I know I’m repeating myself when I tell you I absolutely adore Hungarian food, but I simply can’t help myself. I just love so many of the key ingredients in the Hungarian cuisine, that I feel compelled to share all of my favorite Hungarian recipes with you.

And a new favorite is this amazing relish, side dish, salad, pickle, (whatever?!?!) that I found when I was researching Hungarian dishes.

Now, once I discovered this dish, it turns out there as many variations on csalamádé as there are for coleslaw! So you can just imagine how many sites I had to visit to find the one recipe that looked perfect to me. And of course I found it on one of my favorite sites – Smitten Kitchen.

Now in truth, Deb (from Smitten Kitchen) did not call this csalamádé. But if her recipe isn’t csalamádé, then I don’t know the difference between sweet Hungarian paprika and cayenne pepper. And believe me, I know the difference!

Whatever you choose to call it, this Hungarian staple is the perfect counterbalance to any rich dish containing oil, butter, sour cream, meat, or eggs. And truthfully, it’s also perfect when served as a simple cabbage salad. It is just that versatile.

So call it a relish, or pickle, or salad – whatever! Just be sure to prepare some in the near future. I can hardly wait to make some more. I want to try it on a corned beef sandwich, or in a fish taco, or even the next time I fix Banh Mi Sandwiches (see my recipe on this site BTW).

This dish has endless possibilities. And the best thing, besides of course it’s taste – it’s inexpensive to prepare. Got to love that!

• 1½ c. white vinegar
• 1½ c. water
• 1/3 c. granulated sugar
• ½ tsp. celery seed
• 5 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
• couple grinds black pepper  
• 1 small head green cabbage, very thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced1 medium carrot, grated
• 1 small English cucumber, partially peeled, halved, seeded, halved again and thinly sliced
• Whisk the white vinegar, water, sugar, celery seed, kosher salt, and pepper together in a large glass bowl; set aside. Prepare veggies as directed above. Before adding veggies, whisk until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Adjust seasoning. Add the prepared vegetables to the brine. Cover bowl with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 1 week. (The veggies become more pickled as they rest.)  

  Just before serving, drain the veggies. (Save the brine for any leftovers.)