The Traveler and the Cook: Visiting a Palace
Our Cooking Instructor, Eva Szigeti, tells about a palace adventure, ponders what it must have been like to live there, and provides a recipe for a lavish quark strudel…
Visiting a historic house, old cathedral, castle, or a town with rich history could feel a little bit like time travel. Stepping with half a foot into another era is not only fun. These trips into the past also unquestionably contribute to our children’s informal education, nurture their imagination, put their knowledge into context, encourage critical thinking about the past, and even put our own lifestyles into perspective. For our family, one of these exciting trips was a visit to Esteháza, an estate with a grandiose palace located in western Hungary.
As the large structure emerged in front of us (the front of the building is 100 meters long, the wings measure 46 meters), the kids first question was: Was this actually someone’s home? The answer to this question is yes, but it wasn’t the family’s primary residence. The 126-room palace was just a summer house in rural Hungary, far away from Vienna. The palace, built by Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, is often referred to as the Hungarian Versailles, although perhaps it has more in common with the Viennese Schönbrunn Palace. The glory days of the estate lasted from 1766 (when the main part of the palace was finished) till 1790, with the death of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy. Because of the estate’s remote location, his successors didn’t deem it a desirable place to live.
Although today no one would consider the place to be far from Vienna (only 60 miles), it still feels remote and rural. We got off the train at the nearest train station, which was about 2 miles from the palace. As it turned out, the small town has no public transportation and not even a taxi service. So lots of walking was part of our day.
Inside of the palace, the children wanted to run up and down the wide staircase, touch the golden rococo floral decorations on the wall, and explore the rooms. They fantasized about how much fun it would be to play hide-and-seek, to explore the attic, or look for secret doors. Of course, none of these were an option. So instead they tried to listen to the guide and take it all in. We admired the enormous mirrors, the furniture, the frescoes and chandeliers on the ceiling, and the huge wood burning stoves that had been fed by the servants from the adjacent rooms. In the Banquet Room, my daughter was imagining balls that might have taken place there long ago. She saw hundreds of candles burning, women in beautiful dresses, heard the music and wished that she could be one of the dancers.
We learned from the guide that the estate hosted not only balls, but also large hunts and big feasts. The most likely foods served were veal, rabbit, lamb and mutton, poultry, wild birds, and fish; all accompanied with sauces flavored by spices and nuts. The guests probably also enjoyed pates and rice porridge with spices, prepared by the many cooks of the estate. Exotic fruits, like oranges and lemons, were served. Chocolate biscuits and marzipan, a popular dessert of the era, might had been offered to the guests.
The Price, patron of the arts, also hosted concerts, opera, and theater performances. The estate had its own Opera House (seating 400 people), Marionette Theater, and a Music House with apartments for the musicians, actors, and dancers employed by the prince. The orchestra was led by none other than the celebrated composer Joseph Haydn. Haydn lived on the estate from 1766 to 1790. The majority of his symphonies were written for the Prince’s orchestra, and they were most likely performed for the first time in Esterháza.
As we walked through the estate’s extensive park back to the train station, my daughter expressed her desire to live in a palace. Then we tried to imagine the everyday life in the Esterházy Palace 250 years ago. The lifestyle of 18th century aristocracy seemed lavish, but extremely wasteful; grand, but perhaps not very comfortable. After all, they lived in times when 60 miles was a great distance.
Their luxurious palaces had no electricity, central heating, or plumbing. They wore fancy, but most likely uncomfortable clothing. My kids wondered if Prince Esterházy would have perhaps preferred to live in our heated house with a nice bathroom, wear a cotton T-shirt, and listen to music every day without having to provide food and accommodation for musicians of an orchestra.
Quark Strudel
Strudel is a typical Austro-Hungarian dessert. The layered pastry (with sweet or savory filling) became popular in the Habsburg
Empire in the 18th century.
Making the dough itself requires skill, time and patience. The dough is rolled out, then gently stretched by hand until it’s paper-thin. Then it is filled and rolled up. Popular fillings include apple, sour cherry, poppy seed, and quark.
Today not many home bakers take on the challenge of making the strudel dough. Most bakers rely on store-bought dough. Filo dough is a good substitute for dough made from scratch.
Makes two strudels
For the dough:
8 sheets of thawed filo dough
6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
For the filling:
1 pound quark or unsalted farmer’s cheese
2 eggs, separated
¼ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated zest of 1 lemon
½ cup sugar
pinch of salt
½ cup of raisins, optional
4 tablespoons breadcrumbs
Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Lightly brush a 13×9-inch baking dish with melted butter.
Prepare the filling. Put the quark/farmer’s cheese into a mixing bowl. Add egg yolks, sour cream, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and raisin. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then gently fold them in the quark mixture. Cover your work surface with a clean kitchen towel. Place a sheet of filo on the towel (with the long side facing you) and gently brush it with the melted butter. Layer three more filo sheets, buttering each layer. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs in a 3-inch strip along the longer end of the dough, leaving an inch on the bottom and the sides without any crumbs. Gently spread half of the cheese mixture on top of the breadcrumbs then sprinkle with another tablespoon of breadcrumbs. Fold the unfilled sides in and roll up like a jelly roll. Place the strudel seam side down on the baking sheet. Brush the pastry with melted butter. Repeat the process to make the second roll. Bake for 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let cool for 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, slice, and serve.