Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Spicy Walnut Mustard

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Although this mustard was an edible gift for Christmas, it can be made without any occasion at all because it’s spicy and tangy and it goes very well with roasted meat, tofu or a nutritious grain salad. In Hungary eating mustard is popular at New Year’s Eve too.

New Year’s Eve (as we call it – Szilveszter) in Hungary is celebrated with home parties and street parties too. Fireworks and firecrackers are getting very popular. Champagne and wine are part of the celebration and traditional Hungarian New Year’s Eve dishes are frankfurter sausages (from soy too! luck for vegetarians! :)) with lots of mustard or horseradish, roasted pork and cabbage rolls. On New Year’s Day lentil soup is served because lentil is considered to bring luck and lots of money in the New Year.

Recipe inspiration from my friend, Giulia.

Spicy Walnut Mustard

Ingredients (makes about 1 cup)

– 50 g mustard powder
– 50 g walnut, chopped
– water
– 1 tablespoons of runny honey
– 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
– 5 pinches of salt
– small jar

Method

Place the mustard powder in a bowl and stir in the water (about 6-10 tablespoons) little by little until it gets its the desired consistency. Add chopped walnut, season with salt, honey and vinegar.

Pour into a sterilized glass jar and keep it in the fridge. Wait 12 hours before tasting it.

Beetroot Tart Tatin With Parsley Vinaigrette

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Tarte Tatin is an upside-down tart in which the fruit (usually apples) are caramelized in butter and sugar before the tart is baked. Did you know that first it was created by an accident? The Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France, was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin. Stéphanie did most of the cooking. One day she started to make a traditional apple pie but left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the dish by putting the pastry base on top of the pan of apples, quickly finishing the cooking by putting the whole pan in the oven. After turning out the upside down tart, she was surprised to find how much the hotel guests appreciated the dessert. This is how the classic tart tatin was born.

Of course you can make tart tatin from other fruits and vegetables too. Beetroot is a rich source of potent antioxidants and nutrients, including magnesium, sodium, potassium and vitamin C. It has an earthy flavor that goes well with the tangy parsley vinaigrette.

Recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Veg Every Day.

Beetroot Tart Tatin With Parsley Vinaigrette

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the tart tatin
– 250 g rough puff pastry
– 350 g beetroot, cut into 1 cm thick slices
– 20-30 g butter (vegans should use olive oil)
– 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
– 2 teaspoons apple vinegar
– 2 teaspoons cane sugar
– salt, black pepper

For the parsley vinaigrette
– 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
– 1 small onion, chopped
– 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
– 1 tablespoon apple vinegar
– 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
– pinch of cane sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (356F). Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface (5 mm thick). Take and ovenproof frying pan (or tarte tatin dish) about 20-24 cm in diameter, place it upside dow on the pastry and cut around it. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix together the vinaigrette’s ingredients and stir to combine.

Melt the butter with the sunflower oil in the frying pan, add apple vinegar, cane sugar, salt and pepper. Add the sliced beetroot and toss i the juices. Cover the pan with foil, transfer to the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes at 170-180C (338-356F) until the beetroot are tender.

Take the pan out from the oven and lay the cut pastry over the beetroot, patting it down and tucking in the edges down the side of the pan. Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes until the pastry top is golden brown and puffed up. Leave it to cool, then turn it out by putting the plate over the top and inverting it. Trickle the vinaigrette over the tarte tatin and serve.