Food

Slíže: Slovak noodles, often sweet

How to make slize, Slovak noodles, which are often eaten sweet, like with farmers cheese, poppy seed, or nuts.

There are foods that span a range of diverse cultures – like noodles. The exact origins of pasta is debated, but today thin pieces of rolled flour and water are enjoyed across Asia, Europe and North America.

It tastes good, one of those addictive comfort foods, and takes on the taste of any country, from bowls of brothy ramen to plates of spaghetti covered with thick tomato sauce and Parmesan.

One Slovak version of noodles is called slíže (sli-se, s pronounced like in Asia). They are also called rezance (re-zan-tse). If there is a difference between slíže and rezance, the Slovaks I asked couldn’t come to a consensus. For me, one big difference is that these noodles are often eaten sweet, with poppy seed, nuts, or tvaroh (farmers cheese), with lots of melted butter and honey or icing sugar.  Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food, Sweet Food 34 Comments

Ťahaný závin: how to make pulled strudel

Pulled strudel made the Slovak way

Pulled strudel is generally thought of as an Austrian dessert, but it became popular all over the Hapsburg Empire, which included Slovakia. Paper thin flaky layers of dough are rolled around various fillings, from poppy seed to apple. Called both štrúdľa or závin in Slovak, závin can also refer to a similar rolled log made with a yeast dough.

I wanted to make pulled strudel some time ago so I looked up some videos and, upon being shown how easy it was, said, “Nope, someone has to show me.” It looked hard, or at least required skills I had never used.

I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that it is really hard to make a perfectly pulled strudel. The good news is that it doesn’t really matter. Honestly.  Click to continue reading

Food, Slovak Food, Sweet Food 24 Comments

Opantance: Slovak millet and gnocchi with caramelized onions

Opantance: Slovak millet and gnocchi with caramelized onions and bacon

“I brought something else to cook too,” the small woman said when she came in, “a specialty to this region, opantance.” I peered into the bag she held open and saw millet.

I was at a friend’s house to learn how to make pulled strudel (recipe here) from her mother, who also brought ingredients for a lesser known regional dish, opantance, millet and flour gnocchi baked together and topped with caramelized onions or other toppings.

We got to cooking and baking and she got to talking.  Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food 18 Comments

Mäkké Oškvarkové Pagáče: soft lard crackling biscuits

yeasted biscuits made of lard cracklings

I have an awesome neighbour, Lucia. When I told her that I wanted to go into Slovaks’ homes to learn recipes from them, she called me up. “My grandmother-in-law is making oškvarkové pagáče, want to come?” Yes!

Pagáč are similar to what North Americans would call biscuits and British would call scones, small savoury scones. There are many types – potato, cheese, bryndza (soft sheep cheese), and lard crackling, among others.

Oškvarkové pagáče are the ones made with lard cracklings ground into a paste and spread onto the yeast dough, folded to create layers. There is a variety even within oškvarkové pagáče, however. These ones are soft and a little bread-like; another recipe I have is richer and more flaky. One isn’t better than another, they just have different textures.  Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food 35 Comments

Vianočné oplátky: making Christmas wafers

A woman holds oplatky, also called oblatky, as she makes them

A necessary part of Christmas for most Slovaks is the thin crisp wafer served at the Christmas Eve meal, oplátky or oblátky, depending on the dialect. Some thin wafers are sold as ‘cakes’ layered together with a sweet filling at spas all year round, but the Christmas wafers are a little different. (More about Slovak Christmas.)

I’ve been trying to get into Slovak kitchens for some time now, to publish their cooking and baking secrets for the world to know. (If you know someone willing for me to come over with a camera, send me an email!) I finally invited myself over to learn how to make oplátky from a lady who makes them in my town.  Click to continue reading

Food, Slovak Food, Slovak Traditions, Slovakia & Travel , , , , 41 Comments

Wild Rice Stuffing with Apricots, Almonds, Sage

Wild Rice Stuffing with apricots, almonds, and sage

You can use wild rice, long grain brown rice, or a mix of the two for a gluten-free stuffing bursting with flavour. Dried apricots provide bites of sweetness and sage provides that unmistakable stuffing taste.
 
