SLOVAKIA: THE FOOD

I’m officially the mother of a teenager. My daughter turned 13 years old a couple days ago. Hard to believe that when I started this blog, she was 7 years old. She’s really grown quite a bit since this began, and not just literally (she’s now an inch and a half taller than I am): she’s a talented artist, gifted in math and science and a high-level reader, and has no patience for your shenanigans. I couldn’t ask for anything more, other than to watch her tone of voice and stop being mean to her brother.

I wonder if you eat a lot of these poppy seed rolls if you'll fail a drug test?

And I’m so grateful that it stopped being 90 degrees in September. It’s high time it start feeling like fall. Yesterday, the high was 68 degrees. It’s the perfect time for food from Slovakia! The first thing I made was Rožky, or Slovak Bread Rolls. I started out by proofing my yeast in my milk, but for some reason, it never really did froth up. But I poured it into a larger bowl anyway along with the flour, vegetable oil, sugar, and salt. I stirred and adjusted it so that it came together to make a smooth dough, letting it rest for about an hour. When this part was done, I divided my dough into four parts, rolling each one until it was about a ¼” thick. I cut each disk into quarters. Taking the long ends of each quarter and tucked it in, I rolled it up like a crescent roll but making sure I pinched the seam together. Then I curved it slightly and laid it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. When I had finished all 16 of them, I covered it and let it rest for another 45 minutes. While the oven was preheating to 375ºF, I brushed the top with an egg wash (a little water mixed with egg whites), and I sprinkled the top with poppy seeds. (I had to make four without the poppy seeds because my husband thinks they look like fleas.) It took about 20 minutes for it to be golden brown, but I may have also had my oven set at slightly cooler than 375º. Regardless, these were amazing, and the crumb was practically the height of perfection. When Buddhists seek nirvana, they’re actually just looking for these.

Reminds me of my childhood, in soup form.

My main dish today is Kapustnica, or Sauerkraut Soup. I took a large jar of sauerkraut and cooked it for 20 minutes with a jar and a half of water (using the same jar as the sauerkraut). In a skillet, I sautéed my diced onions and mushrooms together before adding it to the sauerkraut along with my smoked sausage, black pepper, a few bay leaves, salt, and caraway seeds. While that’s cooking, I made my roux in the same skillet I used for the onions and mushrooms. To make the roux, I fried some flour with some oil (I just eyeballed the measurements) until it started to look brown, and then I added in some paprika. When it looked creamy, I added it to the soup and let it boil. Then I added in my potatoes to let everything cook for another 15-20 minutes until the potatoes were soft. My mom used to make a similar dish, except it wasn’t soup and it didn’t have onions or mushrooms in it. So, needless to say, I thought this soup was fantastic. It was hearty and the vinegar flavor from the sauerkraut was apparent but not overwhelming.

Still think these would do nicely in a chicken noodle soup.

To go with this, I also made Bryndzové Halušky, or potato dumplings. I took one potato and grated it into a bowl. I added in some flour, an egg, and some salt, stirring everything together until it was smooth. I tore off bits of the potato dough, rolling it into a small ball, and put it in a pot of boiling salted water. (To make it easier to do this, I put a little oil on my hands.) It takes about 7-8 minutes for them to get done enough that they float to the top. While the dumplings are boiling, I took about five pieces of bacon and fried it, then crumbling it after it cools. Once the dumplings are done and I fished them out, I put them in a bowl and mixed together with crumbled feta cheese (I used feta instead of bryndza cheese), topping it with the crumbled bacon and drizzling the bacon grease on top of everything. I liked these a lot. And the feta-bacon combination was really good. The flavor of the dumplings were a little tough, but not so much that it was problematic or that it effected the overall flavor or mouthfeel to it. I could definitely see this added to a chicken soup.

These were really good. I wished I was able to find some fresh dill to put in it.

Finally, as a cooler side dish to cleanse the palate, I made a Cream Cucumber Salad. I sliced a cucumber into very thin slices and mixed it in a bowl with some salt, vinegar (I used red wine vinegar), a little minced garlic, some chopped parsley, and a little bit of heavy whipping cream. The water that naturally forms from the cucumbers and the vinegar will thin out the cream. My mom has made vinegar cucumbers and onions before, but this version with the cream was really good. It was a nice change from the heaviness of the other two dishes.

Overall, this meal was fire. Like, I loved everything about this. I'm going to have awesome leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

I actually had another dish I wanted to make, which was a poppy seed and sour cherry strudel. I made an apple strudel when I did Austrian food, and it was amazing. So, I really wanted to try my hand at this one, but I just ran out of time. I saved the recipe to try for another day. I typically don’t like cherry-flavored candies, but actual cherries are one of my favorite fruits.

Up next: Slovenia