We fetishise food. We are told that this ingredient or that ingredient is currently fashionable and good for us and that we should eat it. Quinoa is like that at the moment. I was never a joiner and most importantly I was never a snob. I don’t believe that’s how cuisine works. Food is not fashion. Food is basic, food is unaffected. Food is primal.
Take the humble larded potatoes. Hungary lived on it for years. It was the first hot dish young people were thought to make, in case they got hungry. Now nobody is willing to admit that they ever tasted it. Just look for zsíros krumpli on the Internet and you will get anything but.
Zsíros krumpli can be basic, or made with chicken or pork drippings. Add some caraway seeds or freshly chopped parsley and you get caraway seed or parsley potatoes. If you don’t have homemade lard, use drippings or replace the lard with butter. We used to LIKE this. In fact we liked it so much that it was part of our Christmas feast. I don’t want szardellás palacsinta for Christmas, I want zsíros krumpli. “But lard is so fattening!” So is all that red meat you guzzle up with your salad.
I would like to have a serving of zsíros krumpli. See how easy it is?
LARDED POTATOES
2 potatoes per person* [any type]
1 Tbsp homemade lard or meat drippings
salt and pepper to taste
• Place a wide bottomed pot on the stove and fill it halfway up with hot water.
• Bring the water to the boil.
• Meanwhile peel and chop the potatoes into even sized cubes.
• Drop the potatoes into the boiling water. Make sure the potatoes are not crowded and are covered with water.
• Bring to full boil.
• Cook until the potatoes are tender, but not so soft they fall apart. Keep an eye on them, don’t overcook.
• Immediately drain off all the water.
• Add the needed lard or meat dripping to the potatoes and cover with a lid.
• In a few minutes the lard will melt, gently shake the pot to evenly grease the potatoes.
• Serve immediately.
* As a side, one potato for every person
