Finally, a bad choice! (Week 34 - Czechoslovakia)

Oh dear, I am not sure how I can say this politely, but I really did not like the roast pork – in actual fact, I couldn’t eat all mine. I have eaten pork dishes before, and liked them but on this occasion I didn’t. I had cooked this dish before, a few years ago, and I liked it but I don’t think I did it quite to the recipe then, whereas this time I did and it was not for me. I didn’t even like the onion, so I think it must be the sauce. It has been the first time I could not eat something, that was cooked correctly, on this adventure. The Bramboracka went down much better, not just with me but the rest of the family as the score shows and I think in having this dish I know why the roast was not to my liking ; caraway seeds; either that or beer! The palacinky (pancakes) were a bit hit, however. They differed from the Brits way, but we couldn’t put our finger on why; but they were lovely. I remember when we visited Prague about 10 years ago whilst we relished the culture and the sites, we were not so keen on the main meals – they were fuel, but the pastry’s and cakes were so lovely I have a feeling we spent one afternoon just trying all sorts of different ones and thus avoided the need for a main meal!

We are off to Pakistan next!

Cooked:

Bramboracka (Soup)……………………………………………………76

Veprova Pecene (Roast Pork)…….………………………………..33

Palacinky (Pancakes).......................................................83

 

Wanted to cook:

Dusene Zeli (Braised Cabbage)

 

BRAMBORACKA (Soup)

Source: mycookingrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes, diced into cubes

6 cups of water

1 onion

1 parsnip

2 sticks Celery

8 oz of fresh mushrooms (or use dried mushrooms and soak them 1 hour before using)

4 Tbs of butter

2 Tbs of flour

4 cloves of garlic, minced

salt, marjoram, caraway seed

fresh parsley,chopped

½  cup of diced, fried bacon

Method:

1. Sauté finely chopped celery, onion and mushrooms in butter, while stirring, gradually sprinkle the vegetable mixture with the flour. Keep stirring until all of the flour blends in with all of the vegetables.
2. Add 1 cup of water and stir for about 30 seconds, add the rest of the water, diced potatoes, parsnip, caraway seeds and salt. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Add marjoram, crushed garlic, parsley and simmer the soup for 5 more minutes
4. Dish the soup up and sprinkle it with bacon and fresh parsley
   PS: Some people also add more root vegetables in such as cauliflower, carrots and/or sauerkraut

 

Dusene Zeli

Source: mycookingrecipes.com

This recipe is easy to prepare, but it takes about 1 hour to braise properly. The ingredients are few and simple and the dish makes a great accompaniment to many meat offerings.

Makes 6 servings, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 1 hour: Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon bacon fat or butter or olive oil

1 finely chopped large onion

4 slices bacon, chopped 1/4 inch

1 (3-pound) head white or green cabbage, cored and shredded

1 teaspoon caraway seeds, or more to taste

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

1 teaspoon sugar, or more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Preparation:

1. In large skillet or Dutch oven, heat bacon fat and sauté onions 8-10 minutes or until lightly colored. Stir in bacon and cook about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add cabbage and caraway seeds, mixing well.
2. Cover and cook 5 minutes over medium heat. Add vinegar, water, salt, sugar and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover tightly and cook 45 minutes to 1 hour over low heat, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is done to your liking. Add water if necessary

 

Veprova Pecene (Roast Pork)

Ingredients

2 lbs pork roast

1 teaspoon mustard

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 medium onions

1/2 cup beer (you may use water instead)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Meanwhile, prepare the meat. In a medium bowl, combine garlic powder, caraway seeds, pepper, salt, mustard, and oil. Rub all over the pork roast with this mixture and let it sit at least 45 minutes.
2. Chop the onion and arrange it on a large pan. Pour the beer over the onion. If you like a spicier taste, you can add a few garlic cloves to the pan next to the pork. Place the pork over the onion and cover the pan with foil. Seal the foil well. Bake the pork for about 1 or 1-1/2 hours, turning the meat occasionally and basting with its own juices from time to time.
3. When it is cooked through, transfer the pork on a plate. Reserve the meat juice from the pan and combine it with the cornstarch and butter. Add this mixture in a medium-sized saucepan and simmer over the low heat until it thickens a little. Serve the pork with the sauce.

PALACINKY  

Source: czechmatediary.com

batter (for about 4 pancakes):

2 cups of milk

2 egg yolks

1 Tbs sugar (leave the sugar part if you are going to make the the salty way)

1/4 Tsp salt 

  3/4 cup of all-purpose flour (= 0.65 cup; or 8-10 Tbs)

vegetable oil

Filling

fruit yogurt and/or jam

fresh fruit

Nutella

Toppings

Whipped cream

powdered sugar

powdered cocoa

cinnamon

chopped almonds or walnuts

 

Method:

1. Mix flour with salt, mix egg yolks with sugar and milk and slowly pour this mixture into the salted flour and mix the batter until it looks very smooth.
2. Lightly grease a small, non-stick pan and wait until the oil gets hot (med-high), pour a thin layer of the batter on the pan, using a ladle.
3. The hard part: when one side seems to be done (about 2-3 minutes), flip the palacinka (pancake) using spatula
4. Once palacinka is done, scoop it with your spatula on a plate and spread the filling on (spread jam and/or yogurt (or Nutella) all over the surface)
5. Roll it into a tube and top with fresh cut fruit (strawberries, bananas..) and whipped cream , sprinkle with  cocoa powder or cinnamon

As it is still the summer holidays, the facts are from a child’s perspective:

• Skoda Auto, the large European car manufacturer, is from the Czech Republic.
• Prague castle is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest ancient castle in the world by area, at over 7 hectares (70,000 m²).
• Beer has been brewed in the Czech Republic since the year 1118, the country has the highest beer consumption per capita in the world.
• The most popular sports in the Czech Republic are ice hockey, football, sport shooting, tennis, basketball, volleyball, handball, and athletics.

CUISINE

Most of the Czech cuisine recipes include meat food. Unique Czech dishes include roast pork with bread dumplings and stewed cabbage, roast beef with steamed dumplings and creamy vegetable sauce, roast duck with dumplings and red cabbage, and potato pancakes. Fish is rare, except at Christmas when carp is served.