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Nakládaný hermelín

Behind the bar of almost every Czech hospoda sits a big glass jar of cheeses sunk in oil with onion rings and chillies. Nakládaný hermelín is the classic beer snack: a soft white-rind cheese, split and spread with garlic and paprika, then left to mellow in spiced oil for about a week until it turns rich, tangy and spreadable. It is eaten with thick slices of dark bread (use gluten-free bread if needed) and a few pickled peppers. Hermelín and camembert-style cheeses are usually made with animal rennet, so for a vegetarian jar choose a white-rind cheese labelled as made with vegetarian or microbial rennet. Where it goes wrong is leaving cheese poking above the oil, where it can spoil: keep everything submerged and the jar in the fridge, and eat it within 10 days. Chef's tip: use a cheese that is not fully ripe; it holds its shape in the oil and softens to perfection as it marinates.

20 min

Czech Snacks & Starters

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Korbáčiky

Korbáčiky (little whips) come from Orava in northern Slovakia, where cheesemakers pull hot, stretchy curd into long thin strings and plait them into braids. Sold at roadside stalls in the Tatra foothills, they are chewy, squeaky and salty, usually lightly smoked, and are pulled apart and eaten with fingers like a snack, often with a cold drink on a hike. At home you can make the curd yourself from pasteurised milk in under an hour. Traditional korbáčiky are set with animal rennet, so this recipe uses vegetarian (microbial) rennet; any shop-bought curd should say the same. Use pasteurised whole milk that is not UHT-treated, or the curd will not set. Where most people go wrong is stretching the curd when it is not hot enough: it tears instead of pulling into glossy ropes. Chef's tip: wear clean rubber gloves for stretching, so you can work with water hot enough to make the curd silky.

60 min

Czech Snacks & Starters

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Kremrole

Every Czech cukrárna, the old-fashioned pastry shop, has a tray of kremrole in the glass counter: flaky puff pastry spirals baked around metal cones and piped full of light, sweet whipped egg-white cream. Children choose them for name days and they are a Sunday coffee treat in towns all over Bohemia and Moravia. The pastry should shatter, the cream should be glossy, stiff and marshmallowy. This filling is a cooked meringue, whisked over simmering water to 70 °C, so it is safe to eat and holds its shape. A common mistake is filling the tubes too early: within a couple of hours the cream softens the crisp pastry. Pipe them just before serving. You will need 12 metal cream horn moulds. Chef's tip: overlap the pastry strips by a third as you wind them on, so the tubes do not unravel in the oven.

90 min

Czech Desserts

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Smažený květák

Order a vegetarian meal in a Czech pub and there is a fair chance you will get smažený květák: fat cauliflower florets in a crunchy breadcrumb coat, with buttery parsley potatoes and a dollop of tatarka, the pickle-studded tartar sauce. Children love it, and many families in Bohemia make it on Fridays. The florets are blanched first so the inside is tender and sweet under the crust. Where most people go wrong is breading wet cauliflower: the coating slips off in the oil. Dry the florets well on a towel and let them cool before you dip them. Chef's tip: press the crumbs on firmly with your palm, then rest the breaded florets for 10 minutes so the coat sets and fries up evenly.

40 min

Czech Vegetarian

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Frgály

At weddings and church fairs in Moravian Wallachia, in the hills around Rožnov and Vsetín, tables are stacked with frgály: yeast tarts as wide as a dinner plate, rolled so thin the filling seems to sit on a crisp, chewy disc. The classic toppings are dried pear mixed with plum butter, sweet tvaroh (Czech quark), or poppy seed, all scattered with a buttery crumble. This recipe makes four, two with each of the first two fillings. Tvaroh is usually set without rennet, but some brands use it, so check the label. The usual slip is leaving the dough thick in the middle, which makes a bready tart; roll right to the edge, about 3 mm thick. Chef's tip: bake on the lowest oven shelf on a hot tray, so the base browns before the filling dries.

150 min

Czech Baking

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Lokše

Across the border in Slovakia, lokše are the November flatbreads of St Martin's Day, when the roast goose arrives and the thin potato pancakes are brushed with its fat. Families in western Slovakia also roll them around plum butter or sweet poppy seed for an afternoon treat, and they turn up at Christmas markets in Bratislava. They are soft, pliable and freckled with brown spots from a dry hot pan, a little like a potato tortilla. Here they are brushed with melted butter instead of goose fat, so they are vegetarian. A common mistake is mixing the dough while the potatoes are still warm: it turns sticky and swallows far too much flour. Cool the mashed potatoes completely, ideally overnight. Chef's tip: roll each one on a floured cloth and flip it straight onto the pan from the cloth, so the thin sheet never tears.

