(Many of the fairs, festivals, and other wonderful food events that usually fill my calendar each spring have been postponed or cancelled. This post is based on gatherings in past years.)
Nokedli resemble mian geda, the pasta nubbins that are translated on some Chinese menus as blotch. Nowadays both nokedli and geda are generally made using one of various mechanical devices; a quantity of dough is pushed through holes into boiling water.
A more ancient method, shown here, is to take hold of a palm-sized piece of dough and tear off ragged little dumplings one by one. The Hungarian name for this style is csipetke (Chee-pet-keh), roughly, "chipped noodles." A practiced cook can make these more quickly than you'd think (emphasis on "practiced," as I was encouraged to discover for myself). Hand-torn nokedli like these are delightfully chewy, and their irregular contours help capture the sauce of a dish like chicken paprikás, shown below.
This leisurely occasion for fellowship and food offers waitress service for the savory courses, which are trundled to your seat on a two-level cart. Pastries are laid out on a string of long tables at the head of the room; you fetch them yourself, but the greater effort is in biding your time.
Also shown: lekvár kiflis, wrapped around plum jam; zserbó, layered with apricot and nuts and topped with chocolate; and almásrétes, apple strudel. For many more photos from multiple editions of this event, see my collection on Flickr.
Hungarian Food and Pastry Sale
Hungarian Reformed Church, 220 4th St., Passaic, New Jersey
973-778-1019
(Once held each spring and fall, the food and pastry sale has been absent in recent years, and has not been scheduled for 2020)
