Svíčková, or svíčková na smetaně (pronounced �sviːt͡ʃkɔvaː na smɛ.ta.ɲɛ, is a Czech meat dish and one of the most popular Czech and Slovak meals. It is

sirloin steak In American butchery, the sirloin steak (called the ''rump steak'' in British butchery) is cut from the sirloin, the subprimal posterior to the short loin where the T-bone, porterhouse, and club steaks are cut. The sirloin is actually di ...

prepared with vegetables (

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...

root,

celeriac Celeriac (''Apium graveolens'' var. ''rapaceum''), also called celery root, knob celery, and turnip-rooted celery (although it is not a close relative of the turnip), is a variety of celery cultivated for its edible stem or hypocotyl, and shoo ...

and

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

), spiced with

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diame ...

allspice Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry (botany), berry of ''Pimenta dioica'', a Canopy (forest), midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, ...

bay leaf The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. It may come from several species of tr ...

and

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenou ...

, and boiled with

double cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

. It is generally served with ''houskové knedlíky'' (bread dumplings).

Preparation

Svíčková, or svíčková na smetaně (beef tenderloin), is a typical Czech dish and one of the most popular Czech meals. It is tenderloin boiled or roasted with vegetables (carrots, parsley root, celeriac, and blue onion, red onion, silver onion or pink onion), spiced with black pepper, juniper, allspice, bay leaf, and baked together, then vegetables and gravy are gathered, mashed/mixed with sour double cream and boiled for sauce. It is generally served with bread dumplings (houskové knedlíky), whipped cream and cranberry sauce. In most restaurants and canteens the staff actually boil the beef and vegetables together in one pot, instead of roasting it.

Varieties

''Svíčková na smetaně'' is served with a cream (''smetana'') topping and usually with cranberry sauce and slice of lemon in many restaurants around the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Bohemian immigrants to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

following the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

have passed on an older variation of the dish to subsequent generations, while regional tastes and product availability have influenced its preparation. Svíčková made in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

area, for example, rarely includes vegetables in its final presentation, but instead incorporates them into a vinegar-based

marinade Marinating is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origin of the word alludes to the use of brine (''aqua marina'' or sea water) in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor b ...

suffused with crushed allspice and bay leaves. Vegetarian restaurants in the Czech Republic also prepare the dish without the use of meat. Instead, they use a vegetarian sirloin usually made from soy, and the broth does not contain meat.Duong, Monika. "Vegetariánská svíčková" Main courses - Sauces and spreads, Posted: 20.10.2018, Czech Republic, Chay, 2018, Par 1, chay.cz/vegetarianska-svickova, Accessed: 18.06.2020

References

External links

Czech Svickova

Czech-American Svickova
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svickova Czech cuisine Czech-American cuisine Beef dishes National dishes Cranberries

Preparation

Varieties

See also

References

External links