Winter treat - sauerkraut soup with sausage

I know you probably want me to write about Czech cakes and sweets, and believe me, I will. But first, I have to share this warming soup recipe with you because it’s cold outside, which means I can only think about meals that will warm me up. Besides, you can't live on cakes alone. Believe me, you can't. Jan has tried, and ultimately failed (although he had a good run...).Well, this sauerkraut soup might not look cool or hip, as it has Eastern Europe written all over it. But for all the disagreeable clichés about Eastern Europe and its sauerkraut-based cuisine, this is a hell of a winter dish. Once you try this substantial, rich and quite filling soup, your doubts will melt away. This isn’t just a starter: it’s a whole meal by itself.

You should know that there is no one recipe to make the "zelňačka". Every cook has their own magic formula, and as far as I can tell, the only given constants are: meat, sauerkraut, potatoes and black pepper. The meaty version is more traditional; however, you can also make it vegetarian. I think that the use of sauerkraut as well as sugar and sour cream is key to this soup in terms of flavoring. The recipe below is an accurate description of how my mom used to make this soup, and she always got raves from everyone who tried it. So even though this is not the only way to prepare this soup, this recipe is our family gold! Respect!

Sauerkraut soup with sausage

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• small piece of bacon
• 2 pieces of sausage (different kinds for texture), sliced or diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 3 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 4 balls all spice
• 1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 cups sauerkraut, drained, rinsed briefly and chopped roughly (save the juice)
• 8 prunes
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• chili
• salt, sugar, ground black pepper and sauerkraut juice to adjust the taste
• 1 cup sour cream

Preparation:

1. Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat and add oil and bacon. Cook until the bacon is golden, 4 minutes.
2. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 4 minutes.  Add sausages and cook for 2 more minutes.
3. Take off the stove and add the paprika, caraway seeds, all spice and tomato paste, stir properly, put back on the stove and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the potatoes, stock, water and thyme and cook until potatoes are almost tender (if you put the sauerkraut too early, potatoes will not cook properly and will be crunchy), about 15 minutes.
5. Add the sauerkraut, garlic, chili, prunes and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 min.
6. In separate cup mix 3 tablespoons of sour cream with 3 tablespoons of broth and add the mixture to the soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning - the combination of sauerkraut juice which gives the soup a great tang, sugar, salt and pepper makes a perfect sweet-sour flavor that I think really makes this soup shine.
7. Serve immediately, with a spoon of sour cream on top.

Sample some of the best food Prague has to offer during the Prague Restaurant Festival

For the third year running, the Grand Restaurant Festival returns to restaurants across the twelve regions of the Czech Republic from Sunday, January 15 to Wednesday, February 15. Twenty-eight eateries will participate in Prague alone – all of them listed in the Grand Restaurant Guide assembled by the event's organiser and famed food critic Pavel Maurer, who has also founded the annual Prague Food Festival.The Festival promotes high-quality Czech cuisine by Prague’s top and brightest chefs, along with local, seasonal ingredients and traditional recipes. Therefore, it offers a unique chance to taste some of the best food Prague and the rest of the Czech Republic have to offer for something between CZK 200 and 600.

So, have a look at the menus and tell us what are your cravings! Here is the list of restaurants we are definitely going to visit…

V Zátiší – as a treat for Jan’s mum, I especially look forward to the appetizer plate and warm gingerbread with caramel sauce

Bellevue – want to try their version of crème bulee

Alcron – their glazed beef belly sounds wonderful

Sansho – the 12-hour beef rendang is out of this world

SaSaZu – this is one of our most favourite places in Prague

Miyabi – just because we’ve never been to but heard great things about this oldest Japanese restaurant in Prague

Chateau Mcely, Piano Nobile – I’ve wanted to take my boyfriend there for a long time

Koishi – a necessary stop on our way to Moravia to visit my father... ...and take home his homemade slivovitz...

