Hi guys, today I’m giving you a taste of Hungary. This is a collab with Lauren from Diary of a Spanglish Girl. She’s sharing her guide to Budapest and I’m showing you how you can eat like a Hungarian in your own home. I’ve never been to Budapest myself, so I’ve been doing my research to see what the locals eat, which dishes are popular in restaurants etc in order to create a few recipes for you.
As with any culture, there are a few themes within their national dishes. If you aren’t a fan of paprika, I suggest you stop reading now…
Traditional Dishes
A lot of the traditional dishes in Hungary are tomato based with a broth/ stew or soup consistency, perfect for a cosy winter evening. Most of the dishes I was reading about were very heavy on the paprika, many of which used it as their only spice. That’s not to say the dishes aren’t flavourful though. There appears to be a tendency for dishes to be on the sweeter side, with lots of sweet paprika, peppers and added sugars sometimes too. Although there isn’t necessarily a great deal of diversity in the flavours, they are still very rich. Perfect for the average, everyday cook to recreate at home.
Continuing the theme of simplicity, a lot of the vegetables are very basic and easily sourced, many of which use peppers and onions are the base, with some added potatoes and occasionally beans, grains and meats to bulk the dishes up. Even though a lot of traditional dishes are meaty, it’s often meat in a vegetable based dish, making it very easy to switch up to suit dietary preferences, whether that be vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian.
3 Hungarian Recipes
As with every post where I try to do more than one recipe at a time, this is inevitably going to end up too long. In this post, I’m going to explain a little bit about the dishes, flavours used and their origin, but please click through for the full recipes which will each have their own post if you’d like to try some.
Lecso
The first dish I decided to recreate was a traditional Hungarian Lecso. It’s a very simple dish containing Hungary’s favourite ingredients, tomatoes, peppers and paprika. The dish alone doesn’t amount to much, so locals often eat it with a side of bread. Hunting for the appropriate course to class this as proved a challenge. It’s sometimes a side, sometimes a main dish and can be served as an appetizer too.
Online I’ve seen this called a stew several times, a label I’m not too keen on. Maybe this is just me, but when I think of a stew, I think chunky vegetables in an often watery broth. Everything I’ve read about this dish described the sauce as thick, and I’ve made my version to match that.
The traditional version is very similar to my recipe, using only the peppers and onions, however, some locals also like to add smoked sausage when serving it as a main meal.
Goulash
Goulash is a dish I’m sure most people have either had, or at least heard of. It’s another stew, only this one actually is like my definition of a stew, thinner sauce with chunky veg and potatoes. Goulash is another dish rich in peppers and paprika, but unlike the Lecso, this one is best left to slow cook.
The traditional version is made with beef, although it’s now frequently found with other meats. And I’ve obviously done something a little different with mine…
Solet
I loved the sound of Solet. This is another dish that’s traditionally vegetarian, the main ingredients being kidney beans and barley. And paprika, obviously. This dish originates in the Jewish Quarter of Budapest, meaning that slightly different versions of this dish are also found in other Jewish countries.
This dish traditionally takes at least four hours to cook in order to allow the smokey flavours to intensify. Sometimes, if served on the Sabbath, this one is made the previous day and left on a very low heat overnight.
Once again, this one is described as a stew, which appears to be the national dish. Due to the barley and kidney beans, this dish is quite filling and usually eaten alone, only served with either a whole or half an egg as garnish.
Other cultures are fascinating, an egg would not be my first thought with these flavours but that’s the beauty of diversity I suppose.
I had so much fun researching for this post and recreating the recipes. What do you guys think of this format, something you’d like to see again? Let me know which dish you like the sound of the most down below and don’t forget to check out Lauren’s post about her trip to Budapest here.
Until next time,
Sophie
My Grandmother used to make Goulash for us all the time growing up, it’s so good. I’ve had maybe one or two other Hungarian dishes growing up as well. These ones look really tasty, I enjoy trying dishes from other countries!! Will have to give these other ones a try!! Have a sweet day x
I am going to try the Solet – I love the Americanized version of Goulash – now I want to try the authentic version. These recipes and photos look delish.
oooh all three dishes look so appetizing! I’d love to try lecso!it looks so so good!
