This book is an adventure; a gastro-adventure in the forest, with the treasure
at the end consisting of its 55 mouth-watering recipes. The adventure begins
with frying pans and pots, and with the sizzle from simmering, frying, baking
and stirring the dishes we are now serving up to the reader ? with a side dish
of hand-selected quotes from the works of 20th-century hunter Zsigmond
Széchenyi. This book, however, is not for those who simply hunt for the sake of
it. Following in the footsteps of Széchenyi, we have gathered all the
ingredients that Hungarian forests boast: game, wild fowl, water fowl,
mushrooms, herbs, and lake and river fish, along with delicacies provided by
meadows and even kitchen gardens. And as we said, we have simmered, fried or
baked each and every one appropriately. Hungary is a superpower regarding its
game, yet even the average Hungarian has a lot to learn about consuming such
wild animals; for example, their meat is low in fact but high in nutrients
thanks to their free roaming and eating habits. Game is decidedly nourishing,
has a high protein efficiency ratio (PER) and, of course, is also delicious.
Game meat is full of flavours providing characteristic aromas, and we have
written our recipes accordingly, emphasising them in some cases and, if
necessary, downplaying them a little. Game, mushrooms, fruit and herbs from a
natural environment provide healthy nourishment while leaving a significantly
smaller ecological footprint in their wake than most other foods, because
consuming them only consists of hunting, gathering and preparation. Game meat is
guaranteed free of any antibiotics, industrial food additives and hormonal
derivatives. The meat of wild animals is also lower in calories. Like lean fish,
it contains only half or, in some cases, only a quarter of the calories found in
most typically consumed meat. We hope that our little forest adventure will
arouse your interest in eating game and striding through the woods. We have even
included recipes for some of our favourite desserts as a reward after the hike.
We?d like to finish this foreword with a quote from Szécheny?s book, As it
started.., because it is so fitting that it still comes to the minds of hunters,
hikers and nature enthusiasts: ?Hunting, of course, is chasing game and
listening to rustling leaves, but definitely more of the rustling leaves.? This
is how our gastro- adventure became sizzling amid rustling leaves, but as the
nature of cooking dictates: definitely more sizzling.