Filed under: Apples of the Earth | Tags: hungarian smoked paprika, jansen's temptations, potatoes
+ cream + paprika
The name says it all. Whoever Jansen was, he knew the way to everybody’s heart. My mother was introduced to this dish by my father’s mother and since then it has been a firm family favourite. Whenever we dream about what we want to eat that evening – Jansen’s Temptations takes us very softly to cloud nine. The secret to get there? Use real smoked Hungarian paprika, which you will definitely find at a good deli. You can add proper Hungarian salami, too.
To tempt 4 people you need:
8 big potatoes
500ml single cream
3 heaped teaspoons smoked Hungarian paprika
To start:
Step 1: Put the oven on 180 °C. Wash and peel the spuds. Place the peeled potatoes directly into another bowl and cover with water to prevent them from going oxidising and going brown. This is the toughest part of the entire dish!.
Step 2: Slice the potatoes lengthways (1/2 cm thick). In an ovenproof dish, start layering the slices, slightly overlapping them. Sprinkle half a teaspoon of paprika over each layer. Do this with all the potatoes. Ideally, you should get about three to four layers of potatoes.
Step 3: Oh, this is the fun part – pour the cream over the potatoes gently so that they are completely submerged.
Step 4: Sprinkle a last teaspoon paprika generously on top of the dish, cover with foil and pop it in the oven for one hour (the time will vary according to the potatoes you use, so start checking at 45 minutes). Check if it is ready by inserting a knife into the layers. If it slides in and out effortlessly, your dish is ready.
If you use salami, add a layer iinbetween every layer of potatoes, ending with potatoes.
+ pumpkin + some mystery
This year, while on a music-high in Grahamstown attending the Jazz Festival, I came across this dish while mozying through the Village Green (a huge open market). My friend pointed out that even though it does look mysterious and a bit sketch, it just tastes oh-so good! I came home after the fest and just had to make it, which was a whole lot of fun, as you can see…
For one trip (make some more by just doubling the quantities):
180g mince
½ small Pumpkin
One carrot
½ an onion
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon paprika
One leaf of a lemon tree (if you have any)
½ a chili (keep the seeds if you like it real hot, otherwise lose the seeds)
One garlic clove
One cm of ginger
Olive oil
One can chopped tomatoes
One teaspoon White grape vinegar
One handful grated mozzarella and one handful grated Cheddar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to start:
Step 1: Put your favourite music on, be it jazz, trance, classical, any tune goes. Prepare a pot with some water and a pinch of salt, and bring to the boil.
Step 2: Cut up the onion, carrot and pumpkin separately. Chop the garlic, chili and ginger finely. Heat a large pan/pot on the stove, add some olive oil, and add the carrots and onion. Let it cook gently for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, chili and ginger add gently cook for a further 5 minutes.
Step 3: Add the pumpkin to the boiling water (alternatively, you can steam it to make it even more nutritional) and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Step 4: Turn up the heat of the onions and add the mince, frying it a bit. Add the spices and vinegar and stir for a minute, then add the tomatoes. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Check the pumpkin. Meanwhile, while the mince develops some personality, grate the cheeses and relax.
Step 6: When the mince looks ready, taste and correct the seasoning. Spoon the pumpkin to the bottom of a bowl, and then add the mince, piping hot. Sprinkle over the cheese. Now eat!
