You don't know a country until you've tried its cooking, and Hungary has a lot to offer in that respect. Budapest is in a state of perpetual gastro revolution, which keeps the wealth of tradition alive, while chefs who have learned their craft from the best in the international field are always looking to put their own spin on dishes, converting a traditional weekend family meal into a fine dining experience. Here are some of the basic essentials.
Starters
Libamáj: goose liver. Think “foie gras”.
Pástétom: various different kinds of patés, for instance made of duck liver
Tepertő: skin crisp-fried, can be made of pork, chicken or even fish
Terrine: the tasty dish is often made from Hungarin pork breed mangalitsa
Steak tartare: the finest beef finely chopped or ground and flavored
Smoked trout: a fishy delight with a strong smoky flavor
Cheese: assortment of fine cheeses, both hard and soft
Hortobágyi palacsinta: often served as a starter but it’s a hearty dish in itself; basically, it’s a meat-filled pancake smothered in a paprika and sour cream sauce.
Soups
Gulyásleves: a hearty soup with paprika, onion and beef cubes stewed with vegetables in a big cauldron.
Halászlé: a bright red, paprika-based fish soup made with carp, catfish, perch or pike.
Húsleves: a broth-based soup, usually with carrots and angel hair noodles.
Újházi-tyúkhúsleves: a broth-like hen soup made with carrots and other veggies.
Jókai-bableves: a hearty bean soup, often served with pork knuckle, flavored with vinegar and sour cream. It’s named after 19th century Hungarian novelist Jókai Mór, and amazingly, not because he invented it, but just because he really, really liked it.
Palócleves: broth with lamb and green beans, finished with sour cream.
Gyümölcsleves: cold fruit soups are especially popular in summer; these include sour cherry, apricot, or mixed fruit versions, usually served with cream.
Mains
Marhapörkölt: a paprika and onion based slow-cooked beef stew served with nokedli (a Hungarian dumpling), tarhonya (egg barley).
Csirkepaprikás: a tasty paprika and onion based chicken stew, usually finished with cream and served with nokedli.
Harcsapaprikás: similar to the chicken version, but with catfish. It is usually served with túrós csusza (a Cottage cheese pasta).
Töltött káposzta: stuffed cabbage rolls filled with minced pork meat and rice, served with sour cream added on top.
Lecsó: a summer dish, based on a tomato and paprika stew served with Viennese sausage, bacon and/or egg. The Hungarian
version of ratatouille.
Disznótoros: traditionally in the winter months or before Christmas when pigs are slaughtered and their various parts are used up. For example, kolbász (grill/smoked sausages), hurka (thicker blood or liver sausages, sometimes described as the Hungarian version of black pudding), szalonna (bacon), ham, töpörtyű (crackling) and disznósajt (head cheese, or brawn).
Rántott hús: breaded chicken or veal, often served parsley potatoes.
Túrós csusza: while this Cottage cheese pasta can be served as a side to harcsapaprikás, it can also be a meal in itself, served with bacon and sour cream.
Tócsni: Hungarian hashbrown.
Főzelék: this is a thick vegetable stew that comes in many versions including lentil, potato, spinach, squash, green beans, or cabbage. It is usually served with a small portion of pork stew or a piece of roasted meat or meatloaf.
Cigánypecsenye: pan-fried or grilled slices of pork served with thick bacon slices on top.
Hagymás rostélyos: grilled meat (often steak) served with a mountain of deep-fried onion on top.
Töltött paprika: whole peppers filled with minced pork meat and rice in tomato sauce.
Brassói aprópecsenye: cubes of pork, cooked with paprika, onion and garlic and served with cubes of potato.
Pacalpörkölt: tripe stew.
Rántott borjúláb: breaded calf foot served with tartare sauce and lemon.
Rakottkáposzta: a layered cabbage baked with layers of rice, minced meat, cabbage (usually sauerkraut) and served with sour cream on top.
Székelykáposzta: a tasty cabbage dish with bits of pork and bacon, usually served with sour cream.
Paprikás krumpli: a potato stew made in the “paprikás” style, often served with Viennese sausage.
Csülök: Pork knuckle roasted or boiled, often served with horseradish and mustard.
Vadas: a game stew with vegetable gravy and eaten with bread dumplings.
Sólet: Hungarian-Jewish bean stew.
Kocsonya: an aspic or meat jelly, which has meat and vegetables in it and is usually eaten with lemon or vinegar and bread.
Sides
Be sure to have some nokedli, or dumplings with your marhapörkölt or maybe some tarhonya, which is egg barley. Given, how heavy many of these dishes are, it is no wonder that Hungary has a culture of pickling vegetables. Try some pickled cucumber (kovászos uborka) or csalamádé, which is a pickled cabbage mixture.
Desserts
If you still have enough room to satisfy your sweet tooth, be sure to try some of the many traditional Hungarian desserts. Túrógombóc is a ball of sweetened curd typically served with some sour crème on top. Krémes is a cube of fluffy cream between two layers of pastry. You could also go for some madártej, (floating island), which is a rich desert of vanilla flavored sauce and chunks of hard-beaten egg whites.