Winter Garden (37 page)

Find this and many other delicious recipes in The Veselka Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from the Landmark Restaurant in New York’s East Village by Tom Birchard with Natalie Danford. To learn more or to buy the book, visit http://www.veselka.com/cookbook/.

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BEEF STROGANOFF

Serves 6 to 8

Like Veal Goulash, this is a belly filling meal- in- a-bowl, perfect for cold weather. Serve it with egg noodles or rice. Also like Ola’s Veal Goulash*, this recipe includes some ketchup. Interestingly, our Eastern European cooks don’t see ketchup as a condiment— for them it’s interchangeable with tomato paste, probably because they didn’t have it on their tables when they were growing up. You can substitute tomato paste for the ketchup without any loss of flavor...

5 pounds pepper steak strips1 cup all- purpose flour2 tablespoons olive oil8 cups Chicken Stock (page 35)4 tablespoons ketchup2 bay leaves4 whole allspice berries8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter2 yellow onions, sliced (about 11⁄2 cups)4 large portobello mushrooms, sliced8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced2 cups sour cream1 teaspoon cornstarchSaltFreshly ground black pepper

Rinse the meat and pat dry. Dredge the meat in the flour.In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the olive oil and pan fry the meat until completely browned on all sides. (Cook in batches if necessary.)Meanwhile, combine the chicken stock and ketchup in a large stockpot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Remove the cooked meat from the skillet with tongs or a slotted spoon (let any excess fat drip back into the skillet) and place the meat in the pot with the stock. (Pour off excess fat and set the skillet aside for step 5.) The stock should just cover the meat in the pot. If necessary, add a small amount of additional stock or some water.Add the bay leaves and whole allspice berries to the pot. Simmer the beef until very tender, about 1 and 1 ⁄2 hours, skimming occasionally.In the same cast-iron skillet you used to cook the meat, melt the butter. Add the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are a deep rich brown, about 11 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they are fully cooked, 10 to 15 additional minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. When the meat is cooked, remove about 2 cups of cooking liquid from the pot and transfer to a medium bowl. Stir the sour cream into the hot liquid. Add the cornstarch to the sour cream and whisk vigorously to remove any lumps. This mixture should be very creamy and somewhat thick. Return the sour cream mixture to the pot, stir to combine with the meat, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.Stir in the mushrooms and onions and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Variations: To make Chicken Stroganoff , replace the pepper steak with boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips and decrease the stock to 21⁄2 cups. In step 4, simmer the chicken for only 15 to 20 minutes, and in step 6, stir only 1 cup of cooking liquid into the sour cream. Omit the ketchup or reduce to 2 tablespoons.

Find this and many other delicious recipes in The Veselka Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from the Landmark Restaurant in New York’s East Village by Tom Birchard with Natalie Danford. To learn more or to buy the book, visit http://www.veselka.com/cookbook/.

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UKRAINIAN MEATBALLS

Makes fifteen 4- ounce meatballs; about 6 servings

These delicious meatballs may be either baked or fried. Pan- frying gives them a crunchy exterior, while baking leaves them slightly softer. Either way, they are delicious.

1 large stale sandwich roll, such as a Kaiser roll, torn into pieces1 cup whole milk2 1⁄2 pounds ground pork or beef or a combination of the two2 large eggs, lightly beaten1 small yellow onion, minced2 garlic cloves, minced2 teaspoons salt1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper1 cup dry bread crumbs1 tablespoon olive oil

If you are planning to bake the meatballs, preheat the oven to 375°F. If you prefer your meatballs with a crispy crust, bake at a higher temperature for a shorter period of time.Soak the bread in the milk until soft, about 10 minutes.In a large bowl, combine the meat, eggs, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Remove the soaked bread from the milk and pinch it into small pieces right into the bowl with the meat. Mix with your hands until well combined.Roll the meat mixture into 15 round or oval meatballs.Spread the bread crumbs on a large plate and roll the meatballs in them to coat the outsides.To bake the meatballs, place them on a jelly- roll pan, drizzle them with olive oil, and bake in the preheated oven, turning them a few times, until browned, about 30 minutes.To pan-fry the meatballs, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan. Cook the meatballs in the pan, turning them with tongs to brown on all sides. Cook in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the skillet.

Find this and many other delicious recipes in The Veselka Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from the Landmark Restaurant in New York’s East Village by Tom Birchard with Natalie Danford. To learn more or to buy the book, visit http://www.veselka.com/cookbook/.

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POTATO PANCAKES

Makes 10 large pancakes; 10 servings

These potato pancakes represent another ingenious Ukrainian use of some of the simplest ingredients. Peel and shred the potatoes on the largest holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the shredding blade just before using them to prevent discoloring. The durum flour (sometimes sold as semolina fl our) holds up better to frying than regular all- purpose fl our would. These are great as a side dish, served with some sour cream, but cut into wedges and topped with dollops of sour cream (and maybe a little diced smoked salmon) they also make a good hors d’oeuvre.

1 small onion1 garlic clove3 pounds (about 4 medium) Idaho potatoes2 large eggs, lightly beaten2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste1⁄2 cup durum (semolina) flourVegetable oil, for fryingFreshly ground black pepperSour cream

Combine the onion and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse a few times until very finely ground, almost puréed. Set aside.Peel the potatoes, then grate them on the largest holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the shredding blade. Do not place them in water.In a large bowl, combine the onion and garlic, the potatoes, the eggs, and the 2 teaspoons salt. Mix with your hands. Add the flour in small amounts, about 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing to combine between additions. Depending on how wet the potatoes are, how large the eggs are, and even the weather, you may not need all the flour. The goal is a mixture that is moist but neither soupy nor overly dry. Stop when you have added enough fl our.Fill a large cast-iron skillet or large sauté pan with oil so that it comes about 1 ⁄2 inch up the sides of the skillet and heat the oil to 325°F. It should be very hot but not smoking. If you are not sure if the oil is hot enough, drop a small spoonful of the potato mixture into the skillet to test. It should start to sizzle immediately.When the oil is hot, drop spoonfuls of the potato mixture (an average large skillet will hold 4 at a time) into the oil and cook until crispy on the bottom, about 3 minutes.Flip the pancakes and cook until the other side is also golden brown and crispy.Remove the cooked pancakes with a slotted spatula and drain on paper towels or brown paper bags. Add a little bit of oil to the skillet if you need to to bring it back to 1 ⁄2 inch up the side of the pan, reheat the oil, then repeat with the remaining potato batter.Taste and season the potato pancakes with additional salt (if necessary— it may not be) and freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve hot with sour cream on the side.

Find this and many other delicious recipes in The Veselka Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from the Landmark Restaurant in New York’s East Village by Tom Birchard with Natalie Danford. To learn more or to buy the book, visit http://www.veselka.com/cookbook/.