I tried to stay way from writing on my blog during our trip to Europe, but as it turns out, I just can’t do it. I miss it too much. Developing, testing, tweaking and writing recipes are now part of my everyday life ever since gourmetcubicle launched back in April. It does, however, feel refreshing not to do the cooking for a while, but instead just enjoying that of others. It’s great being on a food journey where I don’t have to care about shopping for ingredients, cooking, taking photos, and documenting recipes, but instead just relaxing, finding inspiration, discovering new flavors and thinking about how to integrate them into my dishes.

Roni and I are on a vacation around Eastern Europe and even though we’ve been here for less than a week, it has been very eventful. The trip started not so great when we found out that our flight from Austin to Chicago was delayed to the point that there was no way we would catch our connection to Berlin, where we had planned a full day layover to explore the city. I was already dreaming of the delicious Turkish doner kebabs that you can buy from street vendors and the crispy pork knuckles they serve with sauerkraut and potatoes in the traditional beer gardens. Both of us were pretty disappointed to say the least, but we did a great job at not letting that ruin the start of the trip

The good news about this whole re-routing was that we arrived to Budapest a half day earlier than planned. That meant more time to introduce Roni to the great city of Budapest. Budapest is amazing- beautiful architecture, great food, lots of friendly people and of course old friends. We stayed at the home of Erika and Pista along with their three daughters. They are Roni’s childhood friends, or rather her Hungarian family, as she likes to call them. They did everything in their power to give us the famous Hungarian hospitality and abundance. Erika cooked traditional Hungarian dishes every day and baked amazing cakes, which made Roni very happy. Every morning she prepared platters of cheeses, cured meats and homemade jams. We had bowls of fresh grapes, pears, apples and plums for snacks. We all dined together every night sharing our travel stories and childhood memories. Hearing the girls talk about how they used to break the child lock on the cable box to watch Tales from the Crypt, shave their arms to their parents’ horror, and play games involving eating disgusting concoctions of toothpaste, salsa, mustard and any other condiment they could find was very entertaining. The image that Roni had always painted of her young self was that of a shy and innocent little girl so these stories added a new insight into her childhood. Great times filled with laughter and joy!

Budapest is a must-see in Europe. The city, the people and the food are all top notch. A few years ago the Hungarian food scene had a revival and the fine dining culture has since blossomed. Good food always existed in Hungary, but it was mainly based on hearty Hungarian staples like pörkölt, paprikás, roasts, goulash and creamy soups. Beer, wine and the national spirit, pálinka, were the preferred drinks, with whiskey coke being considered a cocktail. The pride that Hungarians have in their food significantly slowed down the development of quality and affordable ethnic restaurants. But things have started to change, and I think this has to do with all the foreigners who have moved to Budapest and brought new interesting ingredients and flavors with them. Budapest has become a bit of a melting pot where Mexican, Asian, Indian, and Russian dishes have made their way into the otherwise very conservative cuisine here.

As far as Italian cuisine is concerned, I think it’s the most widespread of all cuisines around the globe. I haven’t been to a country that didn’t have at least one Italian restaurant. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Hungary, Singapore, Peru or Japan, you’ll most likely find a pasta Bolognese or Carbonara to eat. i think that the main reason for that is that Italian dishes are filling and easy to make, not to mention how delicious they are. You don’t have to be a kitchen-guru to be able to prepare a simple Cacio e pepe or Spaghetti Pomorodo.

As for today’s recipe, this Creamy Tomato Sauce with Prawns is one of those easy to make Italian dishes that will leave your dinner guests impressed. In half an hour you can fix an easy, healthy and flavorful sauce that is infinitely better than that canned salty artificially flavored junk that you find in stores. Some of them may taste good, but once you take a look at the list of ingredients you’ll be shocked by the amount of sugar (or rather, corn syrup) and salt they contain. By making your own pasta you are in control of the ingredients. You know exactly how much of each ingredient goes into it and you can adjust them to your own taste. Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Sauce with Prawns

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb prawns, peeled and deveined
1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 TBS oil (sunflower, canola or peanut oil)
1 TBS unsalted butter
1 tsp hot sauce (Cholula or Tobasco)
1 leek, finely chopped
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 can (15 oz) diced tomato (preferably San Marzano)
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetarian)
2 anchovy fillets, optional
2 TBS tomato paste
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
8-10 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 TBS sugar
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 cup heavy cream
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice, optional (or lime)

