Hungarian

My fabulous hairdresser on the set of Desperate Housewives, Gabor, shared this recipe with me. In fact, he shared the very recipe his grandmother had used for decades—the card it was on must have been about eighty years old and was written in Hungarian! It took Gabor some time to decipher it, but I’m grateful for his efforts. It’s so delicious! It’s funny to think that almost every culture has some variation on the big pot of fragrant, nourishing stew. I’m glad to have been introduced to this one. The bell peppers add sweetness and color; the dish is really beautiful when made with green, red, yellow, and orange peppers, but feel free to use whatever you prefer or can get your hands on. The stew is amazing served over buttered egg noodles. And don’t worry about leftovers; this is even better after sitting in the fridge for a day or two.

A hearty stew with a robust taste, just right with the nutty flavor of bulghur wheat.

Just like Grandma might have made for you, if she were Hungarian.

The piquant pickled red onions are the ideal topping for this traditional Austro-Hungarian cheese spread.

This bread is Mickey's pride and joy. It is made by hand and has a crust on top like no other. Breadworks sells about twenty loaves every day. Try it for French toast.

This is a taste of prewar Hungary, from the family repertoire of my dear friend, Judy Abrams, gifted teacher and poet. Based on ground walnuts and leavened only with eggs, this light, fudge-luscious cake has not a jot of butter or flour, making it Passover-perfect for meat or dairy meals. To conclude a meat meal, it is delectable plain or dusted fancifully with confectioners' sugar (a Passover recipe without cornstarch below) or glazed with a simple chocolate icing. For a dairy dish, cover the torte in swirls of lightly sweetened whipped cream or serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream on the side, accompanied by a steaming cup of strong cappuccino. Enjoy this beautifully moist and virtually no-fail torte not just on Passover, but year round. When well wrapped (without icing), it keeps very well, tasting even better a day or two after it is made. As with all nut pastries, be sure the walnuts you are using are very fresh-tasting.

Grimes spent hours exploring Nagyvásárcsarnok, Budapest's largest indoor market hall, where he discovered all kinds of cured and jellied meats, pickled vegetables, and a virtual hanging garden of sausages. This magnificent cold layered terrine, which requires almost no cooking, was inspired by that bounty. Horseradish and sour cream, so abundant in central European cooking, complement the beets and the tongue's smoky richness. The success of this dish depends largely on using good-quality borscht such as Gold’s Russian Style (avoid brands containing high-fructose corn syrup).

During a research trip to Budapest, food editor Paul Grimes ate his way through plates of wild mushrooms for dinner and servings of sweet strudels for dessert. When he returned, he came up with this elegant hors d'oeuvre of thin cylinders of phyllo filled with the woodsy intensity of mushrooms. Brushing the phyllo layers with duck or goose fat lends an authentic flavor; butter also works perfectly well.

Tender veal shanks get great depth of flavor from lecsó, a kind of Hungarian sofrito of sautéed onions, frying peppers, and tomatoes, to which paprika and, in this case, stock are added. (Grimes found that Cubanelle peppers are the best substitute for the long, yellowish-green peppers found throughout Hungary.) Finished with sour cream, the sauce yields more than you need, but you'll be happy to have leftovers to serve over noodles, chicken, or pork.

Using turkey makes this take on the Hungarian beef stew lighter. Adjust the heat level by using all hot paprika, all sweet paprika, or a combination.

Dessert dumplings play a cherished role in Hungary. The tender dough, similar to Italian potato gnocchi, forms a pillowy ball around lightly sweetened plums. The finishing touch? A buttery mixture of bread crumbs, chopped walnuts, and cinnamon sugar.

(Topfenstrudel) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Rick Rodgers's book Kaffeehaus: The Best Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague. Rodgers also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Austrian cooking, click here. Not every café has a full-time baker. At many, it's just Mama in the kitchen and often Mama doesn't feel like (or doesn't have enough counter space for) hand-pulling strudel dough. This classic recipe layers store-bought filo dough with a Topfen filling in a pan to make a deep-dish dessert. Thanks to Gerda Hofer for this recipe.

(Uborkasalata) With little or no refrigeration and often only impure water available until the twentieth century, ordinary people did not risk eating fresh vegetables that couldn't be peeled or shelled. Cucumber, beet, or cabbage salads were about the only ones used in Eastern Europe, and cooked salads featuring eggplant or broiled peppers were served in many Mediterranean countries. Lettuce, the base of most crisp salads we eat today, had to be cleaned in sterilized water and eaten immediately.

Palacsinta When crêpes entered the American consciousness, they had an air of fussiness about them. But the truth is they're very easy to make — and a regular nonstick skillet and ordinary spoon work just as well as any crêpe pan or tiny specialty ladle. This Austro-Hungarian dessert strikes just the right balance of lightness and sweetness.

This recipe is adapted from George Lang's book The Cuisine of Hungary.

To make the very thin layers for this torte, the batter is spread on inverted cake pans. It is important that the batter be spread evenly and that the layers not be overbaked. (Do not use dark metal or non-stick pans.)

Few cookies are easier to make or more sublime to eat. I created them for my beautiful Hungarian mom, who called them finum, or refined. Sometimes we eat them with a strong cup of coffee as we play Scrabble, or after dinner, with a slightly chilled glass of sweet Tokay wine.