Kolbasz – Shaken not stirred

Kolbasz – Shaken not stirred.

After a sojourn in Auckland recently my wife returned with a kolbasz sausage – she knows how to treat a man. The kolbasz was purchased at a market in Ponsonby. Made by the Hungarian Artisan Co, it was described as a mild Hungarian paprika salami – kolbasz.

For the last eighteen hours it has been a rattling and rolling, shaking and stirring sort of day in Wellington. A massive 7.5 earthquake struck just after midnight in northern Canterbury. Although we were around 200km from the epicentre of the quake, it was the biggest and longest rumble I have experienced. In our house books fell, light fittings swung and glass jars fell to the floor – but did not break. The Wellington CBD was closed today due to falling glass and masonry. We both had the day off work as we sat through aftershock after aftershock. The good news is that the whanau are all safe and sound. Even as I write this a 5.0 has shaken but not stirred the house, the epicentre was 25km east of Wellington.

The kolbasz has also been shaken but not stirred. Tonight for dinner I made a kolbasz and chicken risotto. The primary spice used to flavour the risotto was Spanish smoked paprika. This was combined with chicken thighs, peas, mushroom and Arborio rice. During times of stress comfort food always satisfies.

The kolbasz is a fantastic sausage – chunky pieces of meat and fat that are moderately spiced. The primary essence of paprika is complemented by complex layers of secondary flavours. I really enjoyed both the slice of sausage I sampled prior to adding to the risotto along with the kolbasz as part of the risotto. A great meal – and the best thing in the dish was the kolbasz.

As the shaking continues there is still no stirring here, just the realisation that if I come across other products from The Hungarian Artisan Co I will definitely be buying their products.

A day later: This is what the back room looked like when I arrived at work on Tuesday.