We move to another country in this article, we present you with 21 Hungarian inspired recipes

On with the recipes

Babka (Polish Easter Bread)

1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
2 packages active dry yeast
4 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm milk
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup pecans
1/2 cup rum
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix water with yeast; let stand 5 minutes.

Mix 4 cups flour with cinnamon. In bowl with mixer on high, beat butter with sugar until smooth. Beat in yolks, zest and salt. Beat in yeast mixture. Stir in reserved flour mixture alternately with milk. Stir in raisins. Turn dough out onto greased surface. Knead 10 minutes. Place in oiled bowl. Cover; let rise until doubled ? 1 1/2 hours.

In blender, finely grind pecans with remaining flour. Butter 12-cup Bundt pan; flour pan with pecan mixture. Turn dough out onto floured surface; do not punch down. Form into 16-inch long strips; transfer to pan. Cover; let rise 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 45 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan; brush with rum. Boil sugar with orange and lemon juices until syrupy, about 5 minutes; brush over warm Babka.

Makes 16 servings.

Crakow Torte (Tort Krakowski)

Cake
8 tablespoons butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
A grating of fresh nutmeg
1/2 cup jam, jelly or marmalade of your choice

Using a fork or pastry knife, cut the butter into the flour until the pieces of butter are the size of peas. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then roll to a 1/2 inch thickness and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool and spread the jam over the top.

Topping
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup blanched almonds, chopped

Combine all ingredients, folding gently so as not to deflate the egg whites. Spread over the cake and bake in a preheated 200 degree F oven for about 1 hour, until the meringue is set.

Makes one cake to serve 6 to 8.

Dilled Zucchini (Hungary)

6 small zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 small onion, sliced and separated into rings
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons minced fresh dill weed or
1 teaspoon dried dill weed

Cook and stir zucchini and garlic in oil in skillet over medium heat until zucchini is light brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in onion; heat just until hot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; remove from heat. Mix yogurt and dill weed; stir into zucchini mixture.

Yields 6 servings.

Eggs with Peppers and Sausage

1 large onion, sliced
1 pound Italian sweet peppers or banana
peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large tomatoes, seeded and cut into wedges
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 pound fully cooked smoked sausage
links, cut into thin slices
6 fried eggs

Cook onion and peppers in oil in skillet, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, paprika and sugar. Cover and cook over low heat 15 minutes. Stir in sausage; cook uncovered until sausage is hot, about 5 minutes. Top with fried egg.

Yields 6 servings.

Fish with Sour Cream (Betyar Fogas)

In Hungary and Austria, Betyar Fogas is usually accompanied by boiled russet potatoes.

1 pound fish fillets
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
Paprika
Snipped parsley

If fish fillets are large, cut into serving pieces. Pat fish dry; arrange in ungreased 12 x 7 1/2-inch baking dish. Cook and stir mushrooms and onion in butter until mushrooms are golden, about 3 minutes. Spoon mushrooms mixture over fish; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Mix sour cream and cheese; spread over mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F until fish flakes easily with fork, 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley.

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

Golden Panfried Mushrooms (Poland)

1 pound small fresh mushrooms
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup butter or margarine

Dip mushrooms into egg; coat with bread crumbs. Cook mushrooms and onion in butter in skillet, turning occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes.

Yields 4 servings.

Honey Cake (Lekach)

This cake celebrates the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Simhat Torah.

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon peel
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons brandy
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons instant coffee
2/3 cup cold water
3/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup raisins
Lemon Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat sugar, honey, oil, eggs, lemon peel and juice and brandy in large mixer bowl on medium speed 2 minutes. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and instant coffee; stir into sugar mixture alternately with water. Beat on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally, 2 minutes. Fold in 1/2 cup of the nuts and the raisins.

Pour into greased 10-inch tube pan or 12-cup fluted tube pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes; remove from pan. Prick top of cake carefully with fork; drizzle with Lemon Sugar. Sprinkle with remaining nuts.

Yields 12 to 14 servings.

Lemon Sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice

Mix sugar and lemon juice.

Hungarian Bef Goulash (Bogracs Gulyas)

“Bogracs Gulyas” loosely means “a cauldron of meat.”

