Czech and Slovak Recipes

SLOVAK CUISINE

Christmas Eve Sauerkraut Soup (KAPUSTNICA)

(Kapustnica) is the best known Slovak soup. It is a hearty cabbage soup with smoked pork sausage (klobasa) (preferably home made), smoked pork, dried mushrooms and sometimes dried plums. This soup is traditionally served at Christmas times, but also at weddings and to revive guests at midnight. It is perfect to take away chill on a cold day.

Ingredients

1.5 kg (3 1/3 lb.) sauerkraut, 1 pair of (klobasa) smoked pork sausage, 1 kg (2 ¼ lb.) smoked meat (pork or beef), 50 g (1 1/3 oz) dried mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes, 1 chopped onion, 100 ml (1/3 cup) cooking oil, 150 g (1 cup) finely ground flour, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp. salt, 20 g (2 tbsp.) paprika, black pepper to taste, garnish: cream and minced parsley

1. Rinse the meat and sausage in clean water and put them in a large pot along with the sauerkraut and 2.5 litres (11 cups) of water. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and add salt. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until the meat is tender.
2. When the meat is tender, add the drained mushrooms. Cook the soup another 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in the frying pan and ad the chopped onion. Cook it slowly until transparent. Than add the flour and stir until it is no longer raw, then stir in the paprika. Slowly mix in approximately 300 ml (10 ½ oz) of water, stirring constantly. When the mixture is well blended, remove the pan from the heat and add the onion-flour mixture to the soup.
4. Allow the soup to thicken by cooking it for another 15 minutes. Toward the end add skinless garlic cloves and pepper to taste.
5. Serve in bowls, adding to each a dollop of cream and sprinkling of minced parsley.

Potato Fritters (LOKŠE)

Ingredients

600g potatoes boiled in jackets, 100 g plain flour, 100 g coarse grained flour, 1 egg, 1 tbsp salt, 200 ml milk, 200 g plum jam (alternatively (bryndza) sheep cheese, cottage cheese, goose liver or just duck fat), 50 g walnuts, ground, 100 g butter, 100 g poppy seeds, 50 g powdered sugar

1. Peel potatoes, press them and add salt. Then mash or push trough a press. Mix thoroughly with flour and egg. Roll out until 3 mm thick.
2. Cut out fritters (lokše) to a 20 cm circle and bake from both sides on dry burner.
3. Dip them in a warm milk, spread with jam, sprinkle with walnuts and roll.
4. Before serving drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with ground poppy seeds and powdered sugar.
5. Alternatively (lokše) can be filled with (bryndza) sheep cheese, cottage cheese, goose liver or just duck fat.

Bags filled with (BRYNDZA) Sheep Cheese

(Bryndza) is a unique type of sheep cheese that can be bought only in Slovakia. Typically it is served with potato dumplings and fried bacon sprinkled on the top known as (bryndzovéhalušky), which is considered to be the most typical national dish.

Ingredients

500g jacket boiled potatoes, 100 g coarse grained flour, 50 g semolina, 3 eggs, 1 tbsp salt, 200 g sheep cheese (bryndza), cottage cheese, jam, poppy seeds or ricotta, 50 g butter, 100 g powdered sugar

1. Peel potatoes, mash them or put through a press, add salt, eggs, flour and semolina. Form a dough.
2. Roll out the dough to a thickness of less than 5 mm and cut out circles with diameter of 10 cm. Fill with sheep cheese (bryndza), alternatively with cottage cheese, jam, poppy seeds or ricotta. Fold over to the half and press the edges together to seal.
3. Put the bags into boiling water and cook for 4 – 5 minutes. If filled with jam or poppy seeds melt butter in a pan, add breadcrumbs and roast.
4. When filled with (bryndza) serve with cream topped with fried bacon and onion. When filled with jam, poppy seeds, cottage cheese or ricotta turn boiled bags in breadcrumbs and serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and butter.

Raised Rolled Cake (MAKOVNÍK) (filled with poppy seeds) or (ORECHOVNÍK)(filled with walnuts)

This dessert is traditionally made for Christmas but is often served for at other occasions.

