Halusky Recipe

This has to be my all time favourite meal! I can never get enough of it. When we have this for dinner I'm the one having double portions. Honestly, I can't control myself!
I must have been Central or Eastern European in a past life because I'm so drawn to foods like this.

Halusky (pronounced ha-loosh-kee) is the Slovak version of gnocchi. It's a pasta made with potato dough. The difference between the dough is that halusky is more like a thick batter than a roll-able firm dough. So, perhaps a more similar comparable would be Austrian or German 'spaetzle', except that spaetzle isn't made with potato.

There are many different ways to eat Halusky. Two of the most popular kinds are bryndzove halusky (sheep cheese with sausage or bacon) and kapustove halusky (sour cabbage - "saurkraut"), or more commonly named Strapacky (pronounced sh-tra-pach-kee).
Bryndzove halusky is Slovakia's national dish, and I certainly don't wonder why. Yum! This is the one in the photo.

Halusky
2-3 potatoes
4-5 tbsp flour
1 tsp of salt
1 egg

Instructions:

1. Peel potatoes and finely shred them
2. In a bowl combine potato, salt, egg and flour. The dough shouldn't be too tough but also not too watery. You may add more or less flour, or a bit of water if the dough is too tough
3. Boil a large pot of salted water
4. You have to work quite quickly here: With a halusky sieve (called a halsukar - see image to the right) or a strainer with large holes, put the dough in it hovering over the pot of boiling water. Stir the dough in the sieve with a wooden spoon. Little bits of dough will drop into the water as you stir. If the dough starts to get tougher you can quickly dip the strainer into the water as you go to loosen the dough a bit. Continue stirring the dough until all of it has dropped into the water. NOTE: If you do not have a haluskar or strainer with large enough holes you can instead, cut off  1/2 tsp size dough pieces and drop them into the boiling water
5. The halusky is cooked when all the dumplings are floating
6. Prepare halusky with flavour and topping of your choice (2 possibilities below)

Bryndzove
3-4 tbsp sheep cheese (or goat cheese as alternative)
2-3 tsbp milk
1 smoked sausage or 6 strips bacon, chopped and fried, reserve the juices

Stir the sheep cheese, milk and some of the reserved frying juices with the halusky. The cheese will melt in quickly. Top with the bacon or sausage.

Kapustove
1 jar (no more than a litre) of sauerkraut, drained
1 medium onion, chopped
1 smoked sausage or 6 strips bacon, chopped 
1 tsp caraway seeds
Salt and pepper to taste

Fry the sausage or bacon, remove and set aside. Then fry the onion and sauerkraut with caraway seeds, salt and pepper. Stir the sauerkraut mixture with the halusky and top with the bacon or sausage.

I am proud to send this one in for Presto Pasta Nights' 200th roundup! Hosted this week by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours. Congrats Ruth, on reaching #200! How time flies!!