Roll Your Own

TASTE OF HUNGARY: PALACSINTA
This article courtesy of Budapest's WHERE Magazine

As dessert or a meal - or a combination of both - the Hungarian palacsinta is a culinary mainstay of the Magyars, who often pick up these crépe-like stuffed pancakes as a quick snack to satisfy sweet teeth and salty cravings alike.

Slightly thicker than their more celebrated French-cuisine cousin, the palacsinta pancake is also made of a smooth egg-based batter and sautéed for a short while until solidifying, to then be spread with any number of toppings and rolled up or folded over on itself. Frying up the palacsinta to a perfect consistency is an art form in itself, and learning to flip such featherweight flapjacks takes time and practice, but the most crucial step to making this treat is also the best part - choosing what ingredients to flavor it with.

Popular sweet palacsinta varieties include cocoa, cinnamon, apple, fruit jam, sour cherry, cottage cheese, banana, honey, chestnut cream, and pudding; after folding these are usually topped with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and chocolate or fruit sauce.

Meanwhile, such savory styles of palacsinta as cheese, ham, mushroom, spinach, sour cream, and chicken or pork stew present the heartier side of this Magyar fare - the well-known Hortóbágyi palacsinta, loaded with veal and topped with a thick paprika sauce, is often served as a full dinner.

These myriad fillings can of course be mixed and matched, and discovering which suit your palate best can only be achieved with repeated samplings - a tasty task that will surely not be flat.

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