Christmas dining in Prague

Czech Christmas in a nutshell: Christmas tree decorating and gift-wrapping with joyful songs in the background, family having a substantial meal followed by Christmas cookies and unwrapping presents. This all is done on the 24th - Christmas Eve. There is no Santa nor St. Nicholas, but Baby Jesus who delivers all the presents (the imagery stops there - there is no sled or rain deer; Baby Jesus just gets the job done without going into the specifics). Traditionally, one member of the family (my sister) decorates the tree while the others prepare dinner or watch fairy tales. When everything is ready, the whole family (except the mum who is finishing the dinner) usually goes out to get some fresh air and little kids are being taken for sleigh rides. Arriving home to a house smelling of wonderful fish soup, fried carp, potato salad, Christmas cookies and "vánočka" Christmas bread with a huge Christmas tree and heaps of present magically appearing out of nowhere is the best part of being a kid during Christmas.Spending Christmas abroad is another story, but it doesn’t necessarily mean having to miss out on the whole Christmas tree, Christmas dinner and presents business! In Prague, the whole city wonderfully becomes a Christmas wonderland with Christmas lights, fairs, and countless festive things to do and eat! Happen to be in Prague on Christmas Eve and Day? Do you want to celebrate Christmas with your family and friends in one of the outstanding Prague restaurants? We’ve rounded up some inspiration for a truly festive fun time.

Aromi

Italian restaurant Aromi has prepared a special four-course menu that combines both Italian and Czech cuisines and that aims to offer the best of both countries'   Christmas traditions.

Restaurant La Finestra

The meaty counterpart to its sister restaurant Aromi has also prepared a Christmas menu inspired by both Czech and Italian traditional cuisines.

La Rotonde and Alcron

For Christmas Eve, La Rotonde restaurant offers a special buffet menu featuring traditional Christmas specialties such as fried carp and potato salad, roast duck with dumplings and red cabbage, all accompanied by holiday music. 
The guests of the award-winning Alcron Restaurant, an intimate restaurant that seats only 24 people, can savor an exclusive seven-course dinner.

Terasa U Zlaté Studně

Terasa U Zlaté Studně (Golden Well) restaurant, a spot that boast one of the nicest views over historical Prague, offers an exclusive seven-course menu. However, they also serve a la carte dishes.

Chateau Mcely

If you feel like enjoying calm and worry-free Christmas, just take a short ride from Prague to the Chateau Mcely - their team will take good care of you. This place has a unique atmosphere that combines the aristocratic traditions of the Thurn-Taxis family with the magic of Advent, and the food is divine.

The only Czech Michelin-star restaurant to change its concept

[2014-3-23 update: This blog post was written in November 2011 and is now outdated. Allegro was replaced by CottoCrudo, which does not have a Michelin star. Prague at this moment (2014) has two Michelin-star restaurants: La Degustation and Alcron].

Allegro, the Italian dining hall at Prague's Four Seasons Hotel helmed by the Italian chef Andrea Accordi, was the first eatery in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe to gain a Michelin star. In October, chef Accordi left Prague Four Season hotel’s Allegro restaurant and was replaced by the well-known Richard Fuchs, the first Czech to be the head chef at the hotel’s restaurant. It an interview, he proclaimed that together with his team, he would be introducing a new concept of the Allegro restaurant in February. To be honest, I cannot wait.We ate in Allegro only once. The interior of this restaurant was so over-the-top ornate and reminded us of some Palais. Although we generally liked the food (sorry about the pics, we forgot the camera at home), it wasn't flawless either. Overall, we were a bit disappointed: we didn't think it was worth the money. We expected a remarkable experience, but it just didn't happen. If this place had not been so highly rated and regarded, our experience might have been different, but back then we just thought there were many other more interesting places to eat in Prague?

However, we have learned that Allegro will be undergoing a process of modernisation from November 2011 to February 2012, to re-open as a stylish urban restaurant, lounge and bar that offers high-quality Italian cuisine based on traditional recipes with modern twists. During the works, go to La Finestra, or contact us for other recommendations. We hope the redone Allegro with the new concept will deliver a great dining experience and will uphold the famous French accolade.

