There is a wide range of different kind of Hungarian Christmas cakes. These delicious delicacies are must during the Christmas season. Today we are going to learn how to make Hungarian Snow Crescents which is a famous Christmas dessert in Hungary.
We have reported before, that CNN made a list about the 50 most delicious cakes in the world. It is a great honour and success for Hungary that three Hungarian cakes are featured in the list including the Hungarian Snow Crescents.
First, stir the fat for 10-15 minutes until it becomes creamy and frothy. Add the baker’s yeast and stir it again. Next, sift the flour and mix it with the vanilla sugar and the salt. After this, add the mixture to the fat but, while adding it, continue to stir the fat. After a while, the result is a perfect amount of dough. When it is ready, put it into a fridge for the night.
The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out until it is approximately 1 mm thick. Take a doughnut paste-cutter and cut the dough into round forms. Fill the round forms with nuts, poppy seeds, and chestnut. After filling it shape the round form into the shape of a crescent. Bake it for 10 minutes but be careful because it bakes quickly as the dough of the crescent is thin. If it is ready, decorate it with white sugar.
There’s no winter without a hot cup of mulled wine that we love to warm our ice cold hands with, especially when the weather is extremely chilly outside. The number of variations is simply endless, there are variations for white and red wine too. The good news is, you don’t have to go to the Christmas fair if you are thirsty for the spicy drink, all you have to do is try Gastro-Hack‘s awesome recipe!
As Funzine.hu said, to start with, grab a bottle of quality red wine (recommendations: Blaufränkisch, Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc). It’s important to handle the spices separately. First melt 150 g brown sugar and caramelize half of an orange and a piece of ginger (20 g). Add 0,5 litre of water, 2 whole cinnamon sticks, 2 star anise, 10 g clove, 10 g pimento, 6 pcs juniper berry, and half of a vanilla bean.
Slowly bring them to boil (it could take around 25-30 minutes), and then pour wine into the bowl. Heat it to the required temperature, but do not boil, because it would lose the alcohol and ruin the intensity of flavours. Before serving, decorate your mulled wine with a slice of orange.
Find out more about Gastro-Hack, follow them on Facebook! On 22 December they are inviting you on a special Christmas event called Füst és Buborék Xmas from where you can return home with a complete holiday food package. (Please note that you have to place an order until 19 December, otherwise you’ll miss this chance.)
Today, we are sharing the traditional recipe for the meal of herdsmen, the Slambuc. What is it exactly? It is a traditional Hungarian dish made from potatoes, pasta and bacon, which was probably first ever made in the Hortobágy, cooked in a pot, and it is often confused with the Austrian-Hungarian Grenadiermarsch.
Ingredients:
150 g smoked bacon, 250 g ‘lebbencs’ pasta, 500 g of potatoes, 1 paprika, 1 or 2 tomatoes, 2 onions, 1 clove of garlic, salt, ground pepper, half a tablespoon of Hungarian sweet paprika
Directions:
First things first: start a fire because Slambuc cannot be called Slambuc if it is not cooked in a pot.
Peel the potatoes and then slice them up. Put them into an iron bowl. Chop the smoked bacon and the onions up into small pieces and put them into the bowl as well. Let them simmer and stir the mixture in order not to burn it. When the bacon starts to get reddish, crack the pasta into small pieces and put it into the pot. Take it off the fire, add half a tablespoon of sweet paprika powder and mix it.
Fill up the bowl with water until it covers the meal. Add salt and put the bowl back onto the fire. It will soon start to boil while the potato and pasta are getting ready as well. The dense dish will sniffle, which means “szuszog” in Hungarian, that is why it is also called “szuszinka”. Stir it continuously with a big wooden spoon in order not to let it stick to the bottom of the bowl. Cook it until it boils the broth and then roast it until it gets red a little bit.
Serve it with greaves and/or sausage. Enjoy your meal!
Want to taste more traditional Hungarian dishes? Check out the recipes of the Hungarian chicken paprikash or the catfish soup.
Featured Image: facebook.com/Slambuc-123444791023687/
Would you like to surprise your family with a traditional Hungarian meal this Christmas? We have a great recommendation! Stuffed cabbage, or as we call it “töltött káposzta” is of Ottoman-Turkish origins, but it became a popular dish in Hungary in the 18th century. The favourite Christmas meal of Hungarians has several variations across the country and abroad as well; in the Balkans, for instance, they use grape leaves instead of a cabbage coat.
Here we share the traditional recipe from Funzine:
Ingredients:
100 g white rice, 1 kg ground pork, 1 onion (chopped), 3-4 garlic cloves, sweet paprika powder, 1 pack of sour cabbage, 8-10 cabbage leaves, sunflower oil, 2-3 tbsp flour, 1 tsp salt, ground pepper to taste, water, sour cream (garnish)
Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix uncooked rice, ground pork, chopped onion, broken garlic cloves, salt, ground pepper and sweet (édes) paprika powder thoroughly. Wash the cabbage leaves, bring a wide saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil, and cook the leaves for a few minutes until they are tender and soft. After draining, carefully roll the evenly divided mixture into the leaves. If needed, secure them with toothpicks.
