Recipe for making dumplings in Czech style. Czech cuisine

What is the Czech Republic famous for? Not only with stunningly beautiful castles and beer, known to every connoisseur, but also with its wonderful cuisine! Hearty and very tasty dishes of Czech cuisine will surely delight you!

Traditional Czech dish

One of the most famous dishes of Czech cuisine is dumplings, or dumplings. The name itself comes from the German word “knodel” - “dumpling” and came into the Czech language in the 19th century. An analogue of dumplings - “bukhtichki” - was eaten in the Czech Republic back in the Middle Ages. Initially, this dish was the lot of the poor: flour balls were boiled in water. Dumplings came to the tables of the rich in the 17th century. as a side dish for flour dishes. Then they began to stuff them with meat. And after that, fruit and cottage cheese dumplings firmly established themselves in the lists of desserts of aristocrats.

Nowadays, dumplings come in several types: potato, dough (plain and filled), and fruit dumplings.

Czechs joke that they are ready to eat dumplings for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Dumpling recipes

You can feel the spirit of the Czech Republic without leaving home: preparing dumplings is not difficult, but they turn out surprisingly tasty! How to cook dumplings?

Potato dumplings

The first recipe.
You can make dumplings from raw potatoes. You need to prepare potatoes, eggs, salt, lard.

Grate the potatoes on a fine grater.
Drain the resulting liquid.
From this mass, flour, eggs and salt, knead the dough.
Carefully drop small pieces of dough into boiling salted water with a spoon.
Cook, stirring gently, for 6-8 minutes.
Pour melted lard over the finished dumplings.

The second recipe.
We prepare dumplings from boiled potatoes.

Products: Potatoes - 1 kg;
Eggs - 2 pcs.;
Flour - 350 g;
Salt to taste.

Mash hot boiled potatoes until pureed.
Mix the dough from mashed potatoes, eggs, salt and flour.
On a table sprinkled with flour, roll the sausages finger-thick and cut them into 5 cm pieces. You can make dumpling balls about the size of a walnut.
Cook them in salted boiling water until they float to the surface. We catch it with a slotted spoon.

Bread dumplings

The first recipe.
We prepare dumplings from yeast dough.

Products:
Flour - 0.5 kg;
Warm milk - 200 ml;
Yeast - 20 g;
Egg - 1 pc.;
Salt - 2 teaspoons.

Mix milk and yeast.
Add the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough.
Let the dough sit in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Form balls or sausages.
Cook the dumplings in boiling water for 20 minutes. Prick the dumpling with a fork: if it remains dry, the dumplings are ready!

The second recipe.
Steamed dumplings are interesting.

Products:
Flour - 250 g;
Egg - 4 pieces;
Milk - 1 glass;
Salt to taste.

Beat the yolks, add milk, salt, flour. Separately beat the whites and pour them into the resulting mixture. Mix the dough.
Wet a napkin with cold water and wring it out. Wrap a piece of dough in it and tie it (knots at a distance of 2 cm.)
We hang the bundle of dough over a pan of boiling water on a spoon (preferably wooden) with a long handle. The knot should not float in water.
After 20 minutes, loosen the bottom knot. Cook for another 25 minutes.
We take out the contents of the napkin and immediately cut it with a thin thread (into strips).

Dumplings with smoked meats

There are many options for filling dumplings. Let's start with the meat!

Products:
Potatoes - 6 pcs.;
Smoked pork - 300 g;
Egg - 1 pc.;
Onion - 1 pc.;
Flour - 2-3 tbsp. spoons;
Butter - 30 g;
Salt and pepper to taste.

Sauté the onion.
Finely chop the meat, mix with onions, fry a little, and pepper.
Add the egg to the cooled puree and knead the dough.
We form the cakes, put the filling in the middle, and pinch them together.
Cook the dumplings in salted water until they float. Cook for another 1 minute - done!

Dumplings with mushrooms and onions

Products:
Potatoes - 800 g;
Egg - 1 pc.;
Mushrooms - 400 g;
Onion - 2 pcs.;
Flour - 30 g;
Lard - 150 g;
Salt - 0.5 teaspoon;
Parsley, pepper to taste.

