Saturday, October 1, 2011

How to make Halusky (typical slovakian food) if u are outside of Slovakia

This is how it should look like
I have got many questions on this topic lately and thanks to my friend Paterson from Salvador I pushed myself to write a recipe to all the world to  know the Magical formula ;)
My halusky is bit different than original ones,but I have never met anybody who wouldn't like them,so here it comes ;)

Firstly,bryndza exists just in Slovakia and the countries where are Karpaty mountains - Means Ukraine and Romania (Yes,they know it as well in Romania,it said that our bačas originaly came from these lands walking with sheep looking for better grass,walking trough the mountains and remeber the history,this teritory was long long time one,not "billion"states like it is now)

So now,what u will need for Halusky itself:
Potatoes: Count for one person one potatoe (if they are the big once,if smaller,count one and half,always is enough and even more than it should be)
2 types of flour (wheet flour - no mandioca,no corn one,wheet one)If they dont have it,just take which they have,normaly is the one which they make bread with,so it means its not for cakes one ;) Anyway,maybe closer to the ecuatorial line you will be,more problems u will have to find such a thing like wheet flour.
1 egg (depands on how many people will be - but I would say for like max  6 people 1 egg, if u have to cook for 12 - make it 2)
pinch of salt
1 butter

The special sauce I invented once upon a time in stead of Bryndza (as u cant really get brindza anywhere outside of Karpaty region)
You will need:
Butter
Onion
Garlic
Milk or cream (if there is no cream,use milk)
Flour
Salt
Sugar
Beer and/or wine
Some green spices (I use anything which is green in general and not spicy in it - depands what I find in the kitchen and what smells good ;)

   How to make halusky itself:
Sometimes you can end up making halusky looking like this! ;)
Grate a potatoes on a side of cutter which is the thiniest one that it will make just kind of watery mass.(no slices or something like that. I know its a lot of work,but its the best that way)Do NOT spill the water from the mass out. Add 2 types of flour and bit of salt and egg in it. Just to make the mass sticky and bit running - f u put too much of flour,dont worry,u can put a bit of water in it as well. The mass should be something between sticky and running.
Put water in a big pot. Put a bit of salt in it.Make it boil. Put a bit of your dough on a chopping board. And u can start to "throw" (how we say) Halusky to the boiling salty water.
When the halusky will be swimming on the surface of the water for a little while (for exact people it could be like 2-3 minutes),you can take them out with a strainer and put them on a side to prepared bowl. After fishing several times of halusky,you can put a butter on them,to melt on them and dont make them to stick together.

How to make a sauce:
As I am alergic or better said I have some problems with clasical oil,I use instead butter and I think it tastes later better than if u made it on oil. But its your choice. Pur a butter on a saucepan. Make it melt.
Meanwhile chopp the onion on really small pieces. Put them to fry.Put a pinch of salt. During the time,pour a bit water after few minutes - to dont get dry. Till then u can be throwing halusky. When the onion gets a bit dryer and still doesnt have a color,pour a bit of beer. When it gets dryer,if u have some wine for cooking u can pour it there as well. All the alcohol will avaporate and there will just stay the better taste of onion. When the opion will be getting the nice golden color,cut the one piece of garlic to very small pieces,u can even smash it if u want and put it inside (than it again depands for how many people are u cooking).
Fry it a bit with another piece of butter and with the onion.. Put all the spices you found in the kitchen and thinking that it could taste good - I recommend the green one and not spicy ones (sorry I dont remeber which one should it be - but by the smell mayoran and some others).
Mix it. Now we are getting to making a real sauce :)
In a meanwhile you could make on a side to a small glass (2dcl) the mixture of milk and 2-3 spoons of sugar and 2-3 spoons of flour.Start pouring a normal milk to an onion and garlic on a saucepan - do max 2-3 dcl. Mix it.  Then pour the mixture you made aside to already the mixture on a saucepan - keep mixing it till it will go thicker and thicker. If its not getting thicker,just put there a bit more flour,but a little bit. When its warm,its more liquid than when it get colder ;) So dont worry. U can try it and put more salt or spices or sugar if u want. But this is normally it ;) Not a big magic ;)
  This is how it will look like

About Oškvarky (in english it should be burnt cinders),which normally in slovakia goes on the top.
Well,in south america I had a quite problems to find in different places bacon alike as in Slovakia. U can use english bacon or something which could be good bacon. But in general,please in Chile or on this side of Corillera,do not buy the bacon for Chicharones! And in general all the bacon I got in touch with its too salty for making Oškvarky. So its just up to u.

In general to halušky we use to eat at home (original place where I come from in Slovakia in our family) the cucumber salad. Easy to make easy to eat.
U will need:
It should look like this,don't worry,it's eatable ;)
Cucumbers (depending on how many people will be there,I would count 2 for one person,but not many people like this type of salad around the world. In north of Brazil once I made it for bigger presentation party the people were amazed and ate it sooner than halusky,in Marocco I had to eat it afterwards on my own ;)
Salt,Sugar,Vinegar.
Grate cucumbers on the second thickest part of the cutter,put inside a pinch of salt,a pinch of sugar and one small cap of the bottle u have vinegar from with vinegar. Mix and taste ;) It should just taste fine,if not,put more sugar or salt.
Anyway - my granny puts there peper to make it spicy and cutted pieces of tomatoes and peppers.But its not a necesity and I like it more without. Its just up to your taste ;)

And then I just can wish u anywhere you are on this planet: Bon Appetit!, Buen Provecho! or Dobrú Chuť!:)

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