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Koprovka
Koprová omáčka: creamy Czech dill sauce over boiled potatoes and halved hard-boiled eggs
CzechSummer in a Czech garden means dill gone wild between the cucumbers, and koprovka is where most of it ends up. This pale green, gently sour cream sauce is a staple of Bohemian home cooking and of workplace canteens, where it is served over boiled potatoes with halved hard-boiled eggs (or with bread dumplings). It should be smooth, silky and only lightly thick, balanced between cream, a little vinegar and a pinch of sugar. Where it usually goes wrong is boiling the dill: it turns grey and loses its fresh smell, so stir it in at the end, off the heat. Chef's tip: keep the dill stalks, chop them very finely and simmer them in the sauce, then add the soft fronds at the end for a double hit of flavour.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 1 oz fresh dillstalks and fronds chopped separately
- 1 ⅜ oz butter
- 1 ⅜ oz plain flour
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable stock
- 1 ¾ cups milk
- ¾ cup single cream
- 1 ½ tbsp white wine vinegaror to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pinch white pepper
To serve
- 1 ¾ lb waxy potatoespeeled
- 1 tsp saltfor the potato water
- 4 eggs
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Fresh ingredients (6)
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Boil 1 ¾ lb waxy potatoes in salted water with 1 tsp salt for 18–20 minutes, until a knife slides in easily. Drain and keep warm.
20 minStep 2: At the same time, lower 4 eggs into a pan of boiling water and cook for 9 minutes. Cool them in cold water, peel and halve.
10 minStep 3: Melt 1 ⅜ oz butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, stir in 1 ⅜ oz plain flour and cook for 2 minutes, until it bubbles but is still pale blond.
2 minStep 4: Whisk in 1 ¼ cups vegetable stock, then 1 ¾ cups milk, a little at a time, until smooth. Add the chopped dill stalks from the ⅓ oz fresh dill and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
8 minStep 5: Stir in ¾ cup single cream, 1 ½ tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 pinch white pepper and bring back to a bare simmer. Taste: it should be creamy with a soft sour edge.
2 minStep 6: Take the pan off the heat and stir in the dill fronds from the ¾ oz fresh dill; the sauce should turn speckled green.
1 minStep 7: Put potatoes and egg halves on warm plates and ladle the sauce generously over.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 440 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 45 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does koprovka take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
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