I never had varga béles back home. My mother's sister used to send me the weekly Nők Lapja [Women's Magazine] in bundles that's where I found the recipe. I cut it out, it looked like I could make it with minimal difficulty. My kitchen scale worked only in pounds and it failed to register finer amounts. I had to do a lot of guesswork translating Hungarian recipes from deka and gram to ounces. And so the original recipe looked to me a bit more forgiving than most. The clipping was shuffled around for years; survived a move from Prince Rupert to 100 Mile House, then to Prince George, and finally I tried it out in Kamloops sometime in the early eighties. Wow! It was delicious and I have been making it ever since.
2 cups fine [thin] egg noodles
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2-1/2 cups [500 g tub] ricotta cheese
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1/8 cup melted butter
1 cup sour cream
1/8 cup raisins
12 sheets of filo pastry
1/2 cup melted butter for brushing
• Break the noodles into 2 inch lengths.
• Cook in boiling water until tender.
• Add the ricotta, lemon rind, 1/8 cup melted butter and sour cream.
• Combine well.
• Add the cooked noodles and raisins, mixing well.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and vanilla sugar until stiff.
• Fold the beaten egg whites into the ricotta mixture.
• Grease a medium-size baking dish.
• Lay six sheets of filo pastry inside the dish; lightly brushing between the layers with melted butter.
• Spread the ricotta mixture on the top.
• Lay six more layers of filo pastry over the filling, brushing lightly between the layers with melted butter.
• Sprinkle the top with icing sugar.
• Slice and serve warm.
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2-1/2 cups [500 g tub] ricotta cheese
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1/8 cup melted butter
1 cup sour cream
8 egg whites
2 packets vanilla sugar1/8 cup raisins
12 sheets of filo pastry
1/2 cup melted butter for brushing
• Break the noodles into 2 inch lengths.
• Cook in boiling water until tender.
• Drain noddles and set aside.
• Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until fluffy.• Add the ricotta, lemon rind, 1/8 cup melted butter and sour cream.
• Combine well.
• Add the cooked noodles and raisins, mixing well.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and vanilla sugar until stiff.
• Fold the beaten egg whites into the ricotta mixture.
• Grease a medium-size baking dish.
• Lay six sheets of filo pastry inside the dish; lightly brushing between the layers with melted butter.
• Spread the ricotta mixture on the top.
• Lay six more layers of filo pastry over the filling, brushing lightly between the layers with melted butter.
• Brush the top with melted butter.
• Place in a preheated 375F oven and bake for 50-60 minutes. • Sprinkle the top with icing sugar.
• Slice and serve warm.
