Smoked pork is an essential part of Slovak Christmas. Often in the form of rolled pork shoulder or pork neck, it is cooked in kapustnica (Christmas sauerkraut soup) together with sausages. We also serve slices of smoked pork alongside the potato salad. Mäsové guľky na kyslej kapuste - as this dish would be called in … Continue reading Minced Pork Potato Balls on Sauerkraut
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
If you made a list of ingredients that most frequently appear in typical Slovak dishes, cabbage would certainly come in a prominent place. Cooked or fermented, it is a staple we use in our kitchens all through the year. To experience the best of Slovak cabbage cuisine and tradition, you need to be in the … Continue reading The best time to visit Slovakia’s capital of cabbage is in October
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
Sauerkraut is as important an ingredient in Slovak cooking as olive oil is in Italian or tofu in Asian. We grow up eating sauerkraut in both the raw form or cooked in our most typical and oldest dishes, like a sauerkraut soup or strapatchki. Indeed, all these ancient recipes come from the times when sauerkraut, alongside … Continue reading Red Lentil and Mushroom Dip
Each recipe in a recently published A Taste of Slovakia cookbook had been tested at least twice, so we had a good choice of photos from different shoots when my graphic designer was laying out the book pages. Sometimes a batch of pictures came out so well that it wasn't easy to choose just one … Continue reading Chicken Braised in Beer
Do you know what is the richest and most natural source of vitamin C in our latitudes during the winter? Even without all the scientific knowledge we have today, our ancestors were wise enough to keep sauerkraut at hand all through the long winter months. They left us quite a few sauerkraut recipes, one of … Continue reading Delicious Sauerkraut Soup
This is another variation on halušky (or halushki), the traditional Slovak pasta in the shape of small dumplings. Yes, our halushki can also be served with sauerkraut and topped with fried bacon. In this case the dish is called Strapačky (pronounced as strapatchki), which would loosely translate as 'curly halushki' - the name very likely derived … Continue reading Strapatchki
It looks like I haven't put any new stuff here for quite a while, but it's only because I've been learning (about blogging), experimenting (with food and photography) and learning again. Yes, I have seen so many wonderful food blogs these past two weeks that I feel humbled - and challenged at the same time. … Continue reading Slovak Mushroom Dip
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