The Cookbook Without a Cover

The Cookbook Without a Cover: One Hundred Years of Mothers and Daughters in the Kitchen

I never asked how my mother came by the book. I think she found it when she came back to Budapest from the border town hospital, where she was hiding as a nurse until the end of the war. I imagine her picking her way through the ruins of her mother's home after the bombing — the glass blown out of the bookcase, pages scattered, the cover and first twenty pages lost.

It mattered enough for her to pick it up and save it, damaged as it was — and later to create my fond childhood holiday ritual of reading recipes from it.

The book came with me across the ocean to my new life in America. It is now so fragile that I'm afraid to use it. It has become an ongoing project of love to preserve it and share it with you. One of those recipes appears below.

***

The original cookbook assumes a level of skill, time, and cultural context that no longer exists — ovens without temperature gauges or timers, mortars and pestles instead of blenders, rolling pins ruling, cooks making handmade noodles, breads, pastries. Measurements were not used or only colloquially: a pinch of this, a knife-tip of that. Instructions relied on the cook's experience: "Cook on medium heat until done."

The recipes that follow are adapted for a modern kitchen and modern rhythms, keeping the flavors intact while making them easy to cook today.

Go to next drop-down for a sample recipe:

This recipe can be made with gluten free ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 8–10 oz egg noodles (store-bought)
  • 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (button or cremini)
  • ½ medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1–2 tablespoons butter or oil
  • 1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
  • ¼ cup crushed or puréed tomatoes (or tomato sauce)
  • ½ cup water or light broth
  • Salt, to taste

Optional finish (my addition):

  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon flour

Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  2. While the noodles cook, heat the butter or oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook gently until soft and translucent, not browned.
  3. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their juices and begin to soften, about 5–7 minutes.
  4. Add the tomatoes and water or broth, season lightly with salt, and simmer for 5–10 minutes to create a loose, flavorful sauce.
  5. (Optional but recommended) In a small bowl, mix the sour cream (you might need to add a little water to it to make it easy to stir) with the flour and a pinch of paprika until smooth. Stir it into the sauce and simmer gently for a minute or two until lightly thickened. Do not boil.
  6. Add the drained noodles to the sauce, toss gently to coat, and serve immediately.

Notes

This dish should be served right away; like the original recipe says, the noodles will soak up the sauce if they sit too long.

Be sure not to let the oil or butter smoke — overheating it ruins it.

The sour cream finish is my adaptation — it gives the sauce a little body and warmth that we enjoy. I add the paprika to the sour cream to prevent it from burning. But you might want to add it per the original recipe to release the aroma by fire.

Optional: garnish with shredded Parmesan and finely chopped parsley.

Gombás metélt.

Készítünk egy tojással rendes metélttésztát, nem nyújtjuk nagyon vékonyra de keskenyre vágjuk. Gyengén sós vízben kifőzzük, leszűrjük. Azalatt 15 deka gombából, félfej hagymával, kanálka zsiradékkal, pirospaprikával és kevés paradicsomlével rendes paprikást készítünk, bő lével. Mikor a metélt kifőtt, leszűrve a gombás paprikásba forgatjuk és azonnal tálaljuk, különben elázik.