If you put Europe on a dartboard and forget about Russia – an enigma at the best of times – you’ll find sitting somewhere very close to the bullseye will be the Czech Republic.  Landlocked by Germany, Austria, Poland and Slovakia, it is a country with a cultural patchwork that has absorbed influences from the entire continent, a fact especially evident in its cuisine; from schnitizels to strudel, Czech’s national dishes have been borrowed and adapted from its neighbours.

Perhaps the most fundamental of the country’s dishes can be traced back to Germany and Hungary: vepro (pork), kneldo (dumplings) and zelo (cabbage).  These staple foods can be found on almost every menu in the country, cooked in a variety of ways but always of the same essence: the pork is usually baked, smoked, or breaded and fried like a schnitzel, while the cabbage and dumplings are boiled and served with a simple sweetened sauce.  Combined, they constitute the Czech Republic’s national dish.

Of course, there are many other Czech dishes that guarantee salivation, and which can be learnt by attending cooking classes such as those run by Chefparade in Prague.  Chefparade is a ‘contemporary cosmopolitan cooking studio’, which offers a wide variety of cooking courses in a relaxed, friendly and educational environment.  They even organise smelling competitions, culinary quizzes and peeling challenges, although, as appeeling as those all sound (do you catch that one?), it is the lessons on cooking Czech food that form the real backbone of this business.

One such food is cabbage soup, which, despite sounding like a meal your Granddad would gladly slurp through his false teeth, is delicious.  Flavoured with crushed garlic and mellowed with cream, this broth is a staple for Czechs who have to brave harsh mountain conditions, and can be transformed with a few woodland mushrooms which grow throughout the country.

Why not have a go at making it yourself?  You’ll need the following ingredients:

• 400g sauerkraut
• Oil
• 50g onion
• 2 bay leaves
• Crushed garlic
• 75g plain flour
• 25ml cream
• Sausage - anything that looks like a frankfurter will do
• 10g pepper

First, chop the onion finely and fry it in the oil along with a sprinkle of pepper.  Pour over some water – enough to make soup - and keep on a steady heat.  Wash the sauerkraut and add the ground pepper; 10 grams is quite a lot, so go easy on it.  Make a light roux (enter ‘define:roux’ into Google if you, like me, don’t know what that is) with butter and the flour, using it to thicken the soup once the latter starts to boil.  Season with a little salt, more pepper and the bay leaves, and simmer until the cabbage is tender.  Finally, add the crushed garlic, sausage and cream, and cook for a further five minutes before engaging with your stomach.

Another popular Czech dish is sirloin of beef, considered by some as the country’s most popular food.  Typically, Czechs eat this tender cut with a creamy sauce and dumplings, although, as is often the case with traditional recipes, there are probably as many different variations of the meal as there are cooks!  Nevertheless, if ever you’re in Prague, be sure to visit Na Orechovce, Kolkovna Olympia or U Pinkasu, each of which serves a mean sirloin of beef.

Alternatively, put an apron on and make the dish yourself!  You’ll need the following ingredients:

• 500g beef back
• 25g bacon
• Sugar
• 200groot vegetables
• 175g onions
• Salt, peppercorns, allspice, bay leaves, thyme and a peeled lemon
• Mustard
• Vinegar
• 25g butter
• Cream
• 75g flour

Prepare the bacon and beef with salt before cutting the root vegetables into cubes and chopping the onion finely.  Begin frying the vegetables in oil and then add peppercorns, allspice, bay leaves, thyme and peeled lemon.  Do this until the concoction is almost brown, and then add the finely chopped onion.  Next, add mustard and vinegar, and finally throw in the meat.  Add a little water and simmer until the meat becomes tender.

Once ready, remove the meat and add a light roux of flour and butter to the mix.  If necessary, dilute everything with water and boil for the last 20 minutes, before pushing the whole lot through a fine strainer and seasoning with salt, sugar and vinegar.  Finally, pour the cream into a pan and cook, adding any bacon that might be left over until it’s ready to pour over the meat and eat.

Finally, no Czech meal is complete without a gargantuan helping of apple strudel, served beneath curls of frosty vanilla ice cream and plumes of frothy whipped cream.  Originally from Austria, it is a perfect example of the country’s inheritance of traditions from neighbouring countries, having established itself not only as one of the Czech Republic’s favourite desserts, but a pudding that is popular throughout Europe.  Grand Café Praha, Malostranska Beseda, Louvre Café and Phenix Restaurant serve the finest strudel in Prague.

Here’s how to make it yourself:

• 500g puff pastry
• 800g apples
• Caster sugar
• Icing sugar for sprinkling
• Ground cinnamon
• Breadcrumbs
• Raisins
• Eggs

Grate the apples and place on one side to drain, before adding cinnamon, caster sugar, raisins and breadcrumbs.  Next, create a thin rectangle of puff pastry, 15-20cm in length, 2mm thick – don’t fret if your measurements aren’t too precise, it’s really not going to make any difference.  Spread the apple mixture across this, roll it up and place in a baking tray.  Mix the eggs together before using a brush to paste the goop across the pastry.  Bake in the oven on a heat of your choice until the whole strudel turns golden.  Finish with a sprinkling of icing sugar.

For more information on Czech cuisine, along with a comprehensive guide to everything Prague has to offer, please visit MyDestination.com/Prague.

Alex Plim, MyDestination
June 2011