Halušky with Bryndza Cheese Substitution
4 servings

Active Time: 30 min.
Total Time: 30 min.
Level of Advancement: 1/5

Recipe author: Tom Slepicka
Published: 1/15/2024
Email: [email protected]
www.cookinghub.com

Halušky are delicious and traditional Slovak potato pasta. Part of this meal is a traditional Slovak cheese called Bryndza, which is one of the ingredients that makes this meal very special. Unfortunately, it is not easy to get this cheese in the USA. This recipe will, however, allow you to enjoy this meal thanks to the substitution I recommend in this recipe. You will have fun while preparing this meal, and the original and delicious flavor will be your reward!

Ingredients:

Halušky batter:
2 LB of potatoes (Amount before peeling, I usually round up the number of potatoes and end up using a couple of OZ more in order to prevent food waste.)
2 large eggs
½ TSP of salt
2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

Bryndza cheese substitution with bacon:
1 LB of feta cheese – crumbled and drained (buy crumbled or crumbled right before usage)
¾ cup of sour cream – adjust if needed
½ TSP of ground pepper
Optional 1 LB of bacon - diced *
1 TBSP of frying oil - adjust if needed

* Skip for a vegetarian option

Optional final touch:
Chives – finely chopped
Parsley – finely chopped

Tools:
Chef's Knife & Cutting Board
Measuring Spoons & Measuring Cups
Peeler
Box Grater or Kitchen Mixer with Grater Attachment or Food Processor
Immersion Blender or Food Processor or Blender
Large Mixing Bowls (about 8 QT or more)
Kitchen Mixer with Whisk Attachment of hand mixer
Large Sauce Pan or Medium Pot (about 6 QT)
Large Fry Pan or Large Sauté Pan (12" or more)
Wooden Spoon or High-Temperature Silicone Spatula 
Halušky/Spaetzle Press or Colander (with Holes about ¼”)
Fine Strainer
Colander in the mixing bowl (to let water from halušky drip in after cooking)

Directions:

Potato preparation:

Briefly rinse the potatoes under cold water and then peel.

Shred the potatoes into a large mixing bowl. Use the fine-sized holes for shredding.

Halušky batter:

Add:

2 large eggs
½ TSP of salt

Thoroughly stir together with a spatula until nicely combined.

Process until smooth with an immersion blender.

Important:
Make sure that the batter is well-processed).

Add into the larger mixing bowl:

2 ½ cups of flour

Thoroughly stir together with a spatula until nicely combined.

Tip:
If the batter is too thick to be comfortable to stir, consider stirring in a little bit of water.

Let it rest on the counter for about 15 minutes.

Set water to preheat:

Put water to preheat in a large pot with a lid (fill to ½ capacity) for cooking halušky in later steps.

Optionally prepare bacon:

Preheat a sauté pan on medium-high heat with 1 TBSP of frying oil and add:

1 LB of bacon - chopped into small pieces

Sauté with constant stirring until it is cooked as you like.

Leave it in the pan and put aside for a later step.

Bryndza cheese substitution:

Place into the kitchen mixer with whisk attachment:

1 LB of feta cheese – crumbled and drained
¾ cup of sour cream – adjust if needed
½ TSP of ground pepper

Process on high speed until combined and smooth – based on the feta consistency, some crumbles can be present (usually about 2 – 3 minutes).

Leave it in a mixing bowl for later steps.

Cook the halušky:

Right before you start cooking the halušky, stir the batter thoroughly once again to make sure that it is nicely combined.

Important:
The batter should have the consistency of the thick porridge. If it is too thick, consider stirring in some water; if it is too runny, consider stirring in some extra flour.
It is important to process halušky through a halušky press (or strainer) fast. To make the whole process comfortable, cook halušky in batches.
To make sure that your batter is correct (not falling apart while cooking), start cooking a very small amount first to be able to adjust the remaining batter if needed.

Place the halušky press on the top of the pot with boiling water (or place the colander with ¼” holes on the top of the pot).

Process halušky in the boiling water:

Halušky press:
Process the halušky batter quickly with a front and back motion into the boiling water until all the batter is in.

Colander with ¼” holes:
Press the batter through the strainer utilizing a silicone spatula.

Tip:
If you have a hard time processing batter in the water (the batter is too thick), consider stirring in a little bit of water.

Let it cook for about 1 – 2 minutes (the halušky needs to rise to the top before you finish cooking).

Tip:
If the halušky falls apart during cooking, add more batter into the remaining mixture.

Using a fine strainer, collect the halušky from the boiling water and place into the colander in the mixing bowl to let the water drip off.

When an entire batch is in the colander, place it immediately (while still hot) into a large mixing bowl with the Bryndza cheese substitution and stir.

Cook all the remaining batter into the halušky and always place it in the mixing bowl with the Bryndza cheese substitution and stir.

Assemble & Serve:

When the entire halušky batter is cooked, stir a bigger part of the sautéed bacon in (leave part of the bacon for the final touch).

Tip:
Feel free to also stir in part of the bacon fat (or even the entire bacon fat) based on your flavor preferences. This will make the entire meal more earthy and filling.

Thoroughly stir it all together.

Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

Place halušky on the plate and decorate with the remaining sautéed bacon and optionally with finely chopped chives or parsley

Disclaimer:
All steps in this recipe are just suggestions, and the author and/or publisher of this recipe is not responsible for the following:
outcome of preparation
any health risk related to the incorrect handling of food and/or not following USDA recommendations, such as but not limited to, following the minimum safe serving temperatures
provide health and dietary advice to readers
safety during preparation, including incorrect handling of equipment and the equipment’s suitability for food preparation, improper cooking techniques, sourcing of ingredients, and anything related to the preparation and consumption of the products of this recipe
All readers are responsible for evaluating if the recipe and its’ ingredients and steps fit with their dietary restrictions and can adjust accordingly.