Ever since I can remember, my mom has made turkey stuffing with wild rice. In fact, I didn’t even know that most people made stuffing with bread.

In grade 8 Home Ec, we made stuffing during class. “Why are we getting out bread?” I wondered. I remember being disappointed at this soggy smooshy mass made of wonder bread, because I loved my mom’s stuffing. While I’m sure a sturdy sourdough bread would be delicious, I’m partial to a rice stuffing.

The wild rice (or long grain brown rice) is slightly chewy, the almonds provide a creamy bite. Aromatic sage complements the bursts of sweetness from dried apricot. And it just happens to be gluten free, if that’s an issue.  Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Slovak Stuffed Peppers (with cooking poems)

stuffed peppers blog

Instead of being baked, Slovak stuffed peppers are stewed in a rich tomato sauce for a juicy flavour-packed meal. 

To be honest, getting food on the table day after day can get to be a bit of a drag. And have you seen the amount of food kids can consume? I remember when my brother was a teen, I swear pans of cookies just got inhaled.

It’s certainly a luxury to be able to complain about the burden of cooking though. In the not so distant past, Slovaks had a handful of meals they cooked over again and were glad for it, as most of them knew the gnaw of hunger. And we know that in various parts of the world, people are starving.

But still…what am I going to cook for dinner tonight? I now marvel that my mother laid out a feast for us every evening, although as a child I didn’t think anything of it. I do remember, however, on one occasion my father went back to Japan for a visit and we ate a lot of eggs and toast (my father can’t eat many eggs).

A friend recently wrote a poem on Facebook to share her conundrum of shopping vs. putting crazy ingredients together, and it prompted a number of humorous responses with impressive poetry writing skills.  Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food , , , , , , 15 Comments

Chickpea and Barley Greek Salad

Chickpea and Barley Greek Salad - a filling meal salad

It was so hot this summer that I didn’t want to cook at all. Our apartment offers no shade from the sun and we don’t have air conditioning. The air was often hot and heavy, without a hint of a breeze. So adding to the heat with cooking – no thanks.

One system I came up with to minimize cooking during the day was to soak and then cook a big batch of legume and grain in the evening. While soaking grains and legumes helps the nutrients be more bio-available, the major advantage of soaking in the summer is that it then takes less cooking time. Kept in the fridge, I could take some out through the week as a base for various dishes, from salads to sautes (and theoretically soup, but that heat thing) and mix with a variety of vegetables.  Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food , , , , , , 12 Comments

Cream Cucumber Salad

Slovak cream cucumber salad recipe

Of course it’s nearing the end of summer and I’m only getting out summer recipes now. But then any time is a good time for a super simple and refreshing recipe, like this cream cucumber salad.

I’ve seen similar recipes described as a German salad, but the same is made in Slovakia. It’s warm enough to grow cucumbers easily where I live, and this salad is one of my mother-in-law’s summer staples. Click to continue reading

Food, Savoury Food, Slovak Food , , , , , , 11 Comments

Radler: a refreshing beer cocktail

elderflower lemon radler

Radlers are not originally Slovak, although they are now popular here. Basically, a radler is a beer cocktail, a mix of beer and a sweet drink. Beer connoisseurs may scoff, but I find radlers very enjoyable and perfect on a hot day.

Radler means cyclist in German. In many areas, cycling around the countryside is very popular, and people stop off for a drink at cafes along their journey. A radler can quench thirst without getting one tipsy, and are not as sweet as pop/soda. A radler is the same as a shandy in British English.  Click to continue reading

Food, Liquid Food (Drinks), Slovak Food , , , , , , 15 Comments

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