Culinary Hungary Home Cooking Class

Without doubt, the highlight of my time in Hungary was a one-on-one cooking class I attended with Agnes Barath (a Hungarian local who teaches out of her home). Actually, it was a two-on-one as we were also joined by Istvan, her fiancé.

Prior to the class, Agnes forwarded me a list of dishes from which to choose an appetizer, main and dessert to cook at the class. I selected potato soup with sausage and sour cream, chicken paprikas with noodles, and cottage cheese dumplings.

I was welcomed into her home and she had prepared some appetizers of bread topped with goose fat, paprika, and onion which were delicious. I was also offered from palinka, a traditional Hungarian fruit brandy that tastes like firewater.

We then got straight into the cooking; the entire class was very hands-on with Agnes offering instructions and guidance but letting me do the work (which I enjoyed).

Whilst we were waiting for Istvan to arrive, we had some spare time, so Agnes suggested we make an additional dessert, stuffed pancakes which we happily nibbled on throughout the cooking.

The photo of the soup does not do it justice. It was smoky, warming and absolutely delicious.

The main course of chicken paprikas and nokedli (spaetzle) was also full of flavour and the accompanying pickles provided a nice contrast and sweetness to the dish.

The dessert was cottage cheese dumplings, rolled in fried breadcrumbs and served with sour cream. They were surprisingly very light and very very tasty.

It was a lovely evening and I enjoyed talking with Agnes and Istvan about life in Hungary. So often in my travels, you do not actually meet any locals. The staff at the hostels are often backpackers themselves so it is difficult to get a glimpse of what everyday life is like. My experience with Agnes and Istvan was highly enjoyable and what I was hoping to experience all over Italy (but failed miserably). If you are even in Budapest, I encourage you to book a class with Agnes for a truly enjoyable and educational experience.

Agnes & Istvan

Budapest, Hungary

Where possible, I try to stick to the regional food of each place I visit. The one glaring exception to this rule has been gelato. I managed to control myself and wait until I arrived in Italy before having any, but since then, gelato has become an almost daily occurrence.

Over that time, my preferences have moved from the chocolate based flavours to the fruit and yoghurt based and I was delighted to see the presentation offered in Budapest for my peach and yoghurt flavoured cone.

Whilst in Budapest, I was also on the hunt for Kürtőskalács, a Hungarian pastry shaped like a chimney sack. A thin yeast-based pastry is wrapped around a wooden cylinder and cooked over a rotisserie and then dipped in cinnamon sugar. An individual portion was far too much of a sugar overdose but did provide for some tasty snacking over my two days in town.

The Kürtőskalács on the rotisserie

The finished product

During my time in town, I walked around the city centre and headed to the central market which was one of the largest I have seen on my travels. I also took a hike up to the fortress which afforded full views of the river, Buda and Pest from the top and a spot to rest after the long climb.

The view from the fortress

Finally, as a treat for myself, I took time out to visit the Rudas Baths for a soak and a long overdue massage. There are many thermal baths in Budapest but Rudas was the most highly reviewed on Tripadvisor and it was one of the few open to women when I visited. Tuesday is “ladies only day” which means that nudity is the norm and the foreigners in swimsuits are definitely the exception.