Toast (Hrianka)
Ingredients: good hearty bread, clove of garlic, salt
Prep Time: 5 minutes
I don’t know if this is how toast is served everywhere in Slovakia, but I grew up eating toasted bread with garlic scraped on it. We called it “hrianka”. It’s really tasty. The garlic gives the bread creamy, buttery taste. No butter needed. It’s really easy to prepare. Simply toast few slices of hearty bread, until they are nicely brown and crunchy on the outside. Then take a clove of garlic and scrape it on one side. Or on both sides, if you are brave and have no intentions of kissing anyone for a while. I usually use about quarter of a clove per side. Sprinkle with salt and enjoy.
Slovak toast (hrianka).
Yes, we it hrianka in Slovakia a lot. Sometimes on a cold night when my father was on travel and it was only my mom and I, we had hrianky and warm milk for dinner. Slovaks also know that you do not have to eat rich food every day. You give your body a little break. Catholic church had no-meat Fridays. They went away from it, but it made sense from helth perspective.
I grew up with this made with rye bread, and then topped with chicken fat/butter & salt. My ancestors emigrated to the US from Hungary, but it turned out there were more Slovaks in my heritage than Magyars. Since they all spoke Hungarian, we had our own Magyar names for our shared dishes. I never heard a name for this one, though. Whenever I got a chest cold, my G’Mother would make this dish (lots of garlic), served with strong tea to help clear up our chest congestion. It worked! Thanks for posting.
I just got back from Slovakia and really enjoyed this “toast”. They fried it in bacon fat rather than toasting, then scrubbed it with the garlic. It was served with homemade Steak Tartar.
This toast also goes great with hot tea; made with lemon and sugar. On a cold day especially.