Rakott Töt

This dish was one of my favorites in Hungary. Although I'm not exactly sure what the name translates into, from what I understand, rakott indicates some sort of baked layered sausage casserole, which is exactly what this dish is! Consisting mostly of rice, squash, cheese, and sausage, this a really simple dish that delivers big flavor with just a few ingredients. As far as spices go, a generous amount of dill, some salt and pepper, and in true Hungarian fashion, a dusting of paprika for a bit of spice and color, do just the trick. When I tried it for the first time at a market with Ianna in Budapest, I immediately grabbed my notebook and scribbled down a list of what I thought I was tasting. And it turned out fantastic! Although I took a wild guess on what cheeses to use in my version, my feeling is that whatever your favorite cheese or cheeses are (or whatever looks good at the store) will work great and give you a dinner you will love! 

INGREDIENTS

2- 2 1/2 C. White Rice
Sausage
2 Small Yellow Summer Squash
2 C. Havarti Cheese, grated 
1/3 C. Soft Goat Cheese
2-3 cloves of Garlic, chopped
Dill weed
Paprika
Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil

ALSO
aluminum foil
glass baking dish

Begin by boiling water for rice to cook in. While the rice is cooking away, prepare the sausage and squash by slicing them and frying them together in a pan with olive oil, chopped garlic, salt and pepper, and a little bit of dill weed. Although neither has to cook 100 percent through since everything will continue to bake, it is important to make sure the sausage is mostly cooked in the pan, so it doesn't have too much further to go in the oven. As your stove simmers away cooking rice, sausage, and squash, grate the Havarti cheese, or whatever hard cheese you may be using.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Towards the end of your rice being done cooking, squeeze in the juice of one lemon, and stir in about a tablespoon of dill. As everything finishes cooking on the stove, turn off the flames. 

Drizzle some olive oil into your baking dish. Scoop in your cooked lemon-dill rice and spread it evenly in the dish. Then add a layer of half of your grated cheese. On top of this layer the garlic squash and sausage mix. Add to this the other half of your grated cheese. Fill in the holes with some chunks of goat cheese that will add a pungent earthiness to the dish. Top it all off with a bit more dill and a dusting of paprika. Cover with foil, and bake for 20-25 minutes, allowing to cool 5-10.

You will begin to smell aromas of dill, lemon, garlic, goat cheese, and paprika as your casserole continues to bake. When you pull it out, I promise, you are going to have a hard time waiting for it to cool to eat it! Probably an appropriate moment to pop open a nice bottle of a tart dry white wine, or nice refreshing floral Hefeweizen. It will be a hard decision. But by the time you get past that obstacle, the steaming hot Rakott Töt will be just cool enough to enjoy.... So enjoy it!

-H.BOMB