Palócleves, or Palóc soup is a popular dish in Hungarian cuisine. Hungarians enjoy it either as a hearty and flavourful meal in itself. Or as a first course.
The exact origin of the soup is not clear. According to one legend, the famous Hungarian novelist, journalist, and politician Kálmán Mikszáth asked János Gundel (the father of modern Hungarian cuisine) to prepare him a soup on his birthday that he had never eaten before and “which includes all the flavors of Hungarian cuisine” on his birthday. The ‘Biggest Palóc’, as he was affectionately called, loved Gundel’s soup so much that he gobbled up a second bowl. And from then Palócleves took on this name in his honour.
In reality, the origins of this soup most likely come from the Palóc people, an ethnic group of Hungarians from Northern Hungary and southern Slovakia. And it is the distinctive traditions of this people and their native lands that influenced this tasty soup. Perhaps it is no co-incidence that Kálmán Mikszáth wrote about the Palóc people in n 1882 with his work The Good People of Palóc.
Regardless of its true origins, Palócleves is still one of the great dishes of Hungarian cuisine!
The original recipe used venison, but was an expensive cut and wasn’t easily available. Over time, the Palócleves recipe has evolved and now typically now contains pork.
Palócleves typically consists of a rich chicken stock made from pork, flavoured with carrots, onions, and potatoes. The onions are sautéed, then sautéed with red pepper. Then add diced pork leg, and with bay leaves, and seasoned with ground cumin, pepper, crushed garlic, and salt. Stew it gently, then add diced potatoes and chopped green French beans. When everything has softened, add sour cream to thicken the sauce.
🇭🇺 Jó étvágyat!
Also Read
Looking for more classic Hungarian dishes? Check out these posts:
- Hungarian Chicken Noodle Soup – a delicious soup for any time of the year.
- Töltött Paprika – Hungarian stuffed peppers.
- Cold Sour Cherry Soup (Hidel Meggyleves) – a refreshing Hungarian cold fruit soup
- Hungarian Food – the Ultimate Guide
Or take a look at my full collection of Hungarian recipes for more Hungarian flavours.
Palócleves
Ingredients
- 500 grams pork leg (diced into 1.5 cm cubes)
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- I medium carrot (chopped)
- 2 clove garlic (very finely chopped)
- 300 grams green beans (cut in bite size pieces)
- 2 potatoes (diced into 1.5cm cubes)
- 1 bunch parsley (finely chopped)
- dill (finely chopped)
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
- salt
- pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 200 grams sour cream
- 1 tbsp flour
Instructions
- Dice the pork leg into 1.5 cm cubes and season with salt.
- Heat the oil in a pot, add the onion, carrot and half of the parsley and sauté for 5-7 minutes on a low heat until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic then the diced meat and fry gently until the meat turns white.
- Sprinkle with the sweet Hungarian paprika, cumin and bay leaf, and stir for a minute until the spices are well incorporated into the meat.
- Add enough of the chicken stock to cover the meat and gently simmer gently for 20 minutes or until the meat has begun to soften.
- Add potatoes and green beans to the semi-softened meat, and the remainder of the stock and then cook until the potatoes are just cooked. Add more stock or water if too much of the liquid evaporates.
- Meanwhile, whisk the flour into the sour cream until all lumps are removed. , When the potatoes are just cooked, stir the sour cream into the soup and cook for a few minutes.
- Garnish with the rest of the parsley and some dill and serve with some nice crusty bread.
