Tamás Bereznay’s Greek Lemon Cake

By admin | Published: July 16, 2010

Görög Citromos Süti

{Greek Lemon Cake}

I have a pretty big collection of old Hungarian and Transylvanian cookbooks—both in English and Hungarian—which I love for the insight into the periods when they were written and the many recipes which are hardly prepared anymore. Most of the books, I have to say, are just decorations on my bookshelf since I have not had the patience to actually cook from them. I’ll compare several recipes from different cookbooks, but the recipes are brief to the point of being unusable. There are no cooking times or temperatures, and practically no description. The recipes are basically lists of ingredients, written for housewives who learned to cook from their mothers and grandmothers, lived at their stoves, and knew from the sight, smell, and feel when something was done. Even though I am a pretty good cook with a culinary school degree, I like my recipes to hold my hand more, especially when I’m preparing something I’ve never tasted or seen before.

Recently I got two contemporary Hungarian cookbooks (which were lacking in my collection) which I couldn’t wait to get home and start cooking from. Author Tamás Bereznay is the chef at Budapest’s Karpatia Étterem as well as the chef for the Hungarian President. The books—Mai Magyar Konyha (Today’s Hungarian Kitchen) and Süteményeskönyv (Book of Desserts)—are both beautifully photographed and present Hungarian cuisine in a contemporary and casual way, the way that I like to cook my Hungarian dishes at home. But Bereznay doesn’t do anything crazy with the food to make it “modern”—you won’t find anything like deconstructed pörkölt or radical Dobos torta. He presents his recipes the way Hungarians eat and cook now, making sure that he don’t forget the many strong traditions of the past. He counts his grandmother as his greatest culinary influence.

A few months ago I sat down with Bereznay to talk about modern Hungarian cuisine (more on that topic later), which may restaurants nowadays in Budapest tout on their menus. “I hope that in a few years we will have more modern Hungarian cuisine to talk about,” he said. “We’ve made a few starts.” There are some dishes, he noted, that just shouldn’t be messed with, such as töltött kaposzta (stuffed cabbage) and gulyás (goulash). “These dishes have proven to the world that Hungarian gastronomy is good in itself.”

I’ve cooked several recipes from the books so far. Since I have such a sweet tooth, I’ll start with an adaptation of Bereznay’s Görög Citromos Süti (Greek Lemon Cake) from Süteményeskönyv. I used significantly less sugar (both for the cake and the syrup) than the recipe called for, and it turned out sweet enough for everyone. This moist lemony cake is perfect for summertime. It is even better the day after it’s prepared, once the syrup has fully been absorbed.

Görög Citromos Süti
{Greek Lemon Cake}

This recipe is adapted from Tamás Bereznay’s Süteményeskönyv (Boook Kiadó)

For the Cake:
1 lemon, with the rind grated (reserve the juice for the syrup)
3 eggs
300 ml (10 ounces) plain yogurt
200 grams (slightly less than 1 cup) sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
120 grams (1 cup) semolina
200 grams (1 1/2 cups) flour
Pinch of salt

For the Syrup:
100 ml (1/2 cup) water
100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
3 lemons, with the rinds grated

For the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). In a small bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt, and grated lemon rind. In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking powder, flour, semolina, sugar, and the salt. Stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes, until golden brown.

For the Syrup:
Add the water, grated lemon rinds, lemon juice, and sugar to a small saucepan. Cook on a low flame, stirring occasionally, for about ten minutes.

To assemble the Cake:
Prick the cake all over with a fork. Pour the warmed syrup evenly all over the cake. Let the cake fully absorb all of the syrup before serving.

–Carolyn

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Kovászos Uborka {Recipe}

By admin | Published: July 10, 2010

{Fermented Cucumbers}

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 gherkins. With the gherkins, bunches of half-dried dill are sold, much stronger than the standard variety, with thick stalks and flowers. Many of cucumbers will get stuffed into three-liter jars with the dill (and sometimes garlic), covered with salty water, and topped with a piece of stale bread. The jars will be set in the sun on window sills or terraces in the city, or in the grass of a countryside garden. The yeast in the bread helps preserve the cucumbers through the process of lactic acid fermentation (the same process used for creating kimchi and sauerkraut).