Sansho - arguably the best Asian fusion food in Prague

When ex-Nobu chef, Paul Day, opened a much-praised restaurant in Prague, we could not resist being one of its first visitors. Our expectations were high… Were they eventually met?This small, down-to-earth place has both communal seating arrangement and individual tables, along with an open kitchen. Rather than spending thousands on posh furniture and accessories, they decided to go for a minimalist look, which we loved. Although some may find the interior dull, smart touches extend throughout the interior décor: the contrast between the cold surface of concrete and the warmth of the wood and vibrant flowers in vases, eye-catching bulb lams; witty The Real Meat Society (where Sansho gets its meat) coasters; checked decor on both napkins and wardrobe of the staff. Nevertheless, the focus is definitely on the food.

Although the restaurant serves Asian-inspired food, it cooperates with local farmers and uses their organic eggs, meat and vegetables, and offers beer from a microbrewery. While à la carte menu is offered during lunch time, only a tasting menu is available for dinner (you can select only one dish from the menu, but the menu works much better as a cohesive whole) and it is served family-style. Quite unusual in the Czech Republic (we like our portions really big), this informal and sociable drew a lot of criticism as the restaurant opened.

We opted for the six-course menu - a lovely combination of complementary flavors. The first course, Scottish salmon sashimi, was a wonderful combination of fine fish with a citrus soy marinade, fresh ginger, pink peppercorns, chives and sesame seeds that awakened our slumbering taste buds with a sweet and sour tang.

Next up was a salad of green and white asparagus coated with a beautiful, aromatic dressing of coriander, mint, chili and Thai basil (and probably many more ingredients we were not able to identify) with an egg fried in goose fat.

Honzi’s least favorite but still tasty dish – chicken satay – followed: tender chicken legs were covered with rather salty than sweet peanut sauce that had a little bit of heat. Crispy fried onions on the top added extra texture.

The fourth dish was duck sliders; steamed buns were light in texture and reminded us of our dumplings. Slow-roasted duck, cucumber and scallions with a little bit of hoisin sauce were stuck into the buns. While still nice, I could hardly taste the filling. Therefore, the sliders seemed the weakest dish of the night to me.

Then an unusual combination of pork belly and watermelon salad “landed” on out table. This powerful combination of flavors and contrasts was wonderful. Juicy, caramelized bites of pork melted on the tongue and paired beautifully with the sweetness of fresh watermelon that removed the heaviness of the dish.

The standout of the evening was the final dish, the 12-hour cooked beef redang. The meat was slowly cooked in coconut milk with lots of spices (we bet there was chilli, ginger, galangal, and lemon grass) and was so tender that you could eat it even if you had no teeth. Crunchy toasted coconut and a jar of homemade hot jam were served on the side. It came with steamed rice, roti and wok-fried broccoli and bok choy with fish sauce, ginger and chilies.

Already stuffed, we decided to have desserts. Sticky toffee pudding was served warm with vanilla ice cream on the top. It was delicious, super rich and Honzi almost licked the plate clean. We also tried the homemade passion fruit ice cream with pink peppercorns. Yummy.

It was not a cheap meal. If you eat and drink as much as we did you could easily get to EUR 40 per person. There are certainly places where you can spend less in Prague, but hardly any of them pays so much attention to every dish. For that reason, we think it is definitely worth it.

Listen to an interview with Sansho's chef, Paul Day.

Coming soon: recipe for Pork Belly and Watermelon salad

Vietnamese Food in Prague

Although we focus primarily on Czech cuisine, we should definitely point out a new phenomenon on the Prague dining scene - Vietnamese food. For historical reasons, there is a big Vietnamese minority in the Czech Republic. There is no better proof of that fact than a visit to "Little Hanoi", officially called the SAPA market - a large Vietnamese "town in a town" full of Vietnamese shops and bistros on the outskirts of Prague. Because of these and other establishments, you can taste some delicious authentic Vietnamese dishes... right in the centre of Europe. If you want to find out more about the Vietnamese community and food in Prague, join us on a Prague tasting walk! The Czechs have embraced the concept, and lower-end Vietnamese bistros are becoming more and more popular. Although, these places are not exactly fine dining, be assured that the food is finger-licking good!

