Originally uploaded by zannnielim This is my first homemade Stromboli. The filling are salami, sausages, cheese and hot green pepper. The cheese I used is trappista, could have used mozarella instead, but that was what is available in the store for today.
Kürtös kalács or also known as cozonac secuiesc ("Székely cake") in Romanian, is a pastry popular in Romania and Hungary, originally from Transylvania. It is baked on a tapered cylindrical spit over an open fire. It is made by a thin yeast pastry ribbon wound around a wooden cylinder, heavily sprinkled with sugar, thus becoming a helix-shaped cylindrical pastry or a pastry roll that sometimes tapers very slightly towards the end. The pastry is baked on a hand-turned, tapered, wooden spit, rolled slowly on the wooden cylinder above an open fire.
The dough is yeast-raised, flavored with sweet spices, the most common being cinnamon, topped with walnuts or almonds, and sugar. The sugar is caramelized on the kürtöskalács surface, creating a sweet, crispy crust. You can find it easily in any christmas fairs or christmas markets.
In Transylvania, we stayed for a few days in Băile Tuşnad (Tusnádfürdő) which is a town in Harghita County, Romania. There are many Hungarians living in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The owner of the accommodation recommended us to an authentic Székely restaurant which serves the best beef stew I've ever tasted. Székely Marhapörkölt includes pork knuckle simply tastes delicious. It is the aromatic addition and the tenderness of the beef just makes it so delectable! Besides, the sour cream that topped the dish was so creamy and just makes it tasted so good.
Following is a video recipe for the Székely Marhapörkölt as well as the galuska or nokedli as we called it here in Hungary.
A not to be missed dish is the Christmas Ham. It is much of a tradition in many households. The meat 'score' in these diamond pattern makes it looked especially appetizing! Check out the video below of a Ginger Glazed Ham by Nigella Lawson.
