Talk:Paprikas/@comment-62.255.189.28-20100408213702

I'm a Australian Serb and this is NOT Paprikas! I've grown up eating this at least once a week of my entire 39yrs of my life! Where's the potatoes that supposed to go into this recipe? Traditional Paprikas doesn't use bloody cans of tomatoes or tomato sauce! That recipe isn't genuine and it's entire fake and rubbish! IT CERTAINLY DOESN'T REPRESENT OUR SERBIAN PAPRIKAS! As my Tata/Father would say.. it's BULLSHIT! (In his heavily accented Serbian English)

Paprikas is peasant food and trying to make "do" with what you have, whether you have meat or not but the end result is always a full-fulling really yummy dinner.

This is how I make mine:

Ingredients:

4 to 6 Large Potatoes or more.. (Depending how many people are eating. Allow a potato for each person and then add extra 2 to 4) 2 to 3 Large Onions (More onions, more saucy and sweeter the Paprikas is) 4 to 6 tablespoons of Oil - enough to cover the pan bottom (Canola, Olive, Vegetable, Sunflower Oil, as long it browns the onions) 1 Smoked Hock - Size is up to you. (If you don't have smoked hock, use smoked bacon (cut up into 2cm squares) or smoked bacon lardons, about 250grams to 500 grams) Up to 6 Red Capsicums/Bell Peppers (If making a small one, use about 2 to 3.. doing huge one, up to 8) 2 to 4 Tablespoons of Paprika (Preferred Sweet or Smoked or you can have one that is both) 1 Tablespoon of Vegeta or Vegetable Stock Powder or 3 Vegetable stock cubes. 3 Bay Leafs Salt - If needed Water OPTION: 4 Tablespoons of Plain Flour

Method:

This is to be cook on top of a stove/hob regardless if it's gas or electric or even on open fire.

1. Peel and quarter the potatoes. Soak in cold water and set aside. 2. Peel and finely chop the onions. Set aside. 3. Core and de-seed and chop the Capsicums/Bell Peppers into thick strips and then cut those strips in half ( you may want to half it again, if you wish or leave the capsicums whole but just cut in half... up to you). Set aside. 4. Grab a large or very large stockpot. Add oil into the stockpot and turn it on high heat. 5. When oil is hot enough, near smoking, add onion and turn the heat down to medium high. Stir and sauté the onions till it's golden or until a slight burning edges of the onions.. 6. Add Paprika powder into the onions and stir until it's well combined and a deeper colour. (at this point, if you wish, you can add 4 tablespoons of plain flour if you want a thicker paprikas and stir it in) Turn heat down to low. 7. Slowly add the water to the onions and paprika, adding about a cup at a time to make a sauce and get the lumps and bumps out. 8. Add the smoked hock (Smoked bacon or smoked bacon lardons) and add enough water to cover the meat or add about 2 litres of water (about 4 pints or about 8 cups). 9. Bring to boil for 10 minutes and keep stirring the entire time. 10. Add Vegeta/Vegetable stock and bay leafs. 11. And then allow to simmer on for an hour (If you are using bacon/lardons, just bring to boil and continue to the next step). Stir occasionally. 12. Take the potatoes out of the water and add it to the stockpot. Add Capsicums/Bell Peppers too. 13. Add more cold water and make sure it covers the potatoes and stir it all in to combine. 14. Bring to boil for 10 minutes and keep stirring. 15. Turn back down to simmer and stir occasionally until the potatoes are tender. Taste it, and if needed, add a little bit of salt and times it's not needed, because the pork gives out a lot of salt. If potatoes are tender, it's finished and ready to serve. 16. Serve with fresh sliced bread.

Serving suggestions: Add tablespoon of sour cream to the middle and serve. Tear up your bread into bite size and let it soak it into the paprikas.

Many times I didn't have smocked hock and just used smoked bacon or I don't have capsicums/bell peppers. At times I add 4 full tablespoons of plain flour to the onions and paprika at the frying stage, to make a thicker sauce.

At times, I might use chicken drumsticks/wings or beef (cut in large 3cm cubes) instead of bacon.. A lot of people might add carrots or one sweet potatoes and some people might add salami but rarely did I see any sausages in it and I never ever seen tomato paste or sauce or tins of tomato or any sort of tomato in it.. if it is, it's not paprikas, it's something different. Yes, this recipe is flexible but the base of it is always remain the same, which I've given you. It's also the bases of Pasulija..just use about 500 to 700 grams of red kidney beans (I use red kidney) or white or cannelloni beans instead of potatoes.

Serbs don't use Kosher meats, unless you are a Jewish Serb, which is very RARE. I'm an Serbian Orthodox Christian.

Both of my parents do cook and both have cooked Paprikas. Also, my parents tend to cook big and I've inherited that trait. Good thing about Paprikas, it's wonderful to freeze into portion sizes and serve up whenever you are hungry. Great for cold or raining or ugly days is wonderful time to serve this.

My parents are from Srem, in Serbia. The home of variety of proper smoked bacon, salamis and sausages.

Prijatno! Cheers!

Od/From

Bozana