Very Hungary

JÓ ÉTVÁGYAT!

I have no idea what that means, it was the header on a Hungarian website I was browsing. I'm going to pretend it's the Hungarian version of bon appétit. I'm sure someone will correct me eventually if it translates to something completely
different like NOT DUMPLINGS AND GOULASH AGAIN!

Everything I've ever read about Paprikash is that the amount and quality of paprika is extremely important (hence the name) and typical store bought variety will never do. One website even suggested I take a trip to Hungary and pick some up there. People are crazy about paprikash. Unfortunately I don't have an Eastern European market down the street (or possibly even in this province) so the stuff in my spice rack had to suffice.

Even with a third of a cup of paprika it was still sort of bland. It was like a mildly stroganoff flavored sauce for the egg noodles. It took me a long time to cook down all of those mushrooms too, so I'm mildly disappointed. It was supposed to be served with dumplings, but I've tentatively scheduled myself to make Perogies this weekend and that's just too much dumpling for me.

To substitute this starchiness I cooked up some Placki, which is identical to a latke, which is a potato pancake. It tastes as though a potato pancake would with no surprises whatsoever. They do photograph well, though. One of the recipes I found recommended that I stuff them with beef goulash, but I was trying to make this a vegetarian meal.

The Red Cabbage Salad was OK, but I doubt the leftovers will get eaten. I'd definitely add more than the recommended amount of apricots if I made it again. The dressing tastes great until the flavor of the cabbage overwhelms it, but the bites with apricot seem to neutralize that quite well.

The Zucchini Dish (they call it Tökfõzelék) was my favorite of the bunch. It's thick, creamy, lemon and dilly, as you'd
expect from a creamy dill sauce, and creamy sauces and zucchini go together so beautifully. The plackis tasted a lot better when drenched in their residual sauce, too. It complimented pretty much everything on the plate. The only thing missing from this meal was some nice plum brandy. I suppose there's still time to run to the liquor store…