Hungary is my choice, never been there but I have a very dear Hungarian friend, with a dear lovely mom, who helped me a lot in making the announcement recipe as much original as possible.
Maybe one day I will go and visit this lovely region with two special guides like them!
views from Budapest
image from wikipedia
The highest mountains of the country are located in the
Carpathians: these lie in the
North Hungarian Mountains, in a wide band along the Slovakian border (highest point: the
Kékes at 1,014 m or 3,327 ft).
Hungary is divided in two by its main waterway, the
Danube (Duna); other large rivers include the
Tisza and
Dráva, while Transdanubia contains
Lake Balaton, a major body of water.
Hungary has 10 national parks, 145 minor nature reserves and 35 landscape protection areas.
image from wikipedia
It 'also one of the official languages of the European Union, and is based on the Latin alphabet, which was introduced only after the Christianization by Stephen, the first king of Hungary.
image from wikipedia
Following periods of successive habitation by Celts, Romans, Huns,
Slavs, Gepids, and Avars, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late
9th century by the Hungarian grand prince
Árpád, whose great-grandson
Saint Stephen I ascended to the throne in 1000 AD. The
Kingdom of Hungary existed for 946 years,
and at various points was regarded as a major political power in
Europe, as well as one of the cultural centres of the Western world. After about 150 years of partial
Ottoman occupation (1541–1699), Hungary was integrated into the
Habsburg Monarchy, and later constituted half of the
Austro–Hungarian Empire (1867–1918).
A great power until the end of
World War I, Kingdom of Hungary subsequently lost about 72 percent of its territory, 64 percent of its total population, one third of its ethnic Hungarian population,
five of its ten largest cities, and all its sea ports under the
Treaty of Trianon,
the terms of which have been considered excessively harsh by many in Hungary.
The kingdom was succeeded by an authoritarian regime, and then a
communist one (1947–1989). Hungary gained widespread international
attention during the
Revolution of 1956 and the seminal opening of its border with Austria in 1989, which accelerated the collapse of the
Eastern Bloc.
Since 1989, Hungary has been governed as a democratic parliamentary republic, and is today considered a developed country with a high-income economy.
Hungary is one of the thirty most popular tourist destinations in the world, attracting 10.2 million tourists a year (2011).
The country is home to the largest
thermal water cave system
and the second largest thermal lake in the world,
Lake Hévíz, the largest lake in Central Europe,
Lake Balaton, and the largest natural grasslands in Europe,
Hortobágy (
from wikipedia).
Hungary is home to the largest synagogue in Europe,
Great Synagogue, the largest medicinal bath in Europe,
Széchenyi Medicinal Bath, Hungary is a land of thermal water. A passion for spa culture and
Hungarian history have been connected from the very beginning. Hungarian
spas feature Roman, Greek, Turkish, and northern country architectural
elements, one of the largest basilicas in Europe,
Esztergom Basilica, the second largest territorial abbey in the world,
Pannonhalma Archabbey, and the largest Early Christian Necropolis outside Italy,
Pécs.
image from wikipedia
Founded in 1826,
Herend Porcelain is one of the world's largest ceramic factories, specializing in luxury hand painted and gilded porcelain. In the mid-19th century it was purveyor to the
Habsburg Dynasty
and aristocratic customers throughout Europe. Many of its classic
patterns are still in production. After the fall of communism in Hungary
the factory was privatised and is now 75% owned by its management and
workers, exporting to over 60 countries of the world.
The great collection of songs and dances is among the richest in the world. The most popular instruments and melodies are more present in the flageolet (
furulya), harp (
zither), the Jew's harp (
doromb), the pound German (
tekerö), the pipe (
tilinkó) and the bagpipe (
duda). The violin is widely used, especially in Gypsy music.
Hungarians:
The Hungarian cuisine is a prominent feature of the Hungarian
culture, just like the art of hospitality. Traditional dishes such as
the world famous
Goulash (
gulyás stew or
gulyás soup) feature prominently. Dishes are often flavoured with
paprika (ground red peppers), a Hungarian innovation.
