Fried Bread & a Summer of Folklore

My family on my fathers side is deeply steeped in traditional folklore and the arts. From professional folk dancers, to folk arts photographers, and visual artists, they're all "artsy", to say the least.

I am born and raised Canadian, but like many first generation citizens born to Slovakian immigrants form the eastern block, my life revolved around the Slovak Canadian community. I was a part of the local Slovak dance group, we attended a Slovak Roman Catholic Church, I went to Slovak school on the weekend, and I was always eating some "weird Slovak food at lunch in grade 5"...you get the gist.

As a result of growing up with a relatively eastern European ethnic experience, I have fond memories of travelling over seas for summers filled with grandma's cooking, and extended family pampering all of us. Although all the adventures were fun (medieval castles, European transit, and a more pedestrian lifestyle), I have to say that my absolute favourite thing was attending the folk festivals. The festivals were a perfect mix of entertainment, freedom, music, and food. There was absolutely nothing better than biting into a freshly fried garlic infused Langos (pronounced Lang-osh), while settling in to watch the headlining dance program.

In order for you, the reader who has no way to even begin to understand what was so magical about these festivals, let me delve into the scenic aspect of these festivals a little more, before I dive into the specifics of the food.

The main festival we attended was called Vychodna. It started in the 1950's and still happens annually in the first week of July right in time for my birthday. It's a 3 day festival with camp grounds, a massive wooden stage, and the Slovak Carpathian Mountains in the distance like a magnificent backdrop. There are dance and folk performing arts programs that run every day, and the whole grounds are littered with vendors selling folk art, trinkets, souvenirs, clothing, alcohol, and a mouthwatering food selection. I grew up coming to this festival as a child. My first time in memory must have been when I was about 7 years old. After that we went whenever we could afford to fly everyone over to Slovakia for the summer. Eventually I even ended up performing on that stage with our Canadian Slovak dance group while in my teens - a real dream come true. Something just hits different when you've grown up watching amazing performers your whole life, and now you're on the stage looking back at the audience, sharing the stage with these childhood heroes. Intense to say the least.

This festival was a place of many experiences. It was the first place I felt like I was part of something so unique that was also so far away from my Canadian home and identity. Due to my family connections in the folk and arts community, I was immediately accepted at after parties with the performers and musicians. I got to meet the choreographers and big wigs in the small niche industry. They all knew my last name like it was some secret password. As a 15 year old this made me feel super cool.

Vychodna embodied to me something very special that has remained with me up to this day. I no longer dance in the group, and my husband doesn't speak Slovak. I'd love for my kids to join the dance group here in Canada and have a love for folklore like me, but who knows. They're boys, and lord knows boys don't like to dance for the most part. What I have are these memories and a true love and appreciation for the heritage and culture of my family across the pond. I also have the recipes and art that I actively create for my family. Every time I make one of these foods, I'm transported back in time to those crazy summers. I hope I'll be back there one day in person, with my kids in tow, and my husband wondering what in the midsommar he's gotten himself into.

Back to the food already!

With the sun shining bright and hot, live fiddle music flowing through the air at all times, and a fresh breeze coming from the mountains, your festival experience would not be complete without a freshly fried Langos in your hand.

I'm pretty sure every culture has it's version of this culinary item. As amazing as it tastes, it is just fried bread after all. But there is something about this light, crispy on the outside fluffy on the inside, simple fried dough, that just forever sizzled it's way into my heart, and made it's mark as my summer food of choice.

It starts with raw dough, light and fluffy like pizza dough, pulled into thin dinner plate sized circles. Those are dropped into a deep fryer for around a minute or two at the most and voila. Out comes a crispy and yummy fried bread, ready for you to customise to your liking. I personally like a simple light coating of garlic sauce with a side of sour cream, but the topping options are always completely up to you.

Although I did say the dough was "like pizza dough", it is not in fact pizza dough. Many recipes call for additional ingredients like potatoes! So this summer when you're firing up the grill for some burgers, and getting the deep fryer ready for crispy fries, consider adding a few langose to the summer time menu. You will not be disappointed!