Boil potatoes and prepare mashed potatoes.
Mix the puree, flour, egg and add salt.
Let's melt the bacon. Fry mushrooms and onions in it. Let's pepper it. Let's add greens.
Let's form a cake from potato dough. Place a small amount of filling in the middle. Let's roll it into a ball.
Cook the dumplings in hot but not boiling water for 20 minutes until they float to the surface.

Dumpling soup

Soup with dumplings is very popular in the Czech Republic.

First we make chicken dumplings for the broth.

Products:
Yesterday's white bread - 150 g;
Half an onion;
Boiled chicken breast - 150 g;
Milk - 125 ml;
Butter - 1 tbsp. spoon;
Chopped green onions, chopped parsley - 1 tbsp. spoon;
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the bread and breast into small cubes.
Fry finely chopped onion in oil.
Mix breast, bread and herbs.
Beat the egg with milk, salt and pepper.
Pour in the bread mass.
Knead the dough. Leave for half an hour.
Knead again with wet hands, forming balls slightly larger than a walnut.
Cook over very low heat in salted boiling water.
Dumplings on plates, pour broth - ready!

Liver dumplings

Products:
Beef liver - 300 g;
Stale buns - 8 pcs.;
Warm milk - 375 ml;
Half an onion;
Eggs - 2 pcs.;
Salt - 0.5 teaspoon;
Butter - 1 tbsp. spoon;
Chopped parsley - 2 tbsp. spoons.

Dry marjoram, ground white pepper to taste.
We pass the liver through a meat grinder.
Thinly slice the buns and soak in milk for an hour.
Sauté the onion and let it cool.
Beat eggs with marjoram, pepper and parsley.
Mix eggs, buns and liver.
Form dumplings and cook in boiling salted water until they float. If the dumplings are falling apart, add breadcrumbs.

Sweet curd dumplings

We never cease to be surprised - sweet dumplings can be served as a dessert, or they can be eaten as a separate dish, for example for breakfast.

The first recipe.
Try the classic recipe for dumplings with cottage cheese.

Products:
Cottage cheese - 250 g;
Egg - 4 pcs.;
Raisins - 40 g;
Flour - a glass;
Zest of one lemon;
Sugar - 60 g;
Nuts, salt, vanillin to taste.

Knead flour, eggs and salt into a soft dough.
Roll out into a thin layer.
Cut into squares.
Mix cottage cheese with remaining ingredients.
Spread filling on each square and pinch the edges.
Cook in boiling water over low heat for 30 minutes.

The second recipe.
Curd dumplings with fruit.

Products:
Cottage cheese - 200 g;
Semolina - 2 tbsp. spoons;
Egg - 1 pc.;
Salt - 1.5 teaspoons;
Ground crackers - 1 tbsp. spoon;
Cinnamon, vanillin to taste;
Fresh fruits (apricots, peaches, plums).

Mix the dough from cottage cheese, semolina, crackers and eggs.
Form thick cakes. Place pieces of fruit on them, sprinkle with cinnamon and vanilla, and pinch (very tightly).
Cook in boiling water, stirring gently. When they float to the surface, cook for another 2 minutes.

What are dumplings served with?

Dumplings are served with soup, with meat, with beer and even for dessert!

Dumplings are often served with sauce. Czech sauces for dumplings are often made from butter or flour, which are diluted with broth.

Meat dumplings are served with broth, boiled vegetables, fried onions, herbs and, of course, beer!

Potatoes are eaten with sour cream, the same fried onions and herbs.

Both dumplings are put into goulash.

Sweet dumplings are sprinkled with roasted nuts, vanilla sugar or powdered sugar. Cottage cheese dumplings are eaten with jam.

Where to eat dumplings in Prague?

Dumplings are served in all Prague national restaurants. In particular, in such establishments as:

“At the bowl” (“U kalicha”): they say they make wonderful sweet dumplings with honey, preserves, jams, nuts and syrups and the most delicious dumplings with minced meat, lard and tenderloin;

"Cereberus Continental": experts recommend potato dumplings with cabbage and smoked meat;

"Palac Kinskych": classic Czech cuisine. Potato dumplings with fried game or dumplings and rich goulash - excellent, isn’t it?

Prices in Prague are quite reasonable. On average, a meat dish with potato dumplings and sauce will cost 150-200 CZK in the city center. Further from the center you can have lunch for 100 CZK (and the portions are huge!). In establishments pivnice, hostinec or hospoda they feed cheaply and only with national cuisine, so dumplings are guaranteed!

