Hungarian Meatballs in Paprika Sour Cream with Hungarian Green Bean Salad

Name: Hungarian Meatballs in Paprika Sour Cream with Hungarian Green Bean Salad
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients: 1 pound green beans, trimmed and left whole if small or cut into 1- to 2-inch lengths if large; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 1/2 tablespoons cider or sherry vinegar; 1 shallot, minced; 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive or canola oil; 1 pound East European Caraway Beef and Rice Sausage (page 80), formed into 1 1/2-inch balls; 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow or white onion; 1/2 cup water; 2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika; 1 green bell pepper, quartered, seeded, and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips; 1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned); 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 cup sour cream

January 24, 2012

By curious circumstance, I found myself in Vienna in 1968, shortly after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and just over a decade after the Soviet invasion of Hungary. I was there for the International Philosophical Congress, which didn’t hold my interest long. There was much more to see and experience outside the confines of academia. Aside from the eternal beauty of Vienna as a center for music, the fine arts, and fine pastries, the streets were filled with people—Czechs as well as Hungarians—who had taken refuge in the welcoming city following the invasion of their countries. The energizing buzz over the politics of the time was everywhere, expressed in Czech, Russian, Hungarian Magyar (a language unrelated to nearly all other European languages and incomprehensible to ears unfamiliar with it), and in other tongues as well. But, as always, the food served as a binding, cohesive force. The city’s dining establishments, casual bistros and more formal restaurants alike, were filled with east Europeans, Viennese locals, and tourists like me, all looking for something good to eat. In addition to the impossible-to-resist Viennese fare, there were many Hungarian dishes which had become a familiar part of Viennese cooking. That is when and where I discovered the essential tastes and food combinations of east European cuisine, and, more important, that no matter what, food of the homeland is never left behind.

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