Nakladany Hermelin....Recipe ?

Discussion in 'Food & Drink' started by jeffster, Oct 22, 2004.

  1. jeffster

    jeffster Member

    On my recent visit to the Czech Republic, I enjoyed some Nakladny Hermelin at the "Pivni Galerie" in Holesovice in Prague (http://www.pivnigalerie.cz)

    I realise that Hermelin is a Czech soft cheese, and I guess that Camembert is the closest variety to it....

    Has anyone got a recipe for this delightful little dish ?

    From memory, I would need :

    A few small camembert rounds
    Shavings / small pieces of Green & Red Peppers
    Shavings / small pieces of Onions
    Crusty Bread / Baguette (To serve with the dish)

    I am guessing you would pickle everything (except the bread of course) for 2 - 3 days....

    Am I correct ?

    Any help & advice greatly appreciated.....


    Regards,

    Jeff
     
  2. Jana

    Jana Well-Known Member

    Our favorite recipe is:
    5 rounds of Hermelín cheese
    5 garlic cloves, crushed
    15 juniper berries, crushed
    1 tsp thyme
    1 tsp rosemary
    1/2 tsp paprika
    ground black pepper
    1 bay leaf, crushed
    few drops of Tabasco or 1 hot chili pepper, cut
    salt
    oil
    Dice cheese and put in layers into a jar, cover each layer with the mixture of all other ingrediences except for oil, and pour some oil on it. The top layer should be covered by oil. Keep in the fridge for three or four days and then enjoy.
     
  3. jeffster

    jeffster Member

    Thank you Jana....
    :D


    Looks like "Nakladany Hermelin" is a catch all term for any dish with hermelin / camembert as the main ingredient - just use your favourite vegetables, herbs & flavourings :D
     
  4. Jana

    Jana Well-Known Member

    Well, nakládaný means pickled, as you can fry or scallop Hermelín as well, but you are right about various combinations of vegetables and spices for pickling Hermelín (or feta cheese - it is good too).
     
  5. kn

    kn New Member

    Hello Jana & Jeffster !

    As for me, it was the same: I visited Prague with my Czech Language course from our university, tried some "naklad(an)y Hermelin" and also got a vague recipe for it from our tutor, who happens to be from Prague! : )

    I tried finding the recipe for nakladany hermelin ("pickled hermelin cheese", "eingelegter Hermelin Kaese") in the web as well.
    Naturally, the sites were mostly in Czech, apart from the posts in this forum here.
    After some time-consuming translating (http://www.slovnik.cz is really helpful) I finally ended up with some more exact recipes : )
    They vary in ingredients, but the preparation should be the same.

    I would like to quote them here, hoping that more people who probably do not speak Czech (that well) are able to prepare this delicious Czech dish at home - maybe also in memory of the time they spent in that country, like I do !

    Dobrou chut' !

    Kathrin

    *********************************************************
    Recipe no.1 - Nakládaný hermelín
    from http://www.hobby-info.cz/art.php?id=hermelin_nakladany (with photo)
    *********************************************************
    Ingredients (for ca. 4 Pers.)[I guess for more!]:

    - 15 small rounds of "normal" Hermelin cheese (without extra taste)
    - 2 bigger onions
    - 2 cloves (?) of garlic [or 2 entire lumps of garlic? didn't quite get that]
    - some sweet "paprika"=(engl)red pepper=(germ.) Paprika, as available in glasses/tins in the supermarket
    - some pickled "feferonky"=(engl)green pepper =(germ.)Peperoni
    - usual black pepper (spice!) in whole grains
    - whole grains of "nové korení"=(engl) allspice, pimento =(germ) Piment, Neugewuerz
    - some bay leaves
    - ca. 2 L of vegetable oil
    - 1 big (5 L) pickle glas [opening big enough for cheese to fit in!], some tooth picks

    Preparation:
    - Peel the onions and cut them into rings
    - Cut half of the garlic into slices/rings, leave the rest as whole clove
    - Cut the hermelin cheeze horizontally into 2 halves
    - "Sprinkle"[cz:"posypat"] the inside of both cheese halves carefully with red pepper [maybe also with the spice, not only the vegetables?].
    Put on each half some onion rings, 3 slices of garlic, and - according to your own liking - also some grains of pepper
    - Fold up both halves back together again and pierce them with 3 tooth sticks to fix them
    - After having prepared all cheese halves like this, put them into the glas, adjusting them evenly in layers. While doing so, add garlic, onion rings, bay leaves, grains of pepper, grains of pimento and green pepper, and always cover with some oil. (The result should not only have a good taste but also a decorative look, see photo on mentioned website)
    After all cheese is finished, add oil up to the brim of the glas. Close it.