60 min

Czech Breads & Parathas

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Placali

Abidjan's maquis serve placali in shining grey mounds next to bowls of sauce kopé, the okra sauce that slides off the spoon, and many Ivorians from the lagoon and southern forest regions eat it several times a week. It is made from soured cassava dough dissolved in water, strained and cooked while beaten hard until it becomes a translucent, sticky, stretchy paste. The taste is mildly sour and the texture smooth and elastic, meant to be swallowed rather than chewed. Pair it with okra, palm-nut or leaf sauces. Don't stop stirring once the dough thickens, or raw lumps hide in the swallow. Chef's tip: wet your hands and the serving bowl before shaping, otherwise placali clings to everything it touches.

35 min

Ivorian Basics

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Akpessi

Around Bouaké and Yamoussoukro, akpessi is what Baoulé families cook when they want a filling one-pot meal with little fuss: chunks of green plantain and yam simmered right in a red palm oil and tomato sauce until tender. A few pieces are crushed into the liquid at the end, so the sauce turns thick and clings to everything. It is often made with smoked fish; this version keeps it meat-free, with soft garden eggs folded through for body. Expect an earthy, gently starchy dish with heat from the pepper, good with sliced avocado on the side. The usual mistake is stirring too much, which turns the whole pot to mush instead of leaving soft chunks. Chef's tip: oil your hands before peeling green plantains; the sticky sap washes off far more easily.

50 min

Ivorian Vegetarian

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Kmínová polévka

Few soups are as cheap or as old as this one. Kmínová polévka was the Bohemian peasant's breakfast long before coffee arrived, and Czech mothers still make it for an upset stomach or a hangover. The roux is cooked until it smells of toasted hazelnuts, the caraway is fried in butter until it pops, and the hot soup is poured straight onto crunchy toasted bread so it softens at the edges. Where most people go wrong is taking the roux off the heat while it is still pale: you get a floury, raw-tasting soup instead of a nutty one. A beaten egg trickled in at the end makes it more filling. Chef's tip: crush half the caraway in a mortar first, so the flavour spreads through the broth while the whole seeds give little bursts.

25 min

Czech Soups

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Koprovka

Summer 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.

30 min

Czech Vegetarian

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Škubánky

Škubánky (sometimes called šúlance or 'pulled ones') are what you get when a Bohemian farmhouse turns its potatoes into pudding. Potatoes and flour are steamed together in the same pot, mashed into a heavy, smooth dough, then torn into lumps with a spoon dipped in butter. They are rolled in ground poppy seed and sugar and doused with brown butter, and children in Czechia often eat them as a sweet main course on a weekday. They are soft and dense, with a nutty crunch from the poppy. The usual slip is lifting the lid while the flour steams, which leaves raw pockets of flour; keep it covered the whole time. Chef's tip: dip the spoon in hot melted butter before every scoop, and the lumps slide off clean and glossy.

50 min

Czech Desserts

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Žemlovka

Thrifty Czech kitchens never throw away a stale roll, and žemlovka is the delicious proof. Slices of yesterday's rohlíky or žemle are soaked in sweet vanilla milk and egg, layered with cinnamon apples and raisins, and baked until the top is crunchy and the inside set like a soft custard. It is a favourite Bohemian Sunday afternoon pudding in autumn, when the orchard apples are in, and it often appears in school canteens as a sweet main course. Serve it warm, dusted with icing sugar, with a glass of cold milk. A common mistake is drowning the bread in milk, which makes a soggy, heavy pudding; dip the slices quickly so they are moist but still hold their shape. Chef's tip: use tart cooking apples and keep the top layer bread, buttered, so it bakes to a golden crust.