Dumplings - so simple and tasty - are an integral part of the Czech Republic. They are easy to prepare - everyone can treat themselves to hearty potato or sweet cottage cheese dumplings. And if you decide to visit the Czech Republic, be sure to enjoy real Czech dumplings with sauces, game, fish and poultry!

Bon appetit! Dobrou chut!

The main character of Jaroslav Hasek’s book, the brave soldier Švejk, adored this Czech dish and said: “To make each dumpling larger, you need a human head twice”, “Listen to my advice: eat more dumplings”, “And I once bet that I would eat four geese and two bowls of dumplings with cabbage, and ate it.” So what are these mysterious dumplings and what are they eaten with? Read about it in the article below.

Dumplings(knedliky) is without a doubt the most famous dish of Czech cuisine. They are considered part of the Czech cultural heritage. Due to the low price of this dish, dumplings can be afforded by people of any income. According to some reports, 150 thousand dumplings are eaten daily in the Czech Republic! In the old days, it was believed that a Czech girl could get married only after learning how to cook delicious dumplings.

Essentially, dumplings are sausages rolled from dough or potatoes, with or without filling, boiled in boiling water and cut into pieces. Dumplings can be from potatoes (bramborové knedlíky), dough (houskové knedlíky), or with fruits (ovocné knedlíky). To prepare dumpling dough, you need simple ingredients: flour, eggs, milk, salt, white crackers.

On store shelves in the Czech Republic you can find frozen semi-finished dumplings that you can cook at home.

Here you can also easily find a ready-made mixture for rolling out and preparing dumplings yourself.

In restaurants, dumplings are served as a side dish for the main course, or separately as a dessert, such as fruit dumplings.

Dumplings are part of one of the most popular dishes in the Czech Republic called vepřo knedlo zelo, which means baked pork meat with bread or potato dumplings and sauerkraut. Dumplings are also an integral part of the dish svíčková— beef tenderloin with potato dumplings and lingonberry sauce.

Dumplings are an important part of not only German, Austrian, and cuisines. These countries still cannot decide which of them was the first to invent the dumpling. In Germany, for example, they are often used as a side dish or added to soups (in German they are called Knödel or Klöße) .

Each Czech housewife has her own recipe for making homemade dumplings and her own secrets. I haven’t tried dumplings with fruit, but I have eaten dumplings as a side dish for the main dish. You can’t eat too many of them at once, as they are very filling. So, if you want to try them at , order as one side dish for two. Some people like this dish, others don’t, but it’s worth trying during your stay in the Czech Republic.

Dumpling- what a strange and unusual word for Russian people! But since we are on a culinary site, it is logical to assume that we will be talking about some new interesting dish. Dumpling is a very filling and high-calorie dish, the name of which comes from the German word “knödel”, which translates as dumpling. Dumplings can be found in Slovak, Austrian and Bavarian cuisines, but they have gained the greatest popularity in Czech cuisine.

The Czech Republic is an amazing country; its capital is recognized as one of the most romantic cities in Europe. Romance is everywhere in the Czech Republic: it can be felt in the narrow streets, in the ringing of bells, and even in the aromas hovering over small restaurants and street cafes on the banks of the Vltava. It is in these restaurants

and the cafe will offer each visitor a glass of fresh aromatic beer of various varieties, and the best snack to accompany beer, according to many Czechs, are dumplings. In the Czech Republic you can find several types of dumplings; most often you will be treated to dumplings made from potatoes or dough; you can also try this dish with fruit or berry filling. The modern dumpling in the form in which we are accustomed to seeing it appeared in the 17th century, when small buns began to be boiled in water and served, flavored with melted butter. And by the 19th century, various shapes, fillings and flavors of dumplings appeared.

Let's take a closer look at the history of dumplings. It would seem that since dumplings became widespread in European cuisine, then they should have first appeared here. However, researchers suggest that the first dumplings appeared in China, Ancient Egypt or the Sumerians. The first mention of dumplings in Europe is contained in the Roman cookbook of Apicius, who already then described three options for preparing this dish. Nowadays, dumpling recipes are striking in their diversity, in addition, in each country, preference is given to different recipes, in some places dumplings made from yeast dough predominate, in others from potatoes, and in others only sweet ones and stuffed with fruits.

