Czech Recipes

[Ron Hay]

Hello, friends, I have recently begun to cook and to appreciate Czech cooking.

Do any of you have any family recipes from either the Czech or Slovak Republics?

Ron

 

[Claire]

Hubbie's family was Slovene, does that fit? The recipes I use most are halupke (cabbage rolls), Roski (a cookie made with cream cheese in the dough) and Potica (a yeast bread based nut roll). Just asked hubby -- halupke is so common to that part of the world that every country has a version. The other two he said are both Slovak and Slovene, roski in particular Slovak. Let me know and I'll go look for MIL's old notes.

 

[Ron Hay]

Czech/Slovak/Slovenian recipes

Hello, Claire,

I would love to have some of those family recipes

Thanks for offering to dig them up.

I made a Czech recipe recently with chicken thighs, sauerkraut, brown sugar (!), caraway seeds, apple and onions, and it was one of the most delicious things I have ever prepared...and I made it for the first time for guests who were mightily impressed.

I think the food from that part of the world is all to little known on the West Coast, and I would love to help spread the word as to how delicious it is.

Thanks again.

Ron

 

[Michael in FtW]

Over the past couple of years I have gotten more and more interested in exploring Eastern European cusine. I would love to have someone post some authentic Czech recipes!

 

[Ron Hay]

Eastern European Recipes

Hello, Michael,

This could be a very rewarding thread!

Claire stated that she would try to post some family recipes, and I will post a few from "churchy lady" ethnic cookbooks that I have purchased, and which I have found to be truly delightful.

Are you interested in Hungarian and Polish cooking, as well?

Would you be interested recipes from the Balkans, too?

I have prepared some really wonderful Serbian, Albanian and Greek recipes, and am launching out on an adventure to learn Croatian, Bulgarian and Romanian cooking, as well.

Ron, Van Nuys, CA

 

[Michael in FtW]

Ron - my only real exposure to Eastern European food is Hungarian and Polish - and a slight taste of Western Russian, not sure what region it came from. My former boss and his wife were first generation Polish-American (their parents had imigrated from Poland), one of the nurses I worked with was 1st generation Hungarian-American, and a lab tech I worked with was 1st generation Russian-American.

I don't know why it has taken me so long to get really interested in this food. I love it! From what I have experienced - it's down home peasant cooking. And, I'm one who much prefers a big plate of grandma's cooking to a 8-oz portion of "something" piled 4-inches high on a plate at some pretentious fancy restaurant. Maybe that's why I like Greek and middle eastern food so much?

 

[jpmcgrew]

Hey,Ron Hays

I would love some Bulgarian recipes my neighbor is a 24 year old girl from bulgaria she came to the ranch and ended up marrying a guy that works here. and I would love to surprise them with a great meal.

 

[kitchenelf]

I have a recipe somewhere for Potica - it's a Slovak recipe I believe - It's a yeast type bread rolled jelly-roll fashion with nuts/honey/etc. - I remember my mother making it!!!!! It was wonderful. My father was Hungarian and my learned to cook some of it. Plus growing up in Cleveland, Ohio there was a large community of Slovaks and Hungarians, Polish, etc. (is Slovak the right word? I always get confused).

I'll post it first chance I get.

 

[mudbug]

goody, you guys can help me clear something up.

My sister has traveled a lot on NATO business for the Navy and brought me back some paprika from Poland - the labels say papryka ostra and papryka stodka. Which is the sweet and which is the hot, and what dishes do I make using each?

 

[Ron Hay]

Czech Chicken and Sauerkraut. Truly delicious!

8 Chicken thighs
1 Tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. margarine (I used butter)1/2 cup chopped onion
1 lb sauerkraut (try to find Polish or German kraut in a jar.)
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. caraway seeds
dash of pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
several parboiled/steamed potato chunks, drained
2 cooking apples, cored and cut into thin wedges

Sprinkle chicken with salt and brown on both sides in margarine/butter in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until tender. Sprinkle some carway seeds over the chicken as it browns. Mix together the kraut, water, caraway, pepper, brown sugar and potatoes. Add to chicken and onion and mix well. Cover skillet and cook 10-12 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Note: the recipe called for canned potatoes, but.....

Don't let the inclusion of sauerkraut put you off. It is an integral part of the cooking of Eastern Europe, and is NOT used solely as an condiment, as it is in the U.S.

I served this with a cucumber salad and additional steamed potatoes and good crusty bread to soak up any of the wonderful juices.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as our guests did.

Ron

 

[mudbug]

okey dokey Ron - you're on. We are going to have this tonight, along with Ishbel's orange marmalade bread and butter pudding.

I've also got a garden cucumber from the neighbors (I will be the only one here to eat it). How do you do your cucumber salad? sliced with sour cream and dill, or some other way?

 

[Ron Hay]

Heading south....Serbian bean soup.

This is one of the glories of the Serbian kitchen, one that has sustained generations of Serbs for untiold generations.

1/2 lb. dried beans (I use small white beans, limas, navy beans, etc.)
2-3 raw carrots, peeled and shredded or cubed.
2-3 red potatoes , peeled and cut into squares about 2" in diameter.
2 stalks of celery, diced
1-1.5 lbs of smoked meat/sausage/hambone with meat attached. (If using sausage, cut into serving pieces; if using hambone, leave meat attached.)
4 quarts of cold water.
salt
pepper

Rinse dried bean, place in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Stir occasionally to prevent beans from sticking. Salt to taste. Lower temperature and simmer until beans are almost tender (about an hour.).

