Taste of Slovakia: A guide to food, drink, and culinary inspiration
They spent a week in Slovakia, visiting restaurants, producers and winemakers, developing an idea of what forms the basis of (Czecho)Slovak cuisine, learning the similarities and differences between the steamed bun and leavened dumpling, and uncovering the historical roots of fried cod. Here’s what they found.
It’s about regions, not states
Slovakia is rich in (micro)regional cuisine, formed and developed by the influence of the natural environment. Around the Danube, wheat, tomatoes and peppers thrive, while in the Tatras, only onions, potatoes and sausage were cut into traditional “lecho”. Higher mountains meant deeper valleys, where tradition and recipes were naturally isolated. In short, menus were forced to adapt to place, giving rise to a diversity worth experiencing.
Bacon and a herd of Mangalica
Halušky might form the basis of national identity, but the core of Slovak cuisine lies in potatoes – plus other fresh produce which have been cultivated or collected for centuries, in symbiosis with the natural world. Also dependent on the elements is the farm of Róbert Góra, who raises purebred Mangalica pigs, selling both meat and sausages – bacon, lard, brawn, and pasta stuffed with offal maintain the cultural value of the butcher, and highlight the role of offal in Central European cuisine.
Land and its people
In retrospect, poverty can be seen as a benefit. That's the opinion of some farmers and winemakers in a country where historical events have slowed down modernisation and, to some extent, protected the soil as a valuable resource for gastronomy. The future thus lies in the hands of farmers, who carefully cultivate the culture of their home landscape.
Aware of this are Pém from the Poppy Kingdom, herb grower Pali Bottka, goose and duck breeder Petr Farda or Peter Kováč from the farm Bylinky z Beladice, as well as Lucia Ho-Chi and Palo Sekerka – a young couple who run cooking classes that start with sourcing directly from farmers, and end with a deep respect for human work.
The true taste of Slovakia is found on the market stalls of small producers, in the Old Market in the centre of Bratislava, in Bátovce or perhaps in Kravany nad Dunajom. Among others, thanks belongs to Petra Molnárová, the founder of the Slow Food Pressburg Slovak conviviality, who also co-organises Degustorium – a festival of artisan produce, full of good food, lectures and workshops.
All about brynza
Brynza is a Slovak treasure! At the Polun cheese factory, it’s made from unpasteurised sheep's milk throughout the season – the first batch of the year is called the May brynza, and is considered the best among Slovaks. However, cheese from the summer, when the sheep graze on a variety of herbs, producing differences in milk, is of equal quality (and tastes exceptional). The so-called “sudovka” (unsold brynza), is stored in wooden barrels, salted and sold until the new spring season.
Echoes of monarchy
Recipes are written not only by the harvest, but also by history. Monarchist cuisine, shaped by all the countries of the Austro-hungarian empire, is still present in Slovakia today. Turkey also had strong historical influence, bringing goulash, sausage or strudel. A remarkable clash of cultures then took place in Bratislava, where nine different cuisines mingled. Today, on the counters of local bakeries, wheat rye bread meets Moravian cake, Jewish babka, Bratislava bagels and viennoiserie-style pastries.
The capital also points to the well-known story of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Just have a Parisian salad with a white bread roll or semolina pudding with butter and granko for breakfast.
Pigeon and potato dumplings
Slovakia needs to take more pride in what it owns. Restaurants such as Gašperov Mlyn encourage this, where guests are served baked potato pies with sauerkraut, or pigeon stuffed with minced pork and buckwheat – fine dining which has grown straight from the land.
For breakfast, they heat up Spiš sausages and mix a salad of Tatra mountain herbs. Bratislava-based irin holds similar values on their plates, for example lamb with potato strudel.
At Sýpka u Ludvík, they cook clean, understandable dishes, corresponding with the times without dishonouring tradition – chicken broth with noodles, halázsle, pajšl, fresh fried cheese and Vienna schnitzel, catfish with paprika sauce and potato dumplings, as well as steamed buns with jam and poppy seeds. In addition, the restaurant managed to build accommodation, a farm and an orchard for growing truffles.
Kalkýš
Even Slovakia has its own phenomena. An example is kalkyš (or keltyš), a sweet Lenten food with the consistency of porridge, made with a liquid from sprouted wheat or rye. Originally from Požitaví in the south of Slovakia, where every year there is a kalkyš festival and a competition in the preparation of this local specialty. The chefs from Ambiente had the honour of tasting the winning recipe from winemaker Zsolti Sütö's mother. After tasting his wines, of course.
Terroir in a bottle
Slovakia is for winemakers! Many continue the efforts of their ancestors and sensitively paraphrase past practices, reflecting on the immunity of the vineyards and allowing the wine to reflect the specific terroir. Ján Záborský from Pivnice Brhlovce processes grapes near Sitno, and the aforementioned Zsolti Sütö farms in the village of Strekov, which, thanks to him, is renowned among sommeliers from top restaurants all over the world.
The glowing reputation of Slovak wines is also spread by Michal Bažalík in Svätý Jur, as well as the pop-up Vinoles, which he organises together with chef Stano Šulec.
Czech Republic + Slovakia
Of all souvenirs, the most valuable is a list of contacts and ideas on how to develop cross-border cooperation. This was collected during a feast cooked by the Ambiente chefs at the end of their journey, from everything they bought on the way. They invited chefs, producers and winemakers to the farm in Beladice, to pull together, preserve culinary heritage and establish new traditions – a space to share, discuss and plan the next meeting. Just as all good neighbours do!
Source: Ambiente creative chefs, historian and writer Vladimir Tomcik
