If you’re in a place where the BBC’s Olive magazine is available, my article “48 Hours in Budapest” was published in the January issue. In Budapest, it’s available with a very high mark-up (2,550 HUF!) at Bestsellers. The article includes food-themed recommendations for a Budapest weekend.
Download the article (pdf file)
–Carolyn
A few weeks ago while everyone else was eating turkey we ate wild duck. And as you can see in the photo on the left it was truly a wild duck, which someone had actually hunted and shot. The poor thing was even missing a leg. The duck weighed in at just under a kilo and we bought it on the lower level of the Central Market for astonishingly cheap (around 1,400 HUF). We didn’t plan on buying wild duck that day, and although we’ve cooked plenty of duck, neither of us had ever cooked wild duck before so we didn’t know where to start. After unwrapping the duck and seeing the pellet hole, I wasn’t feeling very prepared for cooking this duck, especially after reading this in one Internet recipe
Most wild ducks are apt to have the flavor of fish and when on hands of unexperienced cooks are sometimes unpalatable on this account. Before roasting them, parboil them with a small peeled carrot put within each duck. This absorbs the unpleasant taste.
I didn’t like the idea of parboiling it, but I also didn’t want a duck that tasted like fish. But as usual, Hungarian cooks aren’t as fussy when it comes to recipes, so I checked one of my Hungarian cookbooks, Szakácskönyve (Cookbook) by Móra Ferencné and found a perfectly easy recipe. Unlike regular ducks which drip with fat when you roast them, wild ducks are lean and easily dry out, so don’t be stingy with the bacon fat.
Published in 1949, the Szakácskönyve is a great basic Hungarian cookbook (if you can understand enough Hungarian to use it). It has recipes for any Hungarian dish or preparation that you’d possibly need. It also includes entertaining illustrations on how to set the tables for the different meals which comes in handy of you want to make sure you’re putting the sugar bowl and the butter container on exactly the right part of the breakfast table. Life in Móra’s house must have been nice, with a lunch table that included six separate glasses.
But like most books from that time it doesn’t include cooking temperatures or times, so you’ve got to have some idea what you’re doing. The recipes are always short, but often too short. Back then, it seems, readers did not have to have cooking techniques explained to them. Everyone knew how to make a roux and a butter cream without step-by-step instructions. Móra Ferencné (or Mrs. Frank Móra) was the wife of a famous Hungarian writer, known for his children’s books. Móra néni was such a perfectionist, according to her granddaughter who happens to live in the village where my husband grew up, that she’d throw any dish that didn’t turn out well onto the kitchen floor. Marta néni, the grand daughter, sweetly wanted to sign our copy of the book after finding out that we use it.
Our duck turned out great–we didn’t have to throw it on the floor–and it tasted nothing like fish. If you try this recipe yourself, remember to watch out for the pellet while you’re eating, especially if you’re feeding it to small children.
Roasted Wild Duck (adapted from Móra Ferencné)
Wash the duck and sprinkle it with salt. Place in a roasting pan and cover with thin slices of szalonna (fatty bacon). Sprinkle thyme and pepper in the cavity of the duck and stuff with an onion half and an apple half. Slice the other half of the onion and add with a half cup of water to the pan. Roast at 350 F (180 C) for about an hour and fifteen minutes (depending on the size of your duck), adding more water as needed.
I also made an orange sauce in the pan after the duck was finished cooking by deglazing the pan with the juice of one orange and then adding another chopped orange to the mix.
–Carolyn
Yesterday the New York Times published its “53 Places to Go in 2008” list and named Tokaj as number 52. Tokaj, Hungary’s most famed wine region, also happens to be my favorite part of the country. Not only does it turn out great white wines, but I think it of one of the most beautiful areas of Hungary. Its centuries old stone wine cellars are covered in black “noble mold” and some stretch back several kilometers, forming virtual streets and mazes under the ground. Tokaj joins other destinations like Laos (number 1) and Libya (number 10) and the Northwest Passage (number 35) and Bogota (number 21). Prague is also on there at number 14.
The Times writes:
Backpacking wine tours? The Hungarian wine region of Tokaj is regaining its reputation for quality whites, especially wheat-colored dessert wines made from furmint grapes. The region’s winemaking was reborn after the fall of Communism. The Grof Degenfeld, housed in an old castle, even has a plush hotel that offers two-day packages starting at 191 euros, or $283 at $1.50 to the euro.
But backpacking wine tours? Since when do backpackers book 2 day packages at plush hotels for $283? The Grof Degenfeld hotel and winery are lovely and elegant, by the way, and so is the more affordable Grof Degenfeld panzió in the center of Tokaj. But even there you’re not likely to see any backpacking wine drinkers.
–Carolyn
I’m always on the lookout for new local products and Bortársasag* is often a good source for interesting products made by local wine makers (I’ve also been meaning to try their wine-stuffed chocolates for awhile). Recently they released verjus—which is the pressed, unfermented juice of unripe grapes—made by Austrian winemaker Franz Weninger. It’s a condiment that was commonly used in the 16th century, fell out of style, and then began reappearing in dishes in American high-end restaurants in recent years. Now, Weninger (who has wineries in Sopron and Villány as well as Austria) has begun producing it in Hungary for the first time this year.
This picture doesn’t do justice to the pretty bright yellow color of the stuff (it’s hard to take decent photos when it gets dark at 4pm), which can be used as a meat tenderizer, in vinaigrettes, in sauces, or as a marinade. It’s sour and acidic, and can often be used for cooking in place of lemon juice. I had good intentions of researching some old recipes to find unique ways of using this little bottle of verjus, but it just ended up sitting around in my kitchen for weeks until I finally just dumped a few big splashes on two whole trouts which were sauteing in my cast iron skillet at the last minute, just before they were ready. It turned out to be some of the best trout that I’ve had in awhile, and I’ve chugged verjus on fish several times since then with equally difficult results. Maybe someday I’ll get around to figuring out something more creative to do with it, although at just 200 ml, this tiny bottle is going fast. It’s surprising that more wine makers don’t release simple products like this. How hard would it be for someone to make some good wine vinegar in Hungary?
* Bortársasag is one of Hungary’s top wine shops with locations around the country. The verjus is 990 HUF a bottle.
–Carolyn