Polipo Alla Triestina Recipes

Steps:

• Add 6 tablespoons olive oil to a saucepan; drop in the crushed garlic, and set over medium heat; when the garlic is fragrant and sizzling, stir in the onion slices, bay leaves, salt, and pepper flakes.
• Cook for a couple of minutes, tossing and stirring, just until the onions begin to wilt but still have some crunch.
• Pour in the wine, and bring to a boil; immediately dump all the mussels into the pan, tumble them over quickly; cover tightly, and turn the heat up to high.
• Steam the mussels for 3 minutes, frequently shaking the covered pan, then toss them over, with a wire spider or wide slotted spoon.
• If the mussel shells have already opened (or almost all are open), leave the pan uncovered--otherwise, replace the cover and steam a bit longer.
• As soon as the mussels have steamed open, sprinkle 1/4 cup bread crumbs all over the pan; quickly tumble the mussels over and over, still on high heat, so their liquor and the crumbs fall into the bubbling pan juices and create a sauce( if the pan sauce is still thin after a minute of bubbling, sprinkle in more bread crumbs).
• Finally, drizzle 2 more tablespoons oil and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top, and toss briefly to distribute the seasonings.
• Turn off the heat, set the pan in the center of the table, and let people scoop mussels and sauce into their own warm soup bowls (and remember to put out extra bowls for the shells).
• Serve with good crusty bread for mopping up the sauce.

Steps:

• Peel onions and chop into coarse pieces. Melt lard in a heavy 6 to 8-quart Dutch oven. Add the beef cubes to the oil and brown. Work in batches if necessary, removing cubes as they are browned. Don't overcrowd the pan. Add onions to the pot. Heat should be low in order not to brown the onions. When onions become glossy, add back the seared beef. Stir.
• Meanwhile, chop and crush the garlic with the caraway seeds and a little salt; use the flat side of a heavy knife.
• Take kettle from heat. Stir in paprika and the garlic mixture. Stir rapidly with a wooden spoon. Immediately after paprika is absorbed, add 2 1/2 quarts warm water. (Cool water toughens meat if you add it with the meat is frying.)
• Replace covered kettle over low heat and cook for about 1 hour.
• While the braising is going on, peel the tomato, then cut into 1-inch pieces. Core green peppers and slice into rings. Peel potatoes and cut into 3/4-inch dice.
• After the meat has been braised for about 1 hour (the time depends on the cut of the meat), add the tomato and green peppers and enough water to give a soup consistency. Add a little salt. Simmer slowly for another 30 minutes.
• Add potatoes and cook the gulyas till done. Adjust salt. Add hot cherry pepper pods if you want to make the stew spicy hot.
• Cook the dumplings in the stew.
• Serve the gulyas steaming hot in large, extra-deep bowls. The meat should be tender, but not falling apart.
• Mix the egg with flour and salt.
• Spoon the mixture into boiling soup, using 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Cook in the soup for 2 or 3 minutes just before serving.

Steps:

• Heat butter in a large saute pan set over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent.
• Add mushrooms and saute until cooked through. Add rice and stir until well coated.
• Add 2 cups of chicken stock and simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring continuously. Add remaining stock in small quantities (as above), stirring continuously until liquid is absorbed before adding more.
• After about 10 minutes, add diced yellow bell pepper. Continue to cook. When the rice becomes creamy and the grains al dente, add cheeses, and stir well. Add cream, parsley, and adjust seasonings.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Season beef on both sides with salt and pepper. Saute beef until browned. Flip over and brown other side. Transfer steak to oven-proof dish. Add crushed tomatoes, potatoes, onions, peppers, oregano and red hot pepper flakes. Braise in oven, uncovered, for about 1 hour or until beef is tender. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, if needed.

Steps:

• Place the chicken and 10 cups of water in a large pot. Partly cover and bring to a boil over high heat, keeping a close eye so that it doesn't overflow and skimming off any foam that rises to the top.
• Add the onion, olive oil, salt, garlic powder and pepper; stir and allow to come back up to a gentle boil. Cover completely, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, garlic and tomato paste, stirring to incorporate the tomato paste. I ncrease the heat to high and allow to come back up to a gentle boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired.
• Remove the cooked chicken and place in a large bowl. Add the pastina to the soup, stir and increase the heat to high and allow to come back up to a gentle boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the pasta according to the package instructions for al dente, stirring occasionally.
• While the pasta cooks, shred the chicken with a fork. Add the shredded chicken and parsley to the soup, stir, cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Serve topped with grated Parmesan.

Steps:

• Pour the olive oil into a small saucepan (about 6 cup capacity), set over medium-low heat, and drop in the onion wedges. Toss to coat in oil, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until sizzling and softening.
• Spread onions in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed 9 or 10-inch saucepan (such as an enameled cast-iron French oven with a tight-fitting cover) and drop the beef cubes on top of the onions, filling the pan in one layer. Sprinkle another 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, all the paprika, and the oregano over the meat and drop in the rosemary. Without stirring or turning the meat chunks, cover the pan tightly. Heat the meat, with the seasonings on top and the onions below, so it starts to release its juices and stew. Check once or twice to see that the pan liquid is bubbling and the onions are melting (not burning) but don't stir.
• After 30 minutes or so, set the cover ajar a couple of inches and adjust the heat to keep the juices bubbling and slowly reducing. As they thicken, stir up the onions so they don't burn and tumble the meat in the pan.
• Continue cooking, partially covered, for another 1/2 hour or so. When the juices are concentrated and thick in the pan bottom, prepare the goulash sauce:.
• Pour 3 cups cold water in the small pan and whisk in the flour. Set over low heat and continue whisking until the flour is dispersed with no lumps, then whisk in the tomato paste. Heat gradually, whisking often, until the tomato-flour water just comes to a bubbling boil. Pour into the big saucepan and stir well, turning the meat chunks over--they should be nearly covered in sauce.
• Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, put on the cover slightly ajar, and cook 45 minutes to an hour, until the meat is quite tender and the sauce is somewhat reduced. Season with more salt to taste. Turn off the heat and let the goulash cool in the pan for several hours before serving or refrigerate overnight.
• Reheat slowly, stirring now and then, until the meat is thoroughly heated. Thin the sauce with water if it has thickened too much. Serve hot. (Though not part of the original recipe, I like to garnish mine with a dollop of sour cream.).