As we mentioned on Monday, local markets in Hungary are currently featuring some seasonal items that shouldn’t be overlooked. In addition to eating as many blueberries as you can stomach, another key item for your basket is a bag of fresh tarkabab (left). If you’re not new to shopping in Hungary, the tarkabab won’t be especially new to you, being available year-round in dried form, and featuring in many a homespun Magyar dish. But what you might not know is when not in Hungary the unglamorous tarkabab can often be found leading a fabulous second life as the borlotti bean.
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve cooked two delicious and elegant international dishes using fresh tarkabab, which in Central Budapest are currently going for around Ft 800 (€2.90) a kilo, shelled and bagged. One was a spectacular baked dish courtesy of Australian cookbook maven Donna Hays, featuring lots of beef broth and garlic. The other (top right) was a traditional Tuscan salad, with the beans’ natural nuttiness being highlighted by modest amounts of olive oil, lemon, parsley, salt and pepper. While this dish is obviously great for vegetarians, we found that a few slices of crisped pancetta (Italian unsmoked bacon) made it even more fabulous.
Either way, get out and get some quick, as there are only two or three weeks left until these glamorous delights disappear from the local market for the rest of the year, no doubt to spend the winter on a yacht in the Caribbean.
