| Czech cuisine has benefited from Austrian, Hungarian,
German and Polish influences. A typical meal consists of meat with dumplings,
cabbage, and potatoes or rice with a thick gravy. Pork is a favourite meat.
Poultry such as chicken or goose may be roasted and served with dumplings
and sauerkraut. The most popular bread is rye, which may be flavoured with
caraway or poppy seeds. Sour cream, lemon or vinegar are used to season
food. |
| The
Czechs drink more beer than any other people in the world. Two Czech beers
are Pilsner Urquell, produced in Plzen (Pilsen), and Budweiser, produced
in Ceské Budejovice. |
|
| The main meal of the day is usually eaten at midday.
On weekdays it may be eaten quickly, but on Sundays most families sit down
to a large home-cooked meal. Supper is usually light and may consist of
meats and cheeses with bread. Beer (pivo) is enjoyed with many meals.
Knedlíky (dumplings) are a
Czech specialty. They usually accompany meat dishes, but may also be served
as dessert. The most common are those made with flour called houskové
knedlíky. Potato dumplings are called bramborové knedlíky.
Dumplings made with flour and potato are called pul na pul. Ovocné
knedlíky are small, fruit-filled dumplings, covered with powdered
sugar. |
|
| Czechs enjoy snacking on smoked meats or thick
spicy pork or beef sausages. These are served with mustard and horseradish
and eaten on a wheat roll or rye bread. Patties made from grated raw potato
and garlic are also favourites.
The traditional dish at Christmas dinner
is carp. Markets sell live carp in large containers during the Christmas
season. Other traditional Christmas dishes include vanilkové
rohlícky, crescent-shaped sweets, flavoured with vanilla and
almonds and dusted with icing sugar, served as dessert. A light fruit cake,
vánocka,
is served after dinner. |
|
| Ingredients
4 tbsp butter
2 eggs
pinch of salt
500 ml sifted
all-purpose flour
500 g boiled
potatoes, diced
12-15 pitted
plums
50 ml cinnamon
sugar or poppy seeds
250 ml fine
breadcrumbs
Preparation
Cream 2 tbsp
butter with eggs and salt. Gradually beat in the flour and potatoes. The
dough should be stiff. On a floured board, roll out the dough until it
is 5 mm thick. Cut in into 7-cm squares. Place a plum on each square, sprinkle
with sugar, and fold the edges over the plum to form a square. Place the
dumplings in a pot of boiling water, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Melt
the remaining butter in the pan and brown the breadcrumbs. When the dumplings
are cooked, roll them in the breadcrumbs, then sprinkle with the remaining
cinnamon sugar. |
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