30/30/30 Food Challenge - Day 26: HUNGARY

    More than 40 years ago, I had a Hungarian girlfriend.  I learned many things from her, not the least of which was the correct pronunciation for a couple of famous Hungarian wines.  Along with Tokaji, Badacsonyi Szürkebarát is one of Hungary's most famous white wines...and most certainly the most difficult to pronounce.  Hungarians tell me I've got it spot on!   Hungary's most famous red wine is Egri Bikavér or "Bull's Blood from Eger", slightly easier to get right.

    Hungarians are also known as Magyars , the primary ethnic group, and their cuisine reflects this heritage.  Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats, seasonal vegetables, fruits, fresh bread, cheeses and honey. The importance of livestock and the nomadic lifestyle of the Magyar people is apparent in the prominence of meat in Hungarian food and may be reflected in traditional meat dishes cooked over the fire like goulash (in Hungarian "gulyás", lit. "herdsman's meal)"), pörkölt stew and the spicy fisherman's soup called halászlé are all traditionally cooked over the open fire in a bogrács (or cauldron)

     Hungarians are especially passionate about their soups, desserts and pastries and stuffed pancakes, with fierce rivalries between regional variations of the same dish, (like the Hungarian hot fish soup called Fisherman's Soup or halászlé, cooked differently on the banks of Hungary's two main rivers: the Danube and the Tisza).  Other famous Hungarian dishes would be Papricás (paprika stew, meat simmered in thick creamy paprika gravy) served with nokedli (small dumplings), gulyaás (goulash), palaczinta (pancakes served flambéed in dark chocolate sauce filled with ground walnuts) and Dobos Cake (layered sponge cake, with chocolate buttercream filling and topped with a thin caramel sauce).

    Josée's Hungarian menu:

 

 

 

Gulyaás

 

    Gulyaás or Hungarian goulash: Beef, onions, garlic, Hungarian paprika, caraway seeds, beef broth, potatoes, tomatoes and green peppers.

 

    Paprika is a spice made from ground, dried fruits of Capsicun annuum, either bell pepper or chili pepper varieties or mixtures thereof. The seasoning is used in many cuisines to add color and flavor to dishes, but it is usually associated with Hungary.

    Egészségédre!

 

    Joseph Froncioni