Vepřo-Knedlo-Zelo - Roast Pork with Cabbage and Dumplings

This is the Czech national dish.  I had it many times in Slovakia as well. As the name indicates, there are three main components to this dish: (1) Vepřo - Roast Pork, (2) Knedlo - Dumpling, and (3) Zelo - Cabbage. 

There are many variations to this, but you usually need the following for 4 people:

1 pork roast (traditionally a pork loin joint, but I use a leaner pork sirloin tip roast plus a smoked hock for flavor)
3-4 Tbsp. caraway seeds
2 yellow onions
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. butter
Salt and Pepper (have a decent amount on hand)
1 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
16 oz. sauerkraut
2 tsp. powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. dry yeast (not a typo, that's really how much yeast you need)
3 cups flour
1 egg
1/2-2/3 cup breadcrumbs (or two dinner rolls)

Procedure:

1. Set roast out to thaw for 8-12 hours if frozen
2. Begin preparing roast as outlined in Part I, leave in slow cooker
3. Prepare dough in Part II and leave to rise
4. Prepare cabbage in Part III and leave to simmer
5. Start heating water to boil (6-quart pot half full is optimal, add a little salt to the water)
6. Continue with Part II and finish dumplings
7. Continue with Part III and finish cabbage
8. Slice roast and place on plate with cabbage, drench in pork drippings, and plate dumplings on separate saucers to keep them all from getting soggy. Serve with pickles, radishes, or something else light, as this is a very heavy meal.

I. Vepřo - Roast Pork

As previously stated, this is traditionally a pork loin joint. It's a very fatty but flavorful cut. I don't like that much fat on my meat so I use the leaner pork sirloin tip roast and add a smoked hock in the slow cooker for flavor.

After thawing, coat the pork in 2 Tbsp. caraway seeds. Salt and pepper generously.  Prepare a slow cooker by starting heat and adding 1 cup water (2 cups for a lean roast). Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a pan and brown the pork for a few minutes.  Once it is brown, place it in the slow cooker with pan drippings.  Add one whole onion halved and two garlic cloves (I brown these in the pan as well). Add smoked hock if desired. Leave for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.

If you do not want to use a slow cooker, you can follow the same procedure but roast in the oven in a roasting pan, following normal cooking instructions for an oven-roasted pork roast of that size. 

II. Knedlo - Dumpling

Dumplings are a staple for this dish so the post about dumplings and its ingredients are included here for convenience.

In Czech and Slovak cooking, there are two main kinds of dumplings: bread and potato. Bread dumplings are much more common and are traditional for this dish. They will be light and spongy and will soak up the pork and cabbage juices nicely.

There are many ways to prepare these dumplings, but there are a few main things to keep in mind. First, make sure your yeast is activated and rising nicely. Second, find the right dough consistency. Third, find a way to keep them from getting too soggy while boiling and to let them dry off properly when done.

First, heat 1 cup milk to about 105-110 degrees. This will feel hot but not too hot to keep a finger in for 10 seconds. This makes a perfect home for the yeast. Pour the milk into a bowl or large cup (16 oz. volume or more). Add a teaspoon of powdered sugar to feed the yeast. Now add 3 Tablespoons of yeast.  That is not a typing error, you need lots of yeast to make the dough rise correctly. Stir them all together and let it rise while you mix the next set of ingredients. It should make a froth that foams from the milk all the way to the top of the cup if the yeast is activated correctly. Try again if it doesn't work, as the dumplings will not turn out well if the yeast is not activated.

In another bowl, mix about 1/2 - 2/3 cup breadcrumbs with an egg. You can also use a couple chopped rolls instead of breadcrumbs. Add the yeast mixture, 3 cups of flour, and a pinch of salt. Once the dough is fully mixed it should clean off the sides of the bowl but still be a little sticky. Place in a greased covered bowl. Leave in a warm place for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

Start some boiling water (fill a 6-quart pot half or 2/3 full). Knead the dough and then divide in half. You can form each half into an oval or a sphere (doesn't matter). There are a couple ways to proceed from here. For convenience, you can cover the shaped dough for 15 mins to let it rise again and then boil it, or you can wrap it in a cheese cloth, tying it off at the ends, let it sit for 15 mins, then boil it. They tend to turn out better in the cloth, but without the cloth it can be a little soggy but otherwise tastes the same.

