Its cold and rainy outside, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to sneak in one last “comfort food” recipe before we are officially into the fresh flavors of Spring.  Even though I welcome the abundance of fruits and veggies the warmer weather brings, there is a part of me that misses the excuse to curl up with a piping hot bowl of noodles, or a hearty stew.  Luckily (for my waste line) the winter only lasts so long, and with that, so does my “heartier” cooking.  Yet, here is one last good “chilly night” recipe: Veal Paprika.

My mother made a version of veal paprika when I was growing up.  Her grandparents were originally from Czechoslovakia and her grandmother used to make veal paprikash for her as a child.  The dish was nostalgic for my mother, but unfortunately it must have lost something through the generations….this dish was not nostalgic to me.  While I have always been an adventurous and never a picky eater, my mother’s veal paprika was one of the few meals I passed up as a child.  I actually didn’t eat veal until recently because I had judged veal on her  paprika recipe.

When I recently stumbled across this recipe, I thought I would be brave and give it a try.  (The recipe is part of an “Around the World in 80 Dishes” series on epicurious.com – check it out, its a great way to introduce a new dish or get out of that “what’s for dinner” rut.)   While I can’t promise to try all 80,  a couple of dishes sound interesting and I will be sure to give you my feedback.  I tweaked the veal recipe slightly (and so I have included my version of the epicurious recipe) and found that veal paprika can be wonderful afterall.

The biggest draw back of the dish is that it is not a 30-minute meal.  To create that wonderful “comfort food” slow-cooked flavor, the dish does simmer for 1.5 hours.  However, the actual time you are required to be in the kitchen preparing the meal is only 30 minutes.   Here’s why its not that bad – you just have to shift your dinner making time forward.  If you usually start preparing dinner at 7:00 pm, start at 5:30pm.  You still only need 30 minutes to prep the dish and then you can turn your stove on low and let it do its thing.  You have now finished dinner prep by 6:00 pm and suddenly bought yourself an hour and a half to do whatever.  While my stew was on the stove, I took some time to watch my daily Oprah (yes, I watch Oprah and I am not ashamed) fold some laundry, and worked on the blog a bit…   Have I convinced you yet that its not too much work?

The second tip I will offer is about the fresh dill.  For those of you who don’t normally keep fresh herbs in your house, (and sometimes omit from recipes) don’t omit them here.  The dill really helps to bring in the Eastern European flavors and gives some authenticity to the dish.  Dill is sometimes sold in large bunches, so I have included another of my favorite recipes that calls for dill, Dill Encrusted Salmon with Pickled Cucumbers.  This way, you can ensure the use of the entire bunch of dill (so you haven’t wasted your money) and you have two completely different recipes to enjoy.

Recipe: Veal Paprika

Post & Recipe: Dill Encrusted Salmon with Pickled Cucumbers