Strawberry Popsicles

Summer just started (in the Northern Hemisphere) and that’s great time to bring you some summer recipes full of fruits. In Czech Republic roads are surrounded with small stalls selling fruits like strawberries and other berries. Strawberries are one of the favorites fruits among kids. So why not prepare an icy refreshment for your sweeties. Strawberry popsicles or ice lollies are awfully easy and good. And when served in icy fruit bowl, even your hubby won’t resist.

Ingredients

  • 500g of strawberries
  • 200g of sugar
  • 200ml of water

Directions

  1. First prepare the syrup. Boil down water with sugar until it gets thicky.
  2. Squash strawberries and mix them in the syrup.
  3. Pour mixture in popsicle forms and put a wooden stick.
  4. Put to freezer over night.

Tip for serving

  1. Prepare two bowls. Line first bowl with sliced strawberries.
  2. Put smaller bowl on them. Pour water between the bowls and put to freezer.
  3. Before serving put bowls in hot water and take out frozen bowl with strawberries.
  4. Serve strawberry pops in icy bowls.

 

 



Easter Stuffing

Easter stuffing is traditional meal that can be found during Easter in Czech homes. Although it’s called stuffing, it’s mainly prepared separately and only sometimes the mixture is stuffed in poultry. Stuffing can be made with meat or simply vegetarian. Also a lot of different herbs can be used. Traditional is nettle stuffing, but basically any green herbs like lovage, parsley can be used as well.

Ingredients

  • 10 old rolls
  • 6 eggs
  • 400 g boiled smoked meat
  • 50 g of melted butter
  • salt
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • handful of chopped herbs – nettle, parsley, lovage
  • almonds

Directions

  1. Cut rolls into small cubes and dunk in cup of milk.
  2. Crack eggs and split yolks and whites.
  3. Mix butter with yolks, rolls, salt, nutmeg and herbs. Also add cutted meat.
  4. Beat egg whites and gently add to mixture.
  5. Put mixture in buttered pan and sprinkle with chopped almonds.
  6. Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C (360°F).



Traditional Easter Sweets – Boží milosti

Boží milosti (God’s mercy) are traditional Easter sweet pastry of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. It’s very fragile crispy delicacy known in the world as Angel wings and by many other names. They are excellent right after frying or even on second day, but hardly anyone can resist this temptation and they’ll disappear quickly.

Ingredients

  • 250 g of flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 50 g of butter
  • 50 g sugar
  • 2 yolks
  • 2 spoons of white wine
  • 5 spoons of sour cream
  • teaspoon of lemon peel
  • oil for frying
  • powdered sugar and vanilla sugar for coating

Directions

  1. Mix flour with all ingredients and soft butter. Knead a dough and put in fridge for 30 minutes
  2. Then roll out the dough flat and carve rectangle or any other shapes (circa 8 x 5 cm/3 x 2 inches). Cut twice in the middle of each piece.
  3. Fry shortly in adequate amount of oil. During frying the biscuits should puff up a bit. While still hot gently coat in mixed powdered and vanilla sugar.


Potato Salad

Potato salad is traditionally served with Schnitzel and cannot miss at Czech Christmas dinner table with carp. Every family prepare potato salad by their own recipe according to their taste and customs.

Ingredients

  • 2kg of potatoes
  • 3-4 carrots
  • 1 celery root
  • onion
  • 5 pickled gherkins
  • 4 hard boiled eggs
  • canned peas
  • 300g of ham
  • spoon of mustard
  • mayonnaise and tartare sauce (according to your taste)
  • salt, pepper

Directions

  1. Boil unpeeled potatoes in water with salt and let cool off. Then peel potatoes and cut to small cubes.
  2. Boil root vegeteables in water with pinch of salt and vinegar. Let cool off and cut to small cubes and mix with potatoes.
  3. Same way add chopped onion and gherkins, cubed boiled eggs, peas, cubed ham and mix together.
  4. Blend mustard and mayonnaise, season with salt and pepper. You can also pour a little of brine from pickled gherkins.



Buchteln – Czech Sweet Buns

Buchteln or in Czech “Buchty” are traditional filled sweet buns made mainly by grandmas at countryside. Most popular fillings are plum jam, curd cheese and poppy seeds. Main character in almost every Czech fairytale packed these buns for his adventurous trip.

Ingredients

  • 20g of yeast
  • 250ml of milk
  • 60g of sugar
  • 250g of fine wheat flour
  • 250g of soft wheat flour
  • 2 yolks
  • 60g of butter
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 spoon of rum
  • pinch of salt
  • 80g of butter – use to oil the pan
  • icing sugar (powdered sugar)

Directions

  1. Heat up part of milk and blend in yeast, spoon of sugar and spoon of flour. Let rest for 10 minutes.
  2. Whip yolks  in remaining milk. Sift flour into bowl, add mixture from point 1, whiped yolks, sugar and butter. Add lemon peel, lemon juice, rum and salt and make into a dough. Cover dough with cloth and let rest for 1 hour in a warm place.
  3. Divide dough to small portions with a spoon. Make flat and add filling of your choice (poppy seed, curd cheese, plum jam).
  4. Join the corners together into the shape of bun and put it in the butter oiled pan (joined corners down). Butter every bun a bit. Before baking let rest for 20 minutes.
  5. Put in preheated oven 180°C (356°F) and bake for about 30 minutes until they have golden color.
  6. At last dust with icing sugar. Dobrou chuť!