Boil for 15 mins total, turning them over halfway through.  Once removed from the water, take off the cloth immediately (if applicable) and set it on a cutting board to dry. Stab it everywhere with a fork or knife immediately to let out the steam. Then you cut it into 1/2-inch slices. You can do this with a knife or with a string. Once it has drained off (usually 1-2 mins), go ahead and place on saucers if serving immediately. If not, place in a cloth-lined bowl covered until ready to serve.

III. Zelo - Cabbage

The "Zelo" in this dish is pickled (i.e., sauerkraut) but don't let that scare you away.  This method of cooking really tames the cabbage.  Heat 1 Tbsp. oil and 1 Tbsp. flour in the pan and cook into a light roux (2 mins). Add a diced onion and cook for about 10 mins. Add the sauerkraut, 1-2 Tbsp. caraway seeds, and some salt and pepper. Add a teaspoon of sugar and 4 cups of water. Leave this to simmer for about 40 mins (be sure all the liquid doesn't boil away).

Serve on the plate with the pork.


****UPDATE 10/28/2014****

I recently tried the recipe with potatoes instead of dumplings (time limitations) and it went splendidly. I simply added potatoes to the crock pot with leftover vegetable broth from the previous week's sviečková. The potatoes were saturated with flavor and did not need additional seasoning.

Another trick I used to get more flavor out of the pork: split it. I cut it in half to maximize seared surface area before adding into the crock pot (essentially two small roasts from one). It had much more flavor than in past versions.

Slovak Salad

This one is a quick and easy go-to side dish for picnics, barbecues, potlucks, and any dish that might have a heavy taste and needs a palate cleanser.

Many dishes would fit under the title "Slovak Salad," but this one is easy and versatile. I was frequently served this dish with Rezen (Czech/Slovak schnitzel) and Halusky. Think of it as a fresh salad with a pickled flavor.

You will need (for 4 servings):
2 cucumbers
2 medium tomatoes (any kind will do, the fresher the better)
1/2 white or yellow onion
1/2 - 1 cup white vinegar
2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Procedure:

1. Grate cucumbers on a normal grater (peeling beforehand is optional)
2. Finely grate onion and add to cucumber
3. Dice tomatoes (1/2-inch cubes at largest) and add to mixS
4. Add vinegar, garlic salt, and black pepper
5. Stir, cover, and refrigerate before serving.  Best when eaten within 4 hours of preparation.

Bryndzové Halušky - Potato Dumplings with Sheep Cheese and Bacon

What better way to start a Slovak cooking blog than with the most iconic (and arguably most delicious) Slovak dish? Bryndzové Halušky literally means "Potato Dumplings with Bryndza (soft sheep cheese)." For those who have struggled to find bryndza or a proper substitute in the United States, search no more.

There are three main components to this dish; Potato Dumplings, Bryndza Cheese, and Bacon. I will first give an overview of the ingredients and process, then give plenty of options and guidance for each part of the dish to accommodate many cooking styles and tastes.

You will need (assuming 4 people):

Dumplings:
4-6 potatoes (Russet is nice but any kind will do)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2-4 cups all-purpose flour
lots of boiling water in a big pan

Cheese:
4-7 oz. fresh goat cheese
6-8 oz. quark cheese
1/2 cup milk (optional)

1 pound double-smoked bacon

Serve with:
salt and pepper
sour cream (8 oz. should be more than plenty)
sparkling water, diet soda (regular has strange taste with this dish), or Kofola
Slovak Salad (grated or sliced cucumber, onion, and tomato topped with garlic salt, pepper, and copious amounts of white vinegar)

Basic Procedure:

1. Make Slovak Salad for side, refrigerate
2. Cube bacon and put in pan, but do not start heat
3. Begin cheese-melting process in part II and stir periodically
4. Start boiling water for dumplings
5. Begin grating potatoes and make dough in part I
6. Start heat on bacon and watch/stir as you complete step 7, turn off heat when done
7. Cook dumplings as outlined in part II
8. If noodles have cooled quite a bit, microwave bowl for a minute or so
9. Stir cheese into noodles
10. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water into the cheese/noodle mix. Subtract for milk added to cheese mix.
11. Add bacon (and half or all of the bacon grease if you really want to be adventurous)
12. Serve in bowls, top with sour cream, salt, and pepper

I. Potato Dumplings

The potato dumplings can be one of the trickiest parts of this dish, but once you get used to it and know what to avoid, it's not so bad.