Layer the finely cut sour cabbage (also known as “Sauerkraut”) into a bigger bowl, add the rolls, and cover them with enough water. Cook the rolls (at reduced heat) in a covered pot for about 30-40 minutes depending on their size. Once the meal is cooked, heat a small amount of oil in a pan and fry the flour. Take the pan off the stove, add paprika powder (it is a great seasoning that adds both colour and flavour to the dish) and mix it with two tablespoon of sour cream. Add a spoonful of the cooking water too, mix until smooth. Use a strainer when pouring the mixture on the cabbage rolls, and bring the meal to a boil. Voila, your meal is fully prepared!
Serve the cabbage rolls with sour cream and sliced fresh bread 🙂
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Wine Advisor:
A full bodied white wine, Olaszrizling (Welschriesling) enhances the flavours of the meal the most.
Culinary adventurers, Funzine has got something really exceptional for you. Please welcome the star of November, a real Hungarian delicacy, libamáj (goose liver), an easy but fancy dish that will wow your guests.
You might be familiar with French gastronomy’s well-known specialty, foie gras (goose liver) which is a bit different from our beloved appetizer, but the preparation process is essentially the same. Although terrine and pâté are very popular, this time we introduce our pan seared goose liver to you.
Follow the step-by-step instructions below and create the perfect starter!
Ingredients:
500 gr fat goose liver,
500 gr fatty goose skin,
1 onion,
a small amount of water,
salt and ground pepper to taste.
Photo: www.facebook.com/VendéglőaKisBíróhoz
Directions:
Clean, and devein the liver if necessary. It is a little bit of a messy job: first, separate the lobes then take out the veins. To do so, try to move away the flesh without breaking it up too much, and follow the vein with your finger gently pulling it up. Remove any discolorations (green and bloody areas) with a knife. The searing process will get rid of most of the veins, so you don’t have to be very thorough.
Note: it’s best if goose liver is at room temperature before you start the process.
To achieve a nice, light color after searing, rest it sliced in cold milk or water for about an hour. Now clean the fatty skin and carefully dry it with a paper towel. Cut it into pieces, dice the onion, and put them in a frying pan to render the fat. (It takes approximately half an hour.)
Now drain the grease, pour it into a searing pan and place the seasoned liver on top. Heat the skillet and simmer the goose liver scored-side-down, covered until done.
Note: you should put the biggest piece into the pan first, because it takes longer to cook.
Gently swirl the pan every few seconds. To test if it is ready, take a fork or a toothpick and poke the top of each slice slightly in the middle. Cook until browned and crisp on the outside. You can serve it both hot and cold, on a piece of fresh bread or next to a zesty salad.
Drink Advisor: The crisp acidity and citrusy flavour of the traditional sparkling wines from the Etyek-Buda wine region enhance the richness of the greasy dish.
Wash the beetroots then wrap them in aluminium foil and roast in oven at 200C for 40 minutes. Allow them to cool, then peel and chop them into small dice.
Chop the onions and sauté them on butter with some salt. Add the spices and ¾ of the beetroot and then fill it up with the must. Blend the whole lot and if necessary sieve it. Let it rest in the fridge for a night.
Whip the double cream into a stiff foam and then add the horseradish. Caramelize the rest of the beetroot and the grapes with some honey.
Serve in plates, add some double cream on top, sprinkle it with dill and finally add the caramelized grapes and beetroot.
The discussion of how the authentic chicken paprikash is supposed to be cooked continues to be a recurring subject among Hungarians. According to Funzine, One thing is for sure: it is a true Hungarian dish everyone adores. The combination of ground pepper and chicken is a match made in heaven. Don’t be shy to try the following recipe, we’ll guide you along every stage of cooking!
Ingredients (for 4 people):
2 garlic cloves, 2 medium onions, 4 chicken thighs, 2 bell peppers, 2 tbsp. ground red paprika, 3 tbsp. goose grease, 2 tomatoes, water, 20 dl sour cream (20%), 1 tbsp. white flour, 3 pinches of salt, black pepper to taste (optional)
Directions
To start with, chop the garlic and the onions, and dice the bell pepper and the tomatoes. Halve the chicken thighs at the joint. Melt grease in a Rondeau pan that is deep enough to hold liquid, and roast the sliced pepper until it gets a nice colour. Now add the onion and the garlic, then fry them for a few minutes to get rid of all the liquids except for the grease. Take it off the heat and sprinkle with red pepper. Mix well to combine, then add the tomato slices and pour circa half dl water into the pan. (Note: water is needed because pepper would get bitter otherwise.)
