Hungarian Cooking and Recipes

Christmas is Coming, Bejgli is Here (Recipe)

There is one Christmas culinary custom that is indisputable: LOTS of bejgli will be eaten! Here’s a recipe, to make your own poppyseed bejgli.

Recipes

Lecsó, A Recipe For the Last Summer Days

Lecsó is a staple made with sweet Hungarian peppers, onions, tomatoes, and paprika. It’s a versatile dish, which can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner—and pairs well with a variety of wines.

Recipes

Krumplis Tészta: A Protected Man in Budapest

Adventures in krumplis tészta (potatoes with pasta), with a recipe.

Recipes

The Many Faces of Körözött, With A Recipe

Served throughout Hungary (as well as in Slovakia, Austria, and Northern Italy), körözött is a simple paprika-spiked cheese dip. It’s typically part of a Hungarian appetizer spread, offered with chunk…

Recipes

Túró: How to Make Hungary’s Favorite Cheese

In Hungary the most common types of cheese are young and fresh ones. In this category túró is definitely the most popular, accounting for half of all cheese consumed in the country.

Recipes

Cherry Soup (Meggyleves): Hungary’s Sweet and Sour Summer Soup, With a Recipe

There’s no better way to enjoy the summer’s seasonal fruit bounty than in a cold fruit soup. There are lots of variations, but sour cherry soup (meggyleves) is perhaps the most popular. It’s a tart so…

Recipes

Dobos Torta: Hungary’s Iconic Layered Beauty (With a Recipe)

In a country renowned for its beautiful baked goods, the glistening and golden-tinted Dobos torta is arguably Hungary’s most famous layer cake.

Recipes

Kakashere Pörkölt (Rooster Testicle Stew)

In a country where meat—be it beef, pork, turkey, or goose—is consumed with gusto, the rooster’s family jewels are just another juicy delicacy served in a heady paprika broth.

Recipes

Galuska (Dumplings) Recipe

Galuska are the preferred accompaniment for pörkölt and paprikás, and are also often served with eggs and lettuce for a super-simple lunch at the étkezde.

Recipes

Gulyás: The Ultimate Hungarian Soup (Recipe)

Gulyás is the one Hungarian dish that most people think they know. But their imagination of gulyás rarely resembled the real Hungarian thing.

Recipes

Csipetke (Pinched Pasta) Recipe

Though making homemade pasta for a soup might sound very time-consuming, it’s actually quite quick and simple.

Recipes

Meggyes Leppény  (Sour Cherry Cake) Recipe

My first ever trip to Hungary coincided with cherry season. Ever since, when I think cherries, I crave this cherry cake that Gábor’s mother bakes throughout the summer.

Recipes

Kovászos Uborka (Fermented Cucumber) Recipe

In Hungary, this hot stretch of summer in which the city empties and not much happens is known as cucumber season. The markets, of course, are also full of small, bumpy cucumbers.

Recipes

Birsalma Sajt (Quince Jelly) Recipe

The knobby quince has never been one of the most popular fruits. But come autumn, this humble and rather unattractive fruit is transformed into an anticipated seasonal delicacy.

Recipes

Paprikás Csirke (Paprika Chicken) Recipe

Paprikás csirke is a staple of home-cooking and at étkezdes (lunch-rooms), yet it is an elegant dish (but much simpler to prepare than its thick, complex, flavorful sauce suggests).

Recipes

Kocsonya (Meat Jelly/Aspic) Recipe

If your grandmother made this dish for the holidays, you either loved it or hated it. There’s pretty much no middle-ground, and there’s no denying the lingering memory of this shimmering meat jelly.

Recipes