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Category: Europe A-K

Salata Od Hobotnice -Octopus Salad

This is a Croatian dish, specifically from the coastal region of Dalmatia. It starts with a simple dressing mix of:

  • Olive oil
  • Garlic
  • Parsley
  • S+P
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Olives and/or capers
  • Vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar)
  • Lemon Juice

It then gets mixed with cooked octopus (I used the frozen cooked squid tentacles and threw in some mussels as well), and also boiled golden potatoes cut into chunks.

  • Octopus or squid (cooked)
  • Golden potatoes
  • Mussels not standard but optional

Not traditional, but I also topped it with:

  • Pimiento

Banana peppers may added as well, and again; mussels are not the standard

Other common ingredients include:

  • Bay leaf
  • Onions

Himmel und Erde

“Heaven and earth”. Mashed potatoes and apples.

  1. Peel an equal amount of apples and potatoes, then large dice the potatoes and large slice the apples.
  2. Boil gently until both are tender in salted water.
  3. Drain, mash together, then add butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Forelle Müllerin

  • A classic trout dish, known as trout meunière.
      • Put salt, pepper, and lemon juice on a piece of trout filet with the skin on. Let sit for a few minutes.
      Dredge in flour and pan fry.
      While frying, melt butter in another pan and brown to drizzle on top of the trout.
      Serve with lemon and any side you want.

    Apfelkuchen

    Apfelkuchen is a German apple cake. This particular one was in “Fredericksburg Home Kitchen Cook Book (13th edition, 150th anniversary of Fredericksburg)”, with Mrs. Henry J. Bierschwale submitring this recipe in 1975.

    • 3 green apples
    • 1/2 cup hot water
    • 3/4 cup olive oil
    • 2 eggs, beaten
    • 2 1/2 cups flour
    • 1 1/2 cups sugar
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • (Optional pecans)
    1. Mix dry ingredients in small bowl
    2. In large bowl add hot water to apples, then oil, then eggs, then flour mixture, and pecans if using
    3. Put in greased baking dish on 325F for 1 1/4 hours

    Rosolje

    Rosolje is an Estonian beet potato salad, with a “kaste” (sauce)

    Diced Salad

    • Beets
    • Potatoes
    • Carrots
    • Pickles
    • Red or White Onion
    • Green Apple
    • Herring Fillets

    Kaste

    • Mayonnaise
    • Plain full fat yogurt or sour cream
    • Vinegar
    • Mustard (preferably hot)
    • Horseradish
    • S&P

    Beet Salad

    1. Equal parts potato and beets, then whatever you want to add

    Kaste

    1. Equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream or yogurt, then the rest to taste

    —Serve with boiled eggs and chives or parsley

    Hakklihakaste

    An Estonian simple meat sauce. “Kaste” in Estonian is a thinner sauce than a thickened cream sauce. Serve with potatoes, rice, barley, or other choice

    • Ground beef or pork
    • Onion and garlic, minced
    • Cream or whole mile
    • Sour Cream
    • Dill, thyme, chives (your choice)
    1. Render ground beef in butter or oil and then add onion, cook to soft
    2. Add cream or whole milk and let thicken a little
    3. Stir in sour cream and herbs if using

    Lihapyöryköitä

    Finnish meatballs, the main difference between American meatballs is added nutmeg and the gravy made from the meat. The original recipe found in “The Finnish Cookbook” by Beatrice A. Ojakangas, and I confirmed it with a website in Finnish

    • Ground beef – 1lb
    • 2/3 cup breadcrumbs soaked in 1/2 cup cream
    • 1 onion, minced
    • 1 egg, beaten
    • 1/4 tsp allspice, and salt to taste
    • Roux – 2T flour
    • 2 cups milk
    1. Mix beef, breadcrumbs, onion, egg, allspice and salt
    2. Shape into smallish meatballs and brown in butter in pot, then remove
    3. Add 1 more T of butter if necessary for the roux, then add flour. Cook for 1 minute
    4. Add milk and turn into gravy by thickening slightly (it will thicken more with cooking
    5. Return meatballs into pot and simmer for 15 minutes with lid on until sauce is your preference and meat is finished cooking

    Lescó

    Lescó is a Hungarian stew. The main ingredients are:

    • Bacon (smoked preferable)
    • Sausage (kielbasa or other high quality)
    • Tomatoes (beefsteak, heirloom, or similar)
    • Hot pepper (Hungarian wax pepper preferably, banana pepper if you cannot find wax pepper)
    • Onion, white, or yellow
    • S&P
    1. Render cubed bacon in a stew pot on medium heat. Add sliced sausage if using raw, or wait until you add tomatoes if smoked
    2. Chop onion then add to pot, let soften a little
    3. Slice peppers, then add, cook while you slice tomatoes
    4. Add tomatoes and smoked sausage if using
    5. Cook until tomatoes are stewed and season with S&P

    If you have any memories about a variation in your Hungarian Lescó please let me know. I found ingredients to be the same from “Hungary Today”, and multiple websites in Hungarian.