Meal 75. Slovakian bryndzové halušky (potato dumplings with cheese and bacon)

Blending the potatoes

Oliver, my host for this meal, has apparently forgiven me for saying 'Slovenian' instead of 'Slovakian' on more than one occasion. At this point, it has become embarrassing enough that I always take a millisecond to reflect before saying the word. Though I know they are two different countries, and I have very good memories of the Slovenian meal for this blog, somehow my brain does not always co-operate. To confuse matters further, I saw a cousin's post about a holiday in Slovakia which describes a visit to 'Slovenský Raj', a national park. This translates as 'Slovak paradise'...(if it had been Slovenian, it would have been Slovinský Raj). It does seem I am not the only one to make this mistake, and by now I am aware enough to avoid making it, unless I do it specifically to tease Oliver.

He is actually Slovak with Hungarian roots on his father's side, who is an 'ethnic Hungarian' from the southern part of Slovakia, near Hungary, where the majority speaks Hungarian. The border was to some extent fluid over the last century, with language and citizenship now still somewhat contentious topics. 

The famous protected geographical indication Bryndza sheep's cheese

I have been more of a witness to the preparation for this meal than normal, with a special trip to a shop in the Hague that sells Slovak products, including the Bryndza, a fresh sheep's cheese, and two local soft drinks, Kofola and Vinea. The taste profile of Kofola lies somewhere between cola and a malt drink, and is apparently served on tap in bars as an alternative to beer. Vinea is like a non-alcoholic sweet champagne, fizzy grape juice basically. Oliver jokes they are used to train children to drink beer and wine! Both are immediately pleasing for the unaccustomed palate. One Dutch exchange student was so enamored by Kofola, Oliver recalls fondly, that he bought six 2L bottles of the drink to take back with him to Holland.

Mixing potatoes with flour

For the preparation of the main dish, Oliver is channeling his grandmother's talents. A kilo of potatoes are peeled and boiled, then mixed with salt, flour and egg (optional). The halušky are then formed by spreading this thick batter onto a cutting board, and cutting strips off which drop directly into boiling water. Alternatively, the dumplings can be formed with a special perforated cooking strainer (haluškár) where the batter is pushed through smallish holes in the haluškár. To me, with a limited reference frame, this is reminiscent of both gnocchi (made with potato dough) and Swiss knöpfli/German spätzle, made with a flour dough but a similar preparation (cutting board or perforated tool). The Austrian meal for this blog featured a vaguely similar (though sweet) dish with potato dough dumplings (Mohnnudeln) too. The ingredient that elevates tonight's potato dumplings to a Slovak national dish is the Bryndza sheep's cheese, which is now an EU 'protected geographical indication' product (like feta cheese, or more famously: champagne). The cheese and smoky bacon bits (specially imported bacon, from special pigs!) add a savoury depth to the hearty dish, which is very moreish. Oliver describes it as the perfect food after a day of heavy physical work on the farm. Similar to other dumplings, it is more filling than you would think based on eyeballing the amount of food on your plate!

 As we digest the food, we discuss Slovakia's past. Oliver, having lived and studied in Prague, feels the separation from the Czech republic (the so-called Velvet Divorce in 1993), was "a bit of a shame," and mainly motivated on a parliamentary level. Only a minority of both Czechs and Slovaks was actually in favour of the split! 

We also touch on how things were under Communism. Oliver belongs to a younger generation that has not experienced this era first-hand. But tales of the many idiosyncrasies of the former regime are well-known to everyone from the region. For example, even though ownership of foreign currency was tightly regulated, there was a flourishing illegal money-exchange market – and Oliver’s great-grandfather was lucky enough to have old friends in Austria who would send schillings by post, camouflaged in 'origami cards' to avoid detection.

The boiled and drained halušky before the cheese and bacon is added

Some fled the country to pursue a better life, most commonly in Austra, Switzerland or Canada. As it was easier to get permission to leave on a holiday to another communist country, some planned a 'visit to Cuba,' only to disembark during the refuelling stop in Canada. Oliver's mother had a dentist who followed exactly this pattern, telling his patients he would be off on a holiday, never to return! 

Once the heavy meal has had a chance to settle a bit, we munch on a light dessert of thin Kolonáda wafers with a hazelnut filling (actually officially Czech). These were apparently traditionally served at spa resorts like Karlsbad as only "light desserts" were permitted, and the packaging reflects this history. Can definitely recommend...this in contrast to another sweet from the Slovak shop, the Margot bar which is supposed to taste of coconut and rum, but left me personally with a distinct impression of nail polish remover!

The final result, the halušky with the bryndza cheese and bacon bits added