Blog - Page 3 of 6 - Feastern Europe

Gulyás – Hungarian meat goulash

Ask someone to name a Hungarian food and they will probably say, “goulash.” Gulyás – Hungarian meat goulash – is considered by many to be the national dish of Hungary. It is a chunky soup or stew of tender meat and vegetables heavily seasoned with paprika and other spices. Gulyás began as food prepared by shepherds and herdsmen as far back as the 9th century (gulyás means “herdsman” or “cowboy”). Only after the nationalist movements of the 19th century did gulyás gain popularity as a quintessential Hungarian dish. Before that it was considered peasant food (as I suspect many of the dishes on Feastern Europe were). Paprika made its appearance in gulyás with the ascendance of that spice in the 18th century when black pepper was very scarce and very expensive.

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Gulyás – Hungarian meat goulash Read More »

Borş fermented wheat bran gives soup a boost

5 Comments / Romanian / Tom

Borş fermented wheat bran juice forms the basis of many sour soups in Romanian cuisine. The sour soup containing borş (“borsh”) is usually called a ciorbă (“chorba”). Sometimes people call the soup itself borş. Romanians also consume borş outright for its probiotic and antioxidant properties; people also drink it as a hangover cure, probably due to its anti-inflammatory effects and high concentration of Vitamin B. Less pungent and effervescent than kvass, borş nevertheless shares a similar production method and purpose.

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Borş fermented wheat bran gives soup a boost Read More »

Chicken Paprikash (Paprikás Csirke)

Koláče Czech filled pastries

1 Comment / Czech / Tom

Koláče Czech filled pastries are round, yeast-risen pastries filled with poppyseed, plum jam, sweetened tvaroh (farmer’s cheese) or other sweet fillings. In English we know them as kolache. The dough is rich and brioche-like as opposed to the light and flaky dough of a Danish pastry. Do not confuse kolache with Polish kołaczki (kolachky) which are rich, filled cookies. Although the names are related and they share some similarities, these items are not the same thing.

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Koláče Czech filled pastries Read More »

Stone fruit jam (plum or peach)

2 Comments / Ingredient / Tom

Stone fruit jam is very versatile. It can be used as a filling or topping in kolače/vatrushki, pierogi/vareniki, nalisniki and various other sweet goods from around Eastern Europe. I’ve made it successfully from both plums and peaches. It’s just fruit and sugar; no pectin needed! (If using peaches a little lemon juice is necessary to help it set up properly). And you don’t even need to peel the fruit. An immersion blender will help you get a really smooth consistency.

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Stone fruit jam (plum or peach) Read More »

Bulgarian sauerkraut kiselo zele

5 Comments / Bulgarian / Tom

Bulgarian sauerkraut, kiselo zele (кисело зеле), requires only brine and time to prepare. Unlike other methods of making fermented cabbage, in the Bulgarian method you pickle the whole head of cabbage rather than shredded pieces. Bulgarians characteristically make their kiselo zele in very large batches (20 heads or more) in large barrels fitted with a siphon to churn the brine periodically. Since I don’t eat sauerkraut in such quantities, and don’t have room for a 55-gallon drum in my apartment, I wanted to adapt the method for small batch production. This post documents my (very successful) results. Jump to the end for the recipe.

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Bulgarian sauerkraut kiselo zele Read More »