A trip to Serbia and Hungary opened our eyes to paprika. More than just a garnish for deviled eggs, paprika is dried and then ground peppers. In Serbia, what we refer to as peppers are called paprikas. Last summer, we grew Serbian peppers/paprikas in our garden and they are thicker skinned--perfect for drying and grinding. This is a recipe for Prebanac, Serbian BBQ Beans.
1 lb large lima beans
3 large onions, chopped
2 T olive oil
1 large carrot, sliced
3 bay leaves
6 T paprika powder
salt
pepper
4 T olive oil
Soak beans overnight, or bring to boil, then turn off the heat and let the beans sit, covered, for one hour. Discard water and replace it with new water. Add salt and sliced carrot. Cook until beans are slightly tender but still firm. Remove beans from water reserving water. Saute onions in 2 T oil until golden brown. Add 1 1/2 T of paprika powder, mix it well for 30 sec and remove from the heat.
Layer 1/3 of the beans, 1/3 of the sauteed onions, salt, pepper, and 1 1/2 T paprika and 1 bay leaf. Repeat with two more layers of beans, onions, and seasonings. Top with reserved water and 2 T oil adding enough liquid to just cover the beans. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30-45 minutes until the beans begin to brown. Do not stir while baking.
Prebranac can be served both hot or cold and depending on amount of water you add, it can be almost completely dry or it can be like a very thick sauce. I usually do these with 1 1/2 T of hot paprika; for the remaining paprika, I use sweet. The surprise to me when first making this recipe was how rich the color is because of the paprika. If you think you don't like paprika, then you really haven't used it.
No comments:
Post a Comment