60 min

Czech Desserts

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Zelňák

Out in the Moravian wine villages, when bread was baked in the communal oven, the last of the dough went into zelňák: a flat yeast base spread with sour cabbage and fried onion and baked until the edges blister. It is still sold in bakeries around Brno and Hodonín and eaten warm in slices with a glass of buttermilk or new wine. Old recipes fry the onion in lard or add crackling; this version uses oil and butter and is vegetarian. The topping is tangy, sweet from the onion and scented with caraway, over a soft, bready base. Where it often goes wrong is using wet sauerkraut straight from the jar, which turns the base soggy. Squeeze it well and fry it first. Chef's tip: a thin layer of sour cream under the cabbage keeps the base moist and stops the topping drying out.

120 min

Czech Baking

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Olomoucké tvarůžky

Few foods divide Czechs like Olomoucké tvarůžky, the little golden rounds of ripened quark from Loštice near Olomouc in Moravia. Their smell is famously strong, but the flavour is savoury, salty and surprisingly mild once cooked. Pubs across Moravia serve them breaded and fried, the outside crisp and the inside oozing, with raw red onion and buttered rye bread, and a cold beer for those who drink. Tvarůžky are made from acid-set quark and are usually free of animal rennet, but check the label if it matters to you. The usual mistake is frying them too long: after a minute the cheese bursts out of its crust and the pan fills with molten cheese. Chef's tip: chill the breaded cheeses in the fridge for 10 minutes before frying, and fry them hot and fast.

20 min

Czech Snacks & Starters

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Sauce djoumgblé

Baoulé cooks in central Côte d'Ivoire dry okra in the sun during the harvest, then grind it into the dark green powder that makes sauce djoumgblé. Stirred into a beef and tomato stew with flaked smoked fish, it thickens the pot into a deep brown, slippery sauce with an earthy, smoky flavour quite different from fresh okra soup. It is the classic partner for foutou banane or placali in Bouaké and in Abidjan's maquis, where each mouthful of starch is pulled through the sauce. Look for the powder as dried or ground okra in African grocers. Chef's tip: whisk the okra powder into cold water before it goes into the pot; scattered straight into hot sauce, it forms lumps that never break down.

95 min

Ivorian Fish

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Sauce gouagouassou

Bété country around Gagnoa and Daloa in western Côte d'Ivoire is known for sauces with plenty of chilli, and gouagouassou is one of the most loved: tomatoes, garden eggs and hot peppers boiled whole, then crushed by hand in a mortar and simmered with smoked fish. There is little or no oil, so the sauce tastes fresh, smoky and bright, with real heat and a rough, rustic texture. Spoon it over white rice or eat it with foutou at a weekday lunch. Use fewer chillies if you prefer, but keep at least one for the character. Chef's tip: soak the smoked fish in hot water for ten minutes first; it softens, rinses off ash and grit, and gives its flavour to the sauce more quickly.

60 min

Ivorian Fish

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Kabato

From Korhogo and Odienné down to Bouaké, households in northern and central Côte d'Ivoire eat kabato almost daily: a swallow of maize meal cooked with a squeeze of lemon. The acid gives the paste a faint tang and a firmer, cleaner bite than plain cornmeal. It is eaten warm with okra sauce, groundnut sauce or a sauce of pounded leaves, pinched off by hand and dragged through the bowl. A common slip is adding the cornmeal too fast, which makes lumps; rain it in while stirring. Chef's tip: whisk the lemony cornmeal slurry into the boiling water before adding the rest of the meal; starting with a thin porridge is what keeps kabato lump-free.

30 min

Ivorian Basics

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Attoukpou

Along the lagoons east and west of Abidjan, Ebrié and Attié cooks turn soured cassava dough into attoukpou, a soft steamed paste that is gentler and less stretchy than placali. The crumbled dough is steamed until it turns translucent, then pounded with a little hot water into smooth, pillowy balls with a light sourness. It is served at home and at village gatherings with palm-nut sauce, a light pepper soup or aubergine sauce, and it soaks up gravy beautifully. Ready-made fermented cassava dough from an African grocer saves days of work. Avoid packing the dough tightly into the steamer; it needs space for the steam to move through. Chef's tip: crumble the dough very finely before steaming; big lumps stay chalky in the middle however long they cook.