It takes about three days, and the pickles should still be slightly crunchy with a pleasant sour taste. They are often served with meat dishes, or just eaten on their own. I love them sliced and eaten with bread and good házi butter. Some people like to drink the juice, and in the old days, it was added to wine to make a sort of spritzer. As you can see in the photo, I made just a half batch as they don’t keep as long as regular pickles.

See also my recipe for cucumber salad.

Kovászos Uborka
{Fermented Cucumbers}

Gherkins, cleaned, enough to fill whatever size jar you are using
Dill, a few stalks, preferably the strong kind
Salt
Pinch of sugar
Garlic, optional
1 slice of bread (stale is fine)

In a clean jar, arrange the gherkins upright, fairly tightly-packed, in the jar. Add the dill stalks and garlic, if using. Meanwhile, add the salt and sugar to a pot of lukewarm water, using two tablespoons of salt for every one liter (approximately one quart) of water. Pour the water over the cucumbers, ensuring that all of them are covered. Place the bread on top, and cover with a plate or a loosely-secured lid (some air should be allowed in). Place the jar in a warm spot, but not under strong direct sun. After the second day test to see how the pickles are doing. They should be ready after three or four days when you should transfer them to smaller jars and store in the refrigerator.

Tips: Be sure the cucumbers are fresh (one bitter one could ruin the batch). If the cucumbers are thick, slit them length-wise a few times so the liquid can make better contact with the interior. I was also advised to bring the jar inside during the night in case it gets chilly out, which could slow the fermentation process.

–Carolyn

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Meggyes Lepény {Recipe}

By admin | Published: July 2, 2010

{Sour Cherry Cake}

On my first visit to Hungary, shortly after Gábor and I met, we spent nearly two months eating, drinking, and traveling around the country. I loved being immersed in this new country, and taking in all of the new flavors and sights. I especially loved the cherries. On a short trip to Balaton we stayed at a panzió with a cherry tree in the yard, and we must have spent hours under (and in) that tree eating the cherries as fast as we could pick them. We somehow even managed to gather enough to fill a bag to eat on the train ride home. Ever since, when I think of summer in Hungary, I think cherries. And when I think cherries, I crave this cherry cake that Gábor’s mother bakes throughout the summer (and with home-canned cherries during the rest of the year).

These days, the offerings at the market change so quickly. From one day to the next, it seems, the flats full of strawberries disappeared, and gave way to cherries—sweet cherries (cseresznye), sour cherries (meggy), and black cherries (fekete cseresznye), from all over the country. I haven’t yet seen any white cherries—which little old ladies often sell bags of on the street. I’ve been buying a kilo of cherries nearly every day since they’ve arrived. Finally, yesterday, I was able to pit them faster than the kids could eat them so I could make this cake. The recipe is courtesy of my anyós, Kati néni. For another version of sour cherry cake, see Sarah’s recipe (which she also learned from her Hungarian mother-in-law).

Meggyes Leppény
{Sour Cherry Cake}

200 grams (slightly more than ¾ cup) plus 2 tablespoons sugar
100 grams (7 tablespoons) butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
4 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
150 ml (1/2 cup) milk
600 grams (21 ounces) walnuts, ground
Grated zest of one lemon
5 tablespoons apricot jam
½ teaspoon vanilla
250 grams (1 2/3 cups) plus two tablespoons flour
1 kilogram (a little over 2 pounds) fresh sour cherries, pitted

Preheat oven to 200° C (400° F). Grease a 22 x 30 cm (13” x 9”) baking pan (or a shallower one, if you prefer) with butter and sprinkle with flour.

