Like many other Hungarians, full-blooded or not, I’m not particularly a fan of főzelék, which is best described as a creamy vegetable dish. However, considering that lencsefőzelék is almost always just thick lentil soup, I decided to go ahead and try a tin of the sort you can purchase at almost any supermarket or corner store in Hungary for Ft 250-Ft 400 (€1.00-€1.60). Although after this review, you probably won’t.
Perhaps feeling a little dangerous, or a little masochistic, I warmed the tin of Lencsefőzelék kolbásszal you see above using the recommended “traditional” method written on the side of the can, which involves throwing it into a pot of boiling water for ten minutes or so.
After ten minutes, I removed the tin from the water, and pried it open, managing to slice one of my fingers in the process as well. Once on the plate, it looked as it did in the picture above, as the lentils were on the top, while the sausage pieces were in a liquidy substance on the bottom.
After a little stirring of my plate, the meal looked like this, which is quite a bit more palatable. So, now that it was ready, it was time for the taste test: after taking a somewhat hesitant spoonful, the first reaction after tasting the stuff was “Mmm… pasty!”
Despite the somewhat smoky flavor of the dish, the lentils were not so lentilly, nor was the kolbász nearly as sausage-like as I’d have preferred. To be honest, the sausages dissolved in my mouth, something sausages should never do. By the end of the meal, all that was left on my plate was a formless slop.
So, while I did not suffer any side effects (nausea, diarrhea, whooping cough, etc.) from this particular item, I’d still suggest extreme caution. Even Oliver Twist would not ask for more of this.
