Halušky Recipe with a Brief Introduction

This halušky recipe comes from one of my grandmother’s cookbooks and is the perfect meal for a college student who has an awkward amount of time to make dinner — boxed pasta would be a little too quick, but chicken parm is definitely not happening. The first time I made this at school, I accidentally made far too much, but luckily this dish stores in the fridge beautifully enough to be forgotten for a little while, remembered in a bout of boredom, and finally taken out a few days later, entirely free of visible mold. I cannot wait to teach you an incredible new way to package carbohydrates before they hit your stomach.

Before the recipe, some background: my mom’s parents are Slovak. Her mom grew up in the U.S., but her dad spent his childhood in Slovakia during World War II. My grandfather’s family’s house was taken over during the war, changing between Nazi and Soviet hands a few times. His family lived in an old trench just outside their town for a few months. On rainy days, his father would stand at the opening with his arms outstretched, holding up his raincoat to keep the family dry. The hole was probably not the best place to cook halušky, but he assures me that it was a staple of his childhood, save for the hole-time.

Halušky translates to ‘dumplings’ or ‘gnocchi’ in English. It is not unique to Slovakia, but it is a national dish. Traditionally served with sheep cheese, my family likes using cottage cheese

and grated parmesan.

Before we get started, I should correct myself. I gave the impression that my grandfather talks about his early life, but that is not quite accurate. He talks very little about his past, so most of his life comes to me through my grandmother and my mom. He also has dementia now, so you know, that doesn’t help. After the war, he studied medicine in Prague before coming to the U.S. He needed to go through medical school again (cross-national licensing restrictions and such), but ended up working as a pediatrician in Illinois. My mom speaks fondly of her childhood impression of her father’s work, telling me that “apparently he was very good with children.”

When I was younger, we would have halušky nearly every time we visited my grandparents. I remember they always had apple juice at their house, which paired nicely with the lasting taste of the cottage cheese. My brothers and I would finish our meal before moving into the living room, where our grandfather would be watching Christian gospel broadcasts. His favorite discussion topics were school, church, if we wanted ice cream, but not too much ice cream — oh my too late that is a huge bowl of ice cream. Then we might switch the channel to PBS, hoping to see Curious George but being equally satisfied with Word Girl.

On a Zoom call with my family a couple weeks ago, I got to see all my grandparents who were

visiting my home in Wisconsin for the weekend. My mom’s parents were there, and her dad was sitting on the far left of the digital frame. He was not quite sure who I was at first, but I think he got there. He said he hoped I was doing well in school, and I said things were good, and he said it was nice to visit my family. He spaced for the rest of the call, but seeing him was nice regardless.

Over winter break, we visited him and my grandmother in their new place at a retirement home. Again, my grandfather was already unsure at that point exactly who I was, but I explained it to him and things seemed to come back. I hope they did a little. He got to be surprised and impressed that I was at college all over again. I hope I can have halušky with him again sometime. Maybe this summer. At least I can always have the recipe.

Ingredients:

3.5 cups flour

2 large eggs

a dash of salt (multiple dashes optional)

Mix flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix in eggs, then slowly add about 1 cup of water to ensure that the dough is thin but not watery.

Place dough on a cutting board. Boil 3 cups of water, and stick a knife in the water (have fun, also be safe but not safe enough to prevent fun). Cut small pieces of the dough with the hot knife, and push pieces into the water.

Dumplings are done when floating to the surface of the water. Drain and rinse in cold water to prevent sticking. Serve with butter, poppyseeds, boiled cabbage, cottage cheese, bacon bits, or any combination of those. Makes 4 servings.

Lawrence Hapeman ‘25 studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached atat hapeman.l@wustl.edu.