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or bacon fat
1 1/2 pounds beef boneless chuck, tip
or round, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can tomatoes (with liquid)
3 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant beef bouillon
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium potatoes, cut into1 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium green bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
French bread or rolls

Heat oil in Dutch oven or skillet until hot. Cook and stir beef in hot oil until brown, about 15 minutes; drain. Add water, tomatoes, onions, garlic, paprika, salt, bouillon, caraway seed and pepper. break up tomatoes with fork. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Add potatoes; cover and simmer until beef and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Add green peppers; cover and simmer until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve in soup bowls with French bread for dipping into hot broth.

Yields 6 servings.

Hungarian Potato and Egg Casserole (Rakott Krumpli)

6 medium potatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup dairy sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 hardboiled eggs, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
Paprika

Heat 1 inch salted water to boiling. Add potatoes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook until tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Drain; cool slightly.

Cook onion in oil until tender. Mix onion, oil, sour cream, salt and pepper. Peel potatoes; cut into 1/4-inch slices. Gently mix potatoes and sour cream mixture.

Arrange half the potatoes in greased 10 x 6-inch baking dish or 1 1/2-quart casserole. Arrange eggs on top; add remaining potatoes. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and paprika. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees F until light brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

Garnish with minced parsley if desired.

Yields 6 servings.

Hunter’s Stew (Bigos Mysliwski ? Poland)

6 pounds canned sauerkraut
1/4 pound bacon or salt pork, diced
3 large onions, chopped
3 tart apples, peeled and chopped
2 cups beef broth
1 cup sherry or dry red wine
Salt, pepper, sugar, to taste
3 to 4 pound roast or braised meats
1 bay leaf

Rinse sauerkraut in cold water and squeeze out juice well, reserving some of the juice. Put sauerkraut in large kettle over low heat.

Meanwhile, render the bacon or salt pork. Add bacon bits to sauerkraut.

Saut? onions in bacon fat until golden; add chopped apples and cook until slightly browned. Add all to the kettle. Add diced meats and all the meat juices. Add enough beef broth, bay leaf, salt, pepper, a little sugar and some of the sauerkraut juice for tartness. Simmer slowly for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Add wine and let stew bubble up. Cover and let stand until ready to use.

Baked Eggs on Toast (Jaja na Grzankach – Polish)

6 slices white bread
Butter
3 tablespoons freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
6 eggs
Salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste

Toast the bread and butter it on both sides. Place on a baking sheet and, using the tips of your fingers, make a small depression in each piece of toast. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and chives. Carefully drop an egg onto each piece of toast and season with salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated 400 degrees F oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until the eggs reach the desired degree of doneness. Allow 1 to 2 per person.

Serves 3 to 6.

Kolaches (Czechoslovakia)

6 tablespoons lukewarm milk
2 packages active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup soft butter
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
4 cups all-purpose flour

Add yeast to milk and let stand several minutes to dissolve. Stir in salt and sugar. Put butter into a large bowl; add 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk, beating very hard. Continue adding 1 whole egg and additional yolk, followed each time by hard beating. When all the eggs have been used, mix in yeast and then flour, beating hard. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place until double in size.

Pinch off pieces of dough the size of a large walnut. Place 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet; cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Press a hollow in the center of each piece with fingers and fill the cavity with Prune Filling, jam or marmalade. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven. When cool, sprinkle tops generously with sugar.

Prune Filling
1 pound prunes, cooked
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

When prunes are tender, drain; discard pits and chop prunes coarsely. Stir in sugar, butter, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Add more sugar if desired.

Mushrooms with Sour Cream (Poland)

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
Minced dill weed or parsley

Cook and stir mushrooms in butter for 3 minutes. Stir in flour; cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in sour cream, salt and pepper. Heat, stirring occasionally, just until hot. Sprinkle with dill weed.

Yields 4 servings.

Noodle and Raisin Pudding (Lukshen Kugel)

1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles
2 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup dairy sour cream
1 cup small-curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cook noodles as directed on package; drain. Mix remaining ingredients; toss with noodles. Pour into greased 2-quart casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F until golden brown 40 to 50 minutes.

