Jeremy Salamon’s love for the kitchen began in Boca Raton, Fla., where his Grandma Agi had settled after living a life familiar to many first-generation Hungarian immigrants of her time. After surviving the Jewish ghettos of Budapest during World War II and the Stalinist regime of the 1950s, she emigrated to the United States and ended up in Queens, N.Y., where she met Holocaust survivor Steve Salamon, got married, started a dry cleaning business and raised a large Jewish family to be proud of.
Growing up, Salamon was obsessed with learning everything he could from both his Grandma Agi and Nana Arlene, who both embraced his curiosity for food and flavor. Taking all he learned from his family’s matriarchs, in 2021, Salamon opened his first restaurant in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, named Agi’s Counter. The buzzing breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner spot became a cult sensation for its fresh take on Eastern European cuisine, and will soon be joined by Pitt’s, a sister location in Red Hook come 2025.
With the September release of his first cookbook, Second Generation: Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table, Salamon’s recipes are now accessible to an even wider audience, from the addictive deviled eggs that gained Agi’s Counter its popularity to the sweet and savory palacsintas (Hungarian crepes) that have lines forming out the door.
Highlighting the unique flavors of Hungarian cooking, the sumptuously photographed Second Generation features recipes that span Salamon’s childhood and career, including everything from main courses to noshes (which Salamon calls “the official fourth meal of the Jewish diet”), as well as myriad breads, soups, drinks and sweet treats.
For Hanukkah this year, Salamon’s jokingly named “Unfaithful Roast Chicken” from Second Generation is an ideal dish for celebrating the festival of lights, with its show-stopping appearance and scintillating seasonings. This elevated, yet beginner-friendly, take on chicken paprikash is spatchocked, brined in buttermilk, roasted and topped with a dressing that perfectly marries citrus and spice. It is sure to brighten any holiday table.
“Hanukkah was a big to-do in the house. My grandmother would break out at least five foldable plastic tables and set them all up in her very tiny dining room,” shares Salamon. On his cheekily named dish, he notes that “while I have a ‘faithful’ version of chicken paprikash, this is my very unfaithful version. There’s nothing wrong with chicken paprikash—it’s perfect. But there’s also nothing I love more than a good roast chicken. I would die for roast chicken.”
Salamon loves to employ “a cheat” when roasting chicken: a buttermilk brine, though it’s optional for anyone keeping kosher for the holidays. “[The buttermilk] keeps it really juicy and tender. The milk fat on the skin also gives perfect, even browning,” he notes in his book.
“Once it comes out, the chicken gets drenched in an acidic paprika dressing to mingle with all the fattiness. Pops of fresh dill add a welcome herbiness and bursts of color. This [one] is a total showstopper, but if you’re like me, you’ll want to just stand in your underwear and eat it over a trash can,” he quips.
While Salamon’s book puts his recipes for upscale cultural classics at center stage, he also uses its pages to spotlight the vast landscape of Hungarian wines, with a “Starter Guide to Hungarian Wine” section that details the country’s major wine regions and many native grape varieties. Each recipe—whether an appetizer, entrée or dessert—also features footnotes with wine pairings and suggestions at the bottom of the page.
“Hungarian wine, like Hungarian food, is distinctly nostalgic. It evokes memories of centuries past, and every region has its legend and lore,” says Salamon. “Hungarian wine is still overwhelmingly made in small batches by family-run wineries, which makes each vintage feel heartfelt and honest. It is [the] ability to both carry on tradition and step into the future that makes Hungarian wine so special.”
Many wine connoisseurs covet Hungary’s famed, rare dessert wines, Tokaji Aszú and Eszencia. But Salamon wants enophiles to know that the Tokaji region isn’t just for drinking after dinner. “Tokaji shouldn’t be synonymous with sweet,” he says. “[The region] produces stunning dry wines as well. The soil is intensely volcanic and mineral, and only six [white] varieties can be used in a Tokaji wine, most of them high in acid. Try Furmint for something more savory, and the lesser-known Hárslevelű for more waxy texture and honeyed aromatics.”
For pairing with his roast chicken paprikash, Salamon recommends a dry Furmint Tokaji, preferably with some oak aging, as its savoriness, minerality and salinity balance the acidity and spicy richness of the dish. Following Salamon’s lead, our editors have chosen eight dry Furmint-based Tokaji wines to try with your holiday centerpiece, all scoring 89 points or higher on Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale and value priced from $19 to $45. These top picks from Hungary are as sure to please as your paprikash this year. Enjoy!
