Hungarian cuisine is not just about hearty goulash, but you are right: we tend to use lots of powdered paprika! Our cuisine has been influenced by the French, Germans, Italians and Turks, not to mention the Poles, other Slavs, and Asians. The result was a rich blend of one-pot meals cooked for hours over open fires. Here, we have collected the most-loved Hungarian recipes – no goulash this time – that would make any mother proud! Put your apron on and enjoy cooking! (For the recipes  just click on the highlighted names.)

1. Stuffed cabbage

“Töltött káposzta” is made with ground pork, beef, sliced smoked pork butt, sauerkraut and fresh cabbage. Some traditional recipes are made with whole soured cabbage heads, this is the best choice for the authentic flavour. Other cabbage dishes include layered cabbage, sloppy cabbage and Szekely cabbage. which is a type of pork stew baked with sauerkraut and sour cream.

2. Sausage and potato casserole

This savoury bake “rakott krumpli” is a true comfort food. The potato layered with kolbász, a type of dry-cured Hungarian spicy sausage, hard-boiled eggs, onion, sour cream, breadcrumbs and, of course, paprika make for a filling, warming meal.

3. Plum dumplings

Hungarian plum dumplings known as “szilvas gomboc” can be eaten as  a dessert, a meatless main dish, or a side dish. Suitable for vegetarians and a favourite for the sweet-toothed if you sprinkle it with lots of powdered sugar. Due to the cinnamon, this dish is a perfect warmer for the cold weather.

4. Sweet noodle pastry

“Vargabéles” – a sweet noodle cake with curd cheese and raisins wrapped in filo pastry and baked in the oven. This dessert was invented by a Klausenburg innkeeper named Varga.

5. Cheese and caraway scones

This recipe of the “sajtos pogácsa” makes a perfect winter afternoon snack. The rolling and folding of the dough results in a wonderful flaky texture and they smell divine as they are cooking in the oven!

+1. Deep fried flat bread