Another popular thing to do with bryndza, the Slovak national cheese, is to make a spread (nátierka) commonly known as šmirkáš. I made it using the fake bryndza – the Israeli style Feta cheese from Trader Joe’s.

Finely slice onions (I like using spring onions and I used three of them) and combine them with about equal amounts of bryndza and butter. Also add a spoonful of paprika. You should use less than what I have here.

Mix together, and voile – done! The spread shouldn’t be so red (should be more pinkish), but unfortunately I did not have any more bryndza to dilute my little paprika pouring accident. If you serve the spread on bread rolls, you can either slice them in the middle, like shown in the olovrant post, or you can spread the nátierka on top of the roll.

That’s it. This is a very simple, yet very traditional Slovak recipe.

Update June 6th, 2010

And this is what the spread should look like when you make it right.

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Last weekend the EU embassies here in Washington, D.C. held an open house. Each embassy had some free goodies symbolizing that respective country. Germans had bratwurst, Belgians beer and chocolate, Poles kielbasa. The Slovak embassy cooked up strapačky and served them with cold Slovak Golden Pheasant (zlatý bažant) beer. If you attended this even, and want to try making this simple, yet very traditional dish at home, well you are in luck. Here is (my) recipe for strapačky.

About the name. My family has never used the word strapačky. We call all potato dumplings halušky. Even according to the Slovak Wikipedia, these two words are synonyms. My grandma would call this halušky s kapustou or kapustové halušky. But, strapačky seems to be a really common term – that’s what the embassy called this dish. It’s actually a pretty fitting term. It is derived from the word strapatý, which means shaggy, as when your hair is uncombed. Pretty good resemblance, I think.

The first (and very important!) step is to rinse the sauerkraut (kyslá kapusta). Rinse it well, get your hand in there and toss it around. Otherwise, the result will be too sour. Then heat up oil, and fry the kraut for few minutes. Make sure you have a lid for the pan you are using. Also add some caraway seeds (rasca). Then give it little bit water. Not too much, just enough to have a small layer on all the way across the pan.

Reduce the heat, cover, and let steam for at least an hour. Periodically open the lid, stir the cabbage, and also add more water as needed. You want to steam the cabbage, not fry it. Usually, little bit of sugar is added to the cabbage. I like to do this at the end, I figured it’s better to sweeten it only once the taste is close to being done. I also don’t like the cabbage particularly sweet, so I gave it just a small handful. It will take at least an hour for the cabbage to get soft.

Don’t forget to make halušky while you wait for the cabbage!

And that’s it. Just mix the kapusta in and serve. I also strongly believe that any dish is better with bacon, so I also like to add bits of fried bacon into my kapustové halušky.

Bryndzové Halušky

Since I cooked up halušky, I could not resist making the other variant, the one that is considered the national dish of Slovakia, bryndzové halušky. (I have previously posted this recipe, but the old photos are not of good quality and the high resolution images are missing. But if you are interested in seeing the original recipe and the many comments, click here)

Integral part of this dish are bacon bits called škvarky. To make them right, you need REALLY thick piece of bacon, or even better, a single cut of pork belly. You can then follow Rado’s recipe. The reason it’s so hard to replicate the taste with the American bacon, is that Slovak škvarky start off as cubes, so they end up crunchy only on the outside. But, in keeping up with the traditions as much as possible, cut up the bacon (slanina) into squares about half inch wide. Put them in a frying pan containing just enough water (voda) to cover their bottoms. Bring the water to boil. Then, lower the heat to minimum, and let cook for at least an hour, stirring frequently. Make sure to keep stirring, so that you don’t fry the bacon. Instead, you want to slowly let the fat melt away.

You will also need bryndza, the special Slovak sheep milk cheese. Where can I buy bryndza in the United States, you may ask. Well, I have good news! Some folks from the Washington, D.C. Slovak Meetup group tipped me off to the Israeli-style Feta sold in Trader Joes. This kind, by the Pasture of Eden, is darn close to bryndza! It’s not cheap (7 bucks for this block), but definitely worth the price. Mix it in (make sure the dumplings are still warm so the cheese softens) and top with the bacon bits. Finally, add few spoonfuls of the bacon grease. This is important; don’t skip this last step. You can always go for a jog later to burn off all that fat.

To really experience the traditional Slovak taste, you must have this dish with a glass of žinčica, the whey that drips off during the making of bryndza. Žinčica is similar in taste to kefir, but has a stronger flavor. Very often, Slovak restaurants will instead offer you zákysanka, which I believe is identical to kefir made of regular cow milk.

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Pirohy (pierogi) are not as common in Slovakia as in, let’s say Poland. There they are stuffed with all kinds of fillings. There are pierogi filled with meat, mashed potatoes, curd cheese, onions, or even sweet jams. But one kind you will surely find on your travels in Slovakia are bryndzové pirohy, pierogi filled with the special Slovak sheep cheese, bryndza. This cheese is also used to make the Slovak national dish, bryndzové halušky.

My family did not use to make pirohy. But lucky for me, a lady named Helka helps out in my dad’s restaurant and she makes amazing pirohy. So I had her show me how they are made. Below is the recipe for the authentic Slovak pierogi. All the cooking was done by eye, so the above ingredients are only my best estimates.

Start by cooking few potatoes (zemiaky). Cook them until they are quite soft and mash them by hand. Add about a cup of flour (múka), one egg (vajce) and about a tablespoon of salt (soľ). Mix everything together by hand. Then add more flour until you get a fairly stiff mixture. Also place a large pot full of salted water onto the stove.

Form the dough into a loaf and place it onto a dusted board. Dust top with flour to prevent the pin from sticking. Roll out to an about 3 millimeters thick pancake.

Then take a drinking glass and cut out circles. Do this by pushing down with the glass and twisting your wrist left and right few times. The dough will come out with the glass. Top each circle with a teaspoon worth of bryndza. If you don’t have bryndza, you can imitate it by mixing feta with sour cream.

Fold the circle over and pinch the seal closed with the tip of your fingers. Then, to make the pirohy look prettier, grab the seal between your fingers and twist about 60 degrees. Do this at few spots.

Place pierogi into the pot of boiling water. I found it really neat that Helka uses the same technique for transporting dumplings as my grandma – by placing them onto the back side of her arm. Right after placing them in water, scoop them up with a wooden spoon to keep them from sticking to the bottom. Pierogi are ready when they float to the top. Scoop them out using a large strainer.

Bryndzové pirohy are topped with škvarky, fried bacon bits. Prepare these by cutting good thick smoked bacon into pieces about inch long and frying them until the white fat part dissolves away. Top pierogi with few spoonfuls of grease and then with the bacon bits. Finally top with sour cream (kyslá smotana).

And there you have them, delicious Slovak homemade bryndzové pirohy. Serve with a glass of žinčica, sour sheep milk which is bit similar to kefir.

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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.

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