On Tuesday we hosted a Hungarian supper, by Ofer Guez. The meal sold out within less than a week. It was a lovely intimate evening, with just 18 of us - a mixture of regular and new faces, including a special guest of Ofer’s - Claudia Roden - cookbook writer, anthropologist and grande dame of Jewish food.
At the start of each course Ofer shared the story behind the dishes which were inspired by his grandmother’s kitchen. Ofer’s grandmother adjusted dishes depending on who was at the table, even adapting traditional Hungarian meals when her grandchildren became vegan.
Everything including the seitan, nokedli and cashew sour cream was hand made from scratch by Ofer.
On the menu was:
Chilled Cherry Soup
Goulash of mushrooms, root vegetables and seitan, served with Nokedli (Hungarian dumplings) and cashew sour cream and cucumber and dill salad
Chocolate and chestnut mousse served with vanilla whipped cream.
You can follow Ofer on Instagram here.
Here is a summary of the evening from Claudia Roden:
‘The Hungarian vegan dinner by Ofer on Tuesday night was a delicious surprise – a combination of amazing textures and exciting delicate flavours. It was also a joy to share the meal with lovely company. It was very special because it was really inspired by his grandmother, and it was moving as well - the food was rooted somewhere. He brings a personal note, so people relate to him’.
And some feedback from other guests:
‘It was a really lovely evening and the food was delicious. It worked very well socially that there was a theme. It was very nice to hear from Ofer about the recipes and he has a delightful personality, which made for a very relaxed gathering. It was our first experience of Hungarian cuisine!’
‘It was a lovely evening and it would be lovely to have Ofer's seitan recipe. It was great to see Claudia Roden too, and to meet old and new friends in a convivial atmosphere’.
‘Fantastic food, wonderful company, good to discover Hungarian paprika sauce and seitan!’