Caraway seed soup – Köménymagos leves

by | Mar 11, 2016 | Soups

Caraway seed soup belongs to the group of those dishes that every Hungarian knows, but cracks in its reputation can’t be hidden. Caraway seed soup is very divisive, it gives most of my countrymen nightmares to think of the dreaded soup, but a minority of people loves it since it stirs up pleasant memories in them. Caraway seed soup was one of the poverty meals that were eaten when there was nothing else to put on the table, during and after the World Wars.

Caraway seed soup is often called as the roux soup because it fundamentally consists of golden brown roux, water and salt. Croutons and paprika weren’t added in famine times, it was the sign of the coming of better times when these ingredients were available and weren’t considered luxurious for adding to the soup. Later the soup was improved by stirring in beaten eggs, and nowadays it’s the widespread practice to make caraway seed soup this way. (Despite the beaten egg content caraway seed soup should not be confused with egg drop soup.)

Caraway seed soup / Köménymagos levesphoto: zserbo.com

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp lard
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1-2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1,2 l (~5 cups) water
  • 2 eggs
  • croutons for serving

Heat lard in a pot, add caraway seeds and, a few seconds later, flour, and over medium heat cook until the roux reaches the golden brown stage. Remove from the heat, stir in paprika, and immediately pour in water to prevent paprika from burning. Stir until roux is well blended with water. Season with salt and pepper, bring it to a boil while stirring constantly, and over medium heat cook for 10 minutes. Beat the eggs and pour into the soup in a fine stream while stirring constantly. Continue to cook for further 2-3 minutes. Serve hot with croutons.

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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.

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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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