Popular Hungarian dishes for New Year’s Eve – PHOTOS & RECIPES

Just like for every holiday, Hungarians have their distinct dishes for New Year’s Eve as well. Some of them are absolutely delicious, however, others are rather questionable. In this article, you can learn about the most typical New Year’s Eve dishes you can find in Hungary.

As our New Year’s Eve 2020 article shows, Hungarians can be highly superstitious beings. New Year’s Eve’s dishes and activities are no exception. Some dishes are eaten on 31 December and/or 1 January to keep away bad luck and attract wealth and health.

Now, let’s get to the actual dishes and how to make them!

1. Kaszinótojás francia salátával (Egg mayonnaise with creamy/French salad)

The egg is actually called casino egg in Hungary, and the creamy salad has many more names in other countries. Here is how you can make both the eggs and the salad. You can find the original recipe here by Hungarian Tidbits.

Ingredients (for 6-8 servings):

For the egg:

• 8 large eggs, hard-boiled

For the salad:

• 2 medium potatoes diced into ½ inch squares
• 3 medium carrots diced into ½ inch squares
• a good handful/1 cup of frozen peas
• 1-2 apples diced into ½ inch squares
• 2-3 pickled gherkins diced into ½ inch squares
• ½ white onion (finely chopped or grated)
• fresh parsley for decoration

For the dressing:

• 500 ml (2 cups) sour cream
• 250 ml (1 cup) mayonnaise
• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tbsp French mustard
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the egg yolk filling:

• hard-boiled egg yolks
• 1 tsp grated onion
• 2 tbsp from the mayonnaise dressing you are using for the salad
• 1 tsp French mustard or English mustard (needs a bit less as it is stronger)
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Prepare the hard-boiled eggs. Place the eggs in cold water and cover them. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. You can forget about them for a few hours as they need to become completely cold.
2. Cook the potatoes and carrots for 2-3 minutes. Add the frozen peas and cook for another 3 minutes, until everything is well-cooked but not falling apart. Strain, then rinse with cold water and put aside to cool.
3. Chop the apple and gherkins, combine them with the now cold potatoes, carrots, and peas.
4. For the dressing: mix the sour cream, mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Try it frequently until it tastes the way you like it.
5. Combine the chopped vegetables, apples, and gherkin with ¾ of the salad dressing you just prepared. Retain some so you can cover the eggs with it.
6. Carefully cut the eggs in half and place the yolks in a bowl. Now mash them with a fork, add some salt, pepper, 2 tbsp of the dressing, and 1 tbsp finely grated onion. Add a bit more mustard if you like.
7. Fill the boiled egg whites with the egg yolk mixture. Place them on top of the salad upside down and cover the egg halves with the rest of the cream.
8. Add some freshly chopped parsley as decoration if you like.
9. Put them into the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

2. Tormakrémes sonkatekercs (Ham rolls with cream cheese and horseradish)

This light serving is the perfect appetiser before any dish. However, it is also a dish on its own (or with francia saláta!) in Hungary for New Year’s Eve. Here is how to make it (the original recipe belongs to Poomy Thomas from Allrecipes):

Ingredients:

• 3 packages (8 ounces) of cream cheese, softened
• 3 tbsp prepared horseradish
• 2 tbsp finely chopped onions
• 1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
• 2 pounds cooked ham, thinly sliced

Instructions:

Take a medium bowl and mix the cream cheese, sour cream, horseradish, and onions in it. Spread this mixture onto the slices of ham. Tightly roll up the slices, and put toothpicks in them to secure them. You are done!

3. Sajtroló (Puff pastry rolls with cheese filling)

One of my personal favourite New Year’s Eve “snacks”. Not too healthy (just like most snacks), but extremely delicious. Also, they can be made pretty easily. Check out how (original recipe by EatSmarter!).

Ingredients:

• 400 grams (frozen) puff pastry dough
• 500 grams cream cheese
• 3 egg yolks
• 300 grams (grated) cheese
• 2 eggs
• freshly ground pepper
• salt

Instructions:

1. Defrost the frozen puff pastry.
2. Mix the cream cheese and egg yolks until you get a smooth and creamy mixture. Fold in half of the cheese. Season it with salt and pepper.
3. Roll out the puff pastry into two rectangles, each about 10 x 80 cm (approximately 4 x 30 inches). Cut one rectangle into strips, each about 3 x 10 cm (approximately 1 x 4 inches).
4. Brush the strips with a beaten egg and place them evenly on top of the remaining sheet of puff pastry. Now carefully press them into place.
5. Spread the filling on top and roll them up into a cylinder.
6. Cut it into about 6 rolls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Brush them with the remaining egg and bake them in a preheated oven at 200°C (approximately 400°F). After about 25 minutes (when they are golden brown), take them out of the oven.
8. Dip their ends in the remaining cheese and let them cool.
9. Arrange aesthetically on a plate. Enjoy!

4. Lentil soup

As mentioned above, Hungarians can be pretty superstitious. This especially shows on New Year’s Eve/on the first day of the year. On January 1st, many of us eat lentil soup or stew because the small pieces of lentils symbolise money and wealth. Many Hungarians believe that if you eat lentils on January 1st, you will attract wealth during the year. Let’s not take risks: make some lentil soup this coming January! The original recipe is by Bob Cody at Allrecipes.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups dry lentils
• 8 cups water
• 1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a big soup pot, heat some oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook and stir until the onion is tender.
3. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil, and cook them for 2 minutes.
4. Add the lentils, stir, and add water and tomatoes. Bring them to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least an hour.
6. When it is ready to serve, stir in the spinach, and cook until it wilts.
7. Stir in some vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add some more vinegar if desired.
8. Enjoy!

Read alsoBudapest among the best places for vegetarian food lovers in Europe

Source: Hungarian Tidbits, Allrecipes, SegitunkFozni.hu on Youtube