Recipe from the book Second Generation: Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table by Jeremy Salamon. Copyright 2024 by Jeremy Salamon. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
Jeremy Salamon’s Roast Chicken Paprikash
Ingredients
- 1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, spatchcocked*
- Kosher salt
- 2 cups full-fat buttermilk**
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of 4 lemons
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon hot paprika
- 1 cup chopped fresh dill
- Flaky sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
1. One day ahead of time, place the chicken in a large bowl or airtight container. Liberally season all over with kosher salt. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken and massage into all the nooks and crannies. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or seal the container with a lid and refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. Pull the chicken from the fridge an hour or so before you plan to roast it. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
3. Use tongs to lift the chicken and let the excess buttermilk drip off, then transfer to a large cast-iron skillet or a rimmed baking sheet. Dab the chicken lightly with paper towels to remove any pools of buttermilk.
4. Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F and continue roasting for about 10 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160°F in the thickest part of the breast. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes in the skillet.
5. To make the dressing, whisk together the minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, smoked paprika and hot paprika in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
6. To plate, transfer the chicken to a cutting board and cut into 6 pieces (2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks), then return to the skillet. Spoon the dressing over the chicken. Garnish with the dill, a sprinkle of flaky salt, and plenty of pepper before serving directly from the skillet.
*On Spatchcocking: You can ask your butcher to spatchcock a chicken for you. But if you want to do it yourself, it’s just two simple steps. Find the backbone (on the opposite side of the breast meat) and use sharp kitchen shears to cut along either side of the bone to remove it. Flip the chicken breast side up and use two hands to press on the center of the breasts until the bone cracks and the chicken lays flat.
**To make this recipe kosher, do not use buttermilk. Non-dairy buttermilk can be made by adding lemon juice to any plant-based milk at a one tablespoon to one cup ratio. Combine well and let curdle before using.
8 Hungarian Wines to Try for Hanukkah
Note: The following list is a selection of outstanding and very good dry white wines wines from recently rated releases. More options can be found in our Wine Ratings Search.
ROYAL TOKAJI
Furmint Tokaji Szt. Tamás 2019
Score: 92 | Price: $36
WS Review: A beautiful range of spice box, tobacco and tea leaf notes provide a fragrant, savory thread, with flavors of dried pear and quince paste, plus a tangy streak of salinity. This is broad and creamy on the palate, with deftly honed acidity creating a well-meshed, vibrant frame. Drink now through 2030. 159 cases made, 87 cases imported.—A.N.
DISZNÓKÓ´
Score: 91 | Price: $20
WS Review: Racy and mouthwatering, offering a fragrant overtone of petrol and ripe fruit that transitions to flavors of apple and mandarin orange peel, pineapple and dried mint, plus a touch of lanolin. Shows real drive and mineral character, with a well-spiced and persistent finish. Drink now through 2029. 2,617 cases made.—A.N.
OREMUS
Score: 91 | Price: $44
WS Review: There's a waxy edge to the lush flavors of poached white peach and quince fruit, walnut oil and lemon curd, while rapierlike acidity provides definition and fine form. Offers an intriguing interplay, with hints of white blossoms and baking spices lingering on the salty finish. Drink now through 2027. 9,450 cases made, 926 cases imported.—A.N.
ST.-ANDREA
Score: 91 | Price: $45
WS Review: Dry and tangy, with mandarin orange peel acidity backing dried raspberry, cherry and salted almond flavors, plus hints of lime blossoms and warm spices. Lip-smacking finish. Furmint and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2027. 416 cases made, 140 cases imported.—A.N.
ROYAL TOKAJI
Score: 91 | Price: $19
WS Review: A lithe, enticing white, with lovely wafts of minerally petrol and slate, plus flavors of melon, raspberry, blood orange peel, sea salt and cured tobacco. Long and mouthwatering through the well-spiced finish. Drink now through 2027. 8,459 cases made, 100 cases imported.—A.N.
ROYAL TOKAJI
Score: 90 | Price: $38
WS Review: Hints of jasmine and spun honey accent this well-cut white, which layers poached pear, persimmon, lemon pith and green almond flavors with sleek acidity. Offers a fine, lightly chalky texture, with an underlying tang of salinity. Drink now. 225 cases made, 150 cases imported.—A.N.
ROYAL TOKAJI
Furmint Tokaji Mézes Mály 2021
Score: 90 | Price: $39
WS Review: This salty white crackles with acidity, offering flavors of apple peel, dried white cherry, raw almond and allspice on a broad-shouldered, satiny palate. A touch of beeswax chimes in on the finish. Drink now through 2027. 27 cases made.—A.N.
DISZNÓKÓ´
Score: 89 | Price: $25
WS Review: This light-bodied white crackles with acidity, offering hints of dried flowers and herbs, with flavors of crunchy pear, almond skin and white cherry. A tang of salinity cleans the finish. Furmint and Hárslevelü. Drink now. 207 cases made. —A.N.
