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The Tradewind Journals
A leather bound menu titled Hungarian Kitchen resting on a tavern table.

Open the menu.

Starters

  • Libamáj Pástétom (goose liver pâté)

    Rich Hungarian goose liver pâté seasoned with onion, brandy, and sweet paprika, served cold with toasted bread.

  • Körözött (Hungarian cheese spread)

    Fresh Hungarian túró whipped with sweet paprika, minced onion, caraway, and mustard, served with fresh bread and radishes.

  • Hortobágyi Palacsinta (savory stuffed crêpes)

    Thin crêpes filled with paprika-braised veal or chicken, rolled and topped with a warm sour cream and paprika sauce.

  • Túrós Csusza (pasta with fresh cheese)

    Wide egg noodles tossed with fresh Hungarian túró and sour cream, topped with crisped szalonna.

Salads

  • Uborkasaláta (Hungarian cucumber salad)

    Recipe →

    Thinly sliced cucumbers dressed with vinegar, sugar, sour cream, and sweet paprika, served cold.

  • Paradicsomsaláta (Hungarian tomato salad)

    Ripe summer tomatoes and sweet onions dressed with vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt, served at the peak of summer.

  • Káposztasaláta (Hungarian cabbage salad)

    Finely shredded cabbage salted to release its water, then dressed with vinegar, sugar, oil, and freshly ground pepper.

  • Savanyú Paprika (pickled peppers)

    Sweet yellow and red peppers pickled in vinegar, sugar, and mustard seed, served cold alongside grilled meats and rich stews.

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Soups

  • Gulyásleves (gulash)

    Traditional hearty Hungarian beef and root vegetable soup seasoned with lots of sweet and smoked Hungarian paprika.

  • Halászlé (fisherman's soup)

    Rich red soup of freshwater fish simmered with onions, tomato, and hot Hungarian paprika in the style of the Tisza river region.

  • Hideg Meggyleves (cold sour cherry soup)

    A chilled summer soup of sour cherries, sugar, cream, and a touch of cinnamon and clove, served cold.

  • Jókai Bableves (Jókai bean soup)

    A smoked pork bean soup with carrots, celery root, and Hungarian sausage, finished with sour cream and small pinched csipetke dumplings.

Mains

  • Csirkepaprikás (chicken paprikás)

    Recipe →

    Chicken simmered in a creamy sauce of onions, sweet Hungarian paprika, and sour cream, traditionally served over nokedli.

  • Pörkölt (Hungarian stew)

    Slow-braised beef or pork in a deep paprika and onion sauce, served with nokedli or boiled potatoes.

  • Töltött Káposzta (stuffed cabbage)

    Soured cabbage leaves filled with seasoned pork and rice, slow-braised in a tomato and paprika sauce with sauerkraut.

  • Rántott Csirke (breaded fried chicken)

    Thin chicken cutlets breaded and pan-fried golden, served with lemon, parsley potatoes, and cucumber salad.

  • Vadas Marha (braised beef in vegetable sauce)

    Pot-roasted beef served with a creamy sauce of root vegetables, mustard, and sour cream, traditionally paired with bread dumplings.

  • Paprikás Krumpli (potato paprikás)

    Potatoes simmered with onions, Hungarian sausage, and sweet paprika, finished with a dollop of sour cream.

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Sides

  • Nokedli (Hungarian dumplings)

    Recipe →

    Small egg-dough dumplings pressed fresh into boiling water, tossed with butter, served alongside paprikás and pörkölt.

  • Főtt Burgonya (parsley potatoes)

    Boiled new potatoes tossed with butter and fresh chopped parsley, served alongside paprikás and rich stews.

  • Zöldbabfőzelék (Hungarian green bean stew)

    Recipe →

    Green beans simmered in a creamy paprika and sour cream sauce, thickened with flour, served as a side or light main.

  • Lecsó (pepper and tomato stew)

    A summer stew of sweet yellow peppers, tomatoes, onions, and smoked sausage, slow-cooked with sweet paprika.

Desserts

  • Dobos Torta (Dobos cake)

    A layered sponge cake filled with chocolate buttercream and topped with a crown of caramelized sugar shards.

  • Rétes (Hungarian strudel)

    Paper-thin pulled pastry layered with sweetened walnut, poppy seed, or sour cherry filling, baked until crisp.

  • Somlói Galuska (Somló sponge cake)

    A layered sponge cake with rum, raisins, and walnuts, topped with vanilla cream and chocolate sauce.

  • Gesztenyepüré (chestnut purée)

    Sweetened chestnut purée pressed into fine ribbons, served cold with whipped cream.

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Drinks

  • Egri Bikavér (Bull's Blood of Eger)

    A bold dry red wine from the Eger region, a blend of Kékfrankos and other Hungarian grapes, rich and spiced.

  • Tokaji Aszú (Tokay dessert wine)

    A legendary sweet white wine from the Tokaj region, aged with late-harvest Furmint grapes, honeyed and complex.

  • Pálinka

    A traditional Hungarian fruit brandy, clear and strong, distilled from plums, apricots, or pears.

  • Unicum

    A famously bitter herbal liqueur distilled from over forty herbs, served ice-cold as an aperitif or digestif.

Egészségedre

to your health

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