Despite the enormous popularity of dumplings in the Czech Republic, there are no stories or legends about this dish in this country.

But three stories in which the dumpling appears as the main character can be found in Germany. The first story takes us to the Deggendorf fortress, which was besieged by the Hussite army. The residents defended the fortress as best they could, but war was war, and lunch had to be on schedule, so the women still prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner. One fine day, when the burgomaster's wife was preparing a fresh portion of fragrant dumplings for her husband, an unlucky enemy spy caught her eye. The brave woman decided to drive the stranger out of her territory and, in a purely feminine way, launched at him the first thing that came to hand, i.e. fresh dumplings. It was not difficult to expel the spy and he, taking the burgomaster’s dinner that had fallen into him, retreated to his command. There it was decided to lift the siege, since the defenders of the fortress had too much food, since they were throwing it away, and it was logical that they were not going to surrender.

The second story is still connected with the same fortress, but the Czech king Přemysl Otakar II is added to the main characters, who besieged Deggendorf with the same Hussite army. According to the same legend, the main actions took place not between the burgomaster’s wife and the Hussite spy, but between the entire female population of the fortress and the Hussites; supposedly the women covered the army with a shock wave of dumplings, as a result of which the Hussites had to retreat. However, this legend is recognized as a fiction, a beautiful story written by German novelists of the 19th century. The catch that led to the study of this legend is that Přemysl Otakar II died 140 years before the start of the Hussite Wars.

It is believed that the third story, which is associated with the siege of the Bavarian city ​​of Amberg. When it seemed that victory over the fortress was already in the Austrians' pocket, the defenders of Amberg came up with a new plan, invited the Austrian commander to the monastery, which was located above the city, and then fired a black cannonball shaped like a dumpling in the direction of this monastery. When the cannonball fell on the table in front of the Austrian commander, he considered it a mockery and hurried to leave the fortress. Why exactly the blackened dumpling frightened the Austrians so much, history is silent, however, this famous cannonball can still be found in the Amberg monastery.

Legends are legends, but the modern reader is probably more interested in relatively modern facts. The dumpling did not lose its military glory in the 20th century, and it was in 1967 that the dumpling again appeared as the most formidable dish. In a town located near Munich, there was an air corridor necessary for the needs of NATO; naturally, the residents did not like the increased noise level. The most enterprising resident of this town built a throwing apparatus, he loaded it with dried dumplings and fired at planes flying past. History is silent whether at least one shell hit the target, but the result was not long in coming: NATO reduced the number of flights over the city, and the resident achieved a reduction in noise levels.

As you can see, all stories, even the most modern ones, took place or were invented in Germany. Why is dumpling considered the main Czech dish? The reason for this is the world famous book by J. Hasek “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk”, which played a huge role in the popularization of this multinational dish. But from history it’s time to move on to recipes, try to cook the most tender dumplings and make sure that the Germans wasted such a tasty and satisfying dish in vain.

Ingredients:
½ kg potatoes,
1 egg,
125 gr. flour,
25 gr. butter,
pepper,
salt.

Preparation:
Wash the potatoes thoroughly and boil them in their skins. While the potatoes are cooking, sift the flour into a bowl without stirring, add the egg, salt and pepper. Leave the contents of the bowl unstirred for a while. When the potatoes are boiled, peel them and turn them through a meat grinder, mash them with a fork, chop them with a blender, or turn the potatoes into mashed potatoes in any other way convenient for you. All this needs to be done while the potatoes are hot. Ideally, as soon as you take it out of the boiling water, you immediately clean and puree it. Add the resulting hot puree to the bowl with the flour and egg and immediately begin kneading the dough; it should not stick to your hands. Dust the table with flour and form the resulting dough into a sausage with a diameter of about 3 centimeters. Sprinkle the table with flour again and cut the sausage into 2-3 cm pieces. Roll the resulting pieces into balls. Fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil, add salt and dumplings and stir immediately to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As soon as the dumplings float to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate. Place pieces of butter on top.

Ingredients:
3 stale buns,
750 gr. wholemeal flour,
2 eggs,
1 tbsp. milk,
1 package of dry or fresh yeast,
1 tbsp. Sahara,
1 tsp salt.