Put it back on the stove, add the chicken thighs and stir the stew. Add more water to semi-cover the meat. Season it with salt, and cook it covered. Don’t forget to pour more water into the pan if necessary. It takes around 1 hour of cooking before you can do the thickening. For that, pour the sour cream into a separate ceramic or plastic bowl and mix it with white flour. Add a small amount of liquid from the chicken paprikash stock, and slowly stir it. Pour the seasoned cooking fluid onto the chicken gently, and stir the mixture well. Cook it for a few more minutes, and when flavours come together, your chicken paprikash is ready. You can spice up the dish with a spoonful of magic: add fresh sour cream to tame the spiciness of the stew.
Our recommendation is to serve it with Hungarian dumplings called nokedli or galuska.
Fortunately, it is very easy to prepare this delicious side dish. For four people, you’ll need 4 eggs, 40 dkg white flour and around 200 ml water, as well as salt to taste. The consistency is best when it isn’t too liquid but a little sticky. First, mix the eggs and the water, then add the flour while stirring and season the mixture with salt. Finally, in a bigger pot bring water to boil, use either a dumpling cutter or a spoon to form the dumplings and put them into boiling water until they float to the top.
To compliment the dish even more, make a refreshing salad with vinegar sauce.
All you have to do is to separate the leaves, season it with salt, add 3-4 dl water to cover, and pour a small amount of vinegar (5-6 tablespoons) into the mixture. Balance the flavours by adding a pinch of sugar, too.
Hungary’s gastronomy is full of delicious recipes. The premise and the ingredients of the cottage cheese pasta may seem ordinary, but together, they make the perfect dish. Recipe HERE.
Wine Advisor
Chicken paprikash & sour cream taste even better if served with a full, crunchy Tokaji Furmint.
When it comes to popular Hungarian meals, catfish stew is one you should not miss. The following recipe is surprisingly easy, why wouldn’t you try it at home? Get your taste buds ready for a taste sensation, because coming their way is a rollercoaster party of flavours!
Ingredients (for 4 people)
80 dkg of catfish fillet, 1 bigger onion, 1 green or red paprika, 1 tomato, 2 teaspoons of Hungarian sweet paprika powder, 8-10 dkg flour, 1 cup of sour cream (15 dkg), salt and pepper to taste, a little oil
Directions
Cut the paprika, the onion and the tomato into smaller pieces, wash the fish fillets (remove the skin if needed, as well as the fat), then chop them into cubes. Season them with salt and pepper. Mix the flour with a teaspoon of paprika powder and coat each pieces. (Hint: If you like spicy food, add a little hot paprika powder too.) Now heat oil in a bigger bowl and fry the fish for about 1 minute on all sides. Once you are ready, take the fish out of the bowl and use the remaining oil to fry the sliced onion (until it becomes soft and golden).
Add the rest of the paprika powder, pour water into it, and put the fillet pieces together with the chopped tomato and paprika into the bowl. Cook it for about 20-25 minutes before thickening it with the mixture of flour and sour cream. Thickening with flour: use 2 tablespoons of flour, mix it thoroughly with 1/4 cup cold water. Add the mixture to the soup base while constantly stirring, and cook it until thickened and bubbly (it takes about 5 minutes). Fun fact: the main ingredient, catfish is interspecifically variable in size; many have a maximum length of 12 cm, while just a few months ago a more than 2 metres long specimen got hooked in Baranya county.
Bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Cut the bacon (smoked fatback) into thin slices, then cook them in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. After 8-10 minutes when the pasta is ready (al dente), drain it and stir the sour cream into the bowl. Finally, sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the top. Voilá! Instead of pasta, go for homemade noodles (galuska)! Ingredients: 40 dkg flour, 1 egg, 3 dl water, a pinch of salt. Directions: mix the ingredients, cut pieces of the mixture to form the noodles (use a tablespoon), and boil them for about 4-5 minutes.
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Wine Advisor:
This traditional dish best suits to a white Hungarian variety, a barrel-aged crisp Juhfark from the wine region of Neszmély or Somló. Cheers!
Flódni can be considered a staple dish when it comes to Jewish gastronomy. It is undoubtedly the most well-known and loved in Hungary. Its preparation requires a great deal of meticulousness, but the result is well worth the wait.
The history of flódni
According to foodandwine.hu, flódni is “the queen of Purim desserts”. Purim is a Jewish celebration – the ‘Jewish Mardis Gras’, as The Independent calls it -, in the centre of which stands a woman called Esther and the fact that the Jewish population managed to survive a Persian king’s attempts to wipe them out about 2500 years ago.
The name ‘flódni’ most probably comes from the German version, ‘Fladen’, though it is important to note that
the German word refers to a broad, flat and thin piece of cookie, unlike the Hungarian word that is attached to a tall piece of cake that has several layers.
Interestingly, the first flódni mentioned describes the dish as having a cheese filling, suggesting that the walnut and plum jam fillings are a new addition and that the flódni that we know today is actually pretty young, 200 years at most. However, by now, it has definitely become a staple food and a popular dessert option for Jewish celebrations.
