The babà is a mushroom shaped cake, made with a buttery, yeast-based dough, soaked with liquor, typically rum. It is sometimes served with cream or pastry cream, lemon being a popular dressing choice. It’s one of the most characteristic sweet snacks in Naples, and Southern Italy at large – but what are its origins?

As with any good fairy tale, we begin with a king: Stanislaw Leszczynski, King of Poland. The story goes that the king, or more correctly, former king in exile in Lorraine, was served a local cake, a Gugelhupf. Stanislaw eventually tired of the cake’s taste, and dunked it in sweet wine. The result left him so happy that he gave the experiment a name, “babà”, inspired by the book he was reading, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Then, when the former-king became father-in-law to Louis XIV, the king’s cook, Nicholas Stohrer, introduced the babà to the court of Versailles.

This is what the legend claims, at any rate. The narrative mirrors other mythical origins of recipes, especially French ones, linking their creation to famous people, often as a result of a lucky mistake. This account is obviously a make-believe. Even the detail about the alcoholic dunk is quite improbable, as the oldest recipes flavoured the babà with saffron and sultana, and the alcoholic dunk appeared only later, as punch became fashionable in the Old Continent.

Still, the fantastical tale probably holds a kernel of truth: Stohrer did open the oldest pâtissierie in Paris, which is still open to the public, and made the babà famous and fashionable in in the country. He could have been inspired by the Gugelhupf of the tale, common in central Europe. The Gugelhupf, or Kugelhupf, Kouglof – and known by many other names – is a ring-shaped yeast cake. It probably originated in German-speaking lands, then became popular in all central Europe, including Poland and France.

The long journey of the babà came to an end in Naples. The chefs of the aristocratic families of the Kingdom of Naples were influenced by the fashionable French cuisine, an influence demonstrated by the title of respect awarded to talented chefs and cooks in Southern Italy: monzù (or monsù in Sicily), a word derived from the French “Monsieur”. Needless to say, the French culinary repertoire imported to Naples now included the babà.

The lovely pastry thus started out as a German cake, was then modified to the benefit of a Polish king during his exile in France, and subsequently imported by Neapolitan cooks: a long journey, crowned by the immense popularity it now enjoys.

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In the western parts of Turkey olive trees grow abundantly and this cuisine is very rich in olive oil, vegetables, fish, and herbs. An important factor for the Izmir cuisine is the very rich combination of a perfect climate with the trade routes and the migrations. The first Turkish recipe book was written during Umurbey’s time in Aydınoğlu principality that lived in the İzmir area before the Ottomans. Wild asparagus, artichokes, zucchini blossoms…every season in Izmir has a different flower in an astonishing natural environment that surrounds the city. Very traditional in Izmir are also the mussels that you can eat cooked with rice, usually served with lemon juice. A traditional pastry, instead, is called Boyoz and it’s definitely a symbol of the city. It is possible to find also something very similar to Boyoz in Chile, Peru, and Mexico. Probably it has Judeo-Spanish roots and it was a contribution to Sephardic Jews evicted from Spain after 1492 who settled in Ottoman cities. It is usually eaten with a hard-boiled egg with salt and black pepper.

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The most famous main dishes are the Leberknödelsuppe composed of beef liver (in Germany they are more common with pork) with eggs, bread and parsley or the Zwiebelsuppe, an onions soup.

The queen of the second dishes is surely the Wiener Schnitzel, (we will talk later about it), but very appreciated are also the Kalbsrahmgulasch, a typical stew, and the Gefüllte Paprika, pepperoni with tomato sauce and meat. Usually, they are served with the typical potato salad or with the Kartoffelkäse (literally potato cheese, but it doesn’t include cheese), a cream based on potatoes and sour cream.

It is impossible to talk about the Austrian Cuisine without mentioning the Sacher. One of the most important and renowned European sweets was born in 1832 and the recipe is still a secret! Really typical from Salzburg are also the famous Mozartkugel, the Mozart-Bonbon. We will talk about a very spread and representative cuisine in Austria: the Viennese cuisine!

Vienna has been the capital of Austria for more than a thousand years so it developed its special cuisine. The Viennese cooking tradition is made by many different sources like Italian and French cuisine in 17th and 18th century. Since the 18th century it is possible to talk about a Viennese cuisine; in fact, the first mention appeared in the cookbooks of that age as “Wiener Küche”. The 

Wiener schnitzel (veal coated in breadcrumbs and then fried) and the Tafelspitz (boiled beef) are definitely among the most traditional dishes from this magic capital. In the last years, the Viennese cuisine has been combined with the principles of Nouvelle Cuisine to create the so-called “Neue Wiener Küche” and also Turkish, Jewish and Indian ingredients have been included. The most traditional sweets are, in addition to the legendary Sachertorte, the Apfelstrudel with apples, the Kaiserschmarrn, pancakes with fruit compotes and the Buchtein from Czech Republic’s tradition.

