Author Archives: cbanfalvi

Tokaj in 2008

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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

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Verjus from Weninger

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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

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Markets as Museums

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The New York Times travel section last weekend was devoted to food related travel, and there was a nice piece by Mimi Sheraton about her visits to some of the world’s greatest markets and their cultural importance. I’ve always counted visiting markets as one of the highlights of traveling to new places, even more so than museums. Exploring a country’s food and shopping style gives you a fascinating peek into new cultures. I even love exploring grocery stores in new countries–with their funny packaging, languages I don’t understand, produce I might not often see, and products which I’m not sure what do do with or how to eat. Although when I’m traveling it’s always frustrating to see something that looks so good (or unusual) and all I want to do is take it home and cook it, but can’t because I’m staying in a hotel.

Sheraton writes:

“IT is a given that no serious traveler would forgo visits to museums, cathedrals, castles, monuments and legendary streets. Yet food markets deserve equally high billing on a must-see list. For as inspiring as the more standard sights can be, they do not rival the ebullience of modern-day markets and their colorful links to the economy, customs and even dialects of a city. In a world ever more homogenized, food markets afford visitors one of the few opportunities to glimpse locals going about one of their essential daily chores.”

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve always loved markets and trips to Eastern Market, my neighborhood market in DC, were part of my weekend routine while I was growing up. Eastern Market is a true neighborhood market where people will go just to see who they’ll run into, even if they don’t plan to buy anything.

Budapest’s markets, on the other hand, are more straightforward places where serious shoppers stock their baskets and bags with little need to socialize. I was happy to see that Sheraton mentioned Budapest’s Central Market Hall in her article. I always love shopping there, but it feels tame in comparison to some of Budapest’s less central markets like the Bosnyák tér Market and the Lehel téri Market.If you’re visiting Budapest the Central Market Hall should be the first market you visit, but you’ll get so much more of the “living theater” that Sheraton writes about by checking out the city’s more neighborhood-oriented markets.

“Attending this living theater, one can assess the local economy by noting the quality and variety of foods available and compare prices to our own. One can observe how locals treat one another.”

–Carolyn

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Eating Hungarian in America

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I haven’t had much experience sampling Hungarian food outside of Hungary, and the ones that I have had haven’t been memorable. I spend enough time in Hungary anyway so that when I leave the country I want to eat anything but Hungarian food. But Al’s Corner Restaurant, which I wrote about on Chew.hu, seems to be one place that would seem worth checking out.

Does anyone know any good Hungarian restaurants in America or elsewhere outside of Hungary? Has anyone been to Al’s?

–Carolyn

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Village Voice: George Lang’s Last Meal

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I just came across this piece from Nina Lalli’s column on the Village Voice’s food blog that quizzes foodie-type people on what their last meals would be. George Lang, who is undoubtedly the best internationally known personality involved in Hungarian cuisine, was the topic of the column on August 29th. Lang is the one who renovated and re-opened Budapest’s famous Gundel restaurant, and now runs New York’s Cafe des Artistes. He recounted his movie-like life in his autobiography, in which he wrote about dramatically escaping Hungary after his entire family was killed in the holocaust and then re-making his life in New York where he eventually became the first “restaurant consultant” after giving up plans to become a concert violinist.

So, what would Lang choose for his last meal? He would prepare everything, and his selections would come from his past meal highlights. There would be “crisp chunks of sweet bread scented with a light vinaigrette sauce, served with truffled potatoes”; “huge Pacific oysters dipped in a Chinese version of barbecue sauce and then threaded on a skewer and cooked until they are almost crisp outside”; and a “hot pot with ‘blushing raw beef’ to dip into a vinegar-spiked broth and wrap in lettuce.” Each bite would be followed with “a swallow of good Belgian beer.”

George Lang is also the author of the The Cuisine of Hungary, which as well as being a cookbook, is the only thorough history in English that there is about Hungarian cuisine. So I’m not surprised that some of Lang’s choices for his last meal are Hungarian, dishes that he remembers from his mother: fisherman’s soup, stuffed goose neck, sour cherry soup, layered cabbage, stuffed peppers, plum dumplings, pancakes with apple meringue, and whipped-cream strudel.

–Carolyn

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Pumpkin Seed Oil and Bread

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This was a hot summer in Budapest and when we didn’t feel like cooking, our standard meal was a big tomato salad drenched in this deliciously nutty tasting pumpkin seed oil. The oil has a strong, distinctive taste which is probably acquired. I actually didn’t like it the first time I tried it several years ago, and since then I’ve tried a few other types of lower quality stuff that tasted nothing like this concentrated, dark green oil that we bought from a husband-wife team that makes the stuff near Lake Balaton*. They also produce walnut oil, honey and a few other artisanal products which they can be found hawking at various festivals in Hungary. Although a little of this pumpkin seed oil goes a long way, we managed to somehow finish an entire bottle of it (fortunately it’s supposed to be pretty healthy due to its high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids).

When the oil was gone, I was left with two bags of pumpkin seed flour that I had bought at the same time and decided to turn into bread because I couldn’t think of anything else to do with it. When I was in culinary school, my “baking 101″ class was one of my favorites. I became pretty good at turning flour and yeast into beautifully shaped, perfectly risen loaves (I even briefly thought that a baking career might be nice, until I remembered that I am definitely not a morning person). But, in the kitchen classrooms we had big mixers, proofing boxes, and convection ovens with steam. Since then, I’ve rarely been inspired to attempt to bake bread at home, where I don’t even have enough mixing bowls, let alone a proofing box to ensure that my bread rises properly.

But then I discovered this recipe for no-knead bread in the New York Times last November (which was written by Mark Bittman, and adapted from Jim Lahey at the Sullivan Street Bakery). The recipe sounded astoundingly easily, reliable, and good. It turned out to be possibly the easiest thing in the world to bake, and one of the most satisfying. Since then, probably ever food blogger has written about it. I adapted this recipe for no-knead bread in order to find a use for some of my pumpkin seed flour, and it turned out wonderfully. Rather than using the three cups of bread flour that Lahey used, I used one cup of pumpkin seed flour and two cups of bread flour (just like the oil, just a little of the stuff gives off an intense pumpkin seed flavor). If this is your first time baking this bread, don’t be alarmed at the appearance of the dough…just keep waiting (and follow all of Lahey’s instructions). The results are worth 18 hours that the bread takes to rise. Since the pumpkin seed bread has such a nutty flavor, it’s not the kind of bread to eat with jam. Instead, eat it with something that will stand up to it, like some good cheese.

* If you’re in Hungary, you can get the pumpkin seed oil and flour from:

Zsolt Nemeth
8924 Alsónemesapáti
Petőfi Sándor utca 53
Tel: (+36) 30-247-5660
www.nemethmeheszet.hu
–Carolyn
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