2012: world record set in Hungary
Flódni has a special place in Hungarian culture, partly because of Ráchel Raj. In 2012, she managed to win the title of ‘World’s Largest Flódni’ with her creation. The attempt at the record-breaking took place at the Sziget Festival, of all places.
For the event at the 20th Sziget Festival, Raj and her team used over 500 kilogrammes of ingredients.
Luckily, it was all worth it, and the team won the title with the dessert that was over 20 meters long.
The record-breaking flódni Photo: facebook.com/Rachelsflodni
The team of 8 worked on the challenge for a total of 100 hours. The number of flódni they made, if placed on top of each other, could have reached 96 meters, the height of the Parliament.
Recipe
First of all, do not be daunted by the length of the recipe. It has several stages, but a lot of the time you just have to cool the ingredients. It may seem like a lot of work but it actually takes about 2 hours (one hour each day, since the fillings have to be done the previous day) and you will definitely be pleased with the results.
Flódni Photo: facebook.com/BevaltReceptek
Ingredients for the pastry
500 g flour
200 g butter
75 g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
some salt
130 g white wine
Ingredients for the fillings
It is best to prepare all the fillings the day before and cool them until the pastry is ready.
Walnut filling
200 g ground walnuts
50 g raisins cut up
180 g sugar
100 g water
Poppy seed filling
175 g ground poppy seed
70 g sugar
90 g water
some orange zest
Plum jam for the jam filling
occasionally, apricot jam is used
Apple filling
1 kg apples, peeled and cut up into thin slices
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
5 pieces of cloves
150 ml white wine
some bread crumbs – about 1 tbsp, to soak up the extra liquids
Mix the flour, the icing sugar, the butter, the egg yolks together and add the salt as well. Slowly add in the white wine until you get a smooth pastry batter. Divide this batter into 4 equal sections and roll them out to fit the 26.5×19.5 cm oven tin. Place them on pieces of baking paper and let them cool in the fridge overnight.
For the walnut filling, heat the ingredients on the stove until the sugar has melted and the mixture has become nice and thick. Let it cool in the fridge overnight.
For the poppy seed filling, heat the ingredients on the stove for about 2-3 minutes, until you notice bubbles. This mixture also has to go into the fridge for a night.
For the apple filling, steam the apples together with the honey, the sugar, the white wine, the cloves and the cinnamon. It is important not to overcook it. When it is done, put it in a sieve and let the extra liquid slowly leave the mixture.
Line the tin and place one of the pastry sheets inside. Add the walnut mixture, then put another piece of pastry on top. Spread the poppy seed filling on top, then add another piece of pastry. Add the apples and spread the plum jam on top. Add the last piece of pastry, brush it with the mixture of egg yolk and milk and place it in the fridge for about 10 minutes so that it sets.
Preheat the oven for 200 C, cook the dessert like that for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 175 C and cook for another 50 minutes. When done, let it cool for at least an hour outside of the oven.
It is a good idea to let the whole batch cool overnight so that it properly sets.
After all this work, your delicious dessert is done, enjoy!
An integral part of Hungarian gastronomy are the many kinds of pickled foods. They are just as crucial for the Hungarian identity as a good goulash soup or a nice plate of Brasov-style roast. But what exactly do we know about this type of garnish?
Throughout history, it has always been important to find ways to preserve food. In some places, people dried foods. In Hungary, people got into the habit of making jars of pickled vegetables during vegetable-season so they had vegetables to add to their meals all year round.
According to borsonline.hu, it has been observed a long time ago that
pickled foods help to digest the heavier, mainly meat-filled dishes – a characteristic of most Hungarian specialities. Besides that, there are many other benefits to eating pickled foods.
For instance, they contain valuable fibres as well as essential vitamins – so long as they did not undergo any heat-involving processes. They are an especially good source of minerals for those winter months when home-grown vegetables are scarce.
They also contain a lot of probiotics that can help restore the healthy condition of the bowels. They can optimise the digestive system, help with enzyme production, thus speeding up bowel movements. They also help to prevent bloating, in a natural way.
Most pickled food can also be added to any diet, as they are very low in calories but can soon make you feel full. Not to mention that their sour taste will help break that chocolate addiction, as you will not want to eat anything sweet until that taste lingers in your mouth.
They are also very rich in Vitamin C, and can help lessen allergic reactions or symptoms of a cold. In addition, it is believed that eating pickled foods will strengthen the immune system and could even help the body fight certain types of cancer.
Here are 3 of the most well-known Hungarian pickled foods.
Wash the vegetables and slice them thin. There is no need to peel the cucumber beforehand. If you prefer to have more eye-catching jars, use peppers of different colours or you can even add carrots. Put the sliced ingredients into a bigger bowl and add all the seasoning and spices, so they are equally spread out on top, then mix it all. Tear up the laurel leaves on top. Let it sit for 4-6 hours so that the juices can appear. When this has happened, portion the mass into jars, add the juice to fill the jar to the top, then put the cap on.