In a small bowl, mix two tablespoons flour, two tablespoons sugar, and one teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle over the cherries and stir gently to cover the cherries. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter with the remaining sugar with a hand mixer until it is fluffy and pale yellow, about five minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated. Add all other ingredients (except for cherries), and mix until everything is just incorporated (don’t over mix).

Transfer the batter to the baking pan and spread evenly. Evenly sprinkle the cherries on top. Bake until cake is browned, about 60 minutes.

–Carolyn

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A Sparkling Future

By admin | Published: June 24, 2010

Winemakers can be an eccentric lot. József Szentesi, who makes wine in the Buda-Etyek region, has got to be one of the most eccentric. He is a self-taught winemaker, who has previously owned and run a restaurant, and sold produce. His passion is re-discovering old Hungarian grape varietals, some of which are hardly found anywhere but at the research institute in Pécs where he finds them. He cultivates them in his vineyards (which are mostly near Lake Velence) and then makes wine from them by hand (with minimal technology and no machinery in sight) in his Budafok cellar, sometimes in quantities as low as five liters. He constantly experiments with old varietals and techniques. His small Budafok cellar, which belonged to his father, is stuffed with containers of all sizes holding his experimental wines, some of which are quite exceptional.

The fact that he produces wines made from unknown varietals like csóka, vörös dinka, porcsin, laska and fehér góhér is reason enough to head out to visit his cellar. But there is another reason to keep an eye on Szentesi. He also has a 2,000 square-meter cellar in Budafok (Hungary’s center for sparkling wine-making) where he has been quietly starting up an operation for making high quality méthode traditionnelle sparkling wine. With his partner—Josef Watzl, a German sparkling wine specialist—Szentesi will dramatically up the selection of Hungarian sparkling wine by the end of the year.

This year Szentesi will be producing 40,000 bottles of sparkling wine in his Budafok cellar (and more next year if the results are good). Szentesi and Watzl will not only make their own brand under the J&J label (József + Josef), but they will also make sparkling wine for 14 other small wineries, which until now didn’t have the facilities or the capital to produce their own. About a third of this year’s production will come from their own J&J brand and the rest will be labeled under other wineries’ names (which will include Zoltán Demeter, Sarolta Bárdos, Patricius, Orsolya, Hummel, Matias, Heimann, Merfelsz, Miklós Csabi, Rókusfalvy, Ottó Légli, Szent Andrea, and Kálna). They will be made from common varietals like Rhine riesling, chardonnay, and pinot noir; native varietals such as furmint, hárslevelű, and kéknyelű; and the practically unknown Hamburgi muskotály.

While Hungarians love sparkling wine (which anyone who has ever been on the street in Budapest on New Year’s Eve can see), the selection of Hungarian sparkling wine is currently mostly limited to the wines from the enormous Budafok cellars of the Törley group and the smaller ones of the Garamváry family. These companies produce a range of sparkling wines, some of which are quite high quality (as well as good value). It is less common to see sparkling wine coming from smaller or family-owned cellars (Polgár in Villány and Kreinbacher in Somló are exceptions). Making sparkling wine calls for big investments, different techniques, and even more bureaucratic rules and regulations (we are in Hungary, after all).

Szentesi doesn’t want to imitate French Champagne, he says, as Hungary’s climate will never produce the same flavors as the soil and the cool climate of Champagne can. According to him, Hungarian sparkling wines are more similar to Italian or Spanish sparklers. These new sparklers will be ready in December (although we have preliminarily tasted a few of them already). We are already counting the days until these new sparklers emerge from their rest in the underworld of Budafok.

Find a few of Szentesi’s wines (as well as wines by other wineries) at his wine shop in Budapest, Kézműves Borok Háza (Budafoki út 111-113, Budapest 1117).

