What is the főzelék?
It's a thick vegetable stew but the Wikipedia summarizes this in common kitchen language: "Its name roots in the verb főz ["cook"]… Thus the word főzelék approximately means "[something] created by cooking"."
The point of the főzelék is that it is made from almost everything what just outgrow from the Hungarian soil. We make főzelék from potato, lentil, Savoy cabbage, peas, cabbage, string beans, carrot, beans, turnip cabbage, garden sorrel, vegetable marrow, yellow lentil and spinach. It is usually made from one kind of vegetable but there are some recipes where the dish made from different kinds. For example the one with Savoy cabbage made with potato too, the one with cabbage made with tomato paste or the so called Finomfőzelék [lit. means 'Delicious-stew'] made with carrot, peas, turnip cabbage and parsnip.
On Budapest you can find many homestyle cooking restaurants where among others you can taste different kind of thick vegetable stews. Not a coincidence that the title of this restaurant chain is Főzelékfaló [lit. means 'who gluts thick-vegetable-stew' or something like this... Haha].
Lencsefőzelék is a classical dish for New Year's Day. According on the folk belief, if you eat any kind of lentil dish on New Year's Day your whole year will be rich in every way.
The point of the főzelék is that it is made from almost everything what just outgrow from the Hungarian soil. We make főzelék from potato, lentil, Savoy cabbage, peas, cabbage, string beans, carrot, beans, turnip cabbage, garden sorrel, vegetable marrow, yellow lentil and spinach. It is usually made from one kind of vegetable but there are some recipes where the dish made from different kinds. For example the one with Savoy cabbage made with potato too, the one with cabbage made with tomato paste or the so called Finomfőzelék [lit. means 'Delicious-stew'] made with carrot, peas, turnip cabbage and parsnip.
On Budapest you can find many homestyle cooking restaurants where among others you can taste different kind of thick vegetable stews. Not a coincidence that the title of this restaurant chain is Főzelékfaló [lit. means 'who gluts thick-vegetable-stew' or something like this... Haha].
Lencsefőzelék is a classical dish for New Year's Day. According on the folk belief, if you eat any kind of lentil dish on New Year's Day your whole year will be rich in every way.
Thick Lentil Stew/Lencsefőzelék
You'll need
250 g of common - brownish, greenish - lentil [rinsed in water for 1 night long]
2 bay leaves
2 gloves garlic [smashed]
1 medium onion or red onion [peeled and diced]
1/2 tablespoon ground Hungarian paprika [Hot or not it's up to your taste. We have many variations from hot to sweet paprika and we usually mark them by strongness: strong/hottest=csípős or erős, mild hot and sweet=csípős csemege, semi sweet=csemege, Noble sweet="Édesnemes" labels on the packages. Best is the Kalocsai and Szegedi brands.]
cold water
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1/2 tablespoon flour [all-purpose flour is not working at this as rice flour and other either]
about 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
a pinch of pepper
Optional
Kolozsvári bacon/or any kind of smoked bacon, Hungarian füstölt kolbász/smoked sausage [best is the Gyulai]
Method to make it
First you start the cooking with a rántás [a common cooking method here]. Saute the onion on the oil/grease, when its translucent, add the flour and paprika and stir it about 20 seconds then add a little water [100-150 ml]. Stir it constantly because paprika can easily burn!
Method to make it
First you start the cooking with a rántás [a common cooking method here]. Saute the onion on the oil/grease, when its translucent, add the flour and paprika and stir it about 20 seconds then add a little water [100-150 ml]. Stir it constantly because paprika can easily burn!
Add the lentils. Stir it well.
Then add that much cold water that cover the lentil.
Season the
stew with bay leaves, garlic, salt, pepper and add the optional things,
the diced bacon and the sliced sausage [no need too much].
Put the lid on and cook the lentil-stew about 1 hour on very low heat [but on the biggest plate on the stove]. Stir it occasionally. When it's time taste it that the lentil is soft and the stew is thick enough. If not, then cook it for some more time.
If the stew is ready, then here comes another optional part: Some like to add to this vegetable-stew a little bit of – max. 1/2 tsp - mustard [but not the Dijon kind, too strong flavour], little bit of sugar and little bit of lemon zest or juice. Some like it this way, but I think this is too much for me, especially the sugar part. Why sweetening everything? But try it on this way if you want. Sometimes I put a little mustard in it, but definitely skip out sugar. ~Yuck
The dish is ready to serve. Eat it with a slice of fresh bread or pogácsa.
Enjoy it!/Jó étvágyat!Some other old and funny traditions and beliefs around New Year's Eve & Day we still use:
- The most common tradition on New Year's Eve is the noisemaking to drive the evil, malevolent, cursed forces away from the home. In the past these noisemaker objects were the bullwhip, the bagpipe, the bell and the clapper bell or cow bell. Today pets' and old people's favourite, the firecracker is the most fashionable on Hungary as well since forever… Personally I hate it. I'm not against a nice firework, I even bear the little kids' trumpetings in the neighbours but whats the point of a firecracker. Here mostly irresponsible stupid brats play with it on the rooftops all day on 31 and every year a couple of them hurt [serious hand and eye injuries] not to mention those on the streets whom a cracker accidentally hit [Once I almost got one too on the head...], pets jump out of their skins and run away everywhere, old people with heart desease also getting into trouble because of those craps. We are living on an old lakótelep [housing complex?] where even a tailpipe sound can be too loud because of the echoing. I just wondered how my bunny could tolerate these midnights. I think I was more nervous about her then she about the crackers. I envied her peacefulness… I always felt the urge to hit one of those brats on the roof… if not all…
- You can't go to doctor on New Year's Eve or your next year will be full of health problems. So try to not drink or eat carelessly till midnight… try... Haha
- Old belief if on New Year's Day your first visitor is a lady or a girl-child then it means bad luck, but if your first visitor is a gentleman or boy-child then it means good luck. … Now, I only have two words for those whom came up with this shit: middle finger.
- If we drink fancy beverages [expensive champagne or wine] on New Year's Eve our next year also will be fancyful and luxurious. This was a tradition among rich people once. Today it's enough if someone drink a little champage or something and cheers with the family or friends at midnight wishing each other good luck, happiness and good health with one word: Egészségedre! [lit. means: onto your health]
Happy New Year!/Boldog Új Évet! ✌