Ingredients

Dough

500g (3 ¾ cups) semolina flour, 250 g (1 cup + 2 ½ tbsp) butter, 20 g yeast, ¼ cup lukewarm milk, pinch of salt, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp powdered sugar, 100-150 ml (1/3 to 5/8 cup) cream, 1 egg for painting the dough

Poppy Seed Filling

200g (1 1/3 cup) ground poppy seed, 200 g (2 cups) iced sugar, grated peel of one lemon, 50 ml (3 tbsp) water, 50 g (1/4 cup) raisins plumped in rum.

Walnut Filling

200 g (2 cups) ground walnuts, 200 g (2 cups) iced sugar, 50 ml (3 tbsp) milk, 20 g (1 2/3 tbsp) vanilla sugar or 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 50 g (1/4 cup) raisins plumped in rum.

Directions

Dough

1. Mix together the flour and butter and crumble into small pieces.
2. Mix in a pinch of salt and eggs.
3. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in foil plastic and leave overnight in the refrigerator to rest.
4. The next day divide the dough into two parts, and roll each out into a thin, rectangular sheet.
5. Allow the sheets of dough to rest while preparing the filling.

Filling

1. Heat the water or milk, remove from the heat and mix in the rest of the ingredients, depending on the filling you are preparing.
2. Spread the filling out over each of the sheets, keeping 2 – 3 cm (1 in) from the edges free.
3. Roll the sheets loosely lengthwise and place on a buttered, floured baking sheet. Press of each roll together to keep the filling from spilling out. Separate the egg, reserving the white and brush the rolls with the yolk.
4. Allow the rolls to rise in warm place for half an hour. Brush the rolls with the egg white, and allow them to rise for another half an hour.
5. Pick the roils in several places with fork or kitchen needle.
6. Bake the rolls in a oven preheated to 180° C (325°) for 30 to 40 minutes. Avoid opening oven for the first 15 to 20 minutes or the rolls will fall.
7. Leave rolls to cool on the baking sheets. Then cut them into 1 cm (1/2 in) thick slices and cover the slices with powdered sugar. Can be served with whipped cream.

Deep Fried Bread Cake (LaNGOŠE)

Traditional fast food of Hungarian origin served as take a way.

Ingredients

1 kg finely ground flour, 1 cup sour cream (butter milk), 1 tbsp salt, ½ litre (4 cups) milk, 50 g yeast, 1 tbsp sugar, frying oil, garlic cloves

Directions

1. Crumble the yeast and sugar into some lukewarm milk and live for about 5 minutes until it starts working.
2. Mix together with the flour and salt. Work out the dough. Fill the dough into the plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator to rest for at least 3 hours (or till next morning).
3. Pull out small ball from the dough and form a circle with diameter of 20 – 30 cm (like with pizza). Dive the formed circle into the heated oil (in deep frying pan) and fry on both sides till it gets pink colour.
4. Serve with salted and crushed garlic mixed with water or top with sour cream, ketchup or grated cheese.

CZECH CUISINE

Bramboracka (Potato Soup)

A typical national dish with regional or family varieties, seasoned with marjoram and sometimes pepper or caraway seeds to which this delicacy owes its special flavour.

Ingredients

1 litre water, 500g potatoes, 100g root vegetables, 50g onion, 1-2 cloves of garlic, 60g flour, 5g butter, 100g fresh or 30g dried mushrooms, marjoram, pepper or caraway seeds.

Directions

Boil potatoes and root vegetables cut into cubes in 1 litre of salted water until soft. Prepare thickening from melted butter and flour, thin with cold water, mix thoroughly and add to boiling potato cubes. Add mushrooms. Simmer for another 15 minutes and season to taste with garlic, marjoram and chopped parsley leaves.

Moravský brabec (Moravian "Sparrow")

Ingredients

600g pork meat (brisket, shoulder), 1 onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon of flour, salt, cumin

Directions

Cut meat into generous chunks, season and together with a chopped onion and crushed garlic place in a baking tray. Add a small amount of water. Baste and turn at regular intervals during roasting. Once meat is golden brown and soft remove from tray and allow fats and juices to thicken. Add flour and water, return to the oven and while stirring occasionally bring to the boil. Return the meat to the baking tray and heat through. Serve with potato dumplings and sauerkraut.