Preparation:
Cut the buns into small cubes and set aside to dry. In a separate bowl, mix yeast, 1 tsp. sugar, part of the heated milk, carefully move and leave so that the starter rises. Pour flour into a bowl, add eggs, sourdough, salt and remaining milk. Add the buns to the same dough, and as soon as they absorb moisture, mix everything thoroughly. Roll out two dense sausages from the finished dough and leave on the table for 30 minutes, turning the dough over every 10 minutes. Boil water, moisten the dough with cold water and place in boiling water. After 10 minutes, turn the sausages over and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the finished dumplings from the water and cut into small pieces.

Ingredients:
1 kg potatoes,
120 gr. flour,
30 gr. decoys,
1 egg,
24 plums,
24 pieces of refined sugar,
100 gr. butter,
3 tbsp. breadcrumbs,
powdered sugar,
cinnamon,
salt.

Preparation:
Wash the potatoes and boil them in their jackets. Peel the finished, still hot potatoes and mash them. Separately mix flour, semolina and salt, add egg. Add the resulting mixture to the mashed potatoes and knead into an elastic dough. Roll out the dough into a sausage about 10 cm wide and cut it into slices. You should have 24 slices. Wash the plums, dry them and remove the pits. Place a piece of refined sugar in place of the seeds. Place the plums on the dough slices and pinch so that the plum is inside. Boil water, salt it a little and place the dumplings in the pan, stir immediately and cook for about 5 minutes until the dumplings float to the surface. While the dumplings are cooking, heat the butter and fry the breadcrumbs in it. Roll the finished dumplings in breadcrumbs and sprinkle with cinnamon and powdered sugar.

A dumpling can be not only a weapon, but also a tasty, satisfying dish, especially if you serve it with thick sour cream or any other sauce. For the sake of such a dish, you can forget about all diets for a day, prepare delicious dumplings and eat them with pleasure, washed down with fresh German or Czech beer.

Czech cuisine is a special highlight of the country’s national culture. The dishes are considered one of the most exquisite; there are even gastronomic tours to the Czech Republic. One of the most popular among tourists and locals are dumplings. They are very filling, tasty and quick to prepare. They are offered in almost every cafe and restaurant. They are a must try for those who want to truly experience the full taste of traditional local Czech cuisine.

Bukhtichki or dumplings are pieces of dough that are seasoned with additives or stuffed. For minced meat, you can choose either sweet or salty filling. Previously, the dish was very bland and was eaten only by the poor, for whom it was one of the few delicacies they allowed themselves.

Today, the great advantage of such dishes is that they are tasty, satisfying and have a varied assortment. You can quickly prepare it for your household in a simple version, or you can delight your guests with a more sophisticated version. Those who want to cook them at home can try them, but Czech chefs assure that the traditional version of dumplings can only be tried in the Czech Republic. To prepare them at home yourself, premium flour on the shelves of Russian stores is not suitable. To get at least a similar version of dumplings, it is better to make a mixture of semolina and wheat flour. Such a test mass can ensure their airiness and softness.

Czech chefs claim that this dish combines Slavic and German culinary characteristics. Some Czechs simply call them buns, which require cooking rather than baking. This helps ensure a particularly delicate taste.

Dumplings in any form are an integral dish in every family; both adults and children love to enjoy them. Those who have never seen or tried them, depending on how they are prepared, can say that they are simple dumplings or small sliced ​​​​slices of bread. They can be distinguished by several characteristics. Thanks to uniform steaming, real Czech dumplings have no crust. In Chekhov, the dish is considered to be a side dish, and not a simple flour product. Those who saw the process of slicing a dish for the first time will definitely be surprised, because they do it not with a knife, but with a special thread.

In the CIS countries it is considered something between dumplings and dumplings. They are popular not only in Czech, but also in Austrian and Jewish cuisines. Slovenians, Norwegians, and Canadians have similar dishes. They are also popular among Belarusians. Of course, the main component of dumplings in this country is potatoes.

The dumpling is even depicted as part of a monument in Uzhgorod in Ukraine. It is held in the hands of the well-known brave soldier Josef Schweik. He was especially fond of this dish.

A little history of dumplings

Flour balls, mixed with water and an egg, were popular in ancient Egypt and China. It appeared on the territory of the Czech Republic back in the Middle Ages and then they were called bays. At that time, they were prepared either in the form of boiled dough, or they rolled stale bread into balls and fried them.

