What are you making for dinner tonight? If you’re not sure, I recommend trying your hand at preparing some of these traditional meals. Get hungry, your taste buds are going on holiday to Hungary!
Appetiser: Halászlé
Start your three-course meal with this delicious appetiser. Halászlé, or fisherman’s soup as it is more commonly known, is a scrumptious and versatile staple in Hungary. When it comes to preparation, it is best to cook it in a kettle over an open fire. Add your ingredients – a boatload of paprika to give it some spice and lovely red colouring, a variety of river fish (perch, catfish, pike or carp are the usual suspects) and even some thick pasta if you’re looking to make a version known as a la Baja – and there you have it. You’ve got a mouth-watering freshwater beginning to your feast.
Main Course: Goulash
Goulash is potentially the most famous Hungarian dish out there – and for good reason. With a history dating back to the ninth century, this cuisine is deeply rooted in the country’s identity and culinary culture, so much so that it came to be considered a national symbol in the 1800s.
Its name originates from a term for the herdsmen – gulyás – who cooked goulash over an open fire in a kettle. To this day, the most authentic versions of this soup-stew hybrid are kettle-made, and include ingredients such as potatoes, beef (or pork or veal), carrot, spices and, of course, paprika. Because what’s a Hungarian dish without paprika?
Dessert: Somlói Galuska
Hopefully you left room for dessert! Despite only having been created in the 1950s, somlói galuska has already gone down in Hungarian history. Even though the original recipe is a secret known only to the creator’s family, bakers everywhere have more than got along by making their own versions.
With layers of rum, walnut kernel and chocolate cream – not forgetting a dollop of whipped cream on the top – it’s not hard to see why this sweet sponge cake has been honoured with the reputation of ‘Hungary’s favourite dessert’.
Next time you’re feeling hungry, indulge in a trip to Hungary…and then indulge in these classic dishes!
