Proof yeast using sugar and water. Set aside. Place shortening, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Immediately pour the scalded milk over ingredients in bowl. When mixture is lukewarm, mix in 1 cup of the sifted flour, beating until dough is smooth. Stir the softened yeast and add to dough, mixing well. Add about 2 cups (or approximately ½) of the remaining flour and beat until very smooth. Beat in eggs, and then beat in enough of remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and let it rest 5-10 minutes.

Form dough into a large ball and put into a greased bowl. Cover bowl with towel and rest in warm place until dough is doubled. Punch dough down with fist. Cover and let dough rise again until doubled. Lightly grease the bottom of the tube pan.

Crumble Nut Filling1 cup sugar
½ chopped walnuts
1½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup raisins

Mix sugar, walnuts and cinnamon together in a shallow dish and set aside. Place into another shallow dish the butter and raisins and set aside.

Scoop out dough with ice cream scooper. Dip balls first into butter then roll lightly in sugar mixture. Arrange 1 layer of balls in a tube pan so that they do not touch each other. Sprinkle about one-third of the raisins and slightly press them down. Continue in this manner until all dough and raisins are used. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture or butter over top layer of dough. Cover pan with waxed paper and towel and let dough rise again 30-45 minutes.

Bake at 375°F for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Run spatula around sides of tube pan. Invert onto plate. Serve immediately while still warm. Break apart chunks of the cake and pull apart with two forks.

You haven't lived until you have tried this delightful dessert.

Enjoy
HOT HUNGARIAN CHEF

for more of these amazing delicious recipes - click on http://www.helenshungarianrecipes.com/

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Sister's congratulatory cookbook note says..."Clara and my mother Helen co-authored these amazing treasured Hungarian family recipes"

So, whether you crave Chicken Paprikas or Almas Retes, this authentic, beloved, cherished and Hungarian Heritage Recipe collection includes a vast array of national favourites, from appetizers through desserts. Learn about, create, and taste the flavours and culinary traditions of Hungary - from Cabbage Rolls to Poppy seed and Walnut Rolls and the famous regal Dobos Torte. It must have been an amazing task - God bless you both! Great Job! 

 

Visit our website.

http://www.helenshungarianheritagerecipes.com/