Rich people did not put them on their tables; it was food only for the poor. They gained great popularity in Europe only in the 18th century, when they began to be stuffed with meat (boiled or fried), liver, and fruit. For the poor, only simple versions of the dish were available; stuffed ones were very rare. The way they are prepared and served now, they began to be made at the end of the 17th century - based on dough, potatoes, rolled into balls and boiled in steam or water. And today they are consumed as a separate dish or served with fish or meat, vegetable salads, or a special sauce is prepared for them.

What’s interesting is that the very name of “dumplings” is Germanic. Jan Hus himself expressed his dissatisfaction, trying to rename it in a local manner and give it a second name - cones, but he never succeeded. The dish is called cones only in Eastern Moravia.

The features of preparation and additions to the dish differ slightly depending on the region of the Czech Republic. Thus, in Silesia and Northern Moravia they prefer potato dumplings and add smoked or fried meat to it. In Southern Moravia and the eastern part of the Czech Republic, dumplings are prepared with yeast dough or semolina-based dough.

The huge number of types of dumplings and its popularity spread in the early 19th century. They began to come up with different shapes and fillings, syrups, and gravies for them. The basis for cooking was not only flour, but also rice, potatoes, meat, and liver.

Dumplings in the Czech Republic have become the focus of one of the local holidays, which marks the full ripening of apricots. On one of the last days of the celebration, a competition is held to quickly eat apricot dumplings. The winner receives the title of Apricot King for a year. Each participant in the competition is invited to devour identical portions of fruit dumplings. You can drink it with non-carbonated mineral water, which is offered here. The winners are counted by counting the pits near each participant, because for the competition, apricots with pits are placed in the dish.

How to cook dumplings: Czech recipes

Each version of dumplings is prepared differently, but to prepare the national dish, you should adhere to certain cooking stages (provided that the dough is prepared with yeast).

• Place crumbled yeast and a teaspoon of sugar into a bowl, pour half of the heated milk specified in the recipe (it should be warm, but not hot, otherwise the yeast will not give the “rising” effect).
• As soon as the mixture foams, add the rest of the ingredients: egg, the second half of the milk, a pinch of salt, vegetable oil. Everything is mixed into a homogeneous mixture.
• To get softer and airier dumplings, the flour must be sifted and of high quality. For this dish, it is better to choose more expensive flour.
• Flour is added to the dough gradually, mixing the dough. The end result should not stick to your hands. The finished dough is covered with a towel and placed in a warm place for half an hour.
• After this, mix the dough again and let it rise in a second circle. Only after this can you start making dumplings.
• Make thin sausages from the dough. They can be boiled as is or cut into pieces. If steamed, the cooking time will take 20-30 minutes depending on their size.

Truly tasty and satisfying dumplings are obtained only from fresh products that have previously been stored in the right conditions. The most popular addition to the dish is a tasty and nutritious gravy made from mushrooms, meat, spices and garlic. Don't be afraid to experiment with gravies and additions to this dish. You should definitely try other types of this traditional Czech dish.

Potato dumplings: classic recipe

To make a traditional dish, take:

• 5 pieces. medium sized potatoes.
• 1 chicken egg.
• 3 tbsp. wheat flour.
• 50 g butter.
• Spices to taste.
• Up to 400 g of smoked meat or bacon.

Cooking features

1. First prepare the filling: chop the onion and fry it in oil, add the chopped meat and simmer for about 8 minutes.
2. Boil the potatoes and mash them (you can use a masher or mash with a fork).
3. Prepare a dough from puree, flour and eggs.
4. Roll out the resulting dough into a sausage and cut into small pieces. Stuff each one with filling and form stuffed balls.
5. Throw the dough into boiling water and after they have floated, boil for 10 minutes.
6. Place the finished dish on a plate, add sour cream. You can prepare a salad as a side dish.

Potato dumplings: second option

This dish can be prepared not only from boiled potatoes, but also raw ones. The tubers need to be peeled, washed, and grated. Drain the liquid that formed during the process of chopping the potatoes, and add 1-2 eggs, salt, pepper and flour to the mixture. Knead the dough, roll it out and cut into small pieces. As soon as the water boils, throw them into the pan and boil them for about 8 minutes. Sprinkle the dumplings with fried lard on top, possibly with onions.

