Paprika Potatoes and Green Peas

Cookbooks might be my secret passion. My Amazon wishlist is 90% cookbooks and 10% obligatory items like scarves, cooking utensils, and earrings. I'm not sure what I love more, owning them or finding gems in the stacks at the library. As for my books, I will never relinquish my copies of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, PLENTY, my late grandmother-in-law's Belgian cookbook collection, Flour Water Salt Yeast, or Williams Sonoma Weeknight Cook. As a matter of fact we recently went through a whole house purge and I think I got rid of one cookbook, and it was for how to cook for an Atkins diet. Clearly that should be given to someone who does not currently have a pasta machine in their Amazon shopping cart. 

All in all, I love cookbooks in all shapes and sizes. 1960s aspic filled cookbooks, vegan hipster quinoa kale salad books, bread making, cheese making, Nigella, Ottolenghi, Smitten Kitchen, Good Eats, you name it, I will love it. I hope you do too. 

For Hungary I perused a number of books, but Flavors of Hungary by Charlotte Slovak Biro was the clear winner. I found a lot of little gems in this cookbook. Including lovely recipes for Chicken, Potatoes, and Peas. A perfect trifecta in my world. 

Paprika Potatoes (Paprikas Krumpli)

Adapted from Flavors of Hungary by Charlotte Slovak Biro

1 onion, diced
3 tablespoons butter or butter alternative
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
6 medium-sized potatoes, washed and chopped
½ green bell pepper, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
salt to taste
1 cup water

1. Sauté the onion in butter, until transparent.

2. Add paprika, potatoes, green pepper, tomato, salt, and water. Simmer 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender; don’t stir, but shake pan occasionally.

Green Peas (Zold Borso Fozelek)

Adapted from Flavors of Hungary by Charlotte Slovak Biro

10 ounces frozen peas
¼ cup hot water
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons butter or butter alternative
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1. Boil peas 10 minutes in a covered saucepan with water, salt, and sugar.

2. Add parsley and butter and simmer slowly until peas are tender.

3. Sprinkle with flour and add broth. Stir constantly until thick.