Halušky with bryndza and bacon
Halušky are Slovak potato dumplings, made from raw potatoes and flour. Cooked dumplings can be served with bryndza and cracklings – the dish is then called “bryndzové halušky“, or with cabbage and cracklings – then it is called “strapačky”. Regardless of the way it is served, this dish is a national dish of Slovaks and everyone who visits that country should try it at least once. But before you have the opportunity to try halušky on the spot, I encourage you to prepare them at home.
To prepare halušky with bryndza and cracklings, you need floury potatoes, flour, bryndza cheese, sour cream and smoked bacon. It is best to start the whole process by grating or grinding potatoes in a food processor. Grate or grind the potatoes, squeeze out the excess juice and combine the potato mash with the flour. The potatoes and flour should form a thick potato mass, which then needs to be poured into boiling water with noodles grater. Halušky are cooked for a few minutes, and when ready, they are poured into a colander and rinsed with cold water.
Smoked bacon, which is used for serving, should be cut into medium-sized cubes and melted in a pan. I serve my halušky in such a way that I combine all the ingredients, i.e. noodles, cream, cheese and crackling. Before serving, I bake the whole thing in the oven for a while, because I like when the cheese and cream are warm. Serve the baked halušky sprinkled with bacon cracklings and cheese. I invite you to the following recipe for halušky with bryndza and bacon and I wish you a tasty meal.
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Ingredients for halušky with bryndza and bacon.
Halušky dough:
- 700 g floury potatoes
- 200-250 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 egg optional
Additionally:
- 200 g bryndza cheese
- 200 g smoked bacon
- 150 g sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
How to make halušky with bryndza and bacon.
Start preparing the dough for halušky by grating potatoes on a small-mesh grater. Next, put a kitchen towel over a large bowl, pour the grated potatoes on them, grab the ends of the cloth and pull them towards the center, so that a ball of potato mass is closed inside. Try your best to squeeze the juice out of the potatoes. Set the bowl of potato juice aside for a while so that the potato starch settles at its the bottom. Next, pour out the juice and add the starch to the squeezed potato mass.
Put the potato mass in a separate bowl, and add the starch and gradually the flour, while stirring continuously with a spoon. The potato mass should be thick and sticky. It may not be necessary to add the entire amount of flour that I provide in the ingredients, it all depends on the type potatoes used and the thickness of the mass. If the mass is not sticky, add an egg as well.
Pour water into a large pot, add a teaspoon of salt and bring it to a boil. When the water in the pot starts boiling, reduce the heat, place a noodle grater over the pot and pour the batter on it. Using the grater, form dumplings. Bring the water with the noodles to a boil and cook over a low heat, from the moment the noodles float to the surface of the water, for about 5 minutes. Pour the cooked noodles into a colander, rinse with cold water and set aside to drain.
Add medium-sized diced bacon to a frying pan and melt it over a low heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. In a bowl, mix sour cream with bryndza cheese, pepper and salt. Add the bacon cracklings and cooked dumplings and mix thoroughly. The noodles are ready to serve, but you can still bake them in the oven for a while. If you decide to bake them, put the combined ingredients into a heat-resistant dish and put them in the oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.
Good to know when making halušky with bryndza and bacon.
The cracklings can also be prepared from pork fat, it does not necessarily have to be bacon.
If you don’t have a noodles grater at home, you can also tear the dough with your fingers and put small pieces of it in boiling water.
Do you like dumplings? If so, try our recipe for Lazy dumplings – Polish recipe.