These all look like such comforting and wholesome meals! I’m loving the sound of the Solet, it looks so nutritious and tasty. Hungarian food sounds so flavorsome and it is great you can make so many vegetarian options too. I really like this blog post idea, it is really interesting and great to discover different dishes from around the world. Fab post Sophie <3 xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
I definitely loved the format (and contents!) of this post Sophie! Hungarian food is so yummy and after visiting Budapest a few years ago, it’s definitely something I want to eat more of! xx
http://www.imjustagirl16.co.uk
Love this post! These dishes look absolutely amazing, thank you for sharing!
Sara
Omg Sophie you should totally make this a series with a bunch of different countries, especially as many traditional dishes are meat/animal product based! I loved this! I’ve been to Hungary and actually stayed away from goulash as it’s not really my thing haha but yours looks delicious!
Jas xx | https://thoughtsfromjasmine.co.uk
They all look and sound delicious. I definitely want to try them all. Any recommendations for a diabetic?
Oh wow! These look delicious. I need to try some Hungary food!
great post sophie! i think it’s amazing that you decided to do research and try to make foods from other countries, while still having them fit your dietary needs. i’m pretty much a wimp when it comes to spices so, these probably wouldn’t be things I try myself but i love getting a look into foods from other places in the world. this post shows a lot of willingness to learn and diversity on your part which is great! xx
mich / simplymich.com
These look so lovely omg!! I will definitely be testing them out, not sure I’ve ever had Hungarian food before
Megan |
Ooh these all look so yummy and comforting!
It’s always so interesting to see what other cultures/countries have as their staple dishes and it makes me just want to try them all!
Oooh, it is always interesting to learn about the food from various cultures. I like that the traditional dishes are tomato-based. Lecso looks delicious! Oooh, Solet looks like something that I would eat during a cold day. I am a total sucker for smokey flavors. Glad you enjoyed doing the research for the recipes! Thanks for sharing!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
I love the look of the first two dishes (yes, I’ve had Goulash but not the other two) but sadly Flora is like you, she doesn’t like stew. In fact she doesn’t like any dishes where all the ingredients are mixed together with a sauce (which is HIGHLY IRRITATING) so I would have to make a Lesco or Goulash for Alan and me and beans on toast for her aaaargh! Yummy pics though, and so interesting to find out about the two dishes I haven’t had before 🙂 xx
Lisa | http://www.lisasnotebook.com
interesting dishes:)
Oooh these recipes are so different! I’m definitely going to give them a go!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Sooo basically I need to move to Hungary, their food looks like a winner for me! I love the sound of all of these but particularly the solet, the barley and kidney beans sound so filling and delicious for a cold evening. I love the concept of this post, it’s so cool to learn about the cuisines of different countries and how to recreate them at home!
Beth x Adventure & Anxiety
These all look incredibly delicious! I love that you wrote a bit about all the dishes. It’s really interesting to see how much the Hungarian recipes depend on pepper. In my country too, we use a lot of peppers too cook (some tribes more than others). Your photos are really good btw
Taiwo | https://www.alifestylenerd.wordpress.com
All these dishes looked amazing! I love tomatoes and paprika so I think I would so well in Hungary. The goulash looks so delicious and sounds like it would be great to have in this cold weather! Xx
You’ve executed this post perfectly! Done your research, appreciated a culture different to your own and changed the recipe to suit your dietary requirements, while still keeping it close to the original. I would love to see a series like that, you trying recipes from other cultures.
I LOVE Goulash, in my culture, we also cook it with beef.
These all sound delicious, I bet they would be the perfect comfort food in this cold weather 🙂
Kate
Your blog makes my mouth water!
Just reading this has made me hungry! I’ll definitely be bookmarking this to come back to sometime because the goulash especially sounds like the perfect dish for these colder evenings!
I’d love to see a post like this again!
This has left my mouth watering reading this, they all sound/look like delicious recipes. I love the sound of the first two, the lecso and the goulash. I’m always on the lookout for new recipes to try so I’ll be having a read through all of these!
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
Now it makes totally sense that this country is called Hungary! I get so hungry looking at this ❤
xx
Selina | Selina’s Inspiration
Very interesting, congratulations.
These look so comforting and tasty! The Goulash sounds delicious, I am really not adventurous with food, I’m scared of spices really but it does look like such a tasty dish.
These look so delicious! I’m going to bookmark this post! Great post as always x
http://new-lune.com
It looks delicious and tasty!