Today we're heading to the heart of Central Europe — to Czechia, a land of hearty home cooking, frothy beer, and traditions passed down through centuries. We're making two iconic dishes you can't imagine a Czech table without.
🥩 Svíčková na Smetaně
A legendary Czech dish: the most tender beef sirloin, braised in a creamy vegetable sauce with a light tang. Served with dumplings, lingonberry jam, and whipped cream — a combination all of Czechia takes pride in.
Ingredients:
• Beef sirloin — 800 g
• Carrots — 2 pcs (medium)
• Parsley root (or parsnip) — 1 pc
• Celery root — 100 g
• Yellow onion — 1 large head
• Heavy cream (33%) — 250 ml
• Sour cream — 100 g
• Butter — 50 g
• Lemon — ½ pc
• Sugar — 1 tsp
• Allspice berries — 5 pcs
• Bay leaves — 2 pcs
• Fresh thyme — 3 sprigs
• Salt, ground black pepper — to taste
• Water or beef broth — 400 ml
• Flour — 1 tbsp (for thickening)
Preparation:
Prep the vegetables: cut the carrots and parsley root into rounds 0.5 cm thick, the celery into 1×1 cm cubes, the onion into half-rings 0.3 cm thick. Pat the sirloin dry with paper towels, rub with salt and black pepper on all sides.
Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sear the sirloin until golden brown on all sides (2-3 minutes per side). The meat should get a rich brown color but not burn. Transfer the meat to a plate.
In the same pot, add all the chopped vegetables, allspice, bay leaves, and thyme. Sauté over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and lightly golden at the edges. Pour in the lemon juice and add the sugar, stir.
Return the meat to the pot on top of the vegetables, pour in water or broth so the liquid covers the meat ⅔ of the way up. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to minimum, cover with a lid, and braise for 1.5-2 hours. The meat should become so tender it's easily pierced with a fork without resistance.
Remove the finished meat from the pot, wrap in foil, and let rest. Transfer the vegetables and broth to a blender, add the cream and sour cream, blend until perfectly smooth. If the sauce is too thin, return it to the pot, add flour mixed with 2 tbsp cold water, and heat for 3-4 minutes while stirring until thickened. The sauce should coat the spoon in a thick layer.
Slice the meat against the grain into 1 cm thick pieces. Arrange on plates, generously ladle with hot sauce. Serve with boiled dumplings (bread or potato), a spoonful of lingonberry jam, and a rosette of whipped cream on the side. Garnish with a lemon wedge and a sprig of herbs.
💡 Fact: Svíčková is a traditional dish for Sunday family dinners and the main contender for the title of Czech national dish. According to legend, it was served at the court of Czech kings back in the 19th century.
🍲 Knedlíky with Goulash (Knedlíky s gulášem)
A hearty Czech beef stew in a thick paprika sauce, served with fluffy bread dumplings — steamed buns that soak up every drop of the aromatic gravy. The perfect dish for cold evenings.
Ingredients:
For the goulash:
• Beef shoulder or neck — 800 g
• Yellow onions — 3 large heads
• Garlic — 4 cloves
• Sweet paprika powder — 3 tbsp
• Smoked paprika — 1 tsp
• Tomato paste — 2 tbsp
• Ground caraway — 1 tsp
• Dried marjoram — 1 tsp
• Bay leaves — 2 pcs
• Beef broth or water — 600 ml
• Vegetable oil — 3 tbsp
• Salt, black pepper — to taste
• Flour — 1 tbsp (optional)
For the dumplings:
• All-purpose flour — 400 g
• Warm milk — 200 ml
• Dry yeast — 7 g (1 packet)
• Egg — 1 pc
• Salt — ½ tsp
• Sugar — 1 tsp
• Stale baguette — 150 g (cut into 1×1 cm cubes)
Preparation:
Cut the beef into 2.5×2.5 cm cubes, removing large membranes and sinew. Dice the onion into fine 0.5×0.5 cm cubes, mince the garlic with a knife. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat and sear the meat in batches until deeply browned (4-5 minutes per batch). Don't overcrowd the pan — the meat should sear, not steam. Transfer the finished meat to a separate bowl.
Reduce heat to medium, add the onion to the same pot, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden and soft. Add the garlic, cook for another minute until fragrant. Remove the pot from heat, add both paprikas and caraway, stir quickly (paprika shouldn't burn or it'll turn bitter).
Return the meat to the pot, add tomato paste, marjoram, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Pour in the broth, stir, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Then reduce heat to minimum, cover with a lid, and braise for 2-2.5 hours, stirring occasionally. The goulash is ready when the meat falls apart with fork pressure and the sauce has thickened and turned dark red. If the sauce is too thin, add flour mixed with 2 tbsp water and cook for another 5 minutes.
While the goulash braises, make the dumplings: dissolve yeast and sugar in warm milk, let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. In a large bowl, mix flour and salt, make a well in the center, pour in the yeast mixture and egg. Knead into soft, slightly sticky dough. Add the stale bread cubes, distribute them evenly through the dough without fully working them in. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave in a warm place for 45-60 minutes — the dough should double in volume.
Divide the dough into 2 equal parts, shape into two thick logs 6-7 cm in diameter. Wet your hands with water so the dough doesn't stick. Place the logs on a damp kitchen towel (or cheesecloth), let rest for 15 minutes for final proofing.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully lower the dumplings into the water (they should float freely), reduce heat to medium, and cook for 20 minutes with the lid on. After 10 minutes, flip the dumplings to the other side using two spoons. Finished dumplings will float and feel springy when pressed. Remove with a slotted spoon, let the water drain.
Immediately slice the hot dumplings into 1.5 cm thick pieces using thread (run the thread under the dumpling, cross the ends on top, and pull — a clean cut guaranteed) or a very sharp knife. Arrange on plates, generously ladle with goulash and sauce, garnish with fresh onion or herbs. Serve immediately while the dumplings are hot and fluffy.
💡 Fact: In Czechia, goulash is called 'guláš' and they make it thicker and darker than the Hungarian original. And dumplings aren't a side dish — they're a full-fledged part of the meal: Czechs say goulash without dumplings is just soup.