More about the Hidden European foods

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The Scottish cuisine shares much with the Central and Northern European cuisine and with the British one but has very distinctive recipes and traditions. Surely the seafood, available all the year, has ever been one of the main ingredients. Very spread for breakfast and perfectly Scottish is the Porridge. Now spread all over the world, it can be prepared in so many different ways. Oats (which are one of the few grains that manage to grow well in Scotland’s climate), water and milk (or only milk or only water), salt and then…whatever you want! Other typical dishes are the Rumbledethumps prepared with potato, cabbage, and onion and, if you want, also cheddar and the Cullen skink, a soup made of smoked haddock, potatoes, and onions. The Dunlop cheese is also very traditional. As a dessert, we surely need to mention the Dundee cake made with currants, sultanas, and almonds. We can not definitely finish this HEF without talking about SCOTCH! Scotch whiskey is malt or grain whiskey. Originally it was made from malted barley (the wheat and the rye were introduced only in the late 18the century). It can be divided into five categories: the single malt Scotch whiskey, the single grain, the blended malt, the blended grain and the blended Scotch whiskey. The first mention of the Scotch dates back to 1495 in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland!

The cuisine of the Highlands is changed during the last centuries. Traditionally, anyways, it was considered the food of the brave Highlanders of Scotland! While most of the other European people ate a plant-based diet of grains, in the Highlands the main food was animal food and the diet was based on raw milk, sheeps, cheese, and butter. Also, the fresh fish was a vital part of the diet. An ancient tradition of the Highlands is, for example, the Finnan Haddock: a tradition of centuries which includes that the fish has to be salted and left to dry overnight and then smoked the following day over soft peat and green wood for some hours. Also, some varieties of apple and the smoked earrings are definitely part of the most ancient traditions of the land of the Highlanders.

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Cream and eggs are also common. A typical, main meal is usually made of three courses: first comes a soup, followed by a meat dish like the roast or the “kotilet schabowy”, prepared with pork meat and vegetables like sauerkraut (kapusta kiszona in Polish). Very traditional dishes are also the kielbasa (sausages) of various types and Polish smoked cheese: the Oscypek. A sour rye soup, called zurek, is typical of the holidays. At the end of the meal, desserts are served, such as poppy seed pastry or the “makowiec”, a poppy seed roll. Worthy of mention is also Sernik, a cheesecake prepared with  twaróg cheese and vanilla, orange peel or lemon peel.

Traditional Polish alcoholic beverages include mead, beer and, obviously, wodka. According to some sources, early production of wodka took place in Poland as early as the 8th Century! It would take until the 16th Century for it to reach critical mass.

As a historical region that straddles Germany and Poland, Pomerania is one of Europe’s most intriguing culinary regions. Pomeranian cuisine is characterized by the fish of the Baltic Sea, the renowned Pomeranian goose and sugar beet, which are mainly produced in local farms.

Farmers in Pomerania usually preserve products like vegetables, fruits, and lard (in addition to sugar beet) in the village smokeries, or in their own homes. As always, food acquires cultural relevance, and the clearest manifestation in this case is the West Pomeranian Potato Museum – or Vorpommersches Kartoffelmuseum! Potatoes here are called Tüften. One of the most common dishes is the Gänse-schwarzsauer, a traditional Black bread pudding, or the Rote Grütze.

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Madeira is an archipelago situated in the north Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Portugal. Madeira has a very renowned and special cuisine. The meat dishes include the espetada made with large chunks of beef rubbed in garlic, bay leaf, salt, marinated in Madeira wine, red wine vinegar and olive oil and grilled. Traditional is also the local bread called bolo do caco which usually accompanied dishes like the feijoada, carne de vinha d’alhos or açorda composed of thinly sliced bread with garlic, olive oil, vinegar, coriander and eggs. A very special pastry is called mel de cana, literally “sugarcane honey” and it is used to prepare Bolo de Mel, a sort of “Honey Cake”, traditionally broken into pieces by hand. Very famous are also Malasadas, a dessert prepared with egg-sized balls of yeast dough deep-fried in oil and coated with sugar. They are mainly consumed during the Carnival of Madeira.

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Lapland’s cuisine can be considered a mix between the haute cuisine and the traditional one with the contemporary continental style cooking. Fish like salmon and herring and meat, above all beef, pork or reindeer, play definitely a prominent role in some regions. Is it common to smoke almost every type of fish (above all herrings among the Swedish-speaking population). Mushrooms and fresh vegetables are also typical.

