The art of cookery and pastry making, Hungarian style

What is the most important thing in the cooking pots of the Hungarians, day in day out?
What would we find on the chef's table in a hotel on the shore of the Danube or in the restaurants of the castle district?

The roots of Hungarian cuisine are in fact very strongly craftsmanship oriented. A lot of the time, the art of cooking and pastry making require traditionally grown raw materials and the kind of technical skills that are reminiscent of the methods employed by the old fashioned master.

The visitor who wishes to follow the path of classic gastronomy and restaurant culture, would do best to start with the incredibly diverse range of Hungarian soups. The often substantial "one-bowl-meal" soups are truly meals with character. It is worth trying the "Szeged fish soup" which is made from a range of freshwater fish, or another version of this, the so-called "Baja fish soup" which is served with thin pasta. Gulyás appears on menus in a variety of forms such as Chicken Gulyás or Harvest Gulyás.

For those who enjoy a sharper taste the slightly sour Orja Soup is recommended, while for those with a more subdued palate, a generous portion of the "legényfogó" (catch a young man) soup serves as a good starting point. The star of all the soups is the "Újházy" style chicken soup.

The fattened goose liver (foie gras), used in various ways, plays a major role in classic Hungarian cuisine. You can find it in both hot and cold entrées, in luxurious casseroles and in many forms of stuffing. And of course, it can be the main feature in countless culinary creations, for goose liver has inspired the imagination of many Hungarian chefs.

It can be served cold, in its own fat or baked on paraj (spinach) leaves. In other places, it is made more exciting with the addition of "Tokaj" essence, it can also be baked "home-style" in the oven, or even crumbed. Without goose liver, one cannot comprehend the full meaning of Hungarian cuisine.
The classic art of cooking also holds a few surprises for those who love fish. No one travelling in the Carpathian basin should miss the Hungarian style pontykocsonya (carp jelly), the fogas szelet (pike-perch slice) as created by Károly Gundel, the greatest restaurateur of the 20th century, the Mediterranean style rácponty (carp), or the fish "lasagne" of the banks of the Rába
And of course there are wonderful Hungarian salad creations, such as the erdélyi padlizsánsaláta (Transylvanian eggplant salad), the mézes akácvirág saláta (honeyed acacia-flower salad), or the Csekonics salad which was named after an aristocratic habitué of the Gellért Hotel.
Who could resist such Hungarian delicacies? Not me, I must confest...
For the main course, we can order the szegfűszeges báránycomb (leg of lamb with cloves), bundázott kacsamáj juhtúrós sztarapacskával (battered duck liver with ewe cheese sztrapacska), borjúérmék (beef medallions) made in the style of the old chef, Móser, and the world famous Csáky roast. Those who enjoy poultry dishes should order kapros gyöngytyúk combok (dilled pheasant drumsticks), or "Gödöllői" stuffed chicken.
Visitors who have a large appetite will not be intimidated by the grandmother style of cooking, including things like the pecsenyék (roasts), pörköltek (stews), tokányok (potroasts), and töltött sertéskarajok (stuffed pork chops).

Dessert lovers will feel very much at home in Hungary. Exotic desserts take many forms. The warm restaurant pastries all but offer themselves: the beautifully named aranygaluska (golden noodle), the pozsonyi kocka (Pozsony square), and the always exciting vargabéles (varga muffin). And of course the mountains of pancakes!!!

Veil-like, paper thin pastries with an extravagant range of fillings overwhelm visitors to the pastry shops. There you will find delicate confectionery and cake artistry!!

And just as the Viennese are proud of their Sacher cake, so do the Hungarians take a proprietary interest in the Dobos torta (Dobos cake), invented by József C. Dobos, a gastro-magician of the 19th century. The history of confectionary is rich in stories and celebrities. The Indiáner confection rescued the Viennese theatre of Count Pálffy from going bankrupt after they handed out these pastries, named after an Indian performing artist, to theatre goers. The applause was for the indiáner.

The Rigó Jancsi was named after a Gypsy solo violinist, the Gerbeaud szelet (Gerbeaud slice) after the legendary Emil Gerbeaud's confectionary salon, which is a compulsory and elegant venue for those ladies who are not dieting.