The first trick is to finely grate the peeled potatoes.  They may turn brown at this stage and that's okay. You don't need to zest them, but they do need to be finer than a standard large-strand cheese grater. An alternative here is to use potato flakes and rehydrate them into normal potatoes, then follow the rest of the process as usual.

Trust me, the grating is a more authentic taste but reconstituted dried potatoes are much less work.

From here, you add one egg per 2-3 people. Also add a little milk (1 Tbsp. per person). Between the egg, milk, and the water from the potatoes, you have a very wet mash.

Here is where it gets tricky: to maintain the right consistency, add flour until your stirring implement will stand up straight when left in the dough.

I know that's ambiguous, but it really is a consistency thing and cannot be measured precisely.  A rough estimate is 1/2 cup of flour per person to start out, adding up to another half of that amount to attain the proper consistency.  This is somewhere between a batter and a bread dough.  Remember, it must be viscous enough to drip through the holes of the haluskar. If you don't have a haluskar, try cutting the pieces like this video. You can also follow any spaetzle recipe using a spaetzle maker and it will taste similar if this seems like too much work.

Now that you have the dough completed, it's time to cook the noodles.  This part is very important if you don't want to be eating a starchy goop. Use a large pot and fill it 1/2 to 2/3 full of water.  A 6-quart pot or larger is optimal. Make sure the water is boiling and add a little salt (2 Tbsp.) for flavor. You want to keep the temperature of the water relatively high.  If you cook all your noodles at once, the water will turn goopy. Fill the haluskar with dough and coax it to drip out the bottom by stirring with a spoon or fork. Cook the noodles one haluskar load at a time (1-2 cups), let the water return to a boil, let all the noodles float to the top, wait another 20 seconds, then take them out with a slotted spoon. Briefly run in a strainer under cold water (makes them firmer) and set in the serving bowl. Repeat for all the noodles. If your water gets gooey, wait a minute for it to regain its temperature.

II. Bryndza Cheese

Bryndza is hard to find in the United States if not impossible.  I have even tried Serbian Bryndza from a Russian market in Idaho, but it just isn't the same as the Liptov bryndza or anything else you can find in Slovakia. Thankfully, I have tried many different combinations and found a flavor equivalent:

Goat and Quark

The blend of a soft goat cheese with quark cheese provides a flavor and consistency nearly identical to that of bryndza.  I found a goat cheese at Costco here but most fresh goat cheeses will work. Quark cheese can be harder to find, but is readily available in the Midwest at most supermarkets with a significant cheese selection. If you cannot find quark, just use this combo: (two parts fresh goat cheese, one part feta, one part milk). Without fresh goat cheese, I have seen many recipes that call for a blend of cream cheese, feta, cottage cheese, and milk, although I don't think the flavor is even close enough to bryndza to count.  You might as well use cheddar or something else because it won't taste authentic.

Plan on around 1-2 oz. of total cheese per person (this can vary widely and still achieve delicious results). I tend to use about 5 oz. of fresh goat cheese with a 7 oz. package of quark for 4-6 people.

I heat the cheese in a glass bowl by setting the bowl over a pot of heated water (almost boiling).  Once the cheese is fully melted and blended together, it is ready to pour over the noodles. You can also add a little milk to the melted cheese for a thinner consistency. Microwaving is also an option if you want to speed up the process, just try not to burn the cheese.

III. Bacon

This part is the easiest. The key is the flavor and the consistency. You want hardwood-smoked bacon, not the cheap stuff. The right kind of bacon will cost between $4.50 and $8.00 per pound or more. You will want about 1 pound per four people as a minimum (1 pound per two people is especially delicious). In Iowa, I have found that the Village Meat Market & Cafe in the Cedar Rapids Czech Village has delicious double-smoked bacon for about $7.50/lb. 

After you have purchased the bacon, you will want to dice it into 1/2-inch cubes or smaller.  Dicing is easier if the meat is frozen or semi-frozen.  

While preparing the other ingredients, go ahead and cook the bacon (covered pans are handy) on high until it is crispy but not quite burned. Be aware that it will cook a little more (equivalent of 30 seconds or one minute on heat) in its own fat after you turn off the heat.

Also be aware that the bacon, if added to noodles before the cheese, will collect much of the cheese and adversely affect the consistency.  Add at the very end and mix very little if at all (many Slovak restaurants simply top the halusky with bacon).