Vegan Hungarian Food - I'm Hungry
As we look into our last venture we were looking at Budapest. Today we will venture into Hungarian food. Again, as a vegan, I love to try different food. As I enjoy my vegan journey, my mouth palate has a particular taste for more and more vegan food with distinguishing flavors.
I know that the world is large and vast, but I wanted to experience more vegan foods around the world. This week’s “food” blog is all about food, “Hungarian Food”. It seems Hungarian food is hearty and fulling. So, we get the chance to experience new foods. I hope you’re hungry, because we were on a quest to visit Hungary.
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Hungarian cuisine looks like it’s going to be a right nightmare for vegans. Fortunately, when you scratch the surface, you’ll uncover a vegan goldmine full of fresh, local fruit and veg; delicious, filling stews; and, of course, first-class wine.
Traditional Hungarian Goulash obviously relies on stewing beef to get a lot of the rich, meat-y flavour, but since that ain’t happening, we can use non-beef stock as our base, which should pretty much do the trick. The rest of the flavour really comes from the carrots, celery and paprika. My husband likes all of his foods ridiculously spicy, so I tend to dial up the heat with chili pepper (that’s not mentioned in the recipe though, so if you like things hot like he does, go ahead and add it to taste). If you’re a normal human, like me, you can ignore the chili pepper.
The other important key to a great goulash is really really good dumplings (sometimes called noodles). I have a great recipe for vegan spaetzle which is basically the german name for Hungarian dumplings. Both my husband and I love these type of dumplings, and if you don’t want to make them yourself you *might* be able to find vegan dumplings in the store, but they can sometimes be tough to find.
I strongly recommend serving goulash in your fanciest bowl, with a gigantic spoon for effect and of course some yummy country style bread and vegan butter. Then invite over your closest Hungarian friend and impress them. Pairs perfectly with a European beer or Hungarian Palinka (aka moonshine – but don’t blame me if you go blind).
Hungarian Cauliflower Soup
So, I decided to prepare a Hungarian cauliflower soup. Vegan version of the Hungarian cauliflower soup is easy, quick, budge and pantry- friendly. The secret of veggie soups is that the more variety of vegetables you use the tastier it gets. Slow cooking gives time to the vegetables to release their flavor before they get too soft. The cauliflower can magically transform water into a nourishing rich soup.
The most dominant spice in this soup is of course paprika which is the base note for most Hungarian dishes. It is fat soluble and we have to cook it in oil. It’s a crucial part of our cooking process because paprika releases the aroma quickly but burns easily which makes the food bitter. We use water to cook most soups instead of broth and let the vegetables show their true character.
Everyone has their own way to makes the cauliflower soup with milk. I usually use plant-based creme fraiche from Oatly but might not everyone have access to vegan sour cream , so I make the recipe with non-dairy milk instead. It can be enriched with dumplings too but that’s optional.
Napfenyes
Then it was lunchtime! Napfenyes restaurant is known as one of the best vegan restaurants in Europe. We started off with cabbages stuffed with rice in a paprika sauce, and I swear it was one of the best dishes I’ve ever tasted. It was delicious!
It was followed by a traditional Hungarian dish: a Cottage cheese dumpling sweetened with cinnamon. It had a twist though: it was vegan: The sour cream sauce was made of soy and the cottage cheese was made from grains. Delicious!
Hungarian Paprikash
Hungarian Paprikash is one of the most common dishes in the parts of Europe where I am from. As I mention before, I was born in Slovakia, in a small, yet very charming city Trencin, not too far from Hungarian border. And as you know how everything in Europe is connected, the food is one of the things that we share the most.
I am using Shitake, mainly for their meaty favour and because I love them too. Also, they are easy to find, unfortunately, they aren’t cheep neither. However, you just need little bit. Also, you can use Portobello mushrooms if you prefer. They are very tasty as well and they will do the job.
Regarding Soy Curls and Vegan Keto Diet, I have made delicious recipe using this product just recently VEGAN KETO CHICK’N WITH CAULIFLOWER MASH. You may like it as well! Oh and by the way, I made that one with green string beans, which you could have with Hungarian Paprikashas well, yet, I would recommend a big bowl of salad, for example Kale Salad. Although, we used to eat parikash always with pickles
Ingredients
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 1 small cauliflower or half of large, washed and cut into smaller pieces
- 1 cup cashew sour cream
- 2 cups vegetable broth low sodium organic
- 3 red bell peppers diced
- 2 shallot onions diced
- 6 cloves of garlic diced
- 1 tbsp red paprika powder
- Black pepper to taste
- Cayenne pepper to taste optional
- Pink Himalayan salt to taste
- 2 tbsp grape seed oil for frying or oil of your choice
- FOR THE SOUR CREAM
- 1 cup of raw cashews soaked for 6 hours and rinsed
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- Himalayan pink salt to taste
- 1 cup of water
- Blend all in a blender until smooth.
- FOR THE SOY CURLS
- 227 gr Soy Curls 1 bag (soaked for 10 min and strained)
- 1 tbsp low sodium tamari
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp red paprika powder
- Black pepper to taste
- Cayenne pepper to taste optional
- Garlic powder to taste
- 2 tbsp grape seed oil for frying or oil of your choice
- ¼ cup scallions thinly cut
- 1 ½ cup of shiitake mushrooms sliced
- Chives or parsley to garnish
Instructions
- SAUCE
- Cook the cauliflower pieces with 1 cup of veggie broth and salt for 15minutes, or until you can pierce easily with work.
- In the meantime, sauté onion, until translucent, add garlic and spices and stir for few seconds.
- Add pepper, stir well, reduce the heat and cover with lid. Let it simmer for 15minutes.
- When ready, blend all in a food processor including cashew sour cream, until smooth. If you find the sauce too thick, you can add more veggie broth or plant-based milk.
- SOY CURLS
- Sauté soy curls on hot oil with tamari and spices for about 7minutes. You may add pinch of salt if needed.
- Take it off the heat and add scallions.
- Sauté shitake mushrooms with black pepper and pinch of salt on hot oil until for about 5minutes. Or it depends whether you like well done or medium.
- When ready, mix soy curls and shiitake mushrooms with sauce, but leaves some mushrooms to garnish if you like. Sprinkle with chives or parsley and serve.
- If you are not on keto diet you can serve this dish with pasta or gnocchi.
Prep Time 30 Mins | Cooking Time 40 Mins | Total Time 1 hr 10 min