Potato and other dumplings are often served with stewed cabbage with fried meat or boiled pork. To prepare it, onions are fried with the addition of thinly sliced ​​smoked lard, which adds juiciness and a special aroma. Add pre-cut pieces of boiled pork to the fried mixture and fry a little more. As soon as it is half-ready, add pre-stewed cabbage (preferably sauerkraut). Mix everything and simmer in this composition until fully cooked. Be sure to pepper the cabbage, add salt to taste, and add chopped garlic.

Usually served as a dessert, adding sweet fillings in the form of fruits, nuts, honey, jam, syrups. The dish is prepared very quickly and simply. For it you will need:

• 0.2 kg of cottage cheese.
• A glass of flour.
• 3 eggs.
• Lemon zest (from one citrus fruit).
• ¼ tbsp. sugar, a pinch of salt.
• Other fillers and additives to taste.

How to cook

1. Add an egg and a pinch of salt to the sifted flour, mix everything thoroughly. Combine all other ingredients for filling.
2. Roll out the dough thinly and cut into small squares.
3. Form the dumplings as follows: place the curd filling on each piece of dough and form them.
4. When the water boils, add them and boil for about 25 minutes. Once cooked, place on a dish and serve with any addition, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar.
5. To get a dough that won’t fall apart, you need to use fresh, dry cottage cheese. They can be frozen for future use. When the filled balls are already formed, put them in the freezer and then prepare a delicious dessert very quickly.

Fruit sauces are perfect for any sweet dumplings; some gourmets even eat them with honey or cream, or you can sprinkle them with poppy seeds.

To make the dumplings tasty, the recipe requires:

• 300 g beef liver.
• 8 stale buns.
• 370 ml warmed milk.
• ½ medium onion.
• 2 chicken eggs.
• 0.5 teaspoon of salt.
• 1 tbsp. butter.
• Chopped parsley, seasonings to taste.

How to cook?

1. Cut each bun into several layers in advance and soak in milk. They must stand for at least 50 minutes.
2. Grind the liver through a meat grinder or in a blender.
3. Lightly fry the onion and cool it to room temperature.
4. Mix the eggs thoroughly with all the spices (you can add marjoram and pepper to the parsley).
5. Mix the soaked buns, liver and eggs into a homogeneous mass. To ensure they don’t fall apart, you can add a little breadcrumbs when kneading the dough.
6. Cook in boiling water, adding a little salt to it. You can pull them out onto a plate as soon as they surface.

Bread dumplings

One of the very first classic recipes for the dish. It is made with both yeast and non-yeast dough.

To prepare them, you need to take:

• 200 ml milk.
• 0.5 kg of wheat flour.
• 20 g yeast.
• Salt to taste.
• 1 chicken egg.

How to cook:

1. Heat the milk, but do not let it boil. Soften the yeast in it, add the remaining specified ingredients. Knead the dough well.
2. Place the bowl with the dough in a warm place and let it rise for at least 30 minutes.
3. Once ready, form small balls from the dough and boil in water. How long to cook? It all depends on the size of the products. Usually this is no more than 17 minutes.
4. The best addition to bread dumplings is fried onions and sour cream.

What are dumplings served with?

Dumplings are served with soup or meat, used as a snack for beer, or made sweet as a dessert. You should definitely try the dish with the sauce. It is prepared using flour, butter and broth.

Along with meat, you can serve salads, broth, vegetables, sprinkle with fried onions. Potato, bread, and liver dumplings will go well with meat gravy or boiled pork and fried onions. Special gourmets eat them with red fish.

In addition to being stuffed with fruit or cottage cheese, sweet products can be served with syrup, sour cream, jam and even chocolate.

Where to eat dumplings in Prague

Dumplings can be easily prepared at home, but to enjoy the real traditional versions, you need to visit one of the food establishments in Prague. You can go to:

• Cereberus Continental. The most delicious options would be dumplings with smoked meats and cabbage.
• At the Chalice. Tourists here consider sweet dumplings to be the most delicious: with jam, preserves, syrup, honey. It is also worth trying a dish with smoked meat, lard or minced meat.
• Restaurant pub "U Banzeta". Dumplings with ham and cracklings are especially popular.
• Palac Kinskych. Here you can try not only dumplings, but also traditional Czech cuisine. The most popular dumplings are potato dumplings with fried meat. Other dishes include delicious and aromatic goulash.

