Doesn't Matter What Language You Speak, it's Still Stew.

Every now and then I pull out "Best of Slavic Cooking" and "Croatian Cookbook", both by Alojzije and Ruzica Kapetanovic, to learn more about the cuisine of my heritage. Unfortunately my maternal grandmother took ill when I was very young, so I did not have many years afforded to me to learn from her. On this adventure, I looked up chicken recipes and found three, "Chicken Perket", "Croatian Chicken Stew" and "Chicken in White Wine Sauce" that looked simple to make. No, I didn't make all three fore as I read along I noticed that they were very, very similar in nature; perhaps one or two ingredients differed, but that was about it. I did the next best thing, I combined them all together and came up with my own version; but the next question was, "What do I name it?" I looked up the meaning of "Perket" first off and found out it can be spelt and pronounced differently in many languages, "perkelt", "porkolt", "palca, "paprikas", but it all meant the same thing, "STEW"!!!

So there you have the origin of my "Chicken Perket" also known as "Croatian Chicken Stew"; the American version; and here comes the final recipe.  Instead of simmering away in a skillet though, I prepared it in my slow cooker using the high setting; only took four hours.  Initially I used too much liquid and the sauce ended up being a bit on the thin side; but it was still good on pasta.  I also pureed too many of the vegetables, so very little was left to bite into.  I've made the changes to my own recipe to take these facts into account.  By the way, I asked a friend to sample it and she enjoyed it so much, she left none for her husband to try.  Now that's a taste tester I can appreciate!

Now I have to worry over just one more item; that my relations in Croatia read the recipe, try it out, and give their approval.  Fingers crossed!

Chicken Perket

(Croatian Chicken Stew)

Ingredients:

12 large plum tomatoes, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and julienned
½ cup flour, divided in half
2 Tbsp minced garlic, divided in half
4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp paprika
½ cup chicken stock
½ cup white wine
1 and ½ lbs angel hair pasta

Preparation:

Set a 6 quart crock pot on high; spray inside with nonstick cooking spray.

Begin layering ingredients inside – tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, ¼ cup flour sprinkled evenly over all, 1 tablespoon garlic.  Place in the chicken breast pieces and spread the remaining ¼ cup of flour over them.  Add the mushrooms, remaining garlic; then evenly sprinkle over the black pepper and paprika.  Pour the stock and white wine over the top.

Cover and cook for 3 and ½ hours; remove chicken and 1/4 of the vegetables.  Use a stand or immersion blender to puree the remaining vegetables, and thicken the liquid.  Return the chicken and reserved vegetables to the pot; cover and cook for another half hour before serving.   Also during that last half hour, prepare the pasta to desired tenderness; place a serving into bowl and top with sauce, chicken and some vegetables.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Going down Memory Lane to Russia.

St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow, Russia

In 1976, I was a senior in high school and one of the foreign languages I had been studying was Russian (the other was German), and I was lucky enough to be able to travel with other students in my class to this country. At that time Communism was in power and the entire area was named the USSR; we saw much propaganda and poverty; the country was way behind in the times (music from the 1960's was just making it to the airwaves)and there was a depressive aura everywhere. We were teenagers and we did what all teenagers do...have fun. The hotels we stayed at would serve Americanized food for our meals and we hated it. We were in this country that did not promote tourism; you needed special permission and visas to enter, and as American students studying the language and culture, we were allowed in. We wanted to interact with the Russian people and experience everything there, including the food. A small group of us would sneak out at meal times and seek out local restaurants.

Now the fact that we were foreigners was not a secret to anyone; we spoke differently, dressed differently and we showed no fear. We knew we were being followed everywhere by a couple of KGB agents (they all dressed alike - raincoats and fedora hats) and one day even turned around and confronted them...imagine their shock when we offered them cigarettes, bubble gum and candy (things the locals could not easily purchase, but we traded for pins and baubles). Oh yes, those were fun times indeed. The locals welcomed us and helped us with learning their language; they wanted us to teach them English so badly and tell them about our homeland. Good memories!

One of the meals I really enjoyed was Borscht or what we knew to be "Beet Soup"; it was primarily made with beets and onions, a dollop of sour cream on top and it was really, really good. Coming home to America, this was a dish that I couldn't find any place, unless I went to one of the few Russian restaurants in New York City, and they weren't cheap. As time went by, my interest in this soup faded with all the other culinary adventures I was having throughout life.

Unfortunately, most of my cookbooks dealing with Slavic and German cooking were destroyed when I moved to Utah. I was able to replace two of them, "Croatian Cuisine" and "The Best of Slavic Cooking" both by Alojzije and Ruzica Kapetanovic. and the second book contained 2 recipes for Borscht, one Ukraine, the other Russian. So while the Russian recipe was probably the one I wanted, I was curious as to how many versions were in the Slavic world. I went online to look it all up...holy moly!!!...there are hundreds of recipes online, and looks like almost every country has their own version. Since I was sharing this soup with my mom-in-law, and she doesn't eat pork, I had to go beef all the way; and this is what I came up with.....

BorschtThis recipe reflects more of the Ukraine style of Borscht.

Ingredients:
4 cups shredded cabbage
6 cups shredded fresh beets
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup slivered onions
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 ½ lbs lean roast or steak cut into 1” cubes
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 Tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp lemon juice
6 cups beef broth
Sour cream and minced parsley for garnish.

Preparation:
In a 6 qt crock pot, set on low, layer ingredients in order of list, except for sour cream and parsley. Cook for 10 hours. Serve with dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of parsley.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour