Strictly From Hungary

In 1910, Karoly Gundel bought a run-down restaurant near the Budapest Zoo and turned it into one of the grandest restaurants in Europe. Everybody went there. Joseph Wechsberg, author of “Blue Trout and Black Truffles,” wrote that Gundel “did for Hungarian cuisine what Careme and Escoffier did for French. He created the modern renaissance of Hungarian cooking by raising it to the level of elegant, fine cuisine--making it lighter, yet retaining the characteristic elements of folklore.”

The guestbook, wrote Wechsberg, seemed to bear the names of “every tourist, painter, banker, singer, diplomat, king, ex-king, musician, politician, and fellow restaurateur on the Continent, and many from elsewhere.” The restaurant survived “two world wars (though it served briefly as a Wehrmacht stable during the latter), two inflations, two occupations, two revolutions and one counterrevolution.” In 1949, however, Gundel’s luck ran out: He was exiled, the restaurant was nationalized by the Communist regime and its management turned over to a state corporation.

Surprisingly, although it was hardly up to its old standards, Gundel continued to flourish. It was still probably the best restaurant in Hungary (though that wasn’t necessarily saying much at the time), and at least one former employee remembers it in the 1960s as having been “a beautiful place, the site of many parties, and a very fashionable place for Hungarian families to have lunch on the weekends.” In 1972, though, the government managers closed it down, supposedly for renovations. It did not reopen until 1980--in a stripped-down, clumsily “modernized” form.

I dined at Gundel for the first time in 1989. I sat on the once-glamorous terrace (now decorated with Camel cigarette umbrellas and plastic latticework dividers) and had cold strawberry soup, which tasted like frozen strawberries put through the blender with slightly sour skim milk, and the restaurant’s famous preparation of fogas (in principle a delicate but flavorful freshwater fish found in the Danube and in Lake Balaton)--which turned out to be a hunk of unidentifiable frozen protein in a spongy batter, topped with frozen peas and a so-called cream sauce whose texture suggested a blend of library paste and canned applesauce.

The next time I dined at Gundel, last year, I had a table in a beautiful, freshly redesigned 3,500-square-foot dining room, paneled in glossy fruitwood, with deep-blue upholstery on the huge and comfortable chairs and crisp linen on the tables. To eat, I had wonderful fresh carp in aspic with exquisite little fogas dumplings, a superb “rich man’s purse” of strudel dough stuffed with ground chicken in paprika sauce and a delicious “tycoon’s gulyas”-- cubes of beef tenderloin in a sauce flavored with garlic, paprika and caraway seeds.

Clearly, something had happened between my visits. In 1991, businessman (and former U.S. Ambassador to Austria) Ronald S. Lauder, son of Budapest-born cosmetics queen Estee Lauder, decided to work on a restaurant or hotel project in Eastern Europe. He went to George Lang, author of the classic “Cuisine of Hungary,” and asked him to collaborate on the project. Lang, who was born Lang Gyorgy in a town southwest of Budapest in 1924, is a restaurant consultant who has dreamed up, launched and remade literally hundreds of establishments on four or five continents. (He is also the longtime proprietor of New York’s Cafe des Artistes.) It took Lauder and Lang an estimated $18 million to buy the property from the Hungarian government and to remake it. Adam Tihany designed the dining room, Milton Glaser did the graphics, Imre Roth made architectural adjustments. The make-over was accomplished in an astonishingly short time: Closed in Nov. 1991, Gundel reopened in May of last year.

Lang hired Hungary’s only celebrity chef, Kalman Kalla, to run the Gundel kitchens. Kalla was chef at Budapest’s Forum Hotel for seven years, during which time he almost single-handedly introduced contemporary European cooking to the city. From there, he went to Washington, as chef for the Hungarian Embassy--which, it is said, he turned into something of a culinary hot spot.

At Gundel, he and Lang (and, notes Lang, “when somebody works for me, it is always a collaboration”) have perfected a large menu’s worth of specialties. (The particulars change four times a year.) Some are classic old Gundel creations--for instance, a fogas made the right way. Others are historical Hungarian recipes (an 18th-Century sauerkraut with catfish and fish sausage) or more recent, but still traditional, preparations such as roasted whole goose liver or fried carp fillet with broad noodles in paprika/mushroom sauce or straightforward (but incredibly good) cheese strudel. Then there are Kalla’s creations-- foieions gras and baked apple “sandwiches,” braided pork tenderloin with dill dumplings and wild mushroom ragout, an espresso parfait that apes the frothy-topped espresso coffee that is so popular in Budapest. These dishes, it might be said, have been raised to the level of elegant, fine cuisine, lighter, yet retaining the characteristic elements of folklore.

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OLD-TIME HAND-PULLED CHEESE STRUDEL

(Hazi Huzott Retesek, Mint Regen)

1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Wondra flour

1 cup lukewarm water

1 egg

1 teaspoon white vinegar

Salt

1 cup butter, melted

3 eggs, separated

1/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup vanilla-flavored sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup raisins

Grated zest 1/2 lemon

1 pound dry cottage cheese, drained

Additional all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon coarse-ground semolina flour

Powdered sugar, optional

Sift together 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour and Wondra flour onto board. Make well in center and pour in 1 cup lukewarm (use warm, if making in winter) water, 1 egg, vinegar and dash salt. Knead very well, until dough feels silky, about 10 minutes.

Shape dough into round loaf. Place on floured board. Spread top with some melted butter. Cover with large bowl or pot. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Make filling by whipping in bowl egg yolks with softened butter and sugar until foamy. Slowly mix in sour cream, remaining 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, raisins, lemon zest and dash salt. Let mixture stand 15 minutes. Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Push cottage cheese through strainer and mix with egg whites. Then mix with egg yolk mixture.

Cover large free-standing table with clean white tablecloth and sprinkle generously with all-purpose flour. Gently lower dough onto table. Carefully stretch from all sides, using backs of hands under dough. Keep going around table until dough is very thin in middle and stretched over edges of table, if necessary. Cut off thick and uneven edges with kitchen scissors. Allow stretched dough to stand and dry 10 minutes.

Grease 1 large or 2 smaller baking pans.

Brush dough with half of remaining melted butter, then sprinkle with semolina. Spread filling over bottom 1/3 of prepared dough. Hold edge of tablecloth with both hands, gently lifting upward. Roll strudel into roulade shape. Cut according to size of baking pan. Place rolled strudel in pan. Spread top with remaining melted butter. Bake at 375 degrees 40 minutes. Cut and serve immediately. Serve with powdered sugar. Makes 10 servings.

Each serving contains about:

457 calories; 473 mg sodium; 158 mg cholesterol; 29 grams fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams protein; 0.12 gram fiber.

RICH MAN’S PURSE, STUFFED WITH PAPRIKA CHICKEN

(Gazdag Ember Batyuja Paprikas Csirkevel Toltve)

1 medium onion, minced

1 tablespoon lard

1 1/2 pounds chicken legs, thighs and drumsticks

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 small tomato, peeled and cut into chunks

2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika

1/4 cup water

Salt

1 tablespoon sour cream

2 tablespoons whipping cream

Flour

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

Club soda

Oil

In heavy pot, cook onion in lard, covered, over low heat about 5 minutes. Add chicken, green pepper, tomato and paprika. Add water and dash salt. Cook, covered, over very low heat 20 minutes. Toward end of cooking time, take lid off to let most liquid evaporate. Remove chicken. Stir into pan sour cream, heavy cream and 2 tablespoons flour. Season to taste with salt. Puree sauce in blender.

Bone meat and chop into small pieces. Stir sauce into meat to moisten.

To make pancakes, whisk together 1 cup flour, eggs, milk and dash salt. If batter is too thick, add some club soda. If too thin, add more flour.

Heat small, heavy skillet over medium-high heat and brush lightly with oil. Pour ladle of pancake batter into pan and gently twist so batter covers entire skillet. When top of batter bubbles, turn pancake over and cook 5 seconds longer. Continue until all batter is cooked, brushing skillet with oil as needed.

To serve, ladle some extra paprika sauce onto each serving plate. Place 2 pancakes on each plate and put some chicken mixture into each pancake. Draw up top of pancake, as if making drawstring pouch and secure with wood pick. Warm in 200-degree oven before serving. Remove wood pick and serve immediately. Makes 4 appetizer servings.

Each serving contains about:

496 calories; 301 mg sodium; 277 mg cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 48 grams protein; 0.73 gram fiber.

BRAIDED FILLET OF PORK WITH WILD MUSHROOM RAGOUT AND DILL DUMPLINGS

(Sertescopf Vadgombaporkolttel Kapros-Turos Galuskaval)

4 pork tenderloins

Salt

1 sprig fresh summer savory, minced

Oil

1/4 cup minced onion

Spicy Hungarian paprika

1 pound fresh wild mushrooms, sliced

1 small tomato, peeled and finely diced

9 ounces cottage cheese

2 eggs

1/4 cup semolina

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 bunch dill, minced

Slice each piece of meat lengthwise into 3 strips joined at one end. Season to taste with salt. Rub with savory and braid meat, securing end with wood pick to keep together. Brush with oil. Let stand in refrigerator 1 hour.

Brown meat on both sides in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Place in roasting pan and roast at 375 degrees until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

In skillet saute onion in oil until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add paprika to taste. Return skillet to heat and add mushrooms, tomato and salt to taste. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer 10 minutes.

To make dumplings, mix together in bowl cottage cheese, eggs, semolina, butter and dash salt. Refrigerate 10 minutes.

In meantime, bring large pot of salted water to gentle boil. Form dumplings into little oval shapes, using 2 spoons. Drop gently into simmering water and cover. Cook until dumplings rise to surface, then remove with slotted spoon to colander to drain. Serve immediately.

To serve, place 1 piece of meat in center of each dinner plate. Spoon mushroom ragout onto one side and dumplings onto other. Garnish with dill. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

468 calories; 496 mg sodium; 238 mg cholesterol; 22 grams fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 51 grams protein; 1.14 grams fiber.

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This is a “tycoon’s” dish because it uses an expensive cut of meat, lightly cooked, instead of a cheaper cut, which would simmer in the sauce for hours.

TYCOON’S GULYAS

(Magnas Gulyas)

1 3/4 cups minced onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 veal bone, cracked in half

3 cups water

3 small green pepppers, seeded and thinly sliced

3 tomatoes, peeled and sliced

Spicy Hungarian paprika to taste

2 pounds beef tenderloin, cut into cubes

In medium saucepan, saute onion and garlic in 1/3 cup oil over medium heat until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in sweet paprika, caraway seeds and salt and pepper to taste. Add veal bone and water and reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Remove and discard veal bone. Add green peppers, tomatoes and hot paprika to taste to saucepan. Stir and simmer 20 minutes. If sauce is too thin at this point (doesn’t coat back of spoon lightly), raise heat to medium-high to reduce to proper consistency. Adjust seasonings to taste. (Sauce can be made ahead to this point and reheated gently just before serving.)

Just before serving, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat in large heavy skillet. Add meat and cook quickly, stirring constantly until outside of meat is browned and inside is rare. (Can do in batches in order not to crowd pan.) Remove meat with slotted spoon onto serving dish and pour heated sauce over meat. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

302 calories; 89 mg sodium; 53 mg cholesterol; 22 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 19 grams protein; 0.83 gram fiber.

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