Potato Dumplings Filled with Smoked Meat and Sauerkraut

Filled potato dumplings are quite popular meal in Czech Republic, and it’s very easy to prepare. The most common filling is smoked meat, which can be enriched with bacon. Interesting alternative can be pork scratching. Potatoes for  dough can be boiled a day before. But once you make the dough, try to work with it immediately. In time it begins to thin and then it would tear up and be sticky.

Ingredients

  • 1 kg of potatoes
  • 500 g of fine wheat flour
  • 2 eggs
  • tbs of salt
  • 500 g of smoked meat
  • 1 onion for topping

Sauerkraut

 

  • 1 kg of sauerkraut
  • 1 onion
  • salt, caraway
  • 1 spoon of flour
  • lard or oil

Directions

  1. Boil whole unpeeled potatoes. Let cool off, then peel them and grate finely. Add eggs, flour and salt and knead into dough.
  2. Roll into 0,5 cm thick layer and cut to squares of 10 cm x 10 cm.
  3. Put chopped  smoked meat on every square. You can season them with salt and pepper. Then put the corners together and make into a round dumpling.
  4. Boil in steam for 25 minutes. Pinch with skewer after boiling and butter up with lard or oil. Sauerkraut
  5. Fry chopped onion on lard and add sauerkraut with pickle. Season with caraway and salt. Sauté for 15 – 20 minutes. If the sauerkraut is too sour you can sweeten it with sugar. At the end thicken  with flour mixed with a little water.
  6. Fry chopped onion on lard for final garnishing.




Grilled Pork Skewers

Time of weekend family barbecues is not just pleasure time in US or UK but also in Czech Republic. Although it’s pretty obvious that meals on the menu are quite different. Czech grill parties or bonfires include mainly sausages and selection of meat. Fairly popular among Czechs are “špízy” (meat on a skewers), which can be made in many different ways. Let’s try one of the classic grilled pork skewers today. You can serve them with grilled potatoes and vegetables. And of course don’t forget a cold beer to wash it down.

Ingredients

  • 500g of pork leg
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 bratwursts
  • 2 onions
  • 2 bell peppers
  • 4 potatoes
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil

Directions

  1. Cube the pork, pour with oil and mix with minced garlic, salt and pepper. Let in fridge for several hours.
  2. Slice bratwursts, onions, peppers and potatoes. You can oil the potatoes.
  3. Thread ingredients on a skewer.
  4. Grill for about 20 minutes. Or put in oven.




Pork Roast with Dumplings and Sauerkraut

Pork roast with dumplings and sauerkraut is absolute classic of Czech food and is considered Czech national meal. The title “Vepřo knedlo zelo” says everything about main items on plate. However there can be few alterations, because one can prepare bread dumplings as well as potato dumplings. Other dilemma can arise when it comes to sauerkraut, because someone might prefer from red cabbage. In this recipe you’ll find potato dumplings since recipe for bread dumplings is already posted.

Ingredients

Pork roast

  • 1 kg of pork shoulder roast
  • salt, pepper, caraway
  • 3–4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 onions
  • 2 spoons of lard

Potato dumplings

  • 1 kg of potatoes
  • salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 spoon of milk
  • circa 400g of flour
  • 3 spoons of farina

Sauerkraut

  • 500 g of sauerkraut
  • 1-2 onions
  • 100g of bacon
  • salt, caraway
  • teaspoon of sugar
  • 1 raw potato

Directions

Pork roast

  1. Chop onion in baking pan.
  2. Clean meat and put on onion. Then salt and pepper meat. Spread minced garlic and put caraway on meat.
  3. Add lard and baste with glass of water.
  4. Put in preheated oven 190°C (375°F) for about 2 hours. Baste if necessary.

Potato dumplings

  1. Boil unpeeled potatoes and then let them to cool off.
  2. Peel and grate potatoes and put in bowl and season with salt.
  3. Whisk egg with spoon of milk, add in bowl and mix together with potatoes.
  4. Put on rolling board and gradually thicken with flour and farina until dough is not sticky.
  5. Divide dough in several parts and knead cylinder loaves.
  6. Boil in salted water for 20 minutes.

Saurkraut

  1. Take sauerkraut from brine, let drain and chop.
  2. Chop onion and stir-fry on oil or lard. Add cutted bacon.
  3.  Add sauerkraut and after 10 minutes season with salt, sugar and caraway.
  4. At last thicken with grated potato.




Easter Stuffing

Easter stuffing is traditional meal that can be found during Easter in Czech homes. Although it’s called stuffing, it’s mainly prepared separately and only sometimes the mixture is stuffed in poultry. Stuffing can be made with meat or simply vegetarian. Also a lot of different herbs can be used. Traditional is nettle stuffing, but basically any green herbs like lovage, parsley can be used as well.

Ingredients

  • 10 old rolls
  • 6 eggs
  • 400 g boiled smoked meat
  • 50 g of melted butter
  • salt
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • handful of chopped herbs – nettle, parsley, lovage
  • almonds

Directions

  1. Cut rolls into small cubes and dunk in cup of milk.
  2. Crack eggs and split yolks and whites.
  3. Mix butter with yolks, rolls, salt, nutmeg and herbs. Also add cutted meat.
  4. Beat egg whites and gently add to mixture.
  5. Put mixture in buttered pan and sprinkle with chopped almonds.
  6. Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C (360°F).




Traditional Schnitzel

Schnitzel in Czech “Řízek” has its origins in German cuisine, but it has significant position in Czech cuisine. Covered in “Trojobal” or breading if you want it’s made from all kinds of meat, but mainly chicken and pork are used.  You can easily recognize a Czech on a trip, because he has a few schnitzels in his backpack, which is often a point of mockery.

Ingredients

  • Chicken breasts, pork, veal, boar
  • flour
  • 2-3 eggs
  • breadcrumbs
  • oil
  • salt, pepper

Directions

  1. First tenderize the meat a little bit.
  2. Salt and pepper the meat. (You can add other spices too.)
  3. Take 3 bowls and put flour, whisked eggs and breadcrumbs. (You can pour mouthfull of beer into eggs.)
  4. Cover meat in flour, then eggs and finally breadcrumbs.
  5. Fry in preheated oil from both sides for 8-10 minutes (depends on meat and thickness).
  6. Serve with potatoes, potato salad or french fries. Garnish with lemon slice and pickles.