Slovak Food

Kapustnica: Slovak Sauerkraut Soup

Kapustnica Slovak Sauerkraut Soup - Almost Bananas
A Bowl of Comfort: Slovak Soups & Stews Book

I’m sharing another part of  chapter from my book, A Bowl of Comfort: Slovak Soups & Stews.

With 26 recipes, cultural stories, and in-depth health info on traditional cooking practices, there is so much more than I’ve shared here!

Here I’m sharing about the batch style cooking of the old world, food that took minimum active time, as well as the recipe for kapustnica, Slovak sauerkraut soup. A hearty soup, it is often served when needed to fit a crowd.

 

Have you heard of batch cooking? With batch cooking, you prepare all your meals for, say, a month at a time on one day, then freeze the meals. Then for dinners every day, you only have to pull a bag out of the freezer to prepare. It saves a lot of time and decision-making, as well as the what-are-we-going-to-have-for-supper stress.

Slovaks once had that method down pat. Before the advent of fridges and freezers, food had to be preserved, which made cooking with it that much faster the day it was eaten.  Click to continue reading

Fermented Food, Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food, Slovakia & Travel 10 Comments

Bone broth: health benefits?

Does bone broth actually have any health benefits?

 

A Bowl of Comfort: Slovak Soups & Stews Book

I’m sharing another part of  chapter from my book, A Bowl of Comfort: Slovak Soups & Stews. This chapter is where I get geeky.

In the book is info on the difference between broth, stock, and bone broth, and between white and brown stocks (for now we’re just calling it bone broth). Included are instructions for making bone broth with a pressure cooker, slow cooker, or stock pot with poultry, fish, or ungulate (animals with hooves) bones. And, I have six ideas of where to find bones, if you don’t know where to get them.

 

 
Bone broth is a bit of a buzzword. Trendy cafés serve flavoured bone broth to go and it is celebrated as a magic heal-all. Others scoff at broth as a fad of plaid-wearing hipsters or dismiss that any health benefits can result from drinking it.

Is the bone broth worth the fuss, not to mention the extra time and energy that goes into making it (or buying it)?  Click to continue reading

Food, Health and Wellness, Liquid Food (Drinks), Offal Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food, Slovakia & Travel , , , 7 Comments

The Best Ever Goulash (and the ebook is here!!)

Best Ever Goulash - Almost Bananas blog

A Bowl of Comfort: Slovak Soups & Stews BookFor the past while, I’ve been working on an ebook, A Bowl of Comfort: Slovak Soups & Stews. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve been frustrated, and now I’m so excited to share it with you! It’s part cookbook, part travelogue, with cultural stories, delicious recipes, and info about traditional cooking methods – like why bone broth is so amazing.
You can check out the book here – A Bowl of Comfort: Slovak Soups & Stews
Here’s a teaser – one recipe and part of the story for making goulash.

 

Strictly speaking, goulash is not Slovak but Hungarian. Slovaks know a good dish when they taste it, however, and this stew is a staple here in Slovakia.

When hosting a large gathering, goulash and kapustnica (sauerkraut soup) are the go-to Slovak meals, much like chili or beef stew in North America.

This recipe is from my husband, goulash cook extraordinaire. Since I was accustomed to his goulash genius, I was under the impression that making goulash was fairly fool-proof; I thought that all goulash was good goulash. This is not the case. No. After sampling several underwhelming versions, I realized just how amazing his goulash recipe really is, and my opinion is shared by many.

Slovak friends who recently visited said it was the best goulash they had ever tasted, and Slovaks are not prone to exaggeration. In fact, his recipe is so popular that friends and family have called him to come make goulash for their celebrations, sometimes for 100+ people. His amazing recipe is a great way to get an invitation to a party.  Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food, Slovakia & Travel , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Bryndzové Halušky: Slovak potato dumplings with sheep cheese

Bryndzové Halušky, Slovak sheep cheese dumplings, gluten free variation - Almost Bananas

Ask any Slovak and they will tell you that bryndzové halušky is the national dish. Potato ‘dumplings’ are smothered in a sheep cheese, rather like soft feta, and topped with a good dose of bacon (don’t forget the drippings!).

The word ‘dumpling’ covers a multitude of meanings. As a child, a dumpling meant a puffy floury ball in soup or stew from my mom or a smooth more condensed drop from my dad.

