Potato Dumplings with Bryndza (Bryndzové halušky)
Ingredients: potatoes, bryndza, bacon
Prep time: 30 minutes
If I had to pick one dish as the most uniquely Slovak, it would have to be bryndzové halušky. Halušky are potato dumplings, and they come in many varieties. They can be topped with cabbage, eggs, or simply used as a side dish. But when you mix them with bryndza, a soft crumbly cheese traditionally made by shepherds out of sheep milk, you get this national dish. Of course, to make them right, you will need bryndza. It’s not very easy to find in the United States. I ordered mine online, from a place called Slovak-Czech Varieties. In the recipe below, I mixed the bryndza with sour cream to make it bit more smooth. You may want to avoid this step, or use less cream. For another set of pictures showing how to make halušky, visit the link to a newer post.
Start by peeling and shredding potatoes (zemiaky).
Drain the liquid and stir in about the amount of potatoes in flour.
Add salt. Then use a kitchen knife and a cutting board to toss pieces about an inch long into a large pot of salted, boiling water.
Let cook for few minutes. In the mean time, cut bacon into small squares and fry them to make “škvarky”.
Strain the dumplings. Use a wooden spoon to clear off the goo that clogs up the holes.
Take your bryndza and stir it in.
Top with bacon and few spoonfuls of grease. They also taste great topped with with shredded “oštiepok” cheese.
Hi Lubos,
You should try to put at least one tsp of baking soda(our soda bicarbona)into potatoes mix. This food is very heavy and soda helps your stomach to digest this food much better. It doesn’t change taste of it.
Thanks for the tip! I’ll try that next time I make halusky.
Halusky seems to be the same as Hungarian strapachka. Are you familiar with that dish?
—John Koethen
I heard of that dish, but I am not quite sure what’s in it. Let me look into this. But… the word strapachka (actually strapačka) is of Slovak origin. It would loosely mean something that’s really disheveled or shaggy. If a guy is “strapatý”, then his hair is messy. Thanks for the note!
My grandmother and great aunt used to make a similar dish they called “Trepankes” (close enough to the word “strapachka”). They were from Slovakia, about an hour out of Kocise, so a lot of their recipes used mixed slovak/hungarian names.
I’m making a version of this for dinner today. My grandma’s recipe uses sour cream & cottage cheese instead of the bryndza and shred a small onion with the potatos.
Diky za tento recept…pri pohlade na “finalny vyrobok” sa mi v ustach zdvihla vlna prijemnej vlahy a uz sa tesim na vikend a varenie halusiek. Bryndzu sice nemam, ale feta zmiesana s curd je aspon trocha prijatelna nahrada. Ale taka majova bryndza by bodla…nuz co, musime sa uskromnit…
I thought these pictures were not the greatest, so I posted another recipe for halusky. That one shows you how to make just halusky, without any toppings. Halusky are very versatile. You can serve them with stews like chicken paprikash, or top them with bryndza, cabbage, or egg, and get a meal on its own.
Does anyone know how much salt to add?
I don’t measure the salt precisely, but I add about 3 or 4 salt shaker “shakes” to the water in which I boil the dumplings. I also add about two “shakes” into the dough. I hope this helps!
I’m Hungarian and I live in Hungary. The Hungarian sztrapacska is the same as bryndzove halusky. We use a very similar cheese for this dish, called “juhtúró” in Hungarian, but Slovakian bryndza is also available (mostly in larger supermarkets)in Hungary.
Lubos, if you want check: http://bryndzovehalusky.druskova.sk/sk/recepty-halusky
“Strapačky” are known in my family as potato dumplings with stewed sauerkraut (sour cabbage?).
Does your Granma know how to make “tarhoňa”?
For bryndzove halusky I have found success with mixing feta with Philadelphia cream cheese (the lighter one- not fat free) and a little milk.