    Ripening:
    The pickled Hermelin has to "ripen" at room temperature. [In summer, also the fridge would be okay, I guess?] The duration is up to your liking, but the onions should have become soft. In general, it may taste well already after 1 week. As a rule, if you like the hermelin less "ripe", 14 days will do. If you like it a bit "riper" [i.e. also spicier], give it at least 3 weeks' time.

    Serving:
    The "nakladany hermelin" is usually served with "chleb"=(engl) brown bread = (germ.) Schwarzbrot/Roggenmischbrot, a "roof" of the pickled vegetables on top, and beer, of course ! : )
    [see also picture and poem provided here: http://www.nakladanyhermelin.cz/ ]

    Oil:
    The oil in the glas can be used once more after the cheese is finished. It will give the next pickled hermelin a savoury/spicy taste.

    *********************************************************
    Recipe no.2 - Nakládaný hermelín
    from my Czech tutor's Mum, Mrs. Veilupková
    *********************************************************
    Ingredients:
    - hermelin cheese, or - if not available - also Camenbert or even Brie
    - onion rings, garlic cloves, maybe some [grinded?!]sweet red pepper
    - pimento/allspice [in whole grains, too, I guess]
    - vegetable oil, pepper [in whole grains or even in grinded form, strewn directly onto the cheese halves], Salt [!]

    Preparation & Serving:
    Like in recipe no. 1 ! Only difference: Leave the glas for ripening in the fridge (!) for one(!) week.
    [Own hint: If you don't want that much garlic taste, then do not cut it and put it directly on the cheese, but add the cloves as a whole to the oil or cut them through only once! should work]


    *********************************************************
    Recipe no.3 - Nakládaný hermelín
    from website http://www.phil.muni.cz/fil/kucharka/hermelin_2.html
    *********************************************************
    Ingredients: [for 1-2 Persons, I guess]
    - 5 rounds of Hermelin cheese
    - 1- 2 bigger onions (best are the red ones)
    - 1- 2 pickled "feferonky"=(engl)green pepper = (germ) Peperoni, or else, some hotter kind of "paprika"=(engl)green pepper =(germ) Paprika
    - a few cores/kernels of walnut (!)
    - 1 spoon of grinded(=spice!) sweet red pepper ("sladka mleta paprika")
    - 2 bay leaves
    - 15-20 grains of pimento/allspice
    - 2-4 cloves of garlic
    - salt (!)
    - oil
    - maybe also: 1 spoon of mustard seeds [yellowish ones, usually!], 1 spoon of grinded(!) pepper

    pickle glas with cover or, alternatively, aluminium foil

    Preparation:
    I guess the same like recipe no.1, but you will have to cast a look at the quoted website yourself, because my stamina for translating ended at this point : )
    One notable difference, though, is the instruction to keep the cheese cooled(!) and let it ripe for 5-7 days.

    ****************************
    There may be hundreds of other recipes for nakladany hermelin.
    But if you want to go for traditional ones, you should be well off with those three.

    Have a nice meal and cheers !
     
  6. fabik317

    fabik317 Well-Known Member

    maybe a bit off topic but you can also try pickling olomoucké tvarůžky also known internationally(?) as olmutzer quargel - small rounds of semi-soft cheese which smells like rotting feet. the recipe is more or less the same as for hermelin (IOW improvise it), just change the hermelin for said tvarůžky and oil for beer (the darker and stronger the better). let it stand in the fridge until it turns into slimy horribly stinking substance. spread over dark bread (optionally put a clothes peg on your nose) and eat. you may find it disgusting but it's really delicious (hope someone will second it)
     
  7. kn

    kn New Member

    Ahoj,

    no, its definitely _not_ off-topic !
    Actually, the "exchange oil for beer" is really something interesting to try !
    even with other cheese...

