Hungarian and Jewish recipes from Second Generation

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Our cookbook of the week is Second Generation by chef Jeremy Salamon.

Jump to the recipes: körözött (Hungarian pimento cheese), nokedli in chicken broth with so much dill and palacsinta Americana (sweet pancakes).

Jeremy Salamon has long had ambitious goals: writing a cookbook and owning a restaurant. As it turned out, the two fed into each other. The James Beard Award-nominated chef started writing his cookbook debut, Second Generation, in 2018. Unable to find a home for the manuscript, he focused all his attention on his Bib Gourmand-awarded Brooklyn restaurant, Agi’s Counter, which he opened in November 2021 at 27 years old.

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“In many ways, the restaurant and the book are companions,” says Salamon, who takes inspiration from his grandmothers, Agi and Arlene, for his creative take on Hungarian and Jewish cuisine.

Second Generation allowed him more space to tell his story and spotlight some of the traditional dishes he serves at Agi’s Counter. The restaurant has strong Hungarian and Eastern European influences, but Salamon stretches it further, taking inspiration from the markets and what’s around him in New York City.

Salamon, who has cooked at acclaimed New York restaurants such as Via Carota, Prune and The Eddy, was inspired to explore the Hungarian cuisine he grew up eating at his paternal grandmother’s table in Boca Raton, Florida, after coming across a well-worn copy of The Cuisine of Hungary (1971) by George Lang in a Manhattan bookstore. It was the first Hungarian cookbook he’d ever seen, and finding it was a pivotal moment in his culinary career.

“It changed the course of a lot of things for me. (Growing up), my grandmother, Agi, was not so willing to give away information or recipes. Although she spoke Hungarian openly in the house, she never wanted to teach it to me. Food-wise, she would make chicken paprikash or goulash and these Hungarian fixtures, but they were surrounded by very Americanized, very American dishes. There would be steak Diane and eggplant Parmesan next to nokedli and palacsinta. So, I didn’t have much of an understanding of what Hungarian cuisine was, where it had been or where it might be going.”

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Lang’s book provided a much-needed education. “There are a couple hundred pages right in the front — it’s very niche, very specific — all on the history of Hungarian cuisine, and the influences and how it got to be where it is today. And so, that was an eye-opening experience, especially as a young, impressionable cook looking for a thing to latch on to.”

For Salamon, reading The Cuisine of Hungary sparked a decade of discovery. He hosted a series of Eastern European-Hungarian pop-ups, putting his spin on the cuisine. Eventually, Salamon realized that the best way to learn was to return to Hungary for the first time since childhood. With older and younger sets of cousins, he experienced different sides of Hungarian life: the traditional and the “young and clubby,” which was a nice contrast, he says, laughing. Spending time in Hungary in his late teens and early 20s helped him decide on a direction.

Many people of Hungarian heritage have welcomed Salamon’s approach to the cuisine, though a few others have been displeased that he would alter his grandmother’s food in any way. “I feel like that’s normal. I’m also kind of flattered by that because it means I’m shaking things up a little bit. And that’s OK. Why not? That’s how you move a cuisine forward and explore new things.”

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Several high-profile, modern Eastern European cookbooks have been published recently, focusing on cuisines such as Baltic, Romanian and Ukrainian, but none have centred on Hungary. “A specifically Hungarian cookbook has not really been on shelves in the last 30 years, 40 years. All the ones you do see are beige and brown. They don’t have photos. Maybe they’re from the ’60s or the ’70s. So, I felt like the book, if this was going to be on shelves, it had to turn that notion of this cuisine being somewhat humdrum and meat- and sauce-heavy on its head.”

Vibrant and full of colour, “Second Generation is not my grandmothers’ cookbook, but it is my way of sharing a bit of their magic with you,” writes Salamon. Whether a friend or family member, some people have “that very specific touch of magic,” he says. “Something so specific to them that you can’t quite explain. I was lucky enough to have both my grandmothers and to experience that firsthand. So, I tried to capture whatever that is and put it in a book.”

Salamon sees Second Generation as a way to pick up where his grandmothers left off. He sprinkles notes throughout, reminiscent of the tips Arlene would jot down on the recipes she ripped from magazines. “She’d be like, ‘Don’t do that. Do this.’ Or, ‘This would be better with that.’ And so I’ve done that in my own way throughout the book. I’ve given the readers and the cooks opportunities to explore different versions of these recipes.”

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Agi grew up in Budapest and survived life in the Jewish ghetto during the Second World War. Amid the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, she fled to Austria and then New York City, where she assimilated. “Her version of Hungarian cuisine became something new to her, and then it became something new to me,” says Salamon. “I hope that it evolves for the next generation, for your family and friends, and becomes your own thing after time.”