–Gábor

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Eperleves {Recipe}

By admin | Published: June 22, 2010

{Strawberry Soup}


Cold fruit soups (hideg gyümölcslevesek) are a staple of summertime eating in Hungary. The best-known version is made from cherries (either sour or sweet), but fruit soup can be made from nearly any type of fruit. During the summer, restaurant menus in Hungary hold soups made from whatever is available in the market at the time—cantaloupe, watermelon, gooseberry, apricot, apple, peach, plum…you get the picture. There are a variety of ways to make the soup, depending on what type of fruit you use. Sometimes the fruit is cooked (in water or wine with some spices and perhaps lemon zest). Sometimes the soup is thickened with flour. Sometimes wine, cream, or milk is used.

It is strawberry season now in Hungary, and strawberry soup is one of my favorites. It is also one of easiest to make since it requires no cooking. But the thing about cold fruit soup is that I usually would rather have it for dessert than as an appetizer. And I could even imagine having this soup, which is almost like a strawberry smoothie, for breakfast. We ate this soup with a few crumbled lemon balm leaves on top, but I was wishing that I would have had a handful of basil on hand to throw into the blender with the soup. Just to make it feel less like a breakfast smoothie and more like dinner, the adults at the table added a secret ingredient to their soup: a hefty splash of white wine .

Eperleves
{Strawberry Soup}

800 grams (1 ¾ pounds) strawberries, cleaned and hulled
½ cup honey
1 ½ cups milk
½ cup sour cream, plus extra to garnish
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
Squeeze of lemon juice

Slice one-third of the strawberries and reserve. In a blender, puree the remaining strawberries with all of the other ingredients. In a serving bowl, add the sliced strawberries to the puree. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and some mint, basil, or lemon balm.

–Carolyn

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Vienna’s Fashion District

By admin | Published: June 16, 2010

When I first moved to Budapest in 1999 shopping was much more difficult than it is today—both for food and clothing. In those days many expats still made regular trips to Vienna to shop, and even basic items (contact lens solution comes to mind) were hard to find in Budapest. Now the many international specialty food shops; international clothing chains; and many, many malls make shopping remarkably easier. Far better than the malls, however, is discovering the growing number of local designers (the best place to do this is at the monthly WAMP design market, coming up on June 27th).

But I still like to take the occasional day trip to Vienna, just a two-hour drive from Budapest. Inevitably, I spend most of my time at the Naschmarkt where you can shop, have coffee, shop some more, and then have drinks and dinner. Afterwards, I like to head over to my favorite Viennese neighborhood, the nearby 7th district, where the cafes spill out onto the sidewalks and every block holds at least one little quirky boutique. I recently wrote about shopping in the neighborhood, which is the city’s center of creativity.

Here are a few shops that were left out of the article:

At Art Point (Neubaugasse 35), Russian-born Lena Kvadrat (pictured below) is influenced by men’s clothing, and many of her designs incorporate men’s shirt or suit fabric, cuffs, or collars. Ulliko’s (Kirchengasse 7/4) designs are characterized by symmetric lines and the colors black, white, gray, and red. Ina Kent (Lindengasse 46) creates beautiful multi-functional leather wallets, bags, and purses, only available in Austria (pictured above). Check out Elke Freytag (Lindengasse 14) for elegant and feminine designs, with bold colors and cuts. Maronski (Lindengasse 1) sells colorful and functional cotton outfits, several of which can be worn multiple ways.

If you’re interested in checking out some of these shops June 25th would be a good time to do it. The neighborhood’s shops and businesses are throwing a huge party which will include art exhibitions and concerts. And plenty of shopping, of course.

I already know what I’m buying on my next trip to Vienna.