I knew that dumplings covered everything from won tons to pierogies, but I thought that dumplings had to be boiled. According to Wikipedia, dumplings consist of some sort of dough, often wrapped around a filling, and can be boiled, steamed, or even baked. Well, that’s broad.  Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food, Slovakia & Travel , , 11 Comments

Slovak Roast Goose (or Duck)

Slovak Roast Goose (or Duck) at Almost Bananas

Roast goose and roast duck are common meals in the fall and winter in Slovakia. Through the fall, restaurants hang signs declaring “Husacie Hody!” or “Kačacie Hody!” – Goose Feast! Duck Feast! The word hody has connotations of fall or of an originally religious event of the feast of the local church.

Commonly served with roast goose or duck, or a goose-duck breed as my mother in law often does, is lokše, Slovak potato flatbread. Lokše is basically mashed potatoes with a little flour (including gluten-free flour, as the potatoes hold it together), rolled flat and cooked on a dry skillet. The lokše are then generously brushed with the fat from the goose or duck, although butter or lard can work as well. Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food, Slovakia & Travel , , , , , , , , , 10 Comments

Slovak Roast Rabbit

Slovak Roast Rabbt, juicy baked rabbit recipe on Almost Bananas

Rabbit used to be a much more commonly eaten meat in Slovakia, when most people kept a pig, rabbits, and chickens in their backyard. Today it is still eaten although not as much.

I know, rabbits are these soft cuddly sweet animals. Well, sometimes sweet. My in laws once had their rabbits stolen except for one, and when my husband opened the door he quickly learned why as the rabbit lunged toward him with teeth bared and claws at the ready.  Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food , , , , , , , 22 Comments

Lokše: Slovak Potato Flatbread (regular and gluten-free)

Lokše: Slovak Potato Flatbread (regular and gluten-free)

lokse-1-words

A classic Slovak food, especially through the fall and winter, is lokše. Made mostly of potatoes, these are always at markets with various fillings. During the fall they are often served with duck or goose – and the duck or goose fat. And because it’s the potatoes that hold the flatbread together, they are a perfect candidate for making gluten-free.

Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food, Slovakia & Travel , , , , , , , , 39 Comments

Slovak Style Egg Spread

Slovak style egg spread - can you guess the ingredients?

Some say that everything is better with butter. With Slovaks, that extends to egg spread.

Yes, butter as a base with egg spread. When I first saw my mother in law making Slovak egg spread, I raised my eyebrows. Butter? But then I tasted it and became a firm fan.

Sometimes egg mixtures can be a spread or a salad, like my recipe 3-Ingredient Egg Salad/Spread. This is definitely a spread, not a salad.

It’s a fast and filling meal to make, whether you don’t want to cook because the weather is still hot or because you’ve got to eat in five minutes.

Butter is making a comeback after being vilified for years, which is great because it tastes amazing. So get in even more butter with Slovak Style Egg Spread!

Slovak style egg spread - can you guess the surprise ingredient?

Slovak Style Egg Spread
 
Print
Ingredients
  • 5 eggs
  • ½ cup (125 ml) butter, softened
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • onion
  • salt
  • pepper
Instructions
  1. Make hardboiled eggs according to your preferred method. I boil them for an undefined amount of time while I forget about them, and then remember - oh, my eggs! Cool in cold water.
  2. When cold enough, peel eggs and chop. Mix with softened butter, mustard, chopped onion (according to taste) and salt and pepper. The amount of salt will depend on whether your butter is salted or not.
  3. Garnish with chopped chives or parsley if desired.
  4. Spread on bread, crackers, flatbread, etc or use as a dip. Enjoy!
 

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food, Slovakia & Travel , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Francúzske Zemiaky: Slovak French Potato Casserole

Francuske Zemiaky: Slovak French Potato Casserole - Almost Bananas

This spring has fluctuated up and down – one day it feels like summer is here to stay, a couple days later I wonder if winter ever left. Today a cold north wind is blowing down from the hills, and is the perfect day for a comfort dish like Francúzske zemiaky – a Slovak version of potato gratin.

Potato gratin is a well known side dish, but Slovaks took the side dish and made it into a one pot (pan) meal. As a busy mom, the more simple to a meal is, the better.

Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food, Slovakia & Travel 25 Comments

Winter Markets, Fog, and Misc. (Winter 2015/16 photos)

Winter in the Small Carpathians of Slovakia

Now that spring has finally come, at least to my town, I’m finally posting photos from the winter. I blame it on my family genes, always late for everything.

November begins with one of my favourite traditions, visiting the graveyards and honouring the dead. I can’t even come close to capturing the atmosphere. I’ve written about it before: Nov. 1, All Saints Day

All Saints Day in Slovakia

All Saints Day in Slovakia

Click to continue reading

Photos, Slovak Food, Slovak Miscellaneous, Slovak Traditions, Slovakia & Travel , , 29 Comments

« Older Entries Newer Entries »