The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia

One of the favorite things my Slovak husband likes to make and eat is palacinky (pronounced pa-la-tsing-kee). It’s hard to describe exactly what a palacinka is if you are not familiar with central-European cuisine (palacinka-singular, palacinky-plural).

In English, a palacinka is a pancake, but I find the French word crepe, a bit more precise. In Russian they are called blini (blintzes, the Anglicized version of this word). In Austria they are called Palatschinke and in Germany Pfannkuchen, but it’s all the same thing: a very liquid-like batter made from flour, milk, and eggs that is pored into a hot pan or griddle and cooked. They are then filled and rolled up with fruit, or jam, or Nutella, or a combination, and then served with a dollop of whipped cream. This sounds more like a dessert, but my husband likes to have it as a main course.

Thank goodness for the recipe book of traditional Slovak meals that I bought on a spur of the moment. Here’s the recipe. We’ve tried it. It’s a winner:

• 2 ½ cups of milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¾ cups flour
• 1 level tablespoon sugar
• a pinch of salt

Beat the eggs and add the milk, sugar and salt. Add the flour last, adding a bit more milk if the batter is too thick. The batter should be much thinner than typical pancake batter. After the batter is mixed, let it sit for 15 minutes.

Using a ladle, pour the batter onto a hot, buttered, non-stick pan or griddle. Slightly tilt the pan to spread the batter thinly over a larger area. Let it cook for a few minutes before turning it over. The palacinka should brown slightly.

Note: the first one or two are usually a disaster so don’t get discouraged. Just eat the scraps and keep going ;)

• Wet fruit such as strawberries, pineapple, raspberries, or tangerines.
• Nutella
• Various jams such as strawberry, apricot, or blueberry.

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