A Dining Experience from Hungary
MAY 13, 2020 | 4 MINUTE READ
ESZTI LANDERHOLM, GLOBAL WORKER
You’ll find below some music, a traditional recipe, and ways to pray for the country of Hungary to help you bring a new experience into your life! Follow the steps we’ve outlined below by yourself or with your family. You might even consider inviting friends or family to join you from a distance!
MUSIC: Hungarian worship music—Évi and Illés Dobner
RECIPE: Eszti’s Chicken Paprikas Recipe Yields 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2½ lbs. chicken, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. marjoram
- 1 tsp. mustard
- 2 Tbsp. Hungarian paprika (sweet)
- 2 C. (480 ml) of water
- 2/3 C. (70 ml) sour cream for garnishing
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Using a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions and garlic; cook until soft.
- Add the tomatoes and cook for 2–3 minutes.
- Add the paprika, but make sure to stir constantly (paprika tastes bitter if it burns).
- Almost immediately, add the chicken pieces, the marjoram, mustard, and stir until well-mixed.
- Gradually stir in the water and bring to a boil. Continue stirring.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Optional: You can stir in the sour cream at this point or serve it on the side as an optional garnish to make it dairy-free.
- Simmer the mixture for 5 more minutes.
Arrange chicken on a large platter and spoon sauce over and around it. Serve with nokedli (dumplings) and sour cream, with Hungarian cucumber salad on the side.
RECIPE: Eszti’s Nokedli (Hungarian Dumplings) Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 C. water
- 2 C. flour
Directions:
- Fill a large pot with water and salt. Bring to a boil.
- Combine eggs, salt, and water, beating well with a whisk.
- Add flour a little at a time until it forms a soft, sticky dough.
- Let mixture rest for about 10 minutes, then beat it again for 1 minute.
- Using the side of a teaspoon, spoon a small amount of dough into the boiling water.
- Dipping the spoon in the hot water will remove the dough from the spoon (if you have a nokedli maker, the process goes much faster).
- The noodles are done when they float to the top of the boiling water.
- You may want to make the dumplings in two or three batches so they don’t overcook. Note: Don’t let the dumplings get too brown or crisp. They should be small, white, soft, and light.
- Remove the dumplings from the water with a large slotted spoon. Rinse them with cold water.
RECIPE: Hungarian Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 5 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 C. (474 ml) water
- 1/2 C. (118 ml) vinegar
- 3 large cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Paprika for garnishing
Directions
- For the dressing, use a small bowl to dissolve the sugar in water.
- Add the vinegar and finish dissolving. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, wash, skin, and thinly slice the cucumbers.
- Add the garlic and season generously with salt.
- Let stand for 15 minutes.
- Pour dressing over the cucumbers until just covered.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight if possible before serving.
Optional: Garnish with paprika if desired.
RECIPE: Linzer Cookies Yields about 2 dozen sandwich cookies
Ingredients
- 2 C. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 C. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/4 C. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 C. seedless raspberry jam
Directions
- To make the dough: whisk the flour, baking powder, confectioners' sugar, cinnamon, and salt in medium a bowl; set aside.
- Add the butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until fluffy.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and the egg. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Halve the dough and shape it into 2 disks.
- Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
- To bake the cookies: Preheat oven to 375° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thick. Cut out dough with a 2-inch fluted cookie cutter.
- Cut out centers of half the cookies with a 1/2-inch heart cutter.
- Re-roll the scraps and cut out additional cookies.
- Space the cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
- Chill dough on baking sheets for 5 minutes.
- Bake cookies and hearts until pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer the pans to wire racks to cool and allow the cookies to cool completely on the pans before transferring to a work surface for the next steps.
- Meanwhile, heat jam in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced and thickened, about 7 minutes; let cool.
- Dust the cutout cookies with confectioners' sugar. These will be the tops of your cookie sandwiches.
- Spread jam onto uncut cookies; top with the cut-out cookies.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
WAYS TO PRAY FOR HUNGARY
- Like all around the globe, many Hungarians are suffering due to the coronavirus. Pray that Jesus would not only meet their physical, financial, and emotional needs, but that this would be a time of spiritual revival in Hungary.
- Future Ministry Opportunities: Pray for wisdom on how to proceed with ministry at Morning Star Ranch this summer in light of the coronavirus. We are hopeful that camps and events can happen and desire that Jesus would use the ministry to draw kids and families to Himself.
Author Bio: Mark and Eszti Landerholm serve in Hungary as WGM global workers. They serve on a horse farm called the Morning Star Ranch where they are able to share about Jesus. They have three children, Samuel, Nathan, and Jakob.