Ham Roll filled with Horseradish Cream (Šunková rolka plněná křenem) – Serves 12
Ingredients:
3 oz cream cheese, softened
6 stuffed olives, chopped
2 tbsp whipping cream
1 tsp prepared horseradish
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp paprika
6 thin slices of cooked ham (lunch meat size)
Directions:
- Mix all ingredients together, up to but not including the cooked ham.
- Cut each slice of ham in half.
- Spoon the horseradish mixture onto each slice of ham and roll.
- Garnish with olive slices and serve.
Potato Soup with Mushrooms (Bramborová polévka s houbami) – Serves 8
Ingredients:
3 large potatoes, diced into cubes
6 cups of water
1 onion
1 root of 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 to taste
fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup of diced, fried bacon
Directions:
- Saute finely chopped celery, onion and mushrooms in butter
- While stirring, gradually sprinkle the vegetable mixture with flour
- Keep stiring until all of the flour blends in with all of the vegetables
- Add 1 cup of water and keep stirring for about 30 seconds
- Add the rest of the water, diced potatoes, caraway seeds and salt
- Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Add marjoram, crushed garlic, parsley and simmer the soup for 5 more minutes
- Dish the soup up and sprinkle it with bacon and fresh parsley
- Note: some people also add more root vegetables in such as cauliflower, carrots and/or sauerkraut
Pork (Vepřo) – Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 lbs pork neck or shoulder
2 onions
Caraway
Salt
Directions:
- Salt the washed and dried meat and sprinkle with caraway.
- Put in a greased baking pan and sprinkle with diced onions.
- Add water (or stock) in the bottom of the pan and bake covered for about an hour and a half, at a high temperature.
- Baste from time to time to make sure the meet does not dry out.
- When the meat is soft, uncover the pan, so that a crust can form.
- When ready, slice the meat.
- The gravy remaining in the bottom of the pan can be sprinkled with a bit of fine flour, or just boiled.
Dumplings (Knedlo) – Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 ½ lb of potatoes
1 ½ cup coarse flour
1 cup semolina
2 eggs
Salt to taste
Directions:
- Boil the potatoes in their skins, peel, and grate.
- Mix with flour, semolina, eggs, and salt.
- Make tough dough, using your hands.
- From the dough, make several rolls with a diameter of approximately 6 cm.
- Put into boiling salted water.
- After a while, the dumplings must be lifted to prevent them from sticking to the bottom.
- Boil for 20 to 25 minutes, then take them out and slice.
Cabbage (Zelo) – Serves 4
Ingredients:
24 ounces of pickled white sauerkraut or half a head of fresh cabbage
2 Tbs fine flour
1 Tbs lard or some other type of grease
½ tsp salt
Sugar to taste
1 whole onion, sliced
Directions:
- Sauté onions in the grease until transparent
- Sprinkle with two tablespoons of fine flour and sauté some more
- Add cabbage that has been cut into thin slices, add salt, and a bit of water (or the brine if using pickled sauerkraut) and stew.
- Add more water during stewing, from time to time.
- In the end, add vinegar and/or sugar, to taste.
- If preferred, red cabbage can be prepared in the same way as white cabbage.
Sponge Cake (Bublanina) – Serves 6
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs divided, at room temperature
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur (optional)
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and stemmed
Confectioners’ sugar
Blueberry Sauce (optional but see below)
Directions:
- Place rack in center of oven and heat to 350 degrees. Butter or lightly coat with cooking spray a 9-inch-by-9-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, sugar and yolks until light and fluffy. Add liqueur, if using, orange zest and salt, mixing well.
- In a clean medium bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff. Alternately fold in egg whites and flour into butter-egg mixture.
- Turn batter into prepared pan and scatter blueberries evenly over top. Press down into batter with a spatula. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cut into 6 equal pieces. Serve warm or cold dusted with confectioners’ sugar Makes about 2 cups
Blueberry Sauce for Sponge Cake
Ingredients:
2 pints fresh blueberries, washed and stemmed
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar or more to taste
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook until berries come to a boil, pop and release their juices, and the sugar is dissolved, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.