1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (100 page)

Authentic strudel dough is lovingly hand-stretched.

The buttery, flaky pastry we call by its Austro-Germanic name, strudel, is known as
rétes
(RAY-tesh) in Hungary, where bakers brought the dessert to its greatest heights and still turn out the most delectable, gently sweet, and crisp examples. By either name, the long, flat loaf of golden pastry leaves enfolding cinnamon-or vanilla-scented fillings is one of the world’s most delectable pastries.

These luscious, golden, log-shaped rolls with their crisp, gossamer layers and interstices of melting butter began with the Turks and their phyllo-wrapped pastries. When they were introduced in Hungary, local bakers made refinements, gradually adding more butter and using a different blend of flour for the dough in order to achieve a thinner texture. In strudel, dough is everything, and the Hungarians’ native flour is made from the particularly hard and hardy Hungarian wheat, high in gluten and protein and considered one of the finest varieties. The ideal, tissue-thin dough was historically created by gentle-handed women who stretched balls of dough quickly and repeatedly, fist over fist, until each sheet was so thin that one could read a newspaper through it. It was an operation so delicate it required that all rings and rough
fingernails be removed lest the dough be torn in the stretching.

As it was in the old days, so it is now. The very best rétes still cannot quite be achieved by machine stretching or by using frozen dough, which unfailingly cracks or sloughs off in the baking.

The dough is the thing, but of course the magic comes with fillings, as multiple leaves of parchmentlike pastry are rolled around mellow combinations such as slightly firm sour-sweet apples, vanilla-and-clove-scented poppy seeds, lemony sour cream fluffed with cheese, crushed roasted walnuts and raisins, or savory main-course stuffings such as sautéed mushrooms and onions, peppery cabbage, or mashed potatoes. And each filling demands its own set of traditional spices, easily identifiable by any real strudel maven.

As the true mavens also know, rétes should be served either slightly warm or at room temperature—overheating the dough makes it soggy. But a cold slice of purloined strudel, enjoyed after everyone else has gone to bed, is one of life’s more enticing rewards.

Where:
In Budapest
, Café Gerbeaud, tel 36/1-429-9000,
gerbeaud.hu
; Gundel, tel 36/1-889-8100,
gundel.hu/en
; Café Ruszwurm, tel 36/1-3755-284,
ruszwurm.hu
;
in Vienna
, Demel, tel 43/1-535-17-17-0,
demel.at
;
in New York
, Wallsé, tel 212-352-2300,
kg-ny.com/wallse
; Café Sabarsky, tel 212-288-0665,
kg-ny.com/cafe
sabarsky; Hungarian Pastry Shop, tel 212-866-4230;
in San Pedro, CA
, Mishi’s Strudel Bakery and Café, tel 310-832-6474,
mishisstrudel.com
;
in Shaker Heights, OH
, Lucy’s Sweet Surrender, tel 216-752-0828,
lucyssweetsurrender.com
.
Further information and recipes:
George Lang’s Cuisine of Hungary
by George Lang (1994);
The Art of Fine Baking
by Paula Peck (1961);
cookstr.com
(search viennese apple strudel);
bonappetit.com
(search autumn apple strudel).
Special event:
Original Apple Strudel Show, Café Residenz, Vienna, March to October, cafe-residenz.at.

Bran Castle—also known as Dracula’s Castle.

Bright sauerkraut, preferably fresh from a barrel, layered about three inches deep with meaty slices of garlicky and peppery kielbasa (pork sausage), diced smoky bacon, ground pork shoulder, and chopped onion … Baked with lacings
of thick sour cream and hot or sweet vermillion paprika, this rich and fragrant main course is usually rounded out with a buttery puree of split peas and plenty of foamy golden beer. Had Count Dracula come upon one of these succulent, rib-sticking casseroles, he might have been inspired toward more benign pursuits.

Serves 6 to 8

⅔ cup long-grain rice

2 pounds sauerkraut, preferably fresh from a barrel, otherwise packaged

7 ¼-inch-thick slices lean bacon

1½ pounds ground lean pork shoulder

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon paprika, hot or sweet, to taste, plus paprika for topping the casserole

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1½ cups chicken stock

4 ½-inch-thick slices slab bacon, diced

1 pound smoked kielbasa, sliced ¼ inch thick

3½ cups whole-milk sour cream

½ cup milk

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Blanch the rice by placing it in a potful of salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the rice and set it aside.

3.
If the sauerkraut is very acidic, rinse it once or twice under cold running water. Squeeze out as much water as possible. Place the sauerkraut in a large saucepan, add water to cover, and cook over moderate heat until it absorbs the liquid, about 20 minutes. Drain the sauerkraut well, squeezing out any excess water. Set the sauerkraut aside.

4.
Cook the bacon slices in a 10-inch skillet over low heat until crisp, about 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon slices to paper towels to drain. Set aside 4 tablespoons of the rendered bacon fat; there should be about 3 tablespoons left in the skillet.

5.
Heat the bacon fat over moderate heat. Add the ground pork and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned pork to a bowl.

6.
Add the onion and garlic to the bacon fat remaining in the skillet and cook over moderate heat until soft and faintly golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add the browned pork, the paprika, 1 teaspoon of salt, and several grindings of black pepper, and cook over high heat until the paprika loses its raw smell, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer gently, uncovered, until slightly reduced, 7 to 8 minutes. Set the pork and onion mixture aside.

