When I was doing research on lečo - a dish that landed in our cuisine while we were under Hungarian rule between 1000 and 1918 - I came across various recipes ranging from a meatless option to an eggy one to a letcho with a spicy, Hungarian-style sausage. What all these recipes had in common was green … Continue reading Letcho
Inspired by a visitor to Cookslovak Facebook page who asked about 'a baked green bean egg dish that my mother used to make', I thought back to my time as a university student. I remember eating something similar at my aunt's house in the south of Slovakia, where they still grow their own yellow runner beans … Continue reading Yellow Runner Bean Soufflé
The Carpathian Mountains - a long mountain range running across Central and Eastern Europe, including Slovakia - have always been home to rich fauna. Brown bears, wolves, martens and wild boars, foxes, mouflons, or deer are only a few game species that populate the Carpathians in Slovakia. Some of them are still hunted for food … Continue reading Carpathian Fallow Deer Fillets with Mushrooms
My earliest memories of Steamed Buns with Cocoa and Jam come from the time when I first became aware of what was put on the table. Buchty na pare, as these delicious buns are called in Slovak, is a classic dish that will probably never lose its appeal for children and sweet-toothed adults. At least here … Continue reading Steamed Buns with Cocoa and Jam
There is a host of traditions and beliefs linked to Slovak Easter. Some are Christian with traces of Jewish mythology, others have pagan roots. It seems to me though that they all celebrate Easter as a spring festival that brings new life. The Slovak name for the Thursday before Easter is Zelený štvrtok, which literally translates … Continue reading Potato Kugel
Unlike in most western countries where Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as a Pancake Day, in Slovakia Fašiangový utorok is associated with doughnuts or šišky (pronounced as shishki), as we call our little doughnuts in Slovak. Shrove Tuesday is a religious name for the last day before Lent, a fasting season that starts on Ash Wednesday and lasts until Easter. Shrove … Continue reading Valentine’s Shishki
This is a classic dish that has a strong affiliation to Czech cuisine, and reflects the long history we shared as peoples of one republic - the former Czechoslovakia. Despite living in two independent states now, the Czechs have remained faithful to our Halushki with Bryndza Cheese or traditional Slovak cheeses, and we, in turn, can't live … Continue reading Roast Pork with Steamed Dumpling & Red Cabbage
We have an abundance of forests, woods and meadows in Slovakia that are not only a home to flowers, berries, bears, wolves and other wildlife, but they also fill with a great variety of mushrooms every year. It's fair to say that Slovakia is a mushroom paradise. Mushroom picking has become a national sport, so … Continue reading Wild Mushroom & Tomato Risotto
When I was preserving cucumbers a few weeks ago, some of the vegetables were not suitable for pickling, mainly because of their size. So I had to put them away in the fridge, and use them either in salads, or cooking. Here's an example of what I did with the last one left in stock. … Continue reading Cucumber Patties with Parenitza Cheese
Have you ever heard of buckwheat? Did you know this long-forgotten food plant is more than 6000 years old? It was first cultivated in Southeast Asia, from where it slowly spread all over the world. As an inexpensive source of valuable proteins, buckwheat had played an important role in Eastern European cuisines before it was … Continue reading Buckwheat Groats with Sautéed Vegetables