2. Pickled almapaprika (sweet paprika)
Pickled sweet paprika Photo: cleaneating.hu
Ingredients
2 kg almapaprika (sweet paprika)
whole-grain black pepper
laurel leaves
mustard seed
cilantro seed
2 l water
100 g salt
200 g sugar
400 ml vinegar (10%)
1 tsp potassium metabisulfite
Preparation
Wash and cut up the peppers or simply use them whole. Add the vinegar, salt, sugar and some potassium metabisulfite to the water but do not boil it, just stir thoroughly until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Sprinkle some of the laurel leaves, the mustard seed and the cilantro seed at the bottom of the jars, as much as you like. Stack the peppers as tight as you can, then pour the seasoned water on top. Cover it with cellophane then close the lid. Leave it for about 3-4 weeks.
3. Pickled beetroot
Ingredients
3 kg beetroot
2 pieces of horseradish (optional)
300 ml vinegar (10%)
200 g sugar
2 tbsp salt
1 tsp caraway seeds
0.2 packet of preservatives (optional)
Preparation
Wash and clean the beetroot thoroughly, then cook it until soft. Cool it down, peel it, then slice it up into thin pieces. Add the salt, the sugar, the vinegar and the caraway seeds to 2 litres of water and boil it. Pour it on top of the beetroot slices while still hot. Let it cool, then portion it into jars. You can add some slices of horseradish to each jar if you like. You can add a small dollop of the preservative on top, then close the lid. Steam it in hot water for about 10 minutes (starting from the boiling point).
As a variation of the Hungarian strudel, this delicious noodle pie is definitely worth trying, either during a visit to Hungary or even in your own kitchen. The dessert/second-course meal has a fascinating, mysterious origin story.
History
It is fairly certain that this noodle pie originates from Transylvania. However, exactly which city can boast of being the birthplace of the sweet dish is highly debated. According to vacsinalam.cafeblog.hu, the recipe, more precisely, the person knowing the recipe, moved from Marosvásárhely to Kolozsvár. This person was Mrs Ferenc Aszalós, née Anna Borbáth, who passed on the recipe to her daughter, Mrs Darvas. It was Mrs Darvas who perfected the dish and made it so widely popular.
Mrs Darvas Photo: archivum2.szabadsag.ro
Mrs Darvas was known for carefully selecting each ingredient she used. Therefore, the flour, the butter, the cream and the eggs all had to be of the highest quality. However, it was actually an unfortunate event that led to the widespread success of Mrs Darvas’s dessert.
One day, no cottage cheese arrived for Mrs Darvas. Nevertheless, she had a lot of orders to cater to, so she had to use a small trick. She made her own cottage cheese from slightly sour milk, giving the noodle pie a piquant taste.
This new taste was a huge success. In fact, it became so popular that the Gundel Restaurant in Budapest put it on the menu, too, and taxis had to take the freshly baked dish daily to the Kolozsvár airport, to make it in time to the Hungarian capital.
Another episode in the success of the Hungarian noodle pie is when the Shah from Iran visited Kolozsvár with Romanian president Gheorghe Maurer, and asked specifically to try this sweet dish.
Unfortunately, Mrs Darvas was in the hospital at the time but, after a little bit of panicking, they managed to convince her daughter, Marika, to prepare the dessert for the important guests.
Hungarian noodle pie Photo: facebook.com/balladapub
She had to cater for 400 people, for which she had the staff of the late Continental Hotel (now New York Café) at her service, who were shocked and somewhat terrified upon hearing all the ingredients they had to ensure for the new chef. However, all their efforts were worth it as the dessert was a huge success. Marika was awarded a giant flower basket for her hard work, and the popularity of the Hungarian noodle pie only became stronger over time.
Recipe of the noodle pie
Sweet noodle pie Photo: facebook.com/kifoztukgasztromagazin
Ingredients
1 packet of strudel pastry or filo pastry
150 g vermicelli (very thin spaghetti pasta)
50 g butter
400 g cottage cheese
100 ml sour cream
2 eggs
3-4 tbsp sugar
2 packets of vanilla sugar
50 g raisins
lemon zest
some salt
some oil and 1 small egg for brushing
some icing sugar
Preparation
Cook the vermicelli in slightly salty water until softened, then mix the sieved pastry with some melted butter while still hot. Let it cool completely. Break up the cottage cheese slightly with a fork, then add the sugar, the vanilla sugar, the lemon zest, the sour cream, two egg yolks and the raisins and mix them well. Beat the egg whites with some salt, then slowly add it to the cottage cheese-y mass. Now also fold in the cool vermicelli mixed with butter. Get a 30 x 20 centimetre lined tin and place a strudel pastry sheet so that it covers the sides as well. Brush it with oil, place another sheet on top, brush it with oil again and place the third sheet on top, without the oil brushing this time. Pour the cottage cheese – vermicelli mass on top and smooth out the top. Place a strudel pastry sheet on top, brush it with oil, repeat this once more, then place the third, final sheet on top and brush it with the beaten up egg. In a 200C preheated oven, bake the pie for 35-40 minutes. When it is done, let it cool a bit, then sprinkle it with some icing sugar.