Paprika is obtained from dried grinded pepper, and is one of the main ingredients in many Hungarian dishes, though peppers have been imported into the country only after the discovery of the Americas.
A tale says that a young Hungarian peasant, who had been forced to live in the turkish harem of the Pasha of Buda, had long spied the palace gardeners cultivating peppers. Once free, she taught the farmers in her village to cultivate paprika.
Thick, heavy Hungarian sour cream called
tejföl is often used to soften the dishes flavour. The famous Hungarian hot river fish soup called Fisherman's soup or
halászlé is usually a rich mixture of several kinds of poached fish.
Other dishes are chicken paprikash,
foie gras made of goose liver,
pörkölt stew,
vadas, (game stew with vegetable gravy and dumplings), trout with almonds and salty and sweet dumplings, like
túrós csusza, (dumplings with fresh quark cheese and thick sour cream). Desserts include the iconic
Dobos Cake,
strudels (
rétes), filled with apple, cherry, poppy seed or cheese,
Gundel pancake, plum dumplings (
szilvás gombóc),
somlói dumplings, dessert soups like chilled
sour cherry soup and sweet chestnut puree,
gesztenyepüré (cooked chestnuts mashed with sugar and rum and split into crumbs, topped with whipped cream).
Perec and
kifli are widely popular pastries.
Some big corporations have long tried, butyet have not be able to imitate the
Túró Rudi, a popular snack (chocolate with ricotta stuffing) made by Pöttyös (polka dots).
The territory of Hungary is ideal for wine-making. Since the fall of communism there has been a renaissance of Hungarian wine-making, the most famous are the white
Tokaji and the red
Egri Bikavér.
For over 150 years, a blend of 40 Hungarian herbs has been used to create the liqueur
Unicum. Unicum is a bitter, dark-coloured liqueur that can be drunk as an apéritif or after a meal, thus helping the digestion.
At the end of a meal you can not miss a shot glass of the excellent Hungarian grappa called
Pálinka (the most popular are apricot, plum and cherry flavored). Since July 1st, 2002 the European Union has protected the name that can be officially attributed only to the spirits from 100% fruit or native grasses grown in the Carpathian Basin in Hungary and made without any artificial additives, having an alcohol content between 37.5% and 86%. It must also be distilled and bottled in Hungary.
Szakácskönyv by
Ilona Horváth is a complete cookbook still used nowadays, almost the bible of Hungarian cuisine (
szakács means
chef e
könyv means
book).
But now let's talk the recipe chosen to represent Hungary.
It could not be better choice because it is a complete meal, tasty and nutritious, and adding/making the traditional
galuska (dumplings simply made with flour and egg) it also becomes a nice moment to enjoy with friends.
A fundamental element for its success, but above all to be as faithful as possible to the original recipe, is paprika. Not that brownish powder in prepackaged jars you usually find at the supermarket! The real original paprika, great souvenir hould you eevr fly there, is brilliant red and when you use it glows bright red to your preparation.
I am very lucky to have a dear Hungarian friend who soon became our drug dealer, she can have excellent organic paprika made by uncles/cousins/relatives who still live in Hungary. Each time she comes back from there she smells so good and turns everything she touches in red coral forever! :-)
As for the recipe I entirely followed Agnese's wise words, my dear friend's mom, and for the occasion she pulled out her
old recipe book, dated 1956: I was deeply touched while reading it, knowing how many years of cooking life passed by in her hands! And I know that I will be sitting again close to her pretty sure for the next recipes to cook!
And also the props used for the pictures are original from her, as the characteristic red enamel pot, the linen cloth with red stripes and a monogram embroidered by hand, the little man shaped jug called
Pista Baci, the shepherd of the
Puszta.
Initially, the
Gulyàs was made only with beef, but then there was a long period during the
Iron Curtain, which was done with the more plebeian pig, since the cattle were more profitable if sold for export. Nowadays it is still often made with both meats.