Prague Cafes: Going Local vs Playing Tourist

As far as truly ‘local’ activities go, relaxing with a book or a laptop and slowly sipping coffee in a café surely ranks near the top. Yet very few travelers allow themselves the luxury of spending time doing next to nothing in a café. There are simply too many other things to do and see. Therefore, kicking back in local cafés becomes something of a guilty pleasure for many. As much as I love to see people checking one sight after another in Prague, I have to confess that it also makes me a bit sad because relaxing in a café provides some unique insights into the local culture and should be something you do in between sights.

Luckily, there is a strong coffeehouse culture in Prague, and the city’s historic cafés have long been included among the must-sees. Almost every guidebook features top traditional coffeehouses, and if you google ‘Prague's Best Cafés’, you will get a lot of advice on the ‘best’ cafés.

However, this also means that cafés that once oozed with local atmosphere now hardly have anything to offer beyond  their history and their polished wooden floors, big picture windows, and unique interiors. And because these places are crammed with guidebook-carrying tourists, the waiter tends not to care if you are coming back. Ordering a cup of coffee in these establishments can be a huge mistake and the locals have moved on, and so did the atmosphere that made the cafés so appealing in the first place.

The Cafe Slavia, the atmospheric The Cafe Louvre and the only Cubist-style coffeehouse in the world, Grand Cafe Orient, are three examples of cafés destroyed by tourism. Established in 1863, Cafe Slavia became a meeting place for artists and intellectuals – it’s regular patrons once included Franz Kafka, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jaroslav Seifert and the composers Smetana and Antonin Dvorak. Today, it is packed with tourists hunting for pictures of beautiful Art Deco architecture and the astonishing views of Prague Castle.

Cafe Louvre is another café of this kind. The Parisian-style café with a billiard hall is part of the First Republic's heritage, and its famous patrons included Albert Einstein, Karel Čapek and Franz Kafka. However, the combination of crowds of tourists, coffee of poor quality and disinterested waiters makes me pass this establishment by without any regret.

The Grant Café Orient is another remnant of the past. However, for a rare chance to see cubist architecture up close, I recommend that you enter the fabulous geometric balustrade and climb the teardrop-shaped stairwell to the Grand Café just to see the really beautiful interior with many interesting details and a narrow terrace. Do not order anything, just look.

Two traditional cafés that we still like (although we would not order coffee there) are Café Imperial and Café Savoy. The former is an Art Deco gem with ornate mosaic and tile-covered interior. Ask for some Czech classics such as Braised Veal Cheeks or Marjoram Braised Lamb Shank and observe the steady stream of local businessmen and ladies, all wearing smart suits, having their lunch. The latter is a charming little spot to for a rich breakfast before a stroll around the Petrin Hill.

So, what are the atmospheric local coffee shops I want you to discover and spend some downtime in? My first-choice café is Al Cafetero. This small, non-smoking, family run café is true coffee lover’s paradise. The owner will be your most accommodating host, offering samples, souvenirs and a friendly chat. Try the delicious, awesome-tasting coffee made from a vacuum pot, but be prepared to be offered neither milk nor sugar with your coffee.

Můj šálek kávy ("That's my cup of tea") - This place is what a coffee shop should be: great coffee, good atmosphere, nice staff, convenient hours and it a really ‘local’ vibe. 

The baristas turn out some of the city's best espressos and drip coffee. You can stop by for breakfast in the morning, for a tasty lunch in the afternoon, or just sit down with your book/newspaper/laptop after dinner and catch up on your reading.

Café Lounge - This Malá Strana spot combines elegant interior (formerly a residential apartment) with nice food, friendly service and good-quality coffee. You can easily spend hours here reading, talking or just looking around and sipping some gorgeous Moravian wines. Besides, it is a non-smoking café with a lovely garden.

Dům kávy is a perfect place to purchase premium coffee beans, coffee makers, grinders, espresso machines, etc. Although more a shop than a café, Dům kávy serves one of the best cappuccinos in town.

What I like about these five cafés is that despite their appealing atmosphere, locals still far outnumber tourists, the coffee is great, the staff is friendly and reliable, and the cafés are still what they should be – places to linger over coffee rather than take photos. And I hope that doesn’t change.