7.
Place the diced slab bacon in a clean 10-inch skillet and cook slowly over low heat until the pieces are golden brown, about 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the slab bacon to a bowl, leaving the bacon fat in the skillet. Add the sliced kielbasa to the skillet and cook over moderate heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the browned kielbasa to the bowl with the diced bacon.

8.
Stir 2 cups of the sour cream into the kielbasa and diced bacon. Stir in the milk until smoothly blended. Set the kielbasa and sour cream mixture aside.

9.
Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat on the bottom of an approximately 7½-by 10-by 3-inch baking dish, preferably enameled cast iron and not glass.

10.
Pull the sauerkraut apart into shreds and layer one third of it in the prepared baking dish. Top the layer of sauerkraut with half of the kielbasa mixture, spreading it out evenly. Layer half of the remaining sauerkraut on top of the kielbasa and spoon the remaining kielbasa mixture over it, spreading it out evenly.

11.
Strain the pork and onion mixture, setting aside the paprika broth. Add all of the rice and then the drained pork and onion mixture to the baking dish. Top the pork mixture with the remaining sauerkraut and pour ¾ cup of the paprika broth drained from the ground pork on top. Using your hands, gently press down on the sauerkraut until the liquid in the baking dish seeps up to the top.

12.
Lightly beat the remaining sour cream and spread it over the sauerkraut. Crumble the drained slices of bacon and sprinkle them and some paprika on top. Drizzle the remaining reserved bacon fat over the top.

13.
Place the baking dish on the stove and let the liquid come to a simmer over moderate heat, then cover the baking dish loosely with aluminum foil and put it in the oven. Bake the casserole until juices are bubbling to the top and the top is pale golden, about 1½ hours, removing the aluminum foil after 30 minutes. Let the casserole sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Mail order:
Babcia Foods, tel 888-520-7784,
babciafoods.com
(search hungarian style bacon; fresh polish kielbasa); Morse’s, tel 866-832-5569,
morsessauerkraut.com
.

The avowed national dish of Poland,
bigos
(pronounced BEE-goesh and meaning mish-mash or jumble) is a long-simmered hunter’s stew of pork and sauerkraut. A classic in Poland for hundreds of years, it was at one time consumed exclusively by the aristocracy—the only people who could afford to have so much meat in one dish.

These days almost every Polish family has its own variation on the lusty concoction. Most often, it is loaded with chunks of kielbasa and other sausages, plus one or more of any number of additional meats, including smoked pork shoulder, wild boar leg, bacon, pigs’ knuckles, ham hocks, or even cocktail franks. Prunes, apples, and sauerkraut join a mix that is enlivened by lots of onion, garlic, and juniper berries.

Some cooks douse the stew with red wine while others swear by vodka. Some, no doubt, use both. Cooked slowly and lovingly until the flavors marry, the meat is meltingly tender, and the kitchen is redolent of onion. Bigos is served up in big bowls with boiled potatoes, hunks of crusty bread, and pots of coarse-grain mustard on the side.

Where:
In Cracow
, W Starej Kuchni, tel 48/12-428-00-22,
wstarejkuchni.pl/english/index.html
;
in Brooklyn
, Łomżynianka, tel 718-389-0439,
lomzynianka.com
;
in Chicago
, Bobak’s, tel 773-735-5334,
bobak.com
;
in Milwaukee
, Crocus Restaurant, tel 414-643-6383,
crocusrestaurant.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Art of Polish Cooking
by Alina Żerańska (1989);
easteuropeanfood.about.com
(search bigos);
saveur.com
(search bigos).
See also:
Gulyás
;
Cassoulet
;
Cholent
;
Baeckeoffe
.

Meaty, garlicky, peppery, and robust, the smoked sausage ring kielbasa is a mainstay of the long, cold Polish and Ukrainian winters. Historically, sausages rose to prominence in the region as an ideal match for a thriving hunting culture. They provided both an excellent way for hunters to preserve their extra meats and an easy, portable snack to enjoy mid-hunt. And kielbasa is a reigning star of the lot, one of the lustiest sausages of all.

Usually made entirely of pork, but occasionally mixed with a little beef, the smoked brown-red sausage is traditionally distinguished by coarsely ground meat, heavy seasonings of garlic and black pepper, and its stiff, ringed shape. Often simmered just before being served, preferably hot, kielbasa (also known as kielbasy) is satisfyingly salty, greasy, juicy, chewy—and perfect with a strong, cold pilsner. It’s a versatile treat, delicious roasted, grilled, or baked atop sauerkraut or cabbage, diced into potato salad, or tossed into cassoulet. And it can also be dressed up: Thinly sliced, it’s not out of place at cocktail hour with other nibbles.

Retail and mail order:
In Brooklyn
, Sikorski Meats, tel 718-389-6181,
sikorskimeats.com
;
in Plymouth, PA
, Fetch’s Food Store, tel 570-779-9864;
in Philadelphia
, Krakus Market, tel 215-426-4336,
krakusmarket.com
;
in Rockville, MD
, Kielbasa Factory, tel 240-453-9090,
kielbasafactory.com
;
in Chicago
, Bobak’s, tel 773-735-5334,
bobak.com
;
in Minneapolis
, Kramarczuk’s, tel 612-379-3018,
kramarczuks.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Art of Polish Cooking
by Alina Żerańska (1989);
Please to the Table
by Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman (1990);
foodandwine.com
(search braised lentils with kielbasa; kielbasa sausage pierogi with caramelized onions).
Special events:
Kielbasa Alive Festival, Plymouth, IN, August,
plymouthalive.com
; Kramarczuk’s Kielbasa Festival, Minneapolis, MN, September,
kramarczuks.com/entertainment/events
.