The Hungarian leavened cucumber (kovászos uborka) is said to be the king of pickles. But what fewer people know about are the beneficial effects it has on the human body and even the soul. Below you find some useful facts about the leavened cucumber collected by bidista.com.
This unique sour cucumber is believed to be capable of influencing nervousness and anxiety. This characteristic has actually been tested. In a research project, experts studied its effects on neuroticism and social anxiety, and the results attested a palliative impact.
Since fermented foods are full of probiotics, they also have a positive effect on the metabolic system. Although the connection is not entirely clear, scientists believe that healthy metabolism leads to healthier brain functions, which consequently results in the reduction of fear, anxiety and nervousness.
In other words, if you are facing one of the abovementioned problems, try to eat a plate of pickled cabbage or leavened cucumber.
Pickled foods not only affect out the mental system, but they also strengthen the immune system and help the body fight diseases. Acidified, even those who are intolerant to lactose can digest pickled dairy products.
Photo: www.facebook.com/Mindmegette.hu
One leavened cucumber a day can help ease nervousness and stage-fright. Moreover, it is a delicious garnish, so why not consume it?
If you are wondering how to make leavened cucumber at home, do not worry, we got you covered 😉 According to sokszinuvidek.24.hu, the recipe is all about chemistry, and the key term is fermentation.
People make it differently all over the world, some add mustard seed, while others prefer, horseradish, parsley or sugar.
You can always try new flavour variations, but if you want to go for sure, follow our recipe which is more so on the traditional side. It is important to choose medium-size cucumbers which have little spikes. However, it is recommended that you remove these spikes with a smooth brushing technique.
Ingredients:
2 kilograms of cucumber
bunch of dills
2 slices of thick bread
1-2 vine-leaves
few cloves of garlic
salt
vinegar
Directions:
Cut the ends of the cucumbers off, because they might be bitter and make your work go to waste. Moreover, wash them and cut some slits into the cucumbers. Get a 5-litre jar and put a slice of bread in the bottom. Add some dill and a vine-leaf.
Then, place the cucumbers over the “bedding” in a vertical position.
Photo: Wiki Commons By Marcin Floryan
Warm up some water and add one tablespoon of salt to every litre of water, along with a teaspoon of vinegar. After it has reached a boil, slowly and carefully pour it over the cucumbers. Add the leftover dill, vine-leaf and a few cloves of garlic on the top, and cover it with the other slice of bread.
Place a plate over the jar and put it in a warm place (preferably sunny). You have to wait at least three days until the juice reaches an olive-green colour. Then, sieve it, place the cucumbers in another jar and add the sieved juice back to the jar. Keep it in the fridge and serve it with whatever meal your heart desires (e.g. Hungarian stew, paprikash, layered potatoes) 🙂
A more and more popular part of the culture surrounding pálinka is the home-made so-called “bedded” pálinka – reports sokszinuvidek.24.hu. It is quite easy to prepare, and the result will please all connoisseurs. And, as variations are endless, there is a lot of room to be creative.
Classical bedding
The secret ingredient – in fact, the base of it all – is a high quality, home-made batch of pálinka. As such, it has no added sugar before the decocting process, only fruits.
This can be any fruit, as the final taste will come from the bedded liquid.
However, as the saying goes, there is no accounting for taste, so every household may have different ways of preparing home-made pálinka. It depends on taste and available ingredients what kind of bedded pálinka gets made.
Photo: facebook.com/pg/palinkaofficial
The standard recipe instructs a handful of raisins, dried plums, dried sour cherries, dried currants, dried apricots, a stick of vanilla and 3 to 4 tablespoons of honey (depending on tastes) to make one litre of pálinka. However, it is a valid question whether anything can substitute the somewhat pricey dried fruits for the bedding.
Luckily, the number of variation-options are only limited by having to pay attention to the harmony of the ingredients’ tastes.
A list of ideas for the bedding of 1 litre of pálinka
2 pieces of ripe chilli paprika, a handful of washed, cut-up orange peel and the same amount of lemon peel (without its inner, white part).
A handful of blackthorn and a handful of rose-hip (preferably dried or picked after the first freeze), a handful of orange peel, a handful of lemon peel, a handful of raisins and 5 handfuls of dried elderflower.
A handful of lemon peel, a handful of orange peel, 1 stick of vanilla and 1 stick of cinnamon.
