Mákos tészta, sweet poppy seed noodles
Sweet, nutty buttered noodles that Budapest sits down to for supper.
At a Glance
Story
Mákos tészta is Hungarian, and older than it looks, a peasant supper going back to at least the 16th century when noodles, poppy and a little sweetness were what a modest kitchen had to hand. The one thing you must not skip is grinding the poppy seeds. Left whole they are only a faint crunch, but crushed they release their oil and go properly nutty and fragrant, which is the entire flavour of the dish.
Ingredients
- saltfor the pasta water
- 12 oz egg noodles
- ½ cup poppy seeds
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp cold unsalted buttersliced into pieces
Method
Buttered noodles are a nursery comfort the world over, and this is the version that decided to be sweet. It is nutty and unbothered, eaten as a main course in Hungary, alone or with a soup or a sharp salad alongside to keep it honest. Four ingredients, one pot, and the only real work is a spice grinder. Use poppy seeds you actually bought this year, old ones turn dusty and flat.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles until just shy of al dente, 1 minute less than the packet says. Reserve ⅓ cup of the cooking water before you drain, then keep the noodles in the warm pot.
- In a spice grinder, pulse the poppy seeds and sugar together until finely ground and fragrant, working in batches if your grinder is small. This is the step that makes the dish, so grind them properly, not just a token buzz.
- Add the poppy sugar, the butter and the reserved pasta water to the noodles over medium-low heat. Toss with tongs until the butter melts into a glossy coat and the poppy clings to every strand. Serve at once, while it is warm and silky.
More to cook
A lasagna with a short fuse
The golden lasagna's wilder sister, all smoky sausage and charred poblano with a chipotle streak, cooled by a lime drizzle.
Golden lasagna
A carrot lasagna so light you could eat the lot and still fancy pudding.
Spatchcock chicken over leeks and greedy bread
One bird on a bed of leeks, and torn baguette underneath drinking up every drop.
The tomato pasta worth the airfare
Three kinds of tomato, a whisper of anchovy and enough lemon to keep it honest.
Bagna cauda for the anchovy-shy
The warm garlic and anchovy bath that quietly wins every party. Melting, not fishy, and gone before the coats are off.
Chunky chimichurri for steak night
Parsley, oregano, garlic and vinegar, chopped not blended. The steak's best friend.
Five-minute harissa yogurt
Smoky, cooling and quick. The yogurt does the calming, the harissa does the talking.
One-pot Pugliese sausage and potatoes
Peasant food that minds itself in the oven, as happy on a Tuesday as it is at a three-hour lunch.
Salsa cruda for peak tomatoes
Grated ripe tomato, garlic and basil. The less you do to it, the better it is.
Salsa verde, anchovy and all
Sharp, briny and green. The Italian one, not the tomatillo one.
Grated tomato and Calabrian chili
Grated tomato with a Calabrian kick and a lemon lift. Sauce or dip, your call.
Za'atar yogurt with sumac
Herby, tangy and green-flecked. The cooling spoon for anything off the grill.
Zhoug with a proper temper
The Yemeni green sauce that bites back. The cardamom is the tell.
Lemon pesto spaghetti, all zest and no juice
The Amalfi trick: zest steeped into the pasta water and pounded into the pesto, toasted almonds underneath, not a drop of juice anywhere.
Shrimp in a fish sauce caramel
Sugar taken to the edge of burnt, then doused with fish sauce: Vietnam's sweet-and-savoury backbone, wrapped around shrimp over jasmine rice.