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Hungarian Tidbits

Hungarian Pea Soup – Borsóleves


A light vegetable soup often served in the summer as a starter, spiced with paprika and fresh parsley.

Ingredients

  • 400 g peas (fresh or frozen)
  • small onion finely chopped
  • 2 medium carrots diced
  • 1/2 kohlraby diced (optional)
  • large bunch of parsley finely chopped
  • 100 ml of vegetable oil
  • 3500 ml water
  • 2 tablespoons of white flour
  • 1 tablespoon of Hungarian paprika powder
  • NOKEDLI PASTA if using
    (or subsitute “nokedli” with a bit of ready made pasta for soups)
  • 1 eggs for the nokedli pasta
  • 100g flour for the nokedli pasta – if using

How to make

  1. Gently fry the chopped onion in the oil , when translucent add the flour, stir around till it just starts to develop a light colour.
  2. Pull the pan off the heat, add the Hungarian paprika powder, combine. (Paprika easily burns so need to work quickly at this stage). Put the rue mixture onto the heat again, make sure it’s bubbling then gradually pour into the equally hot soup while stirring vigorously for a smooth lump free consistency.
  3. Add the peas, carrots and kohlabry if you have it, cover and cook on medium heat
  4. Meanwhile prepare the “nokedli” pasta. Beat the egg then gradually add the flour and work it into a smooth wet dough consistency. With a nokedli (or the german spaetzle) maker add the noodles into the soup, here is a detailed version how it’s made.Tip: you can tear small pieces from the nokedli dough with an oiled spoon over the simmering soup, or leave the nokedli all together and just sprinkle in a small handful of ready-made pasta for soups and cook according to package instructions.
  5. Finally add the freshly chopped parsley and serve.

6 thoughts on “Hungarian Pea Soup – Borsóleves

  1. Looks like liquid is not included in this recipe? Is it chicken broth? Beef broth? Water? would like to know how much liquid, thanks very much.

  2. The grandkids like to make csipetke – like nokedli only much thicker (more flour) so that you can pinch little bits off – like that you don’t have to work over the boiling soup…

  3. Great that you are teaching your grandkids these skills, I used to love helping my grandmother in the kitchen. Csipetke, is an authentic small pasta type used in soups, it’s probably even better than nokedli in this soup.

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