Preparation
The preparation is rather easy in each case. Take a jar of sufficient size that can be sealed off properly. Put all the ingredients of the bedding in it, then pour the pálinka on top. Stir it a few times, then seal it. Store it in a cool, dark place for at least 3 or 4 months. Make sure to give it a stir or a shake every week.
Photo: www.facebook.com/Pálinka
It is important to note that the taste gest better the longer you store it.
When it is ready for consumption, pour it into a high-necked bottle. If the opening is wide enough, you can pour in the bedding as well, if not, it is better to strain it. There is no need to worry, though, it will not lose any of its taste if it is strained, either. It will be a guaranteed success, be prepared it will be gone in a second.
Adding honey
If anybody would like to make it with honey, make sure to consider this advice.
For the above-listed ingredients, with one litre of pálinka, add 4-5 tablespoons of honey (depending on how sweet you like it, you can add more).
Slightly heat the honey until it is warmish so that it does not lose any of its taste. Put this into the jar first, then add the bedding ingredients and the pálinka on top. The rest of the preparation is the same from here.
Hungary’s gastronomy is full of delicious recipes. The premise and the ingredients of the cottage cheese pasta may seem ordinary, but together, they make the perfect dish.
History of the cottage cheese pasta
Pasta became a part of Hungarian gastronomy somewhere at the beginning of the modern era. József Topits founded the first steam pasta factory in 1859 in Budapest that allowed the large-scale production of pasta. Since then, it has conquered the markets and pasta is pretty much present in every household by now.
What makes this pasta unique is the special combination of hot and cold: a portion of warm pasta cooked with cottage cheese is topped with an extra portion of cold cottage cheese, it is then mixed with hot, juicy bacon strips, with the final addition of some cold sour cream.
The Hungarian name of the dish, ‘túrós csusza’ refers to the fact that this type of pasta is often very slippery due to the sour cream.
Notably, Hungary was chosen as the 10th country with the best cuisine, according to this list on thrillist.com, not least because of the cottage cheese pasta.
Cottage cheese pasta is perfect for serving as the main course, a side dish, for example with fish meals, or even as the dessert, at the end of a meal.
Recipe
Ingredients
250 g noodles
150 g smoked bacon
250 g cottage cheese
0.5 l sour cream
salt, pepper
some butter
some chives
Preparation
Boil the noodles in salty water until they are ready (it usually says the time needed on the packaging). Cut the bacon into tiny pieces and put it on the stove until it is nice and crispy. Add the grease to the noodles, along with half the amount of the cottage cheese, the bacon and the sour cream, and add some salt and pepper. Put it in a buttered tin and bake the mixture together, in a 200C oven for a few minutes. When it is out of the oven, add the rest of the sour cream, cottage cheese, and bacon, add the chives and then you are ready to go.
Six-layered (hatlapos) has been a popular dessert in Hungary for a long time, as it costs very little to make. Because of this, it is often called ‘beggar’ cake, referring to how easy it is to prepare, even in hard-up times.
This cake is believed to originate from Vas county, from the Western part of the country. Its name perfectly describes the dessert: it has six layers of pastry, each topped with a layer of cream filling. The cream can vary from household to household. The most popular is the chocolate filling, though a number of people make the dessert with caramel or coffee cream, or with a simple vanilla cream filling.
Recently, there has been some debate about the origins of another alternate name for this dessert: Horthy-slice, after the Hungarian admiral and statesman of the 20th century. However, this name is less well-known and is not very flattering to Horthy himself. It contains some degree of criticism, alluding to hard-up circumstances of his time when this cheap option was the most likely dessert to be made.
In Győr, in the North-Western part of the country, the six-layered recipe became rather famous because of a graffiti that appeared in the underpass of the city one day. The artwork appeared in 2013 and includes the recipe as well as a pair of kissing deer and some decorative symbols.
Even when the underpass was painted and renovated, this part was left out, preserving the artwork.
Recipe street art in Győr Photo: facebook.com/search/str/győr+aluljáró/photos
Recipe of six-layered
Photo: facebook.com/Zalacozrt/photos
Ingredients for the pastry
500 g flour
80 g butter
100 g icing sugar
200 ml milk
1 packet rising agent
Ingredients for the cream filling
1 l milk
350 g sugar
6 tbsp flour
50 g butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 tbsp cocoa powder
Ingredients for the top
50 g butter
some icing sugar
Preparation
Crumble the butter together with the flour, then add the icing sugar, the rising agent and the milk. Bring the mixture together with your hands to form a smooth ball of dough. Separate the ball into six equal pieces and roll them out to fit a 30×33 cm baking tin. Bake them one by one for about 7-9 minutes with the oven on 190 degrees. Make sure to poke some holes with a fork to create some steam holes.
After the layers of pastry are ready, start making the filling. In a bowl, mix together the sugar, the vanilla essence, the flour and the cocoa powder with 200 ml of the milk. Start to boil the rest of the milk. Once it is warm, add the cocoa-y mixture and stir until it is nice and thick. Then, off from the stove but while it is still hot, add in the butter. Let it cool a bit, then spread the warmish cream on top of each layer (except the top one).
