Napoleon and Fish Soup

This splendid, typically Hungarian
country dish is believed by many to
owe its existence, indirectly, to
Napoleon. When at the beginning
of the 19th century the Emperor
wanted to bring England to its
knees with a blockade, pepper vanished
from European markets. The
resourceful Hungarian peasants
substituted dried red paprika (a
capsicum), ground to a powder,
and the new spice later became
symbolic of Hungarian cuisine.
“Born” here

One of the most famous dishes of the Balaton region,
the Csáky stuffed roast was “born” in Balatonfüred at
the beginning of the 20th century. At the time, the
Palace Sanatorium in Balatonfüred ran a kitchen famous
all over the country, with Sándor Csáky the chief chef. One
of the peaks of his twenty-five-year career by Lake Balaton
was roast beef stuffed with egg letcho (capsicum peppers)
served in a sour cream and paprika, which soon found its
way onto the menu of all the “best hotels”.
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Fish undoubtedly take pride of place amongst the dishes of Lake Balaton, the “king” being Balaton pike-perch. This predator of the perch family can weigh up to 9-10 kg. and measure 120 cm. Its flesh is snowy white, flaky, boneless, with a fresh taste, so it is no accident that it has been at the top of the Balaton menus for centuries. The classical way to cook it is to fry it whole. Halászlé (fish soup) deserves a paragraph to itself. It was first mentioned in writing in the 1800’s, around Lake Balaton. The contract made between the Festetics rulers in Keszthely (B 4) and the fishermen required the latter, on special occasions, to cook fish soup for the Count’s guests. Fish soup is best when made from as many fish as possible, but it is the carp and catfish which really add the final touch.

Most foreigners know Hungarian cuisine for the paprika dishes, the goulash, and the stews, but the vegetable dishes are also individual and delightful. Hungarian cuisine treats vegetables in an unusual manner. While in Europe and North America vegetables normally arrive at the table simply steamed, in Hungary they are enriched with roux, sour cream, sometimes thickened with flour or cream, or served with the spiced water they were cooked in, as a “főzelék” (a kind of cream soup). Marrow főzelék with sour cream and dill has even won the hearts of French gourmets. Other splendid dishes are Hungarian bean főzelék with smoked knuckle of ham, cabbage with roast side of bacon, or lentil főzelék with Debrecen sausage. First prize, though, has to go to stuffed cabbage. A head of cabbage is cut into slices, boiled with pepper, paprika and onion, and then spicy minced meat with rice is wrapped in the cabbage leaves. It is crowned with sour cream and a curly, golden crispy edge of bacon. Try it!

It is also worth tasting game while staying by Lake Balaton. From the expansive forests of the Bakony foothills, the Keszthely hill, and the Somogy hills, roe deer, stags, wild boar, moufflon and fallow deer, while from the large meadows hare, pheasant, and partridge are available for the table. A little appetizer: venison in red wine with blackcurrant jam and croquette potatoes, or back of hare, hunter’s style, with dumplings.

Finally, goulash cooked in a cauldron must also be mentioned here. Those who come first time from abroad to Lake Balaton should make this dish, this “prince of peasant cooking”, their first appointment with Hungarian cuisine. We hope you enjoy both the food, and your trip to Lake Balaton.