–Carolyn

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Where Everything is Made From Scratch

By admin | Published: June 14, 2010

It has been such an adventure exploring the food of Hungary over the past ten years. Still, after all of the restaurants and homes I’ve eaten in, some of my most memorable meals have been at the table at Gábor’s mother’s house. Undoubtedly, Kati néni has been the biggest influence to me in my quest to learn (and taste) all there is in Hungary. She is a perfectionist in the kitchen, and it was at her house that I learned how every Hungarian dish is truly supposed to taste when done right. I picked up lots from her by osmosis, just by hanging out in the kitchen, asking questions, and tasting. The best part: she takes special requests—something that four-year-old Anna is also learning—and asks us what we are in the mood for a few days before we go for a visit. And she always sends us home with a bag or two of home-cooked goodness. Read what I wrote about her cooking this week for Culinate. Also included with the article are my recipes for csirke paprikás and its traditional accompaniments, galuska and cucumber salad.

–Carolyn

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Zöldborsó Főzelék {Recipe}

By admin | Published: June 3, 2010

{Creamed Green Peas}

I wish I could tell you that I shelled these peas myself, but I didn’t. Now that peas (cukorborsó or zöldborsó) are in season in Hungary, most market vendors shell peas when they have a few minutes of free time, so they can sell them at a premium. I don’t know how I got inspired to make főzelék, a common vegetable dish in Hungary, when I saw these gorgeous freshly shelled peas (especially since I have never been much of a fan of the dish). Főzelék has no real translation (I usually translate it as “creamed vegetables” or “stewed vegetables”). I usually find the vegetables too overcooked and mushy for my taste, and the sauce to plentiful and bland. But my kids come home raving about the főzelék that they eat nearly every day at school, and there are a few different fast-food chains in Hungary specializing in the dish. So it clearly has many fans.

It is quick and easy to make, and there are a few different ways to do it. The dish can be made of any type of vegetable, and essentially just involves cooking the vegetables in a bit of fat and water and then making a sauce by adding the cooked vegetables to roux or adding sour cream mixed with a little flour at the end (called habarás, a common method of thickening soups and other dishes in Hungarian cooking). Some dishes also call for milk in the sauce. If you have any fresh herbs on hand, feel free to stir those in near the end.

Főzelék is usually served with a piece of fried or roasted meat on top, or an egg. These days tökfőzelék, made from thinly grated strips of pale green summer squash and dill, is available on menus throughout the city. But there is something about the sweet crunch of fresh peas that made them the perfect vegetable on this rare occasion when I had the urge to cook főzelék. I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to get the kids to eat asparagus splashed with lemon juice and olive oil for the past few weeks. But this pea főzelék very quickly disappeared, and the experts—the kids—gave it high marks. Maybe sour cream and bacon are all it takes to get kids to eat their vegetables?

Zöldborsó Főzelék
{Creamed Green Peas}

A few slices of smoked bacon, diced
450 grams (1 pound) peas, shelled
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
1 Tablespoon flour
150-200 grams (5-7 ounces) sour cream

In a skillet or pot, over low heat, slowly sauté the bacon until it is a little crispy and most of the fat has been melted. Add the peas, sugar, a pinch of salt, and half cup of water (more if needed). Cook for about 15 minutes (or until taste), until the peas turn lighter green. Meanwhile, mix the flour and the sour cream (use more sour cream if you like your főzelék with lots of sauce). Thin the sour cream mixture with a few spoonfuls of the liquid from the peas. When the peas are cooked, add the sour cream mixture and cook, while stirring constantly, for about three more minutes.

–Carolyn

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Király utca, Still a Work In Progress

By admin | Published: May 31, 2010

Király utca has come full-circle. Once a lively shopping street, after World War Two stucco crumbled from the elegant buildings and shops were nationalized. Over the past few years, galleries and design shops have slowly begun to make their way back to “King Street,” and some of the city’s coolest open-air drinking spots are within steps. In 2005 the street got a much-needed renovation. But the construction was shoddy, the sidewalks are falling apart, and some of the new buildings are hideous. The plan was to make Király utca a walking street, but it didn’t really turn out that way. Nevertheless, the designers and artists keep coming and Király utca is on its way to being the place in Budapest to shop for designer home furnishings. New places are constantly opening—surely a good omen—but it remains a work-in-progress.