KÖRÖZÖTT

Hungarian Pimento Cheese

Makes: 4 cups

16 oz (455 g) cream cheese (preferably Philadelphia), softened
1 cup (250 mL) piquillo peppers, drained and finely chopped
2 tbsp (30 mL) Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tbsp (22 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) kosher salt
1 tbsp (15 mL) caraway seeds, toasted (see note)
1 tbsp (15 mL) sweet Hungarian paprika
8 oz (225 g) sharp cheddar, shredded (2 cups)
1/2 large yellow onion, finely minced (1/2 cup/125 mL)

To plate:
Minced chives
Freshly ground black pepper
Flaky sea salt
Chips, crackers or toast

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Step 1

Combine the cream cheese, chopped peppers, mustard, lemon juice, kosher salt, caraway seeds and paprika in a food processor and process for about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until you have a smooth mixture. Transfer to a large bowl and gently fold in the cheddar and onion until combined.

Step 2

To plate: Scrape the körözött into a large serving bowl and garnish with chives, black pepper and a pinch of flaky salt. Accompany with chips (Ruffles, if you have them), crackers or toast.

Wine pairing: Try pairing körözött with a fuller-bodied white wine with greener flavours and aged in used oak, like Furmint, Zöldveltelini (Grüner Veltliner) or similar.

Note: To toast caraway seeds, set a small skillet over medium heat until warm. Add the seeds and shake into an even layer. Continue to shake occasionally as the seeds toast, 2 to 3 minutes. You’re looking for a very fragrant aroma with barely any colour. Transfer the seeds to a bowl to cool completely.

NOKEDLI IN CHICKEN BROTH WITH SO MUCH DILL

Serves: 4

2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp (2 mL) kosher salt, plus more as needed
4 large eggs
2/3 cup (150 mL) whole milk
8 cups (2 L) chicken stock, store-bought or homemade
1 cup (250 mL) roughly chopped fresh dill
Extra-virgin olive oil

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Step 1

Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until fully incorporated. The mixture should resemble a thick pancake batter. Let rest for 30 minutes to thicken.

Step 2

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Once your water is boiling, set a colander over it. Make sure you have an exit strategy ready: a large bowl and a slotted spoon will do.

Step 3

Working in batches, push the batter through the colander using a bench scraper or metal spatula. The batter should drip through the colander and into the water. Let cook for 30 seconds, until the nokedli pop to the surface. Use a wide slotted spoon or spider strainer to transfer nokedli to a clean large bowl. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Step 4

Pour the chicken stock into a large Dutch oven over high heat and add nokedli. Bring to a rolling boil, then immediately turn off the heat. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Ladle the soup into individual bowls or mugs and garnish with so much dill and a little bit of olive oil.

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Wine pairing: Pair the nokedli with a fuller-bodied Somlói white wine aged in oak or with a similar savoury-salty fuller white.

PALACSINTA AMERICANA

Sweet Pancakes

Makes: 16 crepes

For the crepes:
4 cups (1 L) all-purpose flour
4 cups (1 L) whole milk
1 3/4 cups (425 mL) cold seltzer
8 large eggs
1 1/2 tbsp (22 mL) pure vanilla extract
Kosher salt
Unsalted butter, for greasing

Toppings:
Fresh cheese
Syrupy walnuts
Chocolate rum sauce
Cinnamon sugar
Fruit compotes or jams
Cherry caramel
Whipped cream

Step 1

Make the crepes: Whisk together the flour, milk, seltzer, eggs, vanilla and a big pinch of salt in a large bowl. Let the batter rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Step 2

Set an 8-inch (20-cm) crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a small scoop of butter to the pan, tilting to cover the surface. Ladle the crepe batter onto the pan, tilting so the batter covers the entire surface. Don’t be afraid to add a little more batter if it needs it. Let the first side of the crepe cook for about 2 minutes. You’ll know to flip when the sides of the crepe begin to peel up off the pan. Using a spatula (I like to use my fingers like Grandma Agi), flip the crepe over and continue to cook on the other side for less than a minute. The result should be a golden-brown crepe that looks like it has craters spattered about it. Your first crepe will most likely be a throwaway and that’s normal. Every batch should get a practice run. Continue with the rest of the batter to make 12 crepes, stacking each one on the plate as they’re done. Serve with any or all of the suggested toppings. Palacsinta are best enjoyed the same day.

Recipes and images excerpted from the book Second Generation by Jeremy Salamon. Copyright ©2024 by Jeremy Salamon. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

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