When I bought my first vegetarian cookbook years ago, I quickly found out that cooking meatless can be fun and yummy. At the beginning, I followed the recipe instructions in the book step by step, but it didn't take long until I unbridled my imagination and started experimenting. The recipe below is a result of … Continue reading Baked Lentil Loaf on Caramelized Sauerkraut
When it comes to meat, pork is definitely the most popular in Slovakia, followed by chicken and other poultry like turkey, duck and geese. Although few Slovaks would call themselves vegetarians, we consume half as much meat per capita than in the USA, and less than two thirds of that in the UK. Slovak cooking … Continue reading Pork Stew with Spiralled Pasta
When you are bottling apricots, it's best to use fruit that is ripe but firm. If you find a few softer pieces or even bruised ones, put them aside. Remove the blemished parts, and either make a jam or prepare these yummy apricot balls sprinkled with hot chocolate. That's exactly what I did a few … Continue reading Apricot Filled Cheese Balls
Halushki - traditional Slovak pasta - have already been mentioned in a recipe for Strapatchki. A slightly different version of halushki was used to accompany rabbit thighs in this recipe. Halushki are sometimes used in soups instead of noodles, but the most important role of these small, gnocchi-like dumplings is for our national dish, where … Continue reading Halushki with Bryndza Cheese
This recipe is a reminder of the summers we spent at our grandparents' house in the south of Slovakia - a warm, sunny region with rich soil and a long history of farming. There was a farmyard in between the house and a large back garden, where we could watch and help care for pigs, … Continue reading Braised Rabbit Thighs with Bear Garlic and Halushki
This is one of the vegetarian recipes that's still in my cooking repertoire. I first tried it years ago when, right after the Fall of Communism in my country, we were exposed to new, alternative ways of cooking. Even though my family didn't always share my excitement over new food, this particular dish has always … Continue reading Oatflake Patties with Mashed Potatoes
It's snowing right now. The real winter has arrived at last, and while we could do with a little sunshine, we certainly can't complain about the lack of snow this year. Good for children and skiers, not so good for drivers. Windswept after a cross-country run or tired after frolicking in the snow, it's always … Continue reading Smoked Pork with Sauerkraut
Buckwheat is another ancient food staple returning to our cuisine. It used to be a common ingredient of our ancestors, as Ján Babilon - the author of the first cookbook in the Slovak language says. He was a chef and the owner of a restaurant in Pest (today's Budapest), where he published Prvá kuchárka v slovenskej … Continue reading Buckwheat Groats with Braised Cauliflower and Carrots
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
