How do you feel when you try a new food? Are you excited or a little bit nervous? Moving to another country comes with lots of changes, one of the biggest being the new food you will eat. In Slovakia, I have tried lots of new things (both good and not so good...) but one of my favorites is a dish called bryndzové halušky!
One of the first Slovak foods I had was bryndzové halušky (pronounced brynn-zo-vie hal-oosh-kie). It is actually the national dish of Slovakia and one of the hardest foods I’ve ever had to pronounce! In Slovak, the symbol on top of a letter makes it sound like there’s an “h” attached to it, so š = “sh”. This dish is basically cheesy potato dumplings (think Panera mac and cheese but better) with crispy bacon on top. Bryndza is a special Slovak cheese made from sheep’s milk while halušky are the small balls made from potatoes and flour that are boiled in water, like pasta.
I am actually a pretty picky eater so I don't always like to try new things. I was a little nervous to taste halušky because I had never had sheep cheese before but I am so glad that I did! The dish is amazing and trying it has made me more open to doing new and unfamiliar things here.
