Some Tasty Bits from Hungary’s Őrség Region

After spending five days in the gorgeous Őrség region, I cannot believe that it took me this long to get around to visiting this corner of the country. Much of the region is a nature reserve, and the place feels so intact with not a Communist-era apartment block in sight. Houses here are traditional, many have thatched roofs, and they’re often situated in clusters which once were occupied by extended families. There are rolling hills, meadows filled with wild flowers, flocks of storks wandering through newly plowed fields in search of snacks, pine forests, lakes and ponds, a 700 year-old frescoed church built in the Árpád era, and the nearby borders with Austria and Slovenia. In a word, it’s the definition of idyllic.

We got into the rural vibe of the place by staying on a working farm in the village of Szalafő, the Ferencz Porta, which is run by a couple who decided that they had enough of Budapest, and moved their lives to this farm 20 years ago. They have six kids, (who all have their own jobs on the farm), cattle, pigs, chickens and goats. Connected to their house are a few apartments which they rent for tourists. Ours was right next to the pigs, who were quite happy when we tossed our scraps over the fence for them to guzzle down. We drank milk fresh from their cows with our coffee, and ate their házi butter, túró, sour cream and gomolya. They just sold 100 of their goats, so the cheese was all cow cheese – flavored with things like saffron, paprika, thyme, lemon balm and onions. Tibor Ferencz – who perfectly fit the image of what a farmer should look like with his beard, overalls and plaid shirts – is a farmer to watch out for. He thinks Hungarian beef is terrible for three reasons: the breeds probably aren’t right, the animals don’t eat the right food and people don’t know how to cook with beef. He is dying for a good steak, and he is attempting to raise some cattle that will give him one.

There were few restaurants in the region, which was fine with us. Here are some highlights of what we ate, all found within a few steps or a short bike ride from our door:

• A variety of cheeses from the Ferencz Porta
• Túrogombóc made from the túró, butter and sour cream from Ferencz Porta
• Tökmagolaj (pumpkin seed oil), a specialty of the region which is sold everywhere
• Home-baked kiflik from a village néni
• A kilogram of freshly foraged vargányak (porcini mushrooms) which were later turned into a gombapörkölt
• And, dishes to eat everything on, made by Rezső Csotar, a potter in Syentgzörgzvölgy. Because of its soil which makes for good clay, the region is full of potters, which means you can take home something from your trip other than the extra kilo or so you are likely to be wearing, thanks to all the good food.