I know, I know… today’s recipe is NOT Italian. But this specific dish is very dear to my heart. You see, when I was a child I visited Hungary with my parents and I had the best Hortobágyi palacsinta ever in this small restaurant in Budapest. It was 1992… 20 years ago (oh my!) and Hungary was quite different then. We travelled by car and had a fantastic time… it is such a beautiful country. I have longed to be back ever since. And I have longed to eat Hortobágyi palacsinta too. I have been looking for a good recipe for a long time and I finally found one and today I want to share it with you. Palacsinta is basically a crêpe that can be both sweet (I have had some fantastic sweet ones in Prague) and savoury, like in this case. These crêpes are filled with a delicious meat sauce, covered with some more sauce mixed with sour cream and then baked. Trust me when I say they are mouth watering. I made them with veal, but they can be made with beef, chicken or pork too, or a mix of those. Serve them with an extra dollop of sour cream and a green salad on the side for a delicious meal! Enjoy… jó étvágyat!

5 from 1 vote Print Hortobágyi Palacsinta How to make a delicious Hungarian dish: Hortobágyi palacsinta - a meat filled crêpe with a tomato and sour cream sauce.

Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 45 minutes Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes Servings 2 Author Recipe adapted from Zsuzsa is in the Kitchen Ingredients Pörkölt (meat stew) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup onions diced

250 gms – ½ lb. ground veal or chicken

150 gms tinned tomatoes diced

1 pinch caraway seeds

1 tbsp parsley chopped

½ cup water

¼ cup sour cream

2 tsp paprika

Salt & Pepper to taste Crêpes 2 eggs

½ cup flour

½ cup milk Pörkölt sauce Sauce from the pörkölt

½ cup sour cream

1/8 cup flour Instructions Put the extra virgin olive oil and the chopped onions in a frying pan and sauté them until translucent. Add the meat and sauté it until brown. Make sure to break up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Add the tomatoes and water and stir well. Now stir in the paprika, caraway seeds and parsley. Cook for a few minutes, until the sauce thickens. Add 1/4 cup of sour cream to the meat sauce and stir to combine. Sieve the meat sauce and let the pörkölt sauce collect in a bowl. Keep it aside. In the meantime, make the crêpes. Put the eggs, flour and milk in a bowl and whisk with a balloon whisk until you get a smooth batter. Take a non stick frying pan and put it on the fire. When hot add ¼ tsp of oil and a ladle of batter by swirling the pan so the batter coats the base of the pan. You want to make the coating thin (about 1.5 mm – 0.06 inch thick). When the surface of the crêpe dries up, it is time to flip it over. Do so by using a plastic spatula to loosen its sides first and then flip it over. Cook it for a minute more, then remove it from the pan and keep it aside. Repeat this till your batter is over. Divide the meat between the crêpes and fold them up like burritos. Spray an oven proof dish with cooking spray or oil and place the filled crêpes in it. Keep it aside. Combine the pörkölt sauce with 1/8 cup of flour and ½ a cup of sour cream and whisk until smooth. Pour the sauce over the crêpes and bake in a preheated oven at 175°C – 350°F for 15 minutes. Serve your hortobágyi palacsinta with a dollop of sour cream and a green salad on the side.

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