Two great recipes for Christmas by Kata Zsirai, Tokaj

Duck breast with Furmint risotto and prunes, cottage cheese & apricot cream with sweet Tokaji

These recipes are the favourite ones of a very young brave girl, who manages the suddenly inherited family vineyards (yes, plural!) with great care and attention, and with great success. She was only 23, when after her father’s sudden death she was left with no choice, but to go on starting a new career. They have terroirs in Villány, Somló and Mád (Tokaj), and since Mád territory is the largest one, she decided to move to Mád. She worked all day and knew no one, it was not what she had dreamt of. Then gradually she participated more and more in the life of the commune, soon she was a member of a vivid young community. She still works a lot, but now life is much pleasant. Plus she can cook as well – as we can read in a brilliant book written by Edit Szabó with the title Gyengébb? Nem!. The book has been published in Hungarian only so far, hopefully soon it will be available in English as well, meanwhile we are translating some of the recipes. Last time we posted Krisztina Csetvei’s recipes  from Mór.

Photos are taken by Ferenc Dancsecs.

Duck breast with Furmint risotto

„Risotto is not a lone wolf, you should set about making it only when you have time enough to pay attention to it” – says Kata Zsirai, who suggests their Zsirai Középhegy Furmint to pair with this meal. „I love the beautiful vineyard from where the fruit for this wine comes from. A hint of flowers and loads of earthy tones on the nose. Firm acidity balanced with a little residual sugar.”
Ingredients for 4 persons

  • 4 pieces of duck breast with skin
  • 150 g butter
  • 4 tbs olive oil
  • salt, pepper
  • 5–6 prunes, cut into fine, tiny pieces
  • an onion chopped finely
  • 450 g risotto rice
  • 1,5 l broth
  • 150 g grated parmiggiano
  • 0,15 l Furmint (with a little residual sugar)

Cut the skin of the breasts in square shape, than rub them with salt and pepper, and fry them in the mixture of 50 g butter and 1 tbs olive oil with their skinny side downwards. After 4-5 minutes (medium heat), when they get golden brown, turn the slices upside down and fry them again for 4-5 minutes. When they are ready, cover them with foil and place in the oven (180 C) for 10-15 minutes.

In a frying pan melt 5 gramm butter and add the sliced prunes, cook them for about 10 minutes, then put them aside. In a large, thick pot fry the onion with some oilve oil. Add the rice, fry together with the onion for a while. Add the wine, and when it is all boiled, add the hot broth in small portions. Add salt and pepper. Stir constantly until the rice gets soft, then mix in the prunes, the rest of the butter and the parmiggiano.

Serve the duck breast with the hot risotto, decorate it with grated parmiggiano and prunes.

„Rákóczi” cottage cheese cream

„I have learned a lot from my father, one important message is that we must always remember where we have come from. ’Fordítás’ is a traditional style, it always reminds me of this – perhaps because this wine was made by my dad. Loads of dried fruits ont he nose with herbs and some peach, and it all comes back on the palate. Intense sweetness is balanced by zesty acidity.”

Ingredients (6 persons)
  • 450 g cottage cheese
  • 150 g castor sugar
  • 1 cup of sour cream
  • 1 vanilla stick
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 stick fresh mint
  • 6 unflavoured oat biscuits
  • 2-3 tbs apricot jam
  • 5 cl Tokaji Fordítás

Mix the cottage cheese, the sour cream, the grated lemon peel, the juice of the lemon, the inside of the vanilla stick, the egg yolks, the finely chopped mint leaves and 5 g castor sugar in a big bowl. You can use a mixer to make it smoother. Place it in the fridge for an hour.

For the meringues beat the egg whites with 5 g castor sugar. Whan it is rather hard, beat in the rest of the sugar. Use a meringue sack (or a tea spoon) and place the little meringues on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Bake the meringues for 10-15 minutes at moderate heat. Mix the wine with the apricot jam. When serving, crush a slice of biscuit into each of the six glasses. Then put some jam, then the cottage cheese cream and then again a little jam. Place the meringues on the top and decorate with mint leaves.


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