Király utca begins near Deák Ferenc tér and forms the edge of the Jewish quarter. Andrassy út is two blocks west and theatre-lined Nagymező utca and café-filled Liszt Ferenc tér intersect. VAM Design Center (Király utca 26) is the street’s largest gallery, occupying an entire building with a café in the covered courtyard surrounded by artwork hanging on exposed brick walls. The four-year-old Inda Gallery (Király utca 34) hosts a dozen exhibitions annually and represents 14 artists. G13 Art Gallery (Király utca 13) is located in Gozsdu udvar—a complex of seven buildings linked by six courtyards that was restored in 2008. Sirály (Király utca 50), a star of the neighborhood’s alternative cultural scene, has a bar, a café and performance/exhibition space on three levels. The edgy Boulevard & Brezsnyev Gallery (Király utca 39-46) specializes in young, unknown artists.

Müller Mónika (Király utca 36) was the first designer to arrive on Király utca. Her shop stocks her own designs, crafted by local mill workers, artists, and restorers. KARE (Király utca 43-45) is the Budapest outlet of the German home-furnishing brand, and is already rallying the street’s businesses and planning art exhibitions. On its opening-day, owner Ágnes Déri held a festival showcasing the street’s design shops, and hopes to make it a regular event (the next one is coming up on June 19th). “Király utca used to be one of Budapest’s most famous shopping streets and trade centers,” said Déri, “and I really believe this will become the single famous furniture and design street in Budapest.” Goa Home (Király utca 19­21) has several storefronts brimming with pieces from around the world. Arioso (Király utca 9) stocks international houseware, stunning flowers, and French food products by La Petite Francaise. Be sure to check out the small green courtyard café. Látomás (Király utca 39) sells one-off fashions designed by a longtime Budapest expat.

At night, the neighborhood fills with drinkers heading to the kerts—which spring up in empty, grungy buildings—for cheap beer and wine. Graffiti-covered Kuplung (Király utca 46) is located on the site of a former motorcycle repair. Café Bobek (Kazinczy utca 51), named for a Communist-era cartoon character, has tables in a green yard. Kőleves Kert (Kazinczy utca 35) serves food from its own restaurant, and the outdoor bar has swings for barstools and other playground-like effects. Around the corner, Mumus (Dob utca 18) is two levels, with a piano bar and barstools made of stacked beer boxes. Take a walk on Király utca for some of Budapest’s hippest venues, from high-concept design shops to retro bars. The best part: the feeling that lots more is yet to come.

–Carolyn

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Bodzalé {Recipe}

By admin | Published: May 27, 2010

{Elderflower Juice}

Elderflowers (bodzavirág), with their intoxicatingly sweet scent, bloom throughout the Hungarian countryside during the late spring. Like most Hungarian dishes, the first time I tasted elderflower juice was at my mother-in-law’s house in northwestern Hungary. When they are in season, she keeps a few batches of the juice constantly steeping in big bowls and jars, scooping it out with a ladle to serve all of the children (and adults) who love it. It disappears quickly. We picked a bag full of elderflowers last weekend in her yard before heading back to Budapest, where the fragrance perfumed the whole apartment for days.

You don’t need many flowers to make a big batch of elderflower juice. When I have extra, I spread them on a baking sheet (preferably with a bunch of mint, if it’s around) to dry them. Keep the dried elderflower and mint mix in a tin, and it makes a wonderful tea (either hot or iced). Also, a sugar syrup made with elderflowers is great as a cocktail mixer.

Bodzalé
{Elderflower Juice}

5 liters (5 ¼ quarts) water
400 grams (2 cups) sugar
3 lemons, 2 juiced and one sliced
8 elderflower flowerheads

In a small saucepan, bring sugar and about one quarter of the water to a boil. Simmer until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Put the rest of the water in a jar large enough to hold everything. Add the sugar syrup, the lemon juice and slices, and the elderflowers. Let the mixture steep for at least a few hours before serving.

–Carolyn

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