 Fasírt (meatballs) and red pepper make a smiley face in a bowl offőzelék | |
| Type | Stew |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Hungary |
Főzelék (Hungarian:[ˈføːzɛleːk]) is a type of thickHungarian vegetable stew or soup, similar topottage. Főzelék is a special category in Hungarian cuisine, not quite like asoup and thinner than astew.[1] It is simply cooked, typically by simmering, not mashing. It is usually not cooked with meat, but bacon and spicy sausage may be added for flavor. Főzelék is often eaten as the main course for lunch or as a garnish for different meat courses. Főzelék was typically a home-made food and was considered an ordinary type of meal, so traditionally it seldom appeared on restaurant menus, but in recent years, as part of the culinary revolution in Hungary, főzelék has enjoyed a revival and is much more common to be found on menus; there are even places dedicated to offering various főzelék as main courses.
Its name roots in the verbfőz ("cook"), modified by the-(a/e)lék suffix which renders the meaning to the results of the verb. Thus the wordfőzelék approximately means "[something] created by cooking". Hence in Hungarian a prefix is always used to make clear what the given főzelék is actually made of, e.g.:tökfőzelék (traditionally made ofmarrow butzucchini or other type ofsquash is also becoming popular),babfőzelék (made ofbeans) etc.
Főzelék can be made with a variety of ingredients includingcabbage,potatoes,sauerkraut,tomatoes,peas,carrots,kale,kohlrabi,lentils,pinto beans,squash,spinach,sorrel,yellow wax beans or mixed vegetables.[2]
It is usually thickened withroux and/orsour cream, and some combination of the following may be added: choppedonions,paprika,bay leaf,black peppercorn,dill,caraway seeds,garlic,lemon juice,parsley orvinegar.[3]If eaten alone it is often topped withpörkölt,fried eggs, smokedsausage, Hungarian meatballs flavoured with garlic, calledfasírt, and otherdeep-fried foods.