Summer Surplus

Hungary remains an agrarian country, less so than 30 plus years ago when it was still behind the Iron Curtain and thereby needed to be a self sufficient as possible, but the growing of food, both domestically and large scale continues. Not for Hungarians the manicured lawns and rose gardens, land is used for food production. If you have a garden space, you use it. Many Hungarians live in apartments, but even the modern constructed ones have a small terrace or balcony on which to cram pots with herbs, tomatoes and of course the ubiquitous paprika. My aunt lived on the edge of Pécs, in a stepped modern apartment block, where each flat had a narrow strip of garden. I was very much impressed with her neighbours who turned their long thin plot into a productive growing space, complete with a pig to consume the household food waste and pergolas over which grapes and cucumbers trailed. Other households have access to small plots in the countryside, where productive vegetable plots and fruit trees keep the family in fresh food but also provide enough surplus to preserve for the winter months. My cousin pays a farmer to raise a pig for him each year so he can make his own salamis, kolbász, blood puddings and rendered lard, as pigs don’t work so well in a city centre apartment.

A stalwart of Hungarian cuisine is lecsó , eaten on its own, with additions or as the base of numerous other dishes. Eaten fresh or put into preserve jars for later in the year, lecsó is a simple but very delicious vegetable stew that owes its origins to Serbia, but a variation can be found across the Balkans, and in Slovenia, Romania, Greece and the Mediterranean. It’s truly a dish created from an abundance of fresh produce that needed to be used or preserved. The version I know uses lard, sliced paper thin onions, sliced jade green peppers (often referred to as Italian or Turkish, NOT the bell pepper), fresh tomatoes, and of course paprika.

Much like the Tuscans, whose climate Hungary mimics with long hot summers and cold winters, Hungarians are also bean eaters. White, green, dried, fresh, we love a bean or a bab (pronounced “bob” a la Blackadder) as it is known. I’ve written before about the Jókai bableves, which is a truly delicious and hearty meal in a soup using butter or lima beans, smoked ham hocks, paprika and sour cream (see the post Seduction by Stove). But now is the time of the fresh bean glut so I’ve been merrily ploughing my way through kilos of green beans – fine, flat and runner using my nagymama’s green bean recipe. It’s super simple, and very delicious as it lets the beans properly cook down. Nothing al dente here. It follows the same principle of the lecsó, onions are gently cooked down in lard (or sunflower oil), then green beans, tomatoes and paprika. Served warm or cold, it is delicious as is but you can get fancy with a pork chop or roast chicken or stir into buttered rice to make it more of a meal. A dollop of sour cream (obvs) also enhances.

Zöldbab Lecsó Margit

2 tablespoons of lard (or sunflower oil)

1 thinly sliced onion – into half moons

250g fine green beans (you can also use flat or runner beans) topped, tailed and cut into 30cm pieces

3 large ripe tomatoes, diced

1 heaped tbsp Hungarian paprika

Salt, pepper & sugar to taste, and this is the very Hungarian bit, a splash of white vinegar to create that characteristic sweet/sour note.

Melt the lard/ oil in a large deep sided frying pan – you want a lot of surface. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook very gently until the onions are soft and translucent. Don’t rush this, you want the onions almost melting. Stir occasionally. Once onions are tender, add in the green beans. Stir well and let cook over a low heat for another 10 minutes or so. Add in the chopped tomatoes, and paprika and a little water to loosen everything. Let the whole lot putter away for another 10 to 20 minutes until all the vegetables are deliciously soft. Paprika really likes to burn, so keep stirring and add a splash more water if needed to keep things juicy. Taste and add pepper and sugar (if the tomatoes aren’t sweet) and the vinegar, and leave to cool to room temperature before serving.

Please note, if you use sunflower oil, this can work for vegetarians and vegans.