1. Czech food and drink

2. Czech food and drink
Czech cuisine is not exactly a synonym for healthy cooking, everybody will probably find at least a couple of meals "to die for". It may be the potato soup, the traditional roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut, beef tenderloin with cranberries, the fruit filled dumplings, or the apple strudel. 

3. A Czech meal often starts with soup. Some popular Czech soups are:
Czech food and drink
Soups
A Czech meal often starts with soup. Some popular Czech soups are:
- potato soup
- garlic soup
- chicken noodle soup - beef soup with liver dumplings
- sauerkraut soup - dill soup, made from sour milk

4. Czech food and drink
The Main Course
The main course usually consists of meat and a side dish. The most popular meats are chicken and pork, followed by beef, usually served with some kind of sauce. Fish is not very common although trout or cod are sometimes served. Salmon and seafood are served in better restaurants. The mackere is a popular fish to grill over open fire in summer. Carp is traditionally served on Christmas Eve.

5. The most common Czech side dishes are: - boiled potatoes
Czech food and drink
Side Dishes
The most common Czech side dishes are:
- boiled potatoes
- roasted potatoes
- mashed potatoes - French fries - rice
- bread dumplings or potato dumplings - with sauce - bread or potato dumplings with sauerkraut
- potato salad

6. Czech food and drink
Beverages
Our national drink is beer. You can also have a mineral water, orange juice, apple juice, or a soda (specify its name because soda in Czech means "soda water"). Czechs also like to drink tea with sugar and lemon, and coffee with or without milk or cream.

7. Pork, Dumplings, and Cabbage Preparation time: over 90 minutes
Czech food and drink
Pork, Dumplings, and Cabbage
Preparation time: over 90 minutes
Serves 4

8. Czech food and drink
Pork
To prepare, you need: 800 g of pork neck or shoulder, 2 onions, caraway, and salt.
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.

9. Czech food and drink
Dumplings
To prepare, you need: 700 g of potatoes, 200 g of coarse flour, 80 g of semolina, 2 eggs, and salt.
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.

10. Czech food and drink
Cabbage (sauerkraut)
To prepare, you need: 700 g of pickled white sauerkraut or half a head of fresh cabbage, fine flour, lard or some other type of grease, salt, sugar, onion.
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 or sugar, to taste. Red cabbage can be prepared in the same way as white cabbage.

11. Czech food and drink
Serve the meat, cabbage, and dumplings on one plate, pour some gravy over the top, and drink well-chilled beer. Enjoy!

12. Preserved cranberries Beef tenderloin To prepare you need: 3 Carrots
Czech food and drink
2 lb Leg beef (sic)
Salt
2 c Heavy Cream
2 T flour
1 T Vinegar
1 T Sugar
1 Lemon; grated rind of
Preserved cranberries
Beef tenderloin
To prepare you need:
3 Carrots
3 Parsnips
1 Celery root
2 large Onions
4 oz Fat bacon
15 peppercorns
10 Allspice grains
3 Bay leaves
3 T Dried thyme

13. Czech food and drink
1. Julienne carrots, parsnips, celery root and onion. 2. Fry in bacon fat in a large pan until browned. 3. Add the meat, spices, salt, then add water to cover. 4. Stew until the meat is tender, adding more water as necessary. 5. Take the cooked meat out, and puree vegetables. 6. Return to pot, add cream and flour, and simmer. 7. When the sauce is thick enough, add vinegar, sugar and lemon rind. 8. Remove from heat, slice the meat, put on plate, and pour the sauce around the meat pieces. 9. Garnishi with preserved cranberries.

14. 1/8 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt
Czech food and drink
Bread dumplings
To prepare you need:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4-5 slices white bread, use stale bread, cut into small cubes. (Trim hard crust off.)

15. Add bread cubes to batter and mix well. Make two small loaves.
Czech food and drink
Bread dumplings
Mix together beaten egg, milk, flour, baking powder and salt until smooth.
Add bread cubes to batter and mix well.
Make two small loaves.
Drop into large pot of vigorously boiling water. Cook 10 minutes, then roll dumpling over and cook an additional 10 minutes. Remove immediately from water and cut ends off to release steam.
Cut into 1/2 inch slices and serve.