Conversations about the Czech Republic sooner or later end up with beer. We have good reason to say that anyone who has ever tried a good local beer in a real Czech tavern knows why Czech breweries are world famous. However, there is usually less talk of Czech food: it is as if they were overshadowed by beer. But if you ever taste knedli (steamed potato dumplings) or any of the soups made in the southern parts of the Czech Republic, you will realise that there is much more to the country than its beer.
Let’s take the example of sour bread soup, or kyselo, which is prepared for two days. First they make the leaven by pouring a quarter of a litre of lukewarm water into a dish that can hold half a litre. They crumble in 30 grammes of yeast and stir in 3 spoonfuls of flour. Bread-crust is added, then the mix is left to leaven at a warm place until the following day, when mushrooms boiled in salted water and cumin are added. The mix is cooked with finely chopped onion fried in foaming butter and then served with scrambled eggs and boiled potatoes.
Kulayda is another soup, also referred to as the “nameless” soup. It consists of potatoes, mushroom, milk, flour, butter, dill and salt, plus some cumin to add flavour. It is very simple to prepare: pealed and diced potatoes are boiled in water with a little cumin and some mushrooms. A cup of sour cream is mixed with milk and a spoonful of flour and it is poured into the boiling soup. After two minutes on fast heat, a little milk or a spoonful of butter are added. This soup is equally tasty hot and cold.
Perhaps knedli (steamed potato dumpling) is the only Czech speciality that has achieved anything like the fame of Czech beers. Below is the recipe for this delicacy made from hot potatoes:
Ingredients:
800 grammes of hot potato
400 grammes of semolina
100 grammes of lard
bacon or butter
1-2 eggs or (only the yolks)
half teaspoon salt
(croutons)
Spread the semolina on the pastry-board and add mashed hot potatoes. Add the eggs and salt and knead together. You may also add croutons to the dough. Form small round dumplings and boil them for about 15 minutes. Take out the boiled dumplings and spread butter on them (you may roll them in fried bread-crumbs) and serve them with steamed cabbage and meat. The same dough can also be stuffed with fruit to make a slightly different but equally fine dish. Knedli goes well with the beef stew of Znojmo, which has a special flavour thanks to the sliced cucumber added.
“Birdie from Moravia”
Ingredients (4 persons):
600 grammes of pork, boneless
1 big onion
3 garlic cloves
cumin
salt
ground pepper
1 spoonful of lard
1 spoonful of flour
Cut the meat into 8 equal pieces, put them into the baking pan, spread them with sliced onion, finely chopped garlic, salt and pepper, add cumin and lard with flour. Thoroughly mix it and pour water on it to bake in a preheated oven until it becomes tender. Serve the “birdies” with pickled cabbage and potato dumplings.
