Ingredients
Soup
- 1whole head of garlic, about 10 cloves
- 1.5 litresbeef or chicken stock
- 3potatoes, diced small
- 1 tbsplard or butter
- 1 tspcaraway seeds, crushed
- 2 tspdried marjoram
- salt and black pepper
To serve
- 4 slicesbread, cubed and fried in lard
- 100 gmild cheese, grated
- 2eggs, optional
- chopped chives
Directions
- Bring the stock to the boil with the diced potato, the crushed caraway and a little salt, and cook for about 12 minutes until the potato is soft.
- Mash some of the potato against the side of the pot to thicken the broth slightly. Česnečka takes no flour and no cream, and the potato is the only body it has.
- Crush the garlic to a paste with a good pinch of salt, using the flat of a knife. Crushed with salt it dissolves into the broth; merely chopped, it stays as gritty pieces.
- Take the pot off the heat completely before the garlic goes anywhere near it.
- Stir in the garlic paste, the lard and the marjoram, rubbing the marjoram between your palms as it goes in, then cover and leave it to stand for 5 minutes.
- This is the whole technique of the soup. Garlic boiled in stock goes flat and sweet, and česnečka is meant to be pungent enough to clear your head, which is precisely what it is for.
- If you want egg in it, beat two eggs and pour them into the hot soup in a thin stream while stirring, still off the heat, so they set into fine threads.
- Fry the bread cubes in lard until golden and properly crisp.
- Serve in bowls with the croutons and grated cheese heaped on top and chives scattered over.
- Eat it in a pub the morning after, which is more or less what it exists for.
Technique
- Garlic off the heat, always. Everything else in the recipe is ordinary and that one step is not.
- Marjoram is the second flavour and it is not interchangeable with oregano, which is coarser and more bitter.
- It is treated in Czech pubs as a restorative, and the quantity of garlic is not a misprint.
Substitutions
- Vegetable stock, which makes a lighter but perfectly good soup.
- Any mild melting cheese in place of Eidam.
Variations
- With a raw egg cracked straight into the hot bowl.
- Served inside a hollowed-out round loaf.
- With sliced sausage added along with the potato.
History
Garlic soup with potato, fried bread and cheese, eaten in Czech pubs as a restorative after a night of beer.
Frequently asked questions
What is Česnečka?
Česnečka is a soup & stew from Czechia: restorative garlic broth with croutons and cheese. Garlic soup with potato, fried bread and cheese, eaten in Czech pubs as a restorative after a night of beer.
How long does Česnečka take to make?
Česnečka takes 10 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Česnečka?
Yes, within limits. Vegetable stock, which makes a lighter but perfectly good soup. Any mild melting cheese in place of Eidam.
What is the most important thing to get right in Česnečka?
Mash some of the potato against the side of the pot to thicken the broth slightly. Česnečka takes no flour and no cream, and the potato is the only body it has.
