The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1985 (12. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)

1985-10-01 / 10. szám

The Real Hungarian

liven those who know very little about Hungarian cuisine will certainly have heard of goulash, the most typically Hungarian dish. The word goulash comes from the Hungarian word for the herdsman, who grazed his cows out of doors all the year round. Goulash was the food best suited to their wandering way of life in the puszta. All they needed was a cauldron, a little fat, a head of onion and any kind of meat that was available, either beef or lamb.

When properly made, goulash is a soup, and as time went on numerous varieties came to be known. The recipe for goulash soup, now considered the “genuine” goulash, is as follows—this serves four: ingredients—400-600 g (14-20 oz) beef (it is best to mix more than one kind), one medium head of onion finely diced, 2-3 tbsp cooking oil, 500 g (1 lb) potatoes, 1 tsp ground sweet paprika, a dash of ground black pepper and salt.

First heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and sautée until golden yellow. Meanwhile wash, dry and cut the meat into 2-3 cm (I inch) cubes. When the onion is done remove saucepan from heat and sprinkle in the paprika. Blend with the onion so that the paprika

Goulash

will release its fine red color in the cooking oil and immediately add the meat. Put saucepan back over heat and stir and shake gently until the dices of meat become whitish. Then add water to cover, sprinkle with pepper and salt and cook until the meat is almost tender.

While the meat is still cooking, peel and dice the potatoes. About 5 to 10 minutes before the meat is done add the potatoes and water to obtain a thick soup. Cook over low heat until both meat and potatoes are tender. The csipetke dumpling is a must in goulash soup. To make this special dumpling, blend one raw egg with a pinch of salt and a quantity of flour to obtain a springy but hard dough. Shape a small loaf out of the dough and pinch off tiny bits with floured fingers. Always add the csipetke to the cooked soup and cook until they rise to the surface.

In some regions of Hungary goulash cooked with mixed vegetables is extremely popular. Diced carrots and parsnips are added to the soup together with the potatoes. There are numerous other delicious varieties all of which are well worth trying.

Judit Pákozdi

Befordultam a konyhára, Rágyújtottam a pipára;

Azaz rágyújtottam volna, Hogyha már nem égett volna. A pipám javában égett,

Nem is mentem én a végett! Azért mentem, mert megláttam, Hogy odabent szép leány van.

Written by Sándor Petőfi

I went in the kitchen doorway,

Lit my pipe the usual way;

That is, I would have lit it, say,

Had I not been puffing away.

It was burning, smoking all day; That was not the “why” of my stay! But because I had been aware That there was a lovely girl there.

Translated by Julianna C. Tóth

Bakony Pork Cutlets

Ingredients for four servings:

8 slices pork loin

9 oz. (250 g.) mushrooms

2 tablespoons chopped onions oil, salt, flour, paprika 2/5 pint (200 ml) sour cream 1 green pepper 1 tomato

To prepare:

Wash and wipe dry the meat slices, beat them out a little, sprinkle lightly with salt and leave to stand for half an hour. Dip in flour, brown rapidly on both sides in a little hot oil, and set aside.

Sautée the onions in the oil remaining inthe pan until they become transparent. Sprinkle them with a little paprika, cut the mushrooms, green pepper and tomato into thickish rounds and add them, then cook under a lid for 10 minutes. Put the chops back in the pan, and continue cooking everything under a lid over medium heat until the meat is tender. If the liquid boils away, replace it with water a little at a time. Finally pour the sour cream > over the top, having previously mixed it with a teaspoon of flour (make sure that no lumps remain), and bring to the boil with the meat. Serve piping hot, garnished with galuska (small Hungarian dumplings).

“Now, a poor salesman would take that for a final answer."

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Eighth Hungarian Tribe