Zelí naší babicky (Granny's sauerkraut)

Ingredients

500g of sauerkraut, 2 onions, 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 small potato, 1 tablespoon of fine ground flour, salt, cumin, vinegar, sugar

Directions

Drain the sauerkraut and steam it in a saucepan adding water and cumin. Brown diced onions separately and add to sauerkraut. Peel and grate the potato and mixing it with the flour add to sauerkraut. Steam for another few minutes. Finally add vinegar , sugar and salt to taste.

Although their name suggests an affinity with German or Tyrol Knödeln, Czech and Moravian dumplings (knedlíky) are quite unique. Although their preparation is quite simple, present households use predominantly ready - made dumpling mixes which are worked with water into a soft dough, then formed into large rolls and boiled. There are also several variants of potato dumplings (bramborové knedlíky). These are prepared from fine-grated potatoes boiled the previous day. The potatoes are worked with egg, vinegar and coarse ground flour into stiff dough from which rolls are formed and boiled in salted water.

Babovka (Walnut Cake)

Ingredients

5 eggs, 20dkg butter, 30dkg sugar, 10dkg grated walnuts, 5dkg grated bitter chocolate, 30dkg flour, 250ml cream, 2 g vanilla sugar, 13g baking powder

Directions

Beat egg yolks, sugar, vanilla sugar and butter thoroughly. Add gradually flour blended with baking powder, nuts, cream and grated chocolate. Finally carefully fold in stiff beaten egg whites. Pour the dough into a buttered and floured form and put to bake in a preheated oven. Bake slowly at medium temperature.

Švestkový olac (Plum tart)

Ingredients

200g fine ground flour, 100g butter, 1 egg, 50g sugar, pinch of salt

Filling

800g plums, 2 egg yolks, 125g cream, 50g sugar

Directions

Nead flour, butter, eggs, sugar and salt into a thick dough. Shape the dough into a large ball and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Stone the plums. Place pastry into a greased pie dish and add the plums. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Whisk egg yolks, cream and sugar and pour on top of plums. Bake for another 30 minutes.

Buchty (Yeast Buns)

Czech yeast buns and tarts (buchty a kolace) are another characteristic phenomenon of the Czech cuisine which appears even in a number of national fairytales. Yeast buns and tarts are small pieces or raised dough stuffed with sweet cottage cheese, ground poppy seed, plum-jam, or another special regional filling, and baked in the oven. Yeast buns are usually sprinkled with powdered sugar. Served after a sustaining soup, they once formed the main course.

Ingredients

100g unsalted margarine, 100g caster sugar, 2 egg yolks, 500 g fine ground flour, 1/4 l milk, 30 g yeast.

Filling

sweet cottage cheese, ground poppy seed, plum-jam

Directions

Combine margarine, sugar and eggs with an electric mixer. Add flour, lukewarm milk, and the yeast mixture (yeast and a drop of milk). Knead the dough thoroughly and leave it to proof. Once the dough has risen, dust a flat surface with flour and roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into squares, place filling of choice into center of the squares, and fold corners up to form parcels. Bake on a tray lined with baking paper, in an electric oven at 200 C, for approximately 20 minutes. While baking, keep moistening the top with a brush dipped in oil.

Perníkové rezy (Gingerbread slices)

Ingredients

150g course flour, 150 ml honey, 4 eggs, 1 gingerbread powder, margarine for greasing, 50g cooking chocolate, 25 g margarine, 50g icing sugar, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.

Directions

Combine honey, egg yolks and 2 table spoons of lukewarm water. Add flour, gingerbread powder and stiffened egg whites. Place into a greased baking tray and bake until golden. To make chocolate icing, melt the margarine together with the chocolate above a pot of hot water. For plain icing, add the lemon juice into sugar. Once the gingerbread has cooled down, decorate and cut into slices. You can also add whipped cream.