New Hungarian Cuisine [antikvár]

An aperitifLet me just state a personal opinion: I love my cooking. Hungarian cooking. Perhaps not everyone knows this, but according to unofficial sources, Hungarian cuisine is among the three finest in the world; in first place is French cooking, second Chinese, and third .well, you've guessed it. This verdict is first and foremost based on the richness and balance of flavours in Hungarian cooking.Typical traditional Hungarian dishes are spicy, with plenty of carbohydrates and fat. Until recently this high-calo-rie formula persisted. For the most part, meals are prepared with pork fat, along with our very own world famous onions and paprika.If you want to know how this characteristic culinary culture came into being, take a peek into the cooking pots of bygone days! We have the nomadic lifestyle of our Hungarian ancestors to thank for the use of dried ingredients, among other things. The Turkish conquest brought us numerous tasty dishes like stuffed cabbage, stuffed pepper, stmdel and tarhonya (a form of couscous-like tiny pasta). We "inherited" just as many different recipes from our neighbours in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, too. Typical dishes in turn of the century Hungary were rich, hearty soups, noodles, meat stew with dumplings and vegetable stew with breaded fillets,smoked meats, hearty roast joints, and both sweet and savoury pasta and pastries. But bow exactly did this style of cooking come about?At the start of the ZO'' century the most important domestic crops were cereals and vegetables. Pork was also a staple. Without it, large families would have starved, since in country areas this (together with poultry) was the only meat available. In villages, butchers' shops or stalls were rarely seen. So meat had to be preserved and kept throughout the whole year. A high-calorie diet was essential for smallholders (who were themselves their own farm labourers) to cope with the physically demanding tasks of harvesting, ploughing, blacksmithing, etc. Nobody could grow or buy sufficient vegetables to fuel such energy needs. Therefore, the farmer's wife would thicken or "stretch" vegetables and stews with flour. Rántás was one such style of stretching dishes, one that plays a part in no other country's repertoire of culinary techniques. (To make rántás, brown some flour in a little fat, then bring to the boil with water, meat or other juices. Pour over the cooked vegetables and cook until thickened.) Sweets like aranygaluska (Hungarian coffee cake) and bukta (jam roll) were common, as well as pasta dishes such as cabbage or ham lasagne, vermicelli with cottage cheese, and so on. (1 am using Italian terms for pasta in order to give an idea of the dishes. This is slightly misleading, however, because the Hungarian varieties have their own distinctive character.)Hungarian cuisine in recent years has lost its previously high reputation! As sedentary work has largely taken over from physical labour in a large portion of society, our metabolisms need fewer calories to get through the working day. We need to change our cooking habits to create a lighter, lower-calorie diet without losing the flavours we love! We must not forsake the piquan-cy of fine herbs and spices, or the distinctive Hungarian character of our food given by the various cooking styles acquired over centuries. Fried onions and paprika lend an unmistakable zest to our dishesjust fiy them in a little oil instead of pork fat, and the flavours will stay as rich as ever!The current leaders in Hungarian gastronomic circles have been reforming our food, providing us with lower-calorie dishes rich in vitamins and fibre, but lacking none of the distinctive tastes of Hungary.Of course it's no surprise if a visitor to Hungary prefers fresh salad to the pickled variety, grilled fish instead of a rich pork stew, or just wants to eat fruit. But I'm also sure that every visitor wants to try a Hungarian speciality like stuffed cabbage, paprika chicken, pork roast or a traditional dessert at least once during their stay.1 hope that you will relish these most delicious of genuine Hungarian dishes. Believe me, these flavoursome low-calorie versions sacrifice none of their Hungarian character. (Of course ingredients like smoked bacon, for example, cannot be cut out of every recipe, but the amount is reduced, when possible).There are so many types of hobs and ovens available in Hungary, indeed throughout the world, that it is not possible to give an exact timing to recipes. There is quite a difference between cooking your duck in a fan-assisted electric oven and cooking it in a conventional gas oven. The first time you cook a roast or a pastry you will find out how much time is required for that dish.Enjoy your meal in good company!Júlia Frank