In Hungary, we have a whole type of dishes called “főzelék” best described by the English word “pottage”. It’s a lovechild of a soup and a stew made of vegetables and a staple of Hungarian school canteens. The most popular ones are lentil, yellow split-pea, green pea, potato and bean.

I often make lentil, yellow split-pea and green pea pottage. on the picture you can see the one made of lentil.

The recipe: I soak the brown lentils (I use 500g, which serves 4-6 people, but since my boyfriend does OMAD and I make this dish very, very good, it’s often gone within a day) overnight. The next day, I chop up two onions (red, white, doesn’t matter) and sweat them a little on some oil, typically olive or sunflower seed. Then I add the spices: about a tablespoon of paprika, two teaspoons of salt, a tablespoon of marjoram, a pinch of black pepper and some dried vegetable mix. I mix it all up, but make sure to add water almost straight away to avoid the paprika burning (it burns quick and turns bitter!). I add the drained lentils and top it off with some water. I let it boil for about an hour, or until the lentils are soft. Meanwhile, I make some “rántás” to thicken it. In a separate pot, I heat some oil of my choosing, then add about a tablespoon of flour and stir it until it becomes slightly brown. Then I turn off the heat under the pot and add some cold water. After letting it sit for a while, I mix it all up (this way, it won’t turn lumpy). I add a couple tablespoons of mustard to the mixture, then slowly pour it into the other pot with the lentils (it has to be boiling while I do this) and mix it all up. It should thicken within a minute.

The consistency should be like a really thick soup, but it will thicken further as it cools down. You can add some water if you go too far with the rántás :)

I usually serve it with some vegan bangers or tofu, but it makes a great meal on its own. You can add some fried onions or sour cream to top it off, and I recommend serving it with some fresh bread.

The pizza rolls: The recipe for the dough is not mine, and it’s from a Hungarian video, so I cannot really share it, I think. However, it’s just a pretty basic cinnamon roll dough with some oregano and chili flakes added to it. The filling is a spicy marinara sauce and hella nutritional yeast. You can top it with some vegan cheese or seeds of some sort. I sometimes also add corn to the filling.