Sweet.
Most of the recipes are typically Eastern European - boiling, braising, lard, tarragon, pickling, sour cream, etcetera. There were recipes for lamb, beef and assorted poultry, all of which I am anxious to try, as well as recipes for more exotic fare such as wild boar, goose (find me a goose in Las Vegas, I dare you), hare, and snipe, which I believe is some sort of small bird.
But there is one recipe presented by this book that may just be impossible for me to try, and I would like to share that recipe with you.
Stuffed Bear's Foot (Toltot Medvetalp)
This is still such a sophisticated hunter's dish in the Seklers' land that the recipe is known only by a few individuals. Those two or three cooks who know the recipe prefer to divulge only the basics. Thus, the quantities shown below are approximations, because they are based on very old descriptions of this dish.1 bear's foot
Vinegar to taste
Salt, pepper, paprika, bay leaf, lemon peel, an juniper berries to taste
1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb cooked ham
2 eggs, beaten
Melted rendered lard
1/2 c red wine
1. Blanch the bear's foot with boiling water. Repeat the blanching by dipping the foot into boiling water until the fur becomes pluckable. With a sharp knife cut around the foot and between the nails several times to clean properly.
2. To prepare the marinade, combine the vinegar, salt, pepper, paprika, bay leaf, lemon peel and juniper berries in a pot. Boil the foot in the liquid for about an hour. Then let the foot cool in it.
3. Remove the foot from the marinade. Bone the foot and remove the nails. Combine mushrooms, ham, eggs and salt and pepper and stuff the foot with this mixture. Grease the foot with lmelted lard, and wrap it in parchment paper.
4. Bake in a moderately hot oven until meat is tender. When meat is ready, remove the foot from the paper. Add red wine to the marinade, and pour the liquid over the foot befroe serving.
Someone, please find me a bear's foot. Please!
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