Prices for a traditional Czech dish are affordable. The portions are very large and their price ranges from 100 to 200 CZK (depending on the location of the cafe or restaurant).

Dumplings are perhaps the most Czech of all concepts, almost the first thing you remember when you think about the Czech Republic and Prague.

There are not many dishes that have gone down in literary history. Dumplings are one of them. Arkady Averchenko, an emigrant from Russia, dedicated his story to dumplings. He tried to anger polite Czechs by telling them nasty things about everything in the Czech Republic. And he succeeded only by saying that he didn’t like dumplings. The owners could not bear this spit in the soul. The classic of Czech literature, Jan Neruda, wrote about dumplings, a lot and deliciously.

What are dumplings

A little history.

Contrary to the idea of ​​dumplings as an exclusively Czech dish, similar types of dishes are also found among their neighbors: Slovaks, Austrians, and Bavarians. Both the dish itself and the word that denotes it came to the territory of the modern Czech Republic only 200 years ago, at which time it also appeared in the traditional cuisines of neighboring territories: Slovakia, Austria and Bavaria. The word knedlík comes from the German knödel. At one time, Jan Hus, in the process of his struggle against German dominance, proposed calling the dumpling a cone. This is what yeast dumplings are called in South Moravia.

This dish came into Czech cuisine at the beginning of the 19th century and quickly became a symbol of this country. As the already mentioned Jan Neruda wrote, “plum dumplings are the most valuable national treasure of the Czechs, this is what they gave to the world.”

Dumplings come in different varieties: made from dough, potato or wheat, with lard and cheese, with fruit, meat or other fillings. They are also prepared in different ways: boiled, fried, stuffed, baked. And they serve it differently too.

The methods of preparing them are just as varied: there is boiling, frying, stuffing, and baking. The presentation also differs. Most often, dumplings are served as a side dish - with meat, poultry or soup. However, there are also dessert options: dumplings sprinkled with grated cheese, sugar and butter, dumplings with fruit, dumplings with poppy seeds...

Photo of Czech dumplings

If you're in Prague, be sure to try dumplings at the restaurants in Prague that are worth visiting. And at home you can make your own dumplings, giving yourself some memories of Prague in your own kitchen.

Czech dumplings: recipe No. 1 - dessert with cherries

• dry yeast - 0.5 tsp;
• sugar - 3 tbsp. l.;
• warm milk - 125 ml;
• flour - 375 g;
• salt - 1 chip;
• egg - 1 pc.;
• pitted cherries - 400 g.

Dough: dilute yeast in 3 tbsp. l. warm milk, add 0.5 tbsp. l. flour, 1 tsp. sugar, mix and leave for 15 minutes. Then add the remaining milk, salt, egg, sugar. Knead and leave for 40 minutes.

Filling: pitted cherries. Or strawberry. Or plum. Or applesauce. Or a banana. Can be defrosted. It is not advisable to add sugar - the filling may leak.

Preparation: roll out the flatbread with your hands, put the filling inside, carefully seal it.

Steam cooking (steamer or multicooker in “steam” mode). Cooking time depends on size, usually 15-25 minutes.

You can serve without anything, with butter, powdered sugar or with the original nut filling: chop the walnuts, fry them with breadcrumbs.

Czech dumplings: recipe No. 2 - potato with minced meat

• potatoes - 1 kg;
• minced meat - 600 g;
• eggs - 2 pcs.;
• flour - 2/3 cup;
• onions - 2 pcs.;
• kefir - 1/3 cup;
• salt, ground black pepper, black peppercorns, bay leaf - to taste;
• vegetable oil.

Dough: boil the potatoes in their jackets, cool, peel, grate on a coarse (this is important) grater. Add eggs and kefir, flour, salt and pepper.

Filling: finely chop and fry the onion, mix with minced meat, salt and pepper.

Preparation: make small flat cakes from the dough, put minced meat in the center, pinch it into a ball shape.

Cooking: throw one at a time (this is important) into boiling water (peppercorns and bay leaves are added to the water), cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring gently. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve hot. You can use it with sour cream, or you can use it with kefir sauce (mix kefir + dill + garlic in a blender). Or you can do it with sauerkraut.

On the Internet you can find recipes for Czech dumplings with photos that tell you step by step and show the process of preparing the dish. Bon appetit!