Last week we had the chance to meet and cook with chef Zita from BORGANIKA. Zita has an amazing gastro space in Klauzál market in the Jewish district. She offers cooking classes, all sorts of gastro events and she also hosts private dinners. She is amazing and is truly in love with Hungarian culture and food, all of my guests were fascinated by this unique culinary experience.

We cooked green pea soup, chicken paprikas with nokedli and strudel, it was a lot of fun, we enjoyed cooking and eating together and we also tasted some great Hungarian wines.

It’s a great experience for smaller and larger groups and her enthusiasm and professionalism will most probably brighten your day and contribute to an amazing Budapest experience.

Private cooking class at Borganika
Private cooking class at Borganika

The golden age of the famous coffeehouses of Budapest was at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. However, we see now the renaissance of the coffeehouse and coffee culture. We try to see different coffeehouses on our foodie tours so that travellers can sample the best Hungarian coffee and cakes.

I’ve already posted about Central and Book cafés, although I should have started with Gerbeaud, as it’s the probably the most famous and known coffeehouse of Budapest.

The story of the Gerbeaud family is very impressive, Emile Gerbeaud, the French bonbonnier was invited to Budapest by Henrik Kugler, the owner of the very popular cake shop and coffeehouse on Vörösmarty square. Emile Gerbeaud’s contribution to the cake shop was a huge success, he invented and created a great assortment of bonbons that were sold in millions every year. He overtook the business and the Gerbeaud name became a highly renowned trademark not only in Budapest but all over the European continent.

The Gerbeaud Café was the ladies’ coffeehouse at the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th century, meaning that young ladies frequented the place in the hope of finding a rich husband. Even now there are rumours and urban legends about how lady guest can give a secret sign if they are in search of a husband or a lover. Join my foodie tour if you’d like to know more about the details and this beautiful café of Budapest.

 

The Lecsó, or Hungarian ratatouille is a great delight, especially in the summer month as it’s relatively light, compared to the very heavy Hungarian dishes. It’s a very simple vegetable stew you can prepare in 20 minutes. This is a vegetarian version, feel free to add sausage and bacon or fry 3 eggs in the stew if you wish.

Finely chop 1 onion and fry it until golden or light brown in hot vegetable oil. Add salt and pepper and 1 tbsp hot paprika powder. Remove the stalks of 2 lbs yellow bell peppers and cut into thin rings. Add to the onion and fry until translucent.

Slice 1 lb tomatoes and add to the peppers. Simmer gently for 8-10 minutes, cook until soft.

We can cook and other Hungarian dishes together online, book a Virtual Cooking Class and pick your favorite Hungarian meal!

Private Live Virtual Hungarian Cooking Class

We had a quite unusual and rather special Foodie Tour this weekend with my travellers. Instead of visiting several markets and shops in the city we focused on the Pig Slaughtering Festival held on this beautiful and sunny weekend in Budapest.

I can’t tell you how much we were overwhelmed with all the sausages and meat, the amazing smells and flavours. We tasted so many different things that in 4 hours I ate just as mush as I usually do in a week.

I’m very proud of all our meat products and what I can recommend you the most is to try mangalica sausage, which is probably the best of the best.

The Hungarian “Székelykáposzta” is a great dish combining sauerkraut and pork stew, a nice meal to warm your body and soul on a cool day.

Drain 2.2 pound sauerkraut in a colander, rinse it gently under cold water and let it sit in the colander for a few minutes. Put half of the cabbage in a large saucepan, put in 1.3 pound diced pork rib and cover with the other half of the cabbage. Add 4 bay leafs and water to cover it and cook gently for 2 hours on low.

Heat 5.25 oz lard in a large saucepan on medium heat. Toss in 2 large chopped onions, cook them with a pinch of salt until they soften up. Remove saucepan from heat, stir in 3 teaspoon paprika powder with the onions until they’re fully coated. Put the saucepan back on the heat, turn it up to medium-high, and add 1.3 pound diced pork shoulder or leg. Cook until all the meat has browned. Once the meat is browned, add 1 tablespoon paprika paste or cream, 1 large chopped tomato and 1 diced bell pepper. Pour in water until it covers the meat, bring it up to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook slightly uncovered stirring occasionally for about 90 minutes.

Pour the pork stew in the cabbage stew, cook on medium low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Heat 1 tablespoon lard in a small saucepan on medium high. Add 2 tablespoon flour, stir until it’s browned, add 1 teaspoon paprika powder. Add 1 cup cold water, mix it and add the flour mixture to the cabbage. Add half of the sour cream, bring it up to a simmer.

You can serve the cabbage dish with the other half of the sour cream.