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Pears with Nut Stuffing

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 ripe firm pears, cut into halves
1/3 cup finely chopped nuts
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon brandy
1 tablespoon dairy sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar

Mix 1/3 cup sugar, the water and lemon juice in ungreased 8-inch square pan until sugar is dissolved. Arrange pears in pan, turning to coat with sugar mixture. Cover and bake at 325 degrees F until pears are almost tender when pierced with fork, 25 minutes.

Place 1 pear half, cut side up, in each of 8 serving dishes.

Mix nuts, 2 tablespoons sugar, the brandy, 1 tablespoon sour cream and the vanilla extract; fill centers of pear halves with nut mixture. Mix 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 tablespoon sugar. Top each pear half with dollop of sour cream mixture.

Yields 8 servings.

Pecan Butter Crescents (Czechoslovakia)

1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups flour
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
1/2 pint sour cream
1 (12 ounce) can fruit filling
Confectioners’ sugar

Cut butter into flour. Combine egg yolk with sour cream and add to flour mixture. Form into a ball and wrap in wax paper. Chill overnight.

Divide dough into 4 portions. Roll each into a 12-inch circle. Spread fruit filling evenly over entire circle. Spread fruit filling evenly over entire circle. Cut into 16 wedges. Roll from wide end to form crescents. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes or until delicately browned. Dust with confectioners’ sugar when cool.

Polenta with Cheese (Mamaliga ? Rumania)

1 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup water
3 1/4 cups boiling water
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup shredded Swiss or Kashkaval cheese

Mix cornmeal and 3/4 cup water in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in 3 1/4 cups water and the salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils; reduce heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir until smooth. Spread 1/3 of the mixture in greased 1 1/2-quart casserole. Dot with 1/3 of the butter; sprinkle with 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat twice. Sprinkle with Swiss cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.

Fried Cornmeal Mush
Omit butter and the grated Parmesan and Swiss cheeses. After cooking 10 minutes, spread in greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 12 hours. Invert pan to unmold; cut into 1/2-inch slices.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in skillet until melted. Coat slices with flour; cook uncovered in butter over low heat until brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Serve with molasses, jam, maple syrup or sour cream if desired.

Polish Easter Bread (Babka Wielkanocna)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled)
1 cup golden raisins

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in egg yolks until well blended. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir yeast mixture, orange peel, lemon peel, cinnamon and salt into butter mixture. Stir in flour alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition, until soft dough forms. Stir in raisins. Cover; let rise in warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours.

Stir down dough; spoon into greased and floured 10 x 4-inch tube pan or 12-cup Bundt cake pan. Cover; let rise until double, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until bread is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar if desired.

Polish Salad with Pickles Eggs (Salatka z Piklowanymi Jajkami)

Pickled Eggs
1 bunch leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper

Prepare Pickled Eggs. Toss lettuce and onion. Divide among 6 salad plates. Cut eggs into slices or fourths. Arrange 1 egg on top of each salad. Shake remaining ingredients in tightly covered container; drizzle over salads.

Pickled Eggs
3 cups beet juice (cooking water from beets)
1 cup red wine vinegar
8 whole black peppercorns
4 whole allspice
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
6 hardboiled eggs, peeled

Heat beet juice, vinegar, peppercorns, allspice, cloves and bay leaf to boiling; pour over eggs. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours.

Poppy Seed Cake (Czechoslovakia)

6 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup poppy seed

Add salt to egg whites and beat until foamy, then add the cream of tartar and beat until stiff. Add 1/2 cup of the sugar. Beat well and set aside.

Beat egg yolks; add 1 cup of sugar and beat well. Add cold water to mixture and beat until lemon colored. Add flour; beat well. Fold into the egg whites. Fold in poppy seed carefully. Pour into an ungreased angel food pan and bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour. Invert until cool.

When cool, cut into two layers. Put a butter cream frosting between layers.

Beets in Orange Sauce

5 medium beets (1 1/4 pounds)
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
3/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vinegar

Cut off all but 2 inches of beet tops. Leave beets whole with root ends attached. Heat water and 1 teaspoon salt to boiling in 3-quart saucepan. Add bets. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook until tender, 35 to 45 minutes; drain. Run cold water over beets; slip off skins and remove root ends. Cut beets into 1/4-inch slices.

Mix brown sugar, cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper in 2-quart saucepan. Stir orange juice gradually into cornstarch mixture; stir in vinegar. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in beets; heat until hot.

Yields 4 servings.