Pestilog

Főzelék

I have to tell you about főzelék.
Főzelék (pronounced foohzelek, like the oo in book.) is a thick Hungarian soup, almost like a stew with a heavy flour and cream base. It is sold in főzelék bars where the soup itself basically comes in a small trough, and one buys various fried things to float on top and eat in a big, fried, creamy mess.

Wyatt used to go to this restaurant around the corner from our house all the time, and he referred to it as "the gravy place."
"Why do you call it the gravy place, Wyatt?"
"Cause all they have is, like, gravy. "
"Gravy?"
"Yea, lots of kinds. And you put it on shit, and its super tasty."
This 'gravy place' is actually our neighborhood főzalékfaló étterem, which is like a soup-kitchen, cafeteria style főzalék restaurant--the way it is usually served

Főzelék generally has one main ingredient. Its not like Dinty Moore where you have a pile of potatoes and carrots and beef all in the same bowl. In fact, the fillings are usually rather sparce. Főzelék is very heavy on the broth, it just happens to be broth with the thick consistency of pre-concentrated cream of mushroom soup. Főzelék is usually vegetarian too (unless of course you get the big hunk of friend chicken to go on top instead of the fried veggies or soya).

Common theme ingredients include cabbage, tomatoes, peas, lentils, and yellow beans. Sounds like all the vegetables that you dont want to eat, I know, but trust me. Its really really tasty.
I am definatly becoming a master főzelék chef before I come home.

Labels: Budapest, food, thin justification for my existace

posted by Veruka2 @ 8:38 PM