Instructions

Place clean shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss to make sure the shrimp are evenly coated.
In a large skillet heat the butter and 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat. When the butter starts foaming add shrimp and hot sauce. Cook for 3 minutes stirring occasionally to make sure the shrimp cook evenly on each side.
Transfer shrimp to a plate and set aside.
Add the rest of the oil to the pan and heat until the it easily slides across the pan. Add leeks and shallots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.
Pour in white wine and cook for 3-5 minutes until the wine starts to evaporate.
Add diced tomato and stock and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add anchovies, tomato paste, chili flakes, basil and the rest of the salt and pepper to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add sugar and parmesan cheese and stir well.
Pour in heavy cream and stir. Crank up the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil (about 1-2 minutes) then immediately remove from the heat. Taste to adjust seasoning.
Mix in the shrimp, sprinkle with lemon juice and give it a final stir. Serve with capellini, spaghetti or linguini.

Notes

Use only the white part of the leek. For instruction on how to clean leek check out my Creamy Leeks with Pan Roasted Chicken recipe.

I flew in to Hungary a few days ago and I seem to have arrived at the perfect time, because the cherry trees are loaded with gorgeous crisp cherries. Watermelons, raspberries and strawberries are all also in season which makes me even happier.

I’m spending the first couple of days with family at my sister’s home in a small town near Budapest, mostly eating and beating the jet-leg.

I asked my mom and dad to bring my two favorite cheeses, Burduf and Telemea from Romania as well as some Kabanos sausage when they came to pick me up from the airport in Budapest. I've been eating that with fresh tomatoes and peppers from my sister's in-laws' garden for the last couple of days. I love everything about the Eastern European cuisine, even though I can't eat as much as I used to while I lived there. Although delicious, Eastern European food is very heavy and filling. If you're following me on Instagram you've seen what I'm talking about. If you're not yet, now it's the right time to start doing it.

Hungarians and Romanians seem to be on a reverse eating pattern than Americans. Here we eat more for breakfast, less for lunch and even less for dinner. Typical breakfasts consist of amazing cured meats, sausages, liver pâté and boiled eggs served with freshly slices onions, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, loafs of fresh crusty bread and lots of cheeses. It's heaven on earth!

One thing that’s missing in our cuisine is seafood, although freshwater fish dishes aren't rare at all. The Hungarian Halászlé (Fisherman's Soup), Harcsapaprikás (Catfish Paprikash) and the Romanian Grilled Trout and Grilled Zander are just a few of the most famous ones. I plan on posting recipes for all these here in the future.

Most saltwater fish are frozen, and not as fresh as in other parts of the world. You can find frozen salmon, cod, and other fish, but shrimps, crabs or lobsters are very difficult to come by. I ate shrimp for the first time when I studied in Virginia during college. I loved its sweet and briny flavor as well as its firm and crisp texture.

I came up with this recipe when I made Cucumber and Avocado Gazpacho for a few friends that we had over for dinner. I wanted to surprise (impress) them with something that they most likely haven't had before and I needed a protein to accompany the creamy and sweet gazpacho. It turned out great and the dinner was a huge success. It also makes for a great appetizer or party snack on its own.

I usually store the pickled shrimp in mason jars in the refrigerator where they will keep for a long time. I love to eat the pickled onions and garlic, too. Enjoy!

PIckled Shrimp

Yields 8 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Inactive time: 1 day

Ingredients

Boiling mixture

1 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 cups water
3 bay leaves
4 cloves, whole
1 tsp coriander seeds, whole or ground
1 tsp red chili flakes, dried
1 tsp mustard seeds, whole
2 cardamom seeds, whole
1 tsp black peppercorns, whole
2 tsp salt

1 cup ice
2 cups water
1 1/2 pound shrimp (16/20 count size), peeled and deveined

Pickling mixture

1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup apple cider
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, halved
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp peppercorns, whole
1 tsp red chili flakes, dried
2 tsp salt

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan combine all the boiling mixture ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Pour hot liquid over shrimps and keep them in the marinade until they turn pink around 3-4 minutes. Remove them with a sieve from the hot liquid and drop them in an ice-bath (1 cup ice, 2 cups water). Make sure you don't keep the shrimp in the hot liquid for more than 4 minutes, because it will overcook.
Remove the shrimp from the iced water. Peel and devein if you didn't do it at the beginning.
In a 24 oz mason jar combine all the ingredients for pickling mixture. Put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously until all the ingredients are well combined. Add shrimp to the mason jar, put the lid on and refrigerate for at least a whole day.

NOTES

Serve with olive oil and smoked paprika sprinkled on top. Pickled shrimp goes really well with the Cucumber and Avocado Gazpacho that I posted not long ago. It keeps for weeks in the fridge sealed in a mason jar.