Peel, cube and add veggies. Wash sausage/meat and add in suitable serving pieces about 2". If ham bone is used, or other smoked meat, add it at the beginning of the process when the beans are boiling. Continue simmering process until veggies and beans are completely cooked (another hour on slow simmer.) Ham bone may be removed at this point; cool and remove all meat from bone. Return meat to pot and discard teh bone.


[My observation: since meat may impart too smokey a flavor, you might want to boil it separately and add it back in to the cooking beans, later, having discarded the smokey water.]

"Zafrak," thickener for soup. This is what really makes the soup. This technique is used throughout Central and Eastern Europe, among other locations.

4 Tbsp. lard, bacon grease, Crisco or oil. [ I know that lard is out of favor, but it really makes a difference when you use it.]
4 Tbsp. flour
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. sweet or medium paprika [Hungarian paprika comes in about 6 levels of heat.]

Add flour to hot melted grease, stir constantly over medium to low heat. Do NOT burn the flour. It must turn deep brown slowly and completely. Add chopped onion and saute to soft texture. Not necessary to brown onion. Remove from heat, add sweet/medium paprika [use an Eastern European one, not red American red paint dust!] and return to low heat until paprrika turns ingredients to a golden brown. Use approximately one cup of bean soup liquid to zafrik, stir and add to bean soup. Continue simmering soup until it is thickened, for another 5 minutes. Season to taste. This soup ages gracefully in the 'fridge

Enjoy!

P.S. when the carpenters are finished working in our house, I will unearth my Bulgarian recipes.

Ron

 

[Ron Hay]

Hungarian cucumber salad

This may be found in just about any cuisine in Central Europe.

2 medium cukes
1/4 cup vinegar
1-1.5 tsp sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tsp. salt

All these measurements are approximate. Vary them according to your personal taste.

Ron

 

[Alix]

I've also got a garden cucumber from the neighbors (I will be the only one here to eat it). How do you do your cucumber salad? sliced with sour cream and dill, or some other way?

You can do a cucumber tomato mix, chop both and pour red wine vinegar over it or Italian dressing. OR, cucumber radish with just plain vinegar. OR slice cucumbers and sprinkle with sugar, then pour vinegar over them.

Personally, I just add cucumbers to my green salad.

 

[kitchenelf]

Being a true Hungarian here we always made our cucumbers with a mixture of sour cream (it's the Hungarian way), apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and lots of pepper - cucumbers sliced VERY thin.

 

[Ron Hay]

Varities of cucumber salads

Hello, again. This recipe was given to me by a professional cook from Hungary on another list. She is well-versed in all manner of Hungarian foods.

Lots of variation in recipes occur even within a given region, not to mention within a country, especially with an easily-grown item like cucumbers, which, are by nature, rather bland, admitting to a whole galaxy of culinary embellisments.

Every family may ring changes on a recipe, as well.

Ron

 

[kitchenelf]

Ron, to tell you the truth I didn't even look at the recipe until just now - I was just being a smart alek with Alix.

I learned a thing or two about different regions when I asked the owner of a local Italian restaurant if they would ever consider putting Panzanella Salad on their menu - the only Panzanella he knows of has potatoes in it and NOTHING like the tomato/bread salad that pretty much everyone else knows - he's never heard of it before! It's very facinating! It's facinating to see the different dishes that are made of truly local ingredients.

 

[Shunka]

Ron, the bean soup recipe you posted is just like the one that my Grandmother would make. She was Cherokee but must have learned it from family friends growing up. She would also make up meals using saur-kraut that I am still trying to duplicate today. My son-in-law is Polish and even though my cabbage rolls are a bit different than what his mother made, he loves mine. Thank you for posting all of these recipes!!!

 

[Piccolina]

Hi everyone,

Here are some very recipe-filled Czech cooking links:

http://goodfood.hypermart.net/czech_category.html

http://www.recipezaar.com/r/15/243

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=czech

http://www.texasczechs.homestead.com/files/Recipes3_10.htm

I can't say as though I've eaten much Czech food, but I have had a bit of Russian, which is typically the sort of soul-satisfying food you want when you feel empty to the bone.

 

[Constance]

Gugelhupf

I found this recipe handwritten in the back of a friend's mother's recipe book...it must have been HER mother's book, because it is very old.


Gugelhupf
Recipe by Elain Fiala Karlousky

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
1-1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
6 tbl milk
flavoring*

Directions:
Cream butter to consistancy of mayonnaise. Add sugar slowly while continuing to cream. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat egg yolks in one at a time. Mix and sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Combine milk and flavoring. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to mixture, stirring in gently but thoroughly. Beat egg whites stiff but not dry. Fold in thoroughly. Spoon into well-greased 12 cup gugelhupf pan (Turk's head mold). Bake at 350 for about 1 hour & 10 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool in pan 10 min. Loosen cake gently around rim of tube. Invert on cake rack. Finish cooling and dust with confectioner's sugar. Garnish with whole maraschino cherries if desired.

*for flavoring, use 1 tsp vanilla & 1/2 tsp almond extract, OR 2 tsp grated lemon peel.