55 min

Ivorian Basics

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Bramboračka

Ask anyone from Bohemia what their grandmother cooked on a cold Saturday and bramboračka comes up first: a thick, earthy potato soup that smells of dried porcini, caraway and marjoram. It is a fixture of pub lunch menus and mountain chalets, ladled out with a slice of dark rye bread. Floury potatoes break down at the edges and thicken the broth, while carrot, parsley root and celeriac add sweetness under the woodland flavour of the mushrooms. This version is fully plant-based, with the roux made in oil. A common mistake is adding the marjoram and garlic at the start, where long boiling dulls them; they go in at the very end, off the heat. Chef's tip: rub the dried marjoram between your palms over the pot to wake up its oils before it drops in.

50 min

Czech Soups

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Kyselo

High in the Krkonoše, the Giant Mountains on the Polish border, poor mountain families made a whole meal from a jar of rye sourdough starter, a handful of dried mushrooms and potatoes from the cellar. Kyselo still turns up in chalet restaurants around Špindlerův Mlýn and at local food festivals. It is pleasantly sour and creamy from the fermented rye, scented with caraway, and poured over boiled potatoes with softly scrambled egg spooned on top. The usual slip is boiling the soup hard after the starter goes in, which makes it catch on the bottom and turn lumpy; keep it at a lazy simmer and stir often. If you can, mix the starter with water the night before and leave it covered at room temperature, for a deeper sourness. Chef's tip: a mature, bubbly rye starter that smells like yoghurt gives the best flavour; a sleepy one makes a flat soup.

60 min

Czech Soups

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Houbový kuba

On Štědrý den, the Czech Christmas Eve, many families kept a meat-free fast until the evening carp, and houbový kuba was what filled the gap at lunch. Village cooks in Bohemia baked pearl barley with mushrooms picked and dried in autumn, plenty of garlic and marjoram, until the top went crunchy. The inside stays moist and chewy, almost like a mushroom risotto, while the edges crisp. It used to be made with lard; this version uses oil and is fully plant-based. Serve it on its own with sauerkraut or a sharp pickled salad, or as a side to roast vegetables. A common mistake is boiling the barley until soft right through, which turns the bake to paste; it should still have a little bite before it goes in the oven. Chef's tip: save the mushroom soaking water and cook the barley in it, for flavour all the way through.

75 min

Czech Rice & Grains

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Čočka na kyselo

Brown lentils, a good splash of vinegar and a crisp-edged fried egg on top: čočka na kyselo is the Czech school-canteen and workers' lunch that people grow nostalgic about. Bohemian families also eat lentils around New Year, when the small round seeds stand for coins. The lentils are cooked soft, bound in a light roux with fried onion and finished sour and a touch sweet, then served with a sliced pickled gherkin and fresh bread. The texture should be spoonable, not soupy and not stiff. Where most cooks slip up is adding the vinegar too early: acid keeps lentils firm, so they stay hard however long you cook them. Season at the end instead. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of mustard stirred in with the vinegar rounds out the sourness without making it taste of mustard.

50 min

Czech Curries

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Topinky

Midnight in a Prague beer hall, a basket of topinky arrives: thick slabs of rye-wheat bread fried until shatteringly crisp and rubbed hard with raw garlic, so the rough crust grates the clove like sandpaper. Czech pubs serve them as a snack with beer, and at home they are a quick supper with a glass of buttermilk or a bowl of soup. Some old cooks used lard; frying in oil keeps them vegan. The crumb should stay soft inside the golden crust, and the garlic should be sharp and fiery. A common mistake is frying in oil that is not hot enough, which makes the bread greasy instead of crisp. Chef's tip: choose a dense, day-old rye bread with caraway seeds; fresh, airy bread soaks up oil like a sponge.

10 min

Czech Snacks & Starters

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Demikát

Shepherds in the hills of central Slovakia needed only a kettle of water, a lump of bryndza and a loaf of bread to make demikát, a soup that comes together in a quarter of an hour at the salaš, the summer sheep hut. The soft, salty sheep's cheese is mashed with fried onion, paprika and caraway, loosened with boiling water and poured over chunks of bread, then finished with heaps of chives. It is tangy, creamy and very warming. Bryndza is traditionally made with animal rennet and sometimes from raw milk, so for a vegetarian, safer bowl choose a pasteurised sheep's cheese made with vegetarian rennet (a soft feta-style cheese mashed with a little cream cheese works well). The usual slip is boiling the soup after the cheese goes in, which makes it grainy; just bring it to steaming. Chef's tip: use day-old rye bread, toasted, so it soaks up the broth without falling apart.

20 min

Czech Soups

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