Eva Gabor's Cheese Souffle
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sharp cheese, grated
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
5 eggs, separated
Melt butter in top of a double boiler. Stir in flour to form a smooth paste. Gradually blend in milk. Cook over boiling water until thickened, stirring constantly. Add cheese and seasonings.
Stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat. Stir in well-beaten egg yolks; cool. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites into cheese-yolk mixture.
Turn into well-greased casserole. Place dish in pan of hot water. Bake in preheated 450 degrees F. oven for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake about 30 minutes longer.
Serve immediately. Terrific with salad of mixed crisp greens, tiny French rolls and dry white wine. Serves 4.
Thoughts: Souffles are not difficult to make, even for novice cooks. They work best when egg whites are whipped with a large balloon whisk. Souffles can be made lighter with the addition of 1 extra egg white. Be sure to serve at once. A good, aged cheddar is an excellent choice for this French classic.
Eva Gabor's Goulash Gabor
1 pound lean sirloin
1 pound veal (cut from leg)
1 teaspoon salt
1/16 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups beef stock (or 10 1/2-ounce can beef broth)
Chopped parsley
Trim off fat and connective tissue from meat, cut into one-inch cubes. Heat oil in heavy skillet (or Dutch oven); brown meat and onion quickly. Stir often to prevent sticking.
Add 1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika, salt, pepper, beef stock (or undiluted beef broth) and crushed garlic. Bring to boil, cover, simmer 1/2 hour. Uncover, cook over low heat until liquid is absorbed and meat is fork-tender (about 1/2 hour). Shake skillet often to prevent sticking. Top with Hungarian paprika and minced parsley. Serve with dumplings, boiled potatoes or hot buttered noodles flavored with poppy seeds. Serves 4-6.
Thoughts: The Gabors prepare goulash countless ways, using beef or fowl. For a change of pace, turn cooked goulash into buttered pie plate, top with seasoned, fluffy potato crust. (Whip potatoes with beaten egg, sour cream, sweet butter, salt, pepper and liberal amounts of Hungarian paprika). Heat in hot 450 degree oven 20 minutes until crust is crisp and brown.
Eva Gabor's Hungarian Goulash
2 tablespoons lard
2 yellow onions, chopped
2 pounds beef round, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound beef heart, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, ground
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1 1/2 quarts beef broth
2 green bell peppers, cored and sliced into strips
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
1 tomato
Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
Dumplings:
2 large eggs
10 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Heat the lard in a heavy covered casserole and cook the onions over medium heat until they sweat, wilt and start to turn translucent, about 6-8 minutes.
Add the two meats, turn the heat up to medium high and cook, stirring every 30 seconds, to brown the meat on all sides, about 10 minutes.
Use a mortar and pestle to grind the caraway seeds and 1/2 t. salt together so that the seeds are powdered. Grind in the minced garlic to make a crumbly paste. Stir this into the browned meat. Stir the paprika into the meat.
Add the beef broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. After 1 hour, taste the broth in the goulash. Add salt and pepper, and more paprika to taste. Add the sliced bell peppers and potato cubes.
Cut the tomato in half around the middle. Scoop out the seeds with your finger. Use the large wholes on a box grater to grate the pulp into the pot, pressing down the tomato with the heel of your hand until all that is left is the skin denuded of all pulp. Discard the skin.
Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the vegetables; if not add more broth. Simmer for 30 minutes. Check after 15 minutes to see if the goulash is too watery; if so, leave the lid off to reduce the liquid. If not, keep covered.
While the potatoes and peppers are simmering, use a fork to whisk the two eggs with a pinch of salt in a small mixing bowl. One tablespoon at a time whisk in the flour. Keep stirring as you incorporate the flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep adding flour until you have a yellow dough that is very stretchy and elastic so that when you pull out the fork you get a nice long strand stretching out. You might not need all 10 T. flour, or you may need more. Towards the end, add by 1/2 T. so that the dough doesn't get too stiff.
When the potatoes and peppers are done, use a metal spatula to pull strings of dough out of the bowl and let them drop into the simmering goulash. They will make little yellow squiggles of spaetzlë-style dumplings.
When all the dough has been dropped into the simmering goulash use a wooden spoon to push them into the liquid so that they are slightly submerged.
They are done when they float back to the surface, 2-3 minutes.
Eva Gabor's Piperade for Two
1/2 cup julienne strips leftover ham (or sliced Italian salami)
2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, peeled and sliced
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 eggs
Hungarian paprika
Brown ham lightly in olive oil (or butter); remove and set aside. Add pepper and onion to same skillet, cook over medium heat until vegetables are half soft.
Add tomatoes, garlic and seasonings; simmer until sauce becomes a soft, mushy puree. Beat eggs lightly, gently stir into hot tomato sauce. Stir, do not overcook. The omelet should be wet and soft like scrambled eggs. Top with ham sprinkled lightly with Hungarian paprika. Serve with triangles of fried toast.