The dishes of the Finnish cuisine are usually served with a rye, barley and oats-based bakery products and berries like cloudberries, lingonberries or the suea buckthorn. Also, buttermilk is very common. The Karelian pasty (karjalanpiirakka) is one of the most traditional Finnish dishes and it is made from a thin rye crust with a filling of rice and butter (usually mixed with boiled egg) is spread over. Pies prepared with wild bilberries are typical Finnish desserts; for Easter, it is traditional to make the mämmi, a dessert made of rye flour, malted rye, salt and bitter orange zest.

Today we will go north, north and still north…until the magic Lapland!

It can sound creepy for someone at the beginning, but a very traditional Lappish dish is reindeer in stews or smoked, tartare, roasted with potatoes.

Another famous dish is the local salmon and it can also be found as kalakukko, a fish pâté en croûte and herrings. All the types of fish are usually served with rye bread. Before the main dish, appetizers are usually made by sienisalaatti (a mushroom salad), marinated herring and salted raw salmon. Then you have a wide choice between a bilberry cake or mousse or a prune mousse or the typical cinnamon rice pudding (riisipuuro).

In many desserts is it possible to find also the herb angelica, typical of Lapland and used as a flavour also for ice cream. The local Salmiakki Koskenkorva, a drink made with vodka, syrup and liquorice extract will complete your meal!

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One of the most renowned dishes is qoftes, meatballs prepared in different ways and common throughout all former territories of the Ottoman Empire.  As typical of the Balkans, the king of street food is byrek with spinach, cheese and tomato; sometimes, meat and onions. Usually, it is served with the local variety of the Ayran called Dhallë. While at high altitude smoked meat is common, coastal cities including Vlorë and Sarandë have a taste for seafood. A peculiar variant is the city of Shkodr, where fishery happens in the eponymous lake. In addition to Italian and Albanian wines, raki is a common (and strong!) alcoholic drink usually prepared with grapes or plums. Typical as dessert are also baklava, gliko and tulumba.

The Kelmendi Region

“Kelmendi” is the name of a northern Albanian tribe and a stretch of land in the mountainous borderlands next to Montenegro, in the Malësia region. This tribe has historically always been Catholic, but it now includes a Muslim minority as well. Its name derives from Saint Clement, patron saint of the region. The tribe is still deeply connected to the ancient traditions of the nomadic shepherds that came before them, and their cuisine is very rich in typical dishes such as the Jardun (cheese made from boiled goat’s milk) and the Mishavin. Very traditional are also the bukë në vote, which is bread made by corn flour. A final common ingredient is the “nena”, a wild spinach of North Albania whose leaves are mainly used for the local version of the byrek.
Bon appetit!

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Maybe the most symbolic traditional dish in the Bami Goreng. Actually, in Netherland, you will find many Indonesian restaurants and all of them will have these fried egg noodles with onion, vegetables, garlic, meat, egg and chili. Another important food is the “Hollandse nieuwe haring” served with chopped raw onions, but the Dutch diet consists also of many dairy products including probably the most famous one: “Gouda cheese”.

These foods are usually served with the “Pannekoeken”, a Dutch pancake, probably the Dutch favourite food which can be eaten with sweet or savoury foods like cheese or the typical stroop, a treacly Dutch syrup. At the end of lunch or dinner the queen of Dutch desserts is the renowned Appeltaart: a recipe which dates back to 1514. In this weekly HiddenEuroFood we will focus on the Northeastern cuisine, within the provinces o Groningen, riesland, Drenthe, Overijssel and Gelderland.

In this region (that is the least populated of Netherlands) cuisine, especially near the coastal areas of Friesland, Groningen and parts of Overijssel, a large amount of fish and seafood is included. Also several types of dried sausages are found throughout the region. Most villages have their own variety usually smoked over wood chips, boiled in water and served with sauerkraut or the traditional stamppot. One of the most renowned is the rookworst called “Gelders”. Moreover, these provinces are home to rye bread and pastries. Usually they are heavily spiced with ginger or succade.

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Most of the traditional Transylvanian recipes include meat. So we can eat the ciorbă de perisoare with pork-and rice meatballs, or the Szekelyalmas, the traditional pork with apples and cider creamsauce. Chicken is prepared with paprika in the recipe of the Csirkepaprikas and with semolina dumplings in the Supa cu Galuşte. Traditional of this land of castles also Mititei, grilled sausages typical also of other Romanian and Balkanian regions. As a dessert, the queen of Transylvanian sweets is surely the apricot cake prepared with lemon zest.

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