When my Czech host brother and I began talking we chatted about a lot of things including what we liked to do. One of the overlaps for both of us was our love of cooking. Since he had spent a year abroad in America I was very excited to bring some of my favorite American dishes and share them with him. I was very intrigued about what Czech foods he wanted to introduce me to. However he mentioned that they didn’t often make Czech food because it was very heavy and explained it as a lot of meat and potatoes. I didn’t really get how much meat and potatoes Czech people could eat until I got here. The answer? A LOT. Almost every single Czech meal you can order at a restaurant has some combination of meat and potatoes and little to no vegetables. Growing up in a health conscious family that stressed balanced meals and lots of fruits and vegetables for a short period of time I was in calorie overloaded heaven. That didn’t last for long. I have done a great job of searching out and finding places in Prague where I can get my necessary dose of fruits and vegetables and it’s surprisingly easy if you look! The past two meals with my Czech family have been decidedly Czech and some of the most interesting food I have eaten while I’ve been here. The first was during a belated birthday dinner for my host mom where we were eating a special meal of TATARÁK or steak tartare. The official description is “fresh, minced raw beef with a number of mix-ins: egg yolk, diced onion, mustard, salt, pepper, paprika, maybe some diced cucumber, and usually Worcestershire sauce or ketchup”.
I have to admit I was seriously nervous about eating it especially because it was RAW MEAT. Still at the restaurant almost everyone there was eating this so I threw caution to the wind and tried it. Once I got past the idea of what I was eating I actually started to enjoy myself – it was really good! I am still terrified I’ll come down with some weird disease but considering more than a few days out my health does not appear to be impacted I’m feeling good and proud of myself for putting myself out there.
Last night was a little less adventurous but very much an immersion into traditional Czech cuisine. I tried Smažený sýr for the time. Translation? Fried cheese 🙂 It was like a gigantic mozzarella stick and it came with, of course, a side of potatoes. I was full like 5 bites in but what a fantastic couple of bites. I don’t know if I’ll ever eat those two meals again but they’ll definitely be things I will remember eating for a long time.