Magyar Hírek, 1987 (40. évfolyam, 1-23. szám)

1987-12-01 / 23. szám

Pupils receiving Holy Communion in the Abbey chapel.

vice, that was the aim of the monastery. The first missionaires, teachers and saints of Hungary were Benedictines. Pope Sylvester II, who sent a crown to King Stephen, as well as Saint Gellért, Bishop of Csanád, believed to be the teacher of Prince Imre, were both members of the order.

After the conversion of the country the Abbey - an archive of records - was also entrusted with notarial functions. The monastery was also a guest house, a hotel - say the historians of the order - and the monks besides their principal duty, praying, also copied MSS, healed the stick and succoured the poor.

The archives of the Abbey offer an almost inexhaustible sourse of knowledge. It is a wonder that the most precious treasures always found a suitable haven right through the tempests of the centuries, including the documents proving the privileges of the order, and documenting grants. No more than about sixty llth-12th century docu- i ments now exist in Hungary, and 29 of them are found at Pannonhalma, along with almost 2,000 other documents dated before the battle of Mohács (1526).

A festive exhibition welcomes the visitor in the library. The building was inaugurated 150 years ago with the objective of meeting the demands of theological and teacher training as well as for research. Naturally, Pannonhalma always had a library. An inventory issued by Saint Ladislas, in 1083, listed 80 MSS. But books cannot be transported and hidden as easily as documents consisting of a single page or just a few pages. Many of them fell victim to the Turks or were lost at the time of the dissolution of the order under Joseph II... When the order was restored in 1802 no more than about seven hundred volumes could be recovered out of the 4,000 taken from Pannonhalma. The present 300,000 volume stock of the greatest Benedictine library in the

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world excels in the ancient and modem classics, zoology and botany.

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The room of the prior is simple, yet friendly thanks to hundreds of books. We are discussing the monastic spirit, more closely its Benedictine characteristics, with Father Asztrik. The Benedictine rule insist on ora et labora prayer and work. They also insist that the orders of the prior should be moderate, they should leave something for the strong to year for, yet should not repel the weak. Noticing the modernity of this rule, I cannot help paying homage to the everlasting validity of St Benedict’s wisdom. This surely largely explains the success of the present-day Benedictine teachers.

Three hundred students are at present studying in the boarding school wing built at the time of Abbot Krizosztom Kelemen in 1942. One-fifth (corresponding to population figures) are Budapest residents, many of them - mainly Uniates (who worship according to the Byzantine rite but recognise the supremacy of the Pope) - come from the distant Nyírség, while the majority is formed, naturally, by Transdanubians. According to Richard Korzenszky, the head-master, there are many more applicants than places. The selection is consistent: preference is given to talented sons of practising Christians with a good scholastic record. Standards are high during the four years of the secondary school. The pupils live and work according to a strict timetable from 6.30 am to 9.30 p.m. Most of them soon realise that time does not pass in vain provided they adjust themselves to the time-proven schedule. Their leisure activities are noteworthy. Hungarian and foreign people of eminence are invited for discussions. There is a film club, facilities for the usual sports and choral singing. About twenty are examined tourist guides and they perform such services in English or German for the constant stream visitors.

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Pannonhalma will celebrate its millenium in ten years time. By then they should like to complete the latest volume of the history of the order covering the period beginning with 1916. They would also like to publish as much as possible of the yet unpublished documents and to complete a bibliography of the scientific work done by Benedictines. A scientific conference and an exhibition will form part of the millennary celebrations.

ISTVÁN BALÁZS

PHOTO BY VIKTOR GÁBOR

Hungarian cookery-books are enjoying a boom. It is hard to keep count of new cookery books, and they are quickly snapped up. How can one explain this demand? The answer will be found in an article on page 36 of this issue. We are happy to offer recipes of a few special Hungarian dishes from the Recipe- Book of Master Cooks to our English readers.

Hungarian beef-tea

Food value per portion appr. 391 kJ (93 Kcal)

Ingredients for five: 700 grammes of chuck, 50 grammes of lard, 200 grammes of onions, 20 grammes of sweet red pepper, 2 litres of water or stock, 1 clove of garlic, freshly ground caraway seeds, 20 grammes of tomato concentrate, the white of two eggs, 100 grammes of carrots, 100 grammes of parsnips, 50 grammes of celery, 100 grammes of green peppers, 100 grammes of tomatoes, whole black pepper, salt, small pieces of pasta.

Finely dice half of the chuck, put it in a pan of finely chopped onion browned in lard and sprinkle with red pepper. Pdür some water on the meat and season the brew with salt, crushed garlic and caraway seeds. Braise the meat in a little water until it is tender, then take it out and clean off the onion and lard and put it aside. Mince the other half of the meat, mix it with the tomato concentrate and the egg white, add some cold water and also the cool stock of the other half of the meat. Add some salt, boil the brew and then add the sliced carrots, parsnips and celery and let it slowly boil for an hour. Then add the peppercors, the green pepper sliced into rings and the tomatoes and let the whole boil for a further half an hour. Take the brew off the fire and let it cool

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under the lid, then pass through a fine sieve and remove the lard (first by spoon, then the remainder using a paper napkin).

Serve with finely diced green peppier, also finely diced boiled meet and small pieces of pasta boiled in the soup.

Breast of turkey in á la Gellért

Food value per serve: appr. 3191 kJ (760 Kcal)

Ingredients for five: 1,200 grammes of breast of turkey, 70 grammes of lard, 15 grammes of mushrooms, 150 grammes of cooked ham, 150 grammes of green peas, a bouquet of parsley, 150 grammes of “Trappist” cheese, 0,3 1 milk, 30 grammes of onion, 50 grammes of fine flour, 2 eggs, freshly ground black pepper, salt.

Bone and slice the breast of turkey. Salt the slices and flour them well, then braise them on both sides in hot lard. Neatly place the meat in a fire-proof dish. Use the hot lard to lightly fry the finely chopped onion, then add the mushroom cut into fine, long shreds, the ham and the green peas. Lightly braise the mixture and season with salt and pepper. When the liquid has boiled away sprinkle finely chopped parsley over it. When the parsley begins to wither sprinkle the flour onto the mixture, and add the milk. Let it boil and season the mixture again if needed. Take the dish off the fire, and mix the eggs with it in succession. By now the mixture should be thick enough to use as a spread. Apply the spread evenly to the slices of turkey, sprinkle the grated cheese on top, and cook in a hot oven until the cheese turns brownish. Serve hot with muttered Brussels sprouts.

Pear á la Kisfaludy

Food value per serve: appr. 1137 kJ (271 Kcal)

Ingredients for five: 500 grammes of pears (preferably some aromatic winter variety), 80 grammes of flour, 2 eggs, 50 grammes of sugar, 0.1 1 sweet white wine (e.g. Badacsony muscat), half a lemon, 80 grammes of lard, ground cinnamon, salt.

Peel and core the pears, cut them into about 5 mm thick slices, sprinkle them with cinnamon and dip them into flour and the wine custard. Fry them in plenty of hot lard and serve them hot.

The custard: Whisk the whites of eggs with half of the sugar, season with grated lemon peel and make a smooth mixture using a little salt, the wine and the rest of the flour. Whisk the white of eggs with the other half of the sugar until the mixture is firm, and add this carefully to the winy mixture.

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