By Marie Fagan Peart | marie@haldimandpress.com
Mary and Gabor Petroczy
A friend recommended I meet Mary and Gabor Petroczy. I am so glad I did. Mary was born in Welland, where her parents had settled after immigrating from Hungary in the 1920s. The close-knit Hungarian community stayed connected through the church and helped Mary to maintain her Hungarian culture and language to this day.
Mary showed me some recipe books that belonged to her mother. These recipes have been passed down from one generation to the next. The filled noodle squares is still a favourite main dish. Mary would make her filling from dried prunes that were ground down and cooked with some water to create a thick jam. However, any thick, preferably homemade, jam can be used. The second recipe, the bacon fry, they enjoy making on the charcoal barbecue when family and friends visit.
Mary encouraged Gabor to tell me about his journey to Canada. He was 15 years old when he decided, along with a couple of his friends, to leave Hungary and travel to Canada. His older brother and some cousins were living here. His father was not pleased, as he wanted him to stay on the farm. This was 1956, and the country was in turmoil. The Hungarian revolution created uncertainty and many were fleeing the country.
Gabor and his friends left, walking 10 miles to catch a train to the city, with no money, a small suitcase, and a bottle of moonshine. That bottle came in handy, as it was used to secure their train passage to Budapest!
In the city they saw thousands who were also travelling to the Austrian border. One morning Gabor awoke to discover his two friends had left without him. He has never seen them since. Not discouraged, he continued on. At the border, buses took him to Vienna. He was able to contact his brother through the Canadian consulate and obtain the necessary papers. He stayed in a barracks while awaiting his turn to leave. Eventually he arrived in England and boarded a ship destined for Halifax. After a very rough seven-day voyage, he landed in Canada. Next was a 24-hour train trip to Welland, where he was reunited with his brother. It had been three months since leaving home.
Gabor worked wherever he could and often returned to Welland for visits. During one visit he was introduced to Mary. It was love at first sight! Within three weeks they were engaged and married six months later. The love and admiration they have for each other is clearly evident – you can see it and feel it. After living in Burlington for 39 years, the couple moved to a more rural setting in retirement and have made Hagersville home for 22 years. Enjoy their Hungarian dishes!
Filled Noodle Squares (Dereje)
3 cups flour
3 eggs
2 tablespoons water
¼ pound of butter (1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
1-pound homemade jam for filling
Put flour into a large bowl, make a well, break the eggs into the centre, add water, and mix by hand to make a fairly hard dough. Roll out paper thin on a lightly floured board. Cut into 2-inch squares. Fill half of each square with 1 teaspoon of filling. Fold other half over and press tightly to seal. Boil in 3 quarts of salted water until they rise to the top. Drain noodles and rinse in cold water. Melt butter in pan, add bread crumbs and brown lightly. Add drained noodles. Fry until just slightly browned.
Bacon Fry (Szalonasütés)
Buy enough slab bacon to feed the amount of people to be served. Cut pieces approximately 2-inches by 4-inches per person.
Slice sweet onion, green peppers, and radishes. Slice rye bread.
Slash top of bacon ¼ inch deep lengthwise and slash bottom of bacon ¼ inch crosswise. This allows the fat to drip out. Place vegetables on the bread. Place bacon on skewer and roast over hot coals. As bacon cooks, blot the drippings onto the bread and vegetables. Salt vegetables.
When bacon is done, remove from skewer and slice over bread. This is nice to do when camping.
