5/4/09
Our Favorite Meals, Episode XVI
This is a meal that my nonna (grandmother) cooked when I was little. I have a vague remembrance of nonno (grandfather) shouting instructions in the kitchen, so I do not know if it was from his heritage (Hungarian/Italian) or hers (Croatian/Italian). Either way, it has been in my family for at least three generations, and is a constant favorite.
I will apologize in advance for my photos. I've never quite gotten the hang of cameras, lighting, or cleaning my house ;)
We don't have a proper name for this in my house. I grew up calling it 'paste' which offended the heck outta my dad, but oh well. It is pasty, certainly, but it is some sort of sublime potato salad/coleslaw the likes of which I have rarely encountered. It is a cheap meal- tasty, hearty, and more or less healthy. It is also incredibly forgiving with proportions and exact items, as you will see.
Recipe below.
Ingredients:
Steps:
You'll know the potatoes are cooked when you can stir them and the corners break ever so softly. Or you can smash one against the side of the pan. Drain, saving the water if you make potato bread. 
You now have the basics. 
If you are vegetarian, stop here and skip to the cabbagey part. Otherwise, you have a few options. If you have leftover red meat, dice it up and toss it in. We love grilling an extra flank steak/round steak/whatever in the summer and chilling it just for this meal. In the winter, when there's 3 feet of snow between us and the grill (sad face) we just broil a cheap cut of beef for this. It really doesn't matter much what you use, as long as its lean. My mom used boiled venison, and it still tasted great.
Some of the chunks in this pic are almost too wide. You don't want coleslaw, and you don't want mince. It needs to be shaved. My dad (and his before him) used to do this himself, and nearly every single piece of cabbage was almost transparent. I am not quite so picky with my cutting, but the thinner pieces do soak up the dressing better.
There are seldom leftovers of this meal. :)
I will apologize in advance for my photos. I've never quite gotten the hang of cameras, lighting, or cleaning my house ;)We don't have a proper name for this in my house. I grew up calling it 'paste' which offended the heck outta my dad, but oh well. It is pasty, certainly, but it is some sort of sublime potato salad/coleslaw the likes of which I have rarely encountered. It is a cheap meal- tasty, hearty, and more or less healthy. It is also incredibly forgiving with proportions and exact items, as you will see.
Recipe below.
Ingredients:
- water, to boil
- 2-3 medium sized potatoes, either starchy or waxy.
- appx 10-14 oz. lean beef (leftover grilled steak works awesomely for this, or you can buy raw and cook for the meal
- 1/4 cup (give or take) minced sweet onion
- 1 can beans: kidney, pinto, whatever. Kidney beans are our favorite, for color contrast and texture.
- 1/2 head cabbage, red or green
- olive oil, kosher or sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper: to taste
- vinegar: I use white wine, but we've also used red wine, apple cider, and balsamic. balsamic is not good for this, too strong and sweet.
- optional: tiny bit of orange zest.
Steps:
- Boil a quart or two of water, salt it heavily, dice the potatoes into appx 1" cubes, and toss them into the boiling water. While this is going, open the can of beans and drain appx 1/2 the liquid out, then dump them into a large bowl. Add the minced onion. Pour about 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over the beans & onions.
You'll know the potatoes are cooked when you can stir them and the corners break ever so softly. Or you can smash one against the side of the pan. Drain, saving the water if you make potato bread. 
- Add the potatoes to the bowl, reveling in the steam...
You now have the basics. 
If you are vegetarian, stop here and skip to the cabbagey part. Otherwise, you have a few options. If you have leftover red meat, dice it up and toss it in. We love grilling an extra flank steak/round steak/whatever in the summer and chilling it just for this meal. In the winter, when there's 3 feet of snow between us and the grill (sad face) we just broil a cheap cut of beef for this. It really doesn't matter much what you use, as long as its lean. My mom used boiled venison, and it still tasted great.
Whatever you use for meat, dice it up into appx 1/2" chunks, or appx the size of the beans you're using. This meat looks sickly, it's bad photography, sorry.
- Now add that to the mixture, salt to taste, and toss. Let this sit- for the flavors to blend- for a bit, or chill it now if your prefer. We love the hot salad on cold coleslaw contrast.
- Take your head of cabbage, and, using a large serrated knife, shave the cabbage just as thin as you can make it:
Some of the chunks in this pic are almost too wide. You don't want coleslaw, and you don't want mince. It needs to be shaved. My dad (and his before him) used to do this himself, and nearly every single piece of cabbage was almost transparent. I am not quite so picky with my cutting, but the thinner pieces do soak up the dressing better.- Toss the cabbage with kosher salt, a bit of cracked pepper, a tbsp or two of olive oil, and about a tbsp of vinegar. Add orange zest (just a tiny bit!) if you'd like. Toss well, every piece should be coated. Add more oil/vinegar if you wish. My husband doubles everything I put on for his own plate.
Now take your cabbage salad, while still cold, and make a nice bird's nest out of it on your plate. Dump a proportionate amount of the potato salad mixture on top, and enjoy!
Here are my kids digging in, just like we used to do:
There are seldom leftovers of this meal. :)Labels: cooking, dinner, food, hungarian cooking, italian cooking, recipe
