Beth Bylund :: Recipes

Hungarian Shortbread

The light, crumbly texture of this shortbread owes to a clever technique: freezing the dough and grating it. This recipe is based on one in Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan (Morrow, 1996).

2 cups flour, plus more as needed
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. fine salt
1/2 lb. unsalted, uncultured butter (like Straus), plus more for pan, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup raspberry jam

1. Using a sieve over a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Cream butter in a large bowl, using a hand mixer on high speed, until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and egg yolks; mix until sugar is dissolved and mixture is light, about 4 minutes. With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture; mix until dough just begins to come together, about 1 minute.

2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; bring it together with your hands. Divide dough in half and form 2 balls. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap; freeze for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

3. Arrange an oven rack in center of oven; heat to 350 degrees. Grease a 10" springform pan with butter. Remove a ball of dough from freezer, unwrap, and grate, using the large holes of a box grater, directly into prepared pan. Gently pat grated dough to even it out. Spread jam evenly over dough, leaving about a 1/2" border around edges. Grate remaining dough over jam layer; pat gently until surface is even. Bake until light golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan, on a rack, before cutting into wedges.

Leek and Potato Soup

8 leeks, white part only, washed and medium juilenned
4 tablespoons salted butter or margarine
5 medium cloves garlic, finely minced
3 quarts chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
2 pounds marrow bones
3 1/2 pounds Red Bliss potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled, and medium chopped
6 medium carrots, peeled and medium chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Garnish: 1 teaspoon finely chopped curly parsley

1. Heat the butter in a medium skillet and saute the leeks over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and continue to saute for 1 minute more. Set aside.

2. Heat the chicken broth with the marrowbones in a large stockpot over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, removing any scum that rises to the top of the broth with a metal spoon. Add the potatoes, carrots, reserved leeks, dill, salt, and pepper to the broth and continue to simmer the soup, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender but have not lost their shape, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

3. Remove the marrowbones with a slotted spoon. Scrape the marrow from the bones with a small teaspoon and set aside. Discard the bones.

4. Puree the soup in batches in a food processor fitted with a knife blade. The soup will be smooth, colorful, and thick. Return the pureed soup to the stockpot, blend in the reserved marrow, and season to taste. Reheat over low heat and garnish with parsley.

Cook's Tips: Make the soup the day before, but do not add the marrow. Bring to room temperature. Store the marrow and the soup separately in the refrigerator, covered well. Reheat the soup, uncovered, over low heat. Blend the marrow and reseason. If the soup becomes too thick, add more chicken broth and reseason.

Roasted Garbanzo Beans and Garlic with Swiss Chard

Garbanzo Beans:
2 15.5-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained (about 3 cups)
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 large shallots
3 small bay leaves, preferably fresh
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 1/4 cups extra-virgin olive oil

Chard:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
3 small bay leaves, preferably fresh
2 shallots, sliced
2 bunches Swiss chard, center stems cut out, leaves coarsely torn
2 cups low-salt chicken broth

Garbanzo beans:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine first 5 ingredients in 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour oil over; cover dish with foil. Roast until garlic is tender, about 45 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, cover, and chill.

Chard:
Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, bay leaves, and shallots. Cover; cook until shallots are tender, about 2 minutes. Uncover; add half of chard. Toss until chard wilts and volume is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add remaining chard. Toss until chard wilts, about 2 minutes. Add broth. Cover and cook until chard is tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season chard with salt and pepper. Transfer chard mixture to large sieve set over bowl and drain. DO AHEAD: Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Drain garbanzos and reserve oil; discard bay leaves. Combine garbanzos and chard in large skillet. Add 2 tablespoons oil reserved from garbanzos. Toss over medium heat until warmed through, moistening with more oil by tablespoonfuls if needed, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Lentil Soup with Roasted Garlic and Olive Paste

Serves 6 to 8

1 cup small brown or green French lentils, rinsed well
1 whole head of garlic
1 tsp plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
1 lb Swiss chard
1 medium onion minced
1 large clove of garlic minced
4 cups low sodium, low fat chicken or veggie broth
2 cups water
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs of fresh oregano (or ½ tsp crushed dried)
1 - 3 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp black or green olive tapenade or paste
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325. Put lentils in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat while preparing remaining ingredients.

Cut off about ½ inch from top of garlic head, place in aluminum foil and drizzle with 1 tsp of olive oil and wrap tightly. Bake 40-60 minutes or until cloves of garlic are soft. Remove from oven, open foil and let cool. Squeeze garlic out into a small bowl and mash into a paste with the back of a fork.

Remove stems from Swiss chard and chop coarsely. Set aside. Chop leaves coarsely and set aside. Drain lentils, rinse and set aside.

In a 4 quart pot, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender. Add chard stems, minced garlic and saute 4-5 minutes or until veggies have softened. Add lentils, roasted garlic, water, broth, tomato paste, bay leaf and oregano. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer 20 minutes. Add greens to pot and continue cooking for 20 minutes or until lentils are just tender.

Stir in 1 tbsp sherry vinegar and tapenade into soup. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed, adding more vinegar to taste.

Guopa and Stir Fry Vegetables

½ lb shrimp (optional)
½ lb sliced pork
½ lb sliced chicken
Marinade (pork & chicken): 1 Tbsp tapioca starch, 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 clove minced garlic
6 oz straw mushrooms
8 sliced dried mushrooms
¼ oz snow peas
½ cup sliced celery
5 oz water chestnuts
5 oz bamboo shoots
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
Guopa (rice cake, 1 square per person)
oil

Seasoning Sauce***
3 Tbsp hot oyster sauce OR HOT BEAN PASTE
1 Tbsp rice wine
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
½ tsp white pepper
½ cup soup stock
1 Tbsp tapioca starch

Slice pork and chicken and marinate. Soak dried mushrooms in hot water for five minutes, then slice. Slice celery, carrots and onion. Mix seasoning sauce in bowl. Heat one cup of oil in a pan over high heat. Velvetize the meats (cook lightly and remove). Clean pan. Heat 3 Tbsp oil over high heat, add garlic and 3 Tbsp hot oyster sauce and stir fry for 10 seconds. Add all the veggies and stir fry for one minute. Add meats and then seasoning sauce mixing well. In another pan, heat 2 cups oil over high heat and deep fry guopa until it puffs. Remove with strainer draining well. Arrange on a serving platter then pour meat and vegetable mixture. Serve while sizzling.

White Bean Chicken Chili

2 tablespoons corn oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon aniseed
½ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 15-ounce cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
1 cup canned chicken broth
1 7-ounce can diced green chilies
½ cup whipping cream
Grated cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, aniseed and dried red pepper. Saute 5 minutes. Push onion to 1 side of pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pan. Saute chicken approximately 5 minutes.

Drain beans; reserve ½ cup bean liquid. Add beans, broth, chilies, cream and reserved bean liquid to chicken. Simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before using.) Ladle chili into bowls. Top with cheese and sprinkle with cilantro.