Recipe Polenta e Osei

The cuisine of northern Slovakia is influenced by the harsh climatic conditions of the area, where it is usually intensively cold at least three months per year. This is one of the reasons why smoked meat, potatoes, sauerkraut, dairy products and pulses are typical for this cuisine. In Slovakia, the pulses belong to the oldest cultivated crops. The most famous dish, still popular of the Slovak kitchen, is the bean soup, which used to be part of the Christmas Eve dinner for many families.

Polenta is a cornmeal mush mixed during its cooking with different cheeses and butter. It is a very simple and tasty dish, popular in Piedmon and Lombardy regions (Italy).

This goulash owes its name to the ever-hungry coachmen who drive the famous carriages (or ‘fiacres’) around Vienna. The beef ragout is topped with a garnish of sausage and fried egg – while its rich juice is permeated with sweet paprika powder. For this latter ingredient, as well as the numerous other variations of goulash, the Austrian cuisine owes a debt of gratitude to its neighbours in Hungary.

While Austrian cake-makers may indeed be famed for their Gugelhupf, the cake itself was actually known to the Romans in 2000 BC. They even enjoyed yeast Gugelhupf, with its round form serving as a symbol for the sun. Since then, this time-honoured recipe has ranked amongst the Gugelhupf classics.