From paprika-spiced goulash to pork-minced cabbage leaves, Hungary’s favorite traditional foods reflect a love of meat and paprika. There’s room for fish, but the true soul of Hungarian food is meat.

Vegetarians might find it challenging to order food in Hungary’s restaurants, because this is a meat-lover’s paradise. Steeped in a peasant history, modern Hungarians continue to preserve the cooking of dishes developed centuries ago, when nomadic tribes wandered Hungary’s great plains. In the 15th-16th centuries, the Italians and Turks arrived with new ingredients. and the Bulgarians and Turks introduced paprika in the 16th-17th centuries. The favorite dishes that emer....