Ingredients
Pasta
- 400 gcsusza, flat square egg pasta
- or wide egg noodles broken into squares
Bacon
- 200 gsmoked streaky bacon or szalonna, diced small
Cheese
- 500 gtúró, Hungarian dry curd cheese
Cream
- 300 mltejföl, sour cream
Also
- salt
- black pepper
To serve
- extra sour cream
- extra crackling
- a pinch of sugar, for the sweet version
Directions
- Crumble it by hand rather than blending it, keeping the pieces varied. Now the bacon, which is done first. Dice the bacon small and render it slowly in a dry pan.
- Lift them out with a slotted spoon and keep the fat in the pan. That rendered fat is what dresses the pasta, so do not throw it away. Drain it, keeping a little of the cooking water. Now toss the hot drained pasta in the bacon fat.
- Toss it in the fat while it is still hot, so every piece is coated. This is what keeps it from clumping and it carries the smoky flavour through.
- Take the pan off the heat before the curd and cream go in. Add the túró and sour cream off the heat. Sour cream splits if it is heated hard, and túró goes rubbery and squeaky.
- Fold them through gently with a splash of the pasta water to loosen it. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper.
- Taste it, and expect it to be mild, tangy and rich all at once. Now serve it immediately, while hot. Divide it between warmed bowls.
- Spoon over more sour cream and scatter the crisp bacon on top. The extra cold sour cream against the hot pasta and the crisp salty bacon is the whole balance of the dish.
Technique
- Túró is closest to quark and is not the same as cottage cheese.
- The sugar question is a genuine and unresolved Hungarian argument.
- It is served as a main course, not a side.
Substitutions
- Quark or dry curd cheese in place of túró.
- Wide egg noodles broken into squares.
Variations
- Made sweet, with sugar and no bacon.
- Túrós metélt, with ribbon pasta.
- With dill through it, which some regions add.
History
Pasta with curd cheese, sour cream and crisp bacon, sweet and salty at once, an old Hungarian farmhouse dish.
Frequently asked questions
What is Túrós csusza?
Túrós csusza is a main from Hungary: pasta with curd cheese, sour cream, crisp bacon. Pasta with curd cheese, sour cream and crisp bacon, sweet and salty at once, an old Hungarian farmhouse dish.
How long does Túrós csusza take to make?
Túrós csusza takes 20 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Túrós csusza?
Yes, within limits. Quark or dry curd cheese in place of túró. Wide egg noodles broken into squares.
What is the most important thing to get right in Túrós csusza?
Crumble it by hand rather than blending it, keeping the pieces varied. Now the bacon, which is done first. Dice the bacon small and render it slowly in a dry pan.