    Děkuju ! : )

    kn
     
  8. ursula

    ursula Well-Known Member

    i live in amerika where there is no quargel
    boo hoo
    ursula
     
  9. magan

    magan Well-Known Member

    For those who are in Prague, you can buy "tvaruzky" in deli (downstairs in Tesco) on Narodni trida. Olomoucke tvaruzky are chopped in pieces with onion and garlic, paprika (spice) and oil....marinated for some time. They will go with (unsalted) butter and freshly baked rye bread (still warm) guy is cutting in halves and quarters and putting in brown bags. 1/4 loaf of typical Czech bread is 3.5 Kc. I always miss that bread when I go back to Canada. There is nothing like it.

    By-the way - there are really great (ready to eat) salad/fish and cold cuts and cheese counters....fresh bread...........and also large section of wine/beer and juices near by. I think that even tourists would enjoy to go in and buy something small to try.
     
  10. ursula

    ursula Well-Known Member

    there is nothing like the bread you grew up with. i alwaus order bread from a german bakery in georgia. it took me forever to find a german bakery. but i love my blackbread.
    ursula
     
  11. magan

    magan Well-Known Member

    Yes, Ursula.......and those "who know" can also understand old (Czech/Moravian) folklore custom of welcoming guests with bread and salt.
     
  12. ursula

    ursula Well-Known Member

    hallo kn
    you live in my hometown!
    ursula
     
  13. durk

    durk Well-Known Member

    Hello,

    I just bought olomoucke tvaruzky withtout knowing what they were. So just googled it when I got back form the shop to know what to do with it (tried to take a bite, raw, but doesn't taste that great.)

    What cna I do with my tvaruzky? Pickle them? Any other solution?
     
  14. fabik317

    fabik317 Well-Known Member

    i guess pickling them is the safest option. they can also be fried in breadcrumbs but that doesn't tend to end up very well unless you really know what you are doing or have a good recipe (which is fairly hard to come by - i tried to get one from chefs in several pubs but there was no way the were telling me)
     
  15. Jana

    Jana Well-Known Member

    What can you do with your tvarůžky?
    Well, there are two ways only how to approach them - either love them or hate them. If you do not like their taste at the very first try, there is no way how to improve it. And if you do, any other recipe (pickling, frying, making a spread...) will just add some more flavor. I am a member of the group of tvarůžky-lovers (no wonder, as I was born in Olomouc :) ), and I prefer them on a slice of fresh rye bread with some butter and a glass of Litovel beer - yummy!
     
  16. durk

    durk Well-Known Member

    Hm, I didn'T mean to offend you :)
    I just opened the package and took a bit (half of a piece at once) and I didn't expect it to taste strong.

    So I am looking for actual recipes, I know I can make them smazene, or nakladane. What to put in the jar to pickle them?
     
  17. stepan

    stepan Well-Known Member

    Are "olomoucké tvarůžky" the same as "olomoucke syrecky" (sp?)? I remember my dad enjoying this greenish, gelatinous cheese with good rye bread and butter. It smelled to HIGH heaven, but oh, was it ever good. I have not seen this for many, many years, but I sure would love to get some and enjoy again, bringing back some special memories of my childhood. Where oh where can I get this in the Washington DC area?

    I remember one time he took the wrapper that alway retained the smell and taped it under the desk of a fellow worker that few people liked. It took the man three days to find where the smell came from.
     
  18. Jana

    Jana Well-Known Member

    I did not mean to offend you, just wanted to describe usual approach of Czech people to tvarůžky (yummy or yuck - there is nothing in between). For pickling, you can use the same brine as for nakládaný hermelín (sliced onions, hot chilli peppers, vinegar, sugar, salt, and water - boiled and used warm).
     
  19. Jana

    Jana Well-Known Member

    Yes, olomoucké tvarůžky means the same as olomoucké syrečky, however, the original name is tvarůžky (syrečky used to be a similar home-made cheese in Bohemia, but I do not know if anybody makes them anymore).
     
  20. stepan

    stepan Well-Known Member

    Jana, you are my kind of woman. Syrecky, rye bread, butter and beer - mmmmmmmmmm. I can almost taste it.

    So I can take any camenbert cheese, use the recipe above and I'll have good results. I can't wait to try this. I'll probably be thrown out of the house because of the smell, but with summer coming, I can eat it on the deck without worrying about the smell in the house - but maybe the neigbors may complain. I CAN't WAIT - now will limburger cheese work as well?
     

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