Hungarian Lentils

chia's Note:

hungry for hungarian? try these simply prepared lentils.

• Total Time: 8 hrs 25 mins
• Prep Time: 8 hrs
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 lb lentils , rinsed and picked over
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small onion , chopped
• 2 cloves garlic , chopped
• 2 ounces chicken fat or 2 ounces duck fat , rendered (shmaltz)
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt , to taste
• pepper

Directions:

1. soak lentils in cold water for 8 hours.
2. drain and rinse well.
3. transfer to a wide pot.
4. add stock, salt, bay leaves.
5. bring to a boil reduce heat to low, simmer partially covered for 10 minutes.
6. cook onions and garlic in duck fat in a separate skillet, 5 minutes.
7. add flour and whisk to form a roux.
8. add paprika, and stir the roux into lentils.
9. simmer uncovered, stirring often.
10. add remaining ingredients, season with salt and pepper.
11. remove bay leaves, serve.

Reviews

[D Rusak]

This is my favorite recipezaar recipe to date. It's cheap, easy, and good. Even my Hungarian friends like it! I really like the flavoring so I use extra of paprika, sweetener, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard. Note bene, however: the paprika you use makes a big difference. Buy something good- it won't go to waste, as you'll want to make this again and again! I get mine from a Macedonian shop in Philly.

[threeovens]

This was really, really good. Mustard is my new "secret" ingredient. I didn't soak the lentils, I just cooked them on the stovetop with half water and half chicken stock, bay leaf, chopped carrots, and salt until tender. Then I sauteed the onion and garlic with a little celery in butter, because I no nothing about schmaltz. Mixed it all together and it was very delicious. I'm trying to go lower carb and substitute for rice or potatoes. I think these are a great substitute.

[Chef 925012]

This is a good recipe but can be improved. (Or so I think, no offence to the author.) This is what I do: When I cook some corned beef I always freeze the cooking liquid. When I plan on cooking up some lentils, I defrost the corned beef stock and skim off all fat. I use this instead of chicken stock to cook the lentils. . My recipe is the same as this one except that I add half a celery and 3 carrots finely diced to simmer with the lentils but omit the salt as the cooking liquis is already salty. I also add one finely chopped preserved lemon. I make my roux with 3 onions, not one and add half a teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika. The finishing touch is 2 large tablespoon of low fat Greek style yoghurt and a small tub (about 2 tablespoons of tomato paste added to the pot after the roux. Some chicken or beef stock powder cab added if a meatier taste is desired but I love it as it is. The end result is more international than Hungarian but believe me, your taste buds will say "Köszönöm szépen" ! For those not in the know, that's "Thank you" in Hungarian.