Balaton Villa ~ Food & Wine

FOOD & WINE

The Balaton region is a good place to eat, drink and be merry.
Four types of landscape meet here: water, mountains, hills and the plain, and in gastronomical terms that means that
all the basic materials for cooking are available in abundance. The vast lake has been home to fish for thousands of years,
the forests of the hills are rich in game, and in their valleys animal husbandry thrives.
On the hills fruit trees bow under the weight of the harvest, while the plain provides cereals and vegetables.
A chef who sets to work in such a vast, natural pantry can truly give free reign to the imagination…

Fish undoubtedly take pride of place amongst the dishes of Lake Balaton, the “king” being Balaton pike-perch.
This predator of the perch family can weigh up to 9-10 kg. and measure 120 cm. Its flesh is snowy white, flaky, boneless, with a fresh taste,
so it is no accident that it has been at the top of the Balaton menus for centuries.
The classical way to cook it is to fry it whole. The company gathered round the table will greet the waiter with cries of delight
when he appears with this golden brown fried masterpiece, served on a silver platter with a lemon segment in its mouth.

It is also worth tasting game while staying by Lake Balaton.
From the expansive forests of the Bakony foothills, the Keszthely hill, and the Somogy hills,
roe deer, stags, wild boar, moufflon and fallow deer, while from the large meadows hare, pheasant, and partridge are available for the table.
A little appetizer: venison in red wine with blackcurrant jam and croquette potatoes, or back of hare, hunter’s style, with dumplings.

Finally, goulash cooked in a cauldron must also be mentioned here.

Those who come first time from abroad to Lake Balaton should make this dish their first appointment with Hungarian cuisine.

WINE

The wine in Hungary is superb.
In any restaurant, any bar and any supermarket, selecting Hungarian wine at random will almost guarantee you a good wine.
Vines were brought to the region two thousand years ago by the Romans.
The soil and climate of the Balaton region favours this delicate plant, and now Lake Balaton has become almost synonymous with good wines.

A large area of the wine growing region next to Lake Balaton is encircled by the southern slopes of the Keszthely hills and the Kál Basin.
Many varieties of white grapes grow in these parts, but the most famous is the locally selected Cserszegi fűszeres (“spicy wine of Cserszeg”),
the wine of which, with its spicy bouquet and nose, has won a dozen or so competitions.
Grapes have long been cultivated on the southern shore of Lake Balaton too.
The varieties grown are no different from those on the other shore, but the sandy soil lends them an entirely different flavour.
In these parts, the cellars mature smooth, fruity wines, rich in aromas.

We hope you enjoy both the food and wine, and your trip to Lake Balaton.

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For More Information, please contact Laura

01245 422959

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Laura@balaton-villa.co.uk