Gulka

by | Nov 4, 2022 | Noodles

Gulka comes from Upper Hungary, which is the usual English translation of Felvidék, the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, and now it belongs to the Slovak Republic. Gulka, which is a peasant food incredibly filling, means potato dumplings made with bacon and/or smoked pork and served with sautéed onions. The dumplings, which are quite hard, are first cooked in boiling water, then fried in lard until they get some color.

Gulka
Gulka – photo: zserbo.com

Ingredients:

  • 600 g (~1 1/3 lbs) potatoes
  • 300 g (~2 1/3 cups) flour
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tsp marjoram
  • 1 egg
  • 1 garlic, crushed
  • 30+50 g (1 oz + 1 3/4 oz) smoked pork fat
  • 200 g (~7 oz) boiled, smoked pork neck
  • 4 medium onions, chopped
  • 2-3 tbsp lard

Place 30 grams (~1 oz) of smoked pork fat and pork neck cut into chunks in a food chopper and chop until fine.

Boiled, smoked pork neck and smoked pork fat
Boiled, smoked pork neck and smoked pork fat – photo: zserbo.com

Peel and grate the potatoes on the large hole side of a box grater. Squeeze excess water out of shredded potatoes. Add salt, pepper, marjoram, egg, crushed garlic, chopped pork and flour to the potatoes, and knead until well combined.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile prepare the dumplings dipping your fingers into flour and forming 3 cm / 1 inch balls. Drop the dumplings into the boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes (stir occasionally). Depending on the size of your pot, you may cook the dumplings in 2-3 batches.

While the dumplings are cooking, fry 50 grams (~1 3/4 oz) of diced smoked pork fat until it becomes crisp and releases enough lard. Add chopped onions and sauté until they are soft and get some color.

Once the dumplings are done, heat 2-3 tablespoons of lard in a skillet and fry the dumplings until golden brown. Spoon sautéed onions on the dumplings and serve them with sour cream.

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Hungarian cottage cheese

This is what Hungarian túró looks like

You often ask me what kind of cottage cheese (or curd cheese or farmer's cheese - call it what you want) I use in the recipes. In Hungary the store-bought cottage cheese is dry and crumbly as you can see in the picture. So if a recipe calls for túró, I mean this type. If you can't obtain túró, you can try to make your own from whole milk. Click on the link below.

Metric system vs cup

In Hungary metric units are in use, all the recipes on this website are based on this system, so a kitchen scale is necessary. Since I’m not familiar with cup as a measurement unit, I convert grams to cups by using an online converter. The values in brackets, therefore, are only approximate volumes, so, please, double-check them before you start cooking.

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