Goulash makes for an unusual breakfast but then the first time I stumbled upon the gypsy-chic Piroschka ladies and their bubbling cauldron of this dish at the Biscuit Mill morning market I couldn’t resist a bowl.  The last time I had sampled this dish, which is neither soup nor stew but somewhere in between,

Piroschka Hungarian German Kitchen +27 (0)21 425 7635 info@piroschka.co.za www.piroschka.co.za Shop No: 5 St Stephen’s Church 106 Bree St CBD Cape Town

 was on a skiing holiday in Austria as a teenager.  After pommes frites (chips) it was the cheapest lunch in an expensive town, where the people’s car wasn’t a Volkswagen but rather a Porsche.

While goulash (or gulyás) is Hungarian and not Austrian, you find a lot of it all over Central Europe.  (From their website Jutta and Inge of Piroschka appear to be Hungarian-Germans, so they should have all the bases covered.)  The goulash that day was nourishing and spicy-hot, prompting a question about paprika (the defining ingredient in goulash): is it fiery or mild?

As you will well know the powdered paprika we get in this country has a sweet-smoky red pepper taste but would hardly be considered scorching, like its cousin the chilli.  As I recall the more bohemian one of the two replied that there were around 100 types of this spice in Hungary, some hot and others mild, adding that it in fact came to the country via Turkey.  Apparently the Hungarian climate and soil were better suited so that is where it thrived and the country became synonymous with the spice. 

Paprika, hot or mild, may have traveled to Hungary via Turkey but it first came to Europe from the Americas via Spanish colonists. Pimentón, as it is known in Spain, is also an essential ingredient in many Spanish dishes, including in chorizo sausages. 

Along with the goulash I bought that day at the market I picked up a paprika paste which was hot and rich, preserved with a layer of macadamia nut oil on top.  It proved good for lifting a simple cheese sandwich.

Sadly the ladies no longer sell the goulash at the market (they still have a stand there selling flammkuchen – but more on that later).  Luckily they have opened up a ‘kitchen’ in the old church in Bree Street, the same building where posh beer retailers & Union are to be found. 

Piroschka is a kitchen in the sense that the menu is limited with only three savoury items.  Presumably it changes with the seasons.  Nothing wrong with restricting choice – too many restaurants have menus that are too extensive.  The frequent result: they cook everything badly. 

The goulash (R50) is not quite as superb as I remember, though food is so circumstantial that it is hard to definitively say it has declined.  It is hearty enough on a cold and wet day, the chunks of beef tender and flaky.  There is chilli in oil on the side for extra heat and the freshest rye bread for dipping.  Piroschka publish their recipe here. 

Other items include a pea soup (not available on the day) and flammkuchen, the pizza of the Alemannic people found on the previously disputed German-French border, including the Alsace region.  While wars were fought over these territories – and they changed ‘ownership’ many times – as far as I am aware and the wise people kept eating the same food no matter who ruled them.  Apart from flammkuchen (the German name) or tarte flambée as it is known in French, other examples of shared cuisine include sauerkraut, lots of pork (including cured sausages) and of course beer.

In Piroschka today freebies of hot-from-the-oven flammkuchen (flame-cooked) are handed out to customers.  Thin, crisp and almost burnt (cooked at high heat under three minutes) they are an excellent snack.  Like the French pissaladiere they have no tomato paste but rather crème fraiche, raw onion and bacon.  

There is also glühwein on offer and a fire advertised.  I see a fireplace but no fire.  Nevertheless it is cozy, as are all the little stores beneath Saint Stephen’s Church in Bree Street’s Riebeeck Square.  Built in 1800 they have varnished stone walls and wooden rafters above and the only source of natural light is the doorway.  

Unfortunately as quaint as they are they don’t seem too busy, apart from & Union which is lively when holding an event.  Cheyne’s bistro I’ve heard one good report about and has a second string to his bow doing dinner parties there.  Barnet Fair, a barber, offers hot towel shaves.  And the God Factory store, well they are never alone. 

Why are these restaurants and shops so quiet?  Foot traffic may be low compared to other parts of the CBD but Caveau on the other end of the square has established itself as a destination café.  There is also plenty of parking in the square. 

Piroschka also does outside catering from their kitchen.  That may make the venue worthwhile.

They have a small wine list.  Red is recommended for goulash and white for flammkuchen. 

Open Monday to Friday 11am to 7pm. 

3/5 stars over lunch 

Tom Robbins
Posted July 16, 2010

Tags: German cuisine, German food, Hungarian cuisine, Hungarian food, lunch in Cape Town city

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