Let it rest for a while so that it sets (up to 3-4 hours), then glaze the top layer with the melted butter. Once it is set, sprinkle it with some icing sugar. Now the only thing left to do is enjoy!
A pro tip is that this dessert gets better and better with time. So, unlike many other desserts, this one gets tastier and more delicious a few days after it has been prepared, when the cream filling has started to seep into the pastry. Therefore, it is a perfect summer dessert – you do not have to eat it as soon as it is out of the oven.
This Hungarian delicacy may seem like an odd choice, at first, to make on hot summer days. However, it is actually the perfect dish if you want to cool down as this soup is served and meant to be eaten cold.
It may seem like a dessert, but it is actually not, at least not in most places. Sour cherry soup is offered just like any other soup, making it very popular among children, especially since whipped cream often complements it. It is the perfect dish to start a summer luncheon with or to commence an evening feast. However, its rich, fresh, creamy taste is so delicious and filling that you may not need (or want) to eat anything else afterwards.
History of the soup
Although nowadays, the dish is offered in several restaurants all over Europe,
it originated in Hungary and can be seen as evidence of the mixing of Asian and Continental European influences in Hungarian cuisine.
It is a known dish in the neighbouring countries like Austria, Slovakia and Poland, but Hungarian emigrants even introduced it to Americans and Canadians.
Apart from the basic ingredients, the recipe for sour cherry soup seems to vary from household to household. Special ingredients include extra fruit (both canned and fresh sour cherries and regular cherries), red or white wine, fresh cream and occasionally even some vanilla ice cream.
Sour cherry is the only fruit for which the currently still in-use Hungarian word – meggy – has Finno-Ugric origins, suggesting that
Hungarians have been familiar with the fruit since before conquering the Carpathian Basin, although it is unsure when the tradition of this delicious soup started.
Very little is known about the history of the dish. It is an undeniable fact, though, that Hungary has a huge variety of sour cherry trees, producing different kinds of sour cherries. This suggests that it is possible that these types of trees spread from Hungary to other parts of Europe.
Recipe
Photo: facebook.com/Kistucsoketterem/photos
Ingredients
1 kg sour cherries
4 tbsp sugar
250 ml cream
1 tbsp flour
some cloves
1 tbsp cinnamon
2-3 pieces of star anise
1 lemon
some salt
water
Preparation
Wash the sour cherries thoroughly and pit them. Take a deep saucepan, add the sugar and some water, about twice as much as the amount of sour cherries. Depending on how thick you want the soup to be, you can add 1.5-2.5 litres. Then add the spices – the cinnamon, the star anise, the cloves – in a tea infuser, along with the salt and the lemon zest. Now bring it to a slow boil.
Reduce the heat and remove the spice holder while whisking together the cream and the flour in a separate bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the soup to this and mix until smooth. Slowly add this creamy-floury mixture to the soup, constantly stirring to avoid lumps. Now the only thing left to do is cool down the soup, then you can enjoy this delicious summer dish.
Sport slice first appeared on the market in 1953, when Népstadion – now Ferenc Puskás Stadium – was opened. Only 25 grams of sweetness, but the excellent fusion of cocoa and rum makes this piece of chocolate a living legend. It has preserved its signature green packaging over the years, adding a more retro feel to it nowadays.
In 1993, the company was bought by Kraft Foods. Pleasing chocolate-lovers all over the world, they made the XL version of the snack 45 grams, while the regular portion also increased to 33 grams, still keeping the original packaging.
Sport slice Photo: sportszelet.hu
In 2002, the chocolate grew even more, with the XXL version conquering the markets. In 2005, its cool version appeared in the form of a Sport ice lolly, making it the perfect summer treat.
Over the years, several flavours appeared, and the delicacy can be found in various sizes in every Hungarian shop. You do not have to go that far, though – there is a recipe to help fill your home (and stomach) with this special Hungarian treat…
Sport slice recipe
Sport slice Photo: facebook.com/search/photos/sportszelet
Ingredients for the sport slice
500 g plain biscuits
250 g butter
200 ml milk
200 g brown sugar
3 tbsp dark cocoa powder
20 ml rum essence
1 stick of vanilla
Ingredients for the glaze
150 g dark chocolate
1 tbsp sunflower oil
Grind the biscuits then add the cocoa powder and the pulverised vanilla. Heat and stir the butter, brown sugar and milk until the sugar is melted. Add this mixture to the ground biscuits along with the rum essence. Work these thoroughly together. Spread it in a lined tin and let it set in a cool place for about 1-2 hours.
Now prepare the chocolate glaze. Melt the chocolate (in a microwave or on the stove) and add in the oil. Spread it on top of the biscuity mixture once it is out from the fridge. Only slice it when the chocolate has set as well. Now the only thing left to do is enjoy!
