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Beef with Cream Sauce and Dumplings — traditional dish from Bohemia, Czech Republic
Main course Meat

Food Flavour DNA

Nutritional Values

🔥580kcal
💪38gProtein
🌾22gCarbs
🥑38gFat
🌿2gFibre
⚖️350 gServing

* Per serving · 350 g. May vary.

Allergens

🌾 Gluten 🥛 Dairy

Beef with Cream Sauce and Dumplings

How to order / say it
Say it Svíčková na smetaně — [SVEE-chko-vah nah smeh-TAHN-yeh]
Order I'd like the svíčková, please.
Locally Dám si svíčkovou, prosím.
Say locally

A traditional Czech dish of marinated beef served with a rich cream sauce and dumplings.

Why try it?

This dish is a quintessential part of Czech cuisine, often featured in family gatherings and special occasions. It reflects the Central European love for hearty, comforting meals and showcases the art of balancing flavors in traditional Czech cooking.

How it tastes

The dish offers a complex symphony of flavors with a tangy, creamy sauce enhanced by the marinated beef. The bread dumplings serve as the perfect absorbent base, soaking up the savory and slightly sweet notes of the sauce. It's typically aromatic with hints of spice and herb.

Origin & History — first documented: 1850

Svíčková originated in the mid-19th century as a way to prepare tougher cuts of beef by marinating them before slow cooking. This dish has been a staple of Bohemian cuisine, representing the ingenuity of Czech cooks in creating flavor-rich meals from readily available ingredients.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 🥩 500 g beef sirloin
  • 🥕 100 g carrots
  • 🧄 100 g onions
  • 🥕 100 g celery root
  • 🥛 100 ml heavy cream
  • 3 tbsp vinegar
  • 🌿 2 pieces bay leaf
  • 🌾 200 g bread flour
  • 🥛 50 g butter
  • 🍯 1 tbsp sugar

Method

  1. 1 Marinate beef with vinegar, spices, and vegetables for several hours.
  2. 2 Brown the meat in a pot with butter, add marinating veggies, and simmer.
  3. 3 Blend and strain the sauce, add cream, reduce until thickened.
  4. 4 Serve hot with freshly prepared bread dumplings.

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All Europe recipes — Czech Republic — Prague — Beef with Cream Sauce and Dumplings
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