Better to choose the less noble parts and the fatter, meat will then remain tender and tastier while cooking.
Just few words about the use of lard: once it was pretty lifestyle, cheaper and more manageable to keep, of course people could not afford extra virgin olive oil. Nowadays we can replace it with healthier extravirgin olive oil, or make a compromise between the two (at least once in a while :-) just to recall the original flavors of the past.
If possible, better to use a cast iron pot, as the old drovers'
bogrács. But you can do even in the most modern pressure cooker, optimizing the cooking time (especially when you add the potatoes, which will cook only 5 minutes or they will crumble).
The addition of hot peppers and thus the how much hot you like goes to personal taste, though the Hungarians are very spicy addicted.
The red wine in the recipe is a personal addition of Agnese, not provided in the original recipe, partly because the wine was an expensive drink, permitted only to rich people. So you can omit if you do not like, but it gives an extra strong taste.
It is not a preparation particularly difficult, perhaps a more masculine dish that will make happy all men at home very much!
A legend tells that seven princes guided the migration of the Magyars from the Urals to their promised land, the region of the great Carpathian Mountains, following the mythical eagle Turul. During the journey, nomadic knights and horsemen used to keep close to tthem heir old bogrács, the cauldron where they prepared their tokàny (stew).
Serving 6/8:
half a kilo beef muscle
half a kilo pork neck
2 onions, finely sliced
lard/extra virgin olive oil
paprika
cumin
a quarter of a green bell pepper, diced
half a medium ripe tomato, diced
meat or vegetable broth, 2 or 3 liters
(or made with
homemade stock cubes)
800 g potatoes
dried chilli
salt
red wine, optional
galuska, recipe below
- Put the onion to fry in oil or lard (or both, like me :-) and let it cook over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until it becomes transparent and golden, even 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the meat into cubes of about 3x3 cm., leaving even the fat that gives flavor and keeps the meat tender.
- Remove from heat and add two tablespoons of paprika, mix well and put back on low heat, stirring occasionally, so that the paprika gives off its aroma but won't burn.
- After a couple of minutes add the meat and sautée well on all sides, stirring frequently.
- Add salt and a teaspoon of cumin seeds.
- Then add the pepper and tomato, chili and season with half a glass of red wine.
- Add broth and cook covered over low heat until the meat is tender, adding potatoes (cut into cubes as big as the meat) at three quarters of the cooking time: they do not have to be overcooked but remain in cubes and firm.
- Make galuska (dumplings made of flour and egg) as per recipe below, add them to the soup and serveimmediately.
- If you have some
Gulyàs leftover with galuska inside, these will tend to absorb the broth, then heat the soup by adding more broth and season again with salt, paprika and pepper if necessary.
Pista Baci jar representing the shepherd of Pustza
Galuska
Galuska are typically dumplings made with egg and flour to be added to Hungarian soups, mostly Gulyàs.
Simple to do, you just need an egg, a pinch of salt and as much flour as it the egg reuires, to have a consistent dough as shown in the picture (to have an idea about 3 tablespoons per egg).
Break the egg in a bowl, and whisk with a wooden spoon adding flour little by little, stirring vigorously and avoiding making lumps.
You need a special kitchentool (similar to the one used to make German spätzle) and the blade, preferably made in wood so it does not bend. And then a lot of your hand strength!.
But there you can see Susy making galuska in the video!
Susy told me that an old custom for young people next to wedding time was to have galuska test: the girls were set to prepare the little dumplings by hand (as shown initially in the video, on the wooden board and with a little knife) and the only able to make the smallest was the right girl to marry! :-)
jó étvágyat!
If you want to be part of this wonderful culinary journey in Hungary please:
- post about an Hungarian recipe by midnight on June 2nd, 2013, Rome time
- add in the post a link to this post and toThe Culinary ABC of the European Community,
- use of the logo is optional
- leave the link to your recipe in a comment on this post,
- old recipes are welcome, just update them with the links above.
Thanks for your cooperation and ... back to the kitchen!
