Lecsó

Great Hungarian Plain. The Plain's cattle are its own breed: the Hungarian Grey, long-horned, slow-growing and bred only ever for beef, which came within a whisker of extinction after the Second World War with about two hundred cows and six bulls left. It was an important Hungarian export as far back as the sixteenth century, driven west on the hoof to German markets.

Hungary. Hungarian paprika has legal boundaries. Both Szegedi paprika and the Kalocsai grind hold EU protected designations of origin, registered in 2010 and 2012, tying the ground spice to the towns whose growers and mills produce it. The grades run from the delicate sweet edes nemes through to the hot, and cooks keep more than one tin.

Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.