Zelnaky
Talk about a utility meal, it could be a hot starter in a restaurant or a cold beer snack. Zelnaky can be thin almost like a biscuit or like a thick pancake. It can be baked or fried. It will be about the size of the palm of your hand and it’s NOT vegetarian. It can be called Zelnaky (zeln-yar-key) or Zelnicky (zel-nitch-key), often seen with the word “Grandmother’s” in front. So let’s take a look at some of the various presentations.
The Basic Zelnaky
The three main ingredients are Zeli (pickled cabbage which can be red or white but for Zelnaky they usually use white cabbage), flour and pork fat. From a jar you basically get as much vinegar off the zeli as you can then mix it all up, add a bit of salt and maybe some kumin seeds. That’s it.
The Baked Zelnaky Biscuit
Depending on how thin you want to go this may be called a “Sauerkraut Cracker”. If it’s the baked biscuit type then you generally have to cut the zeli into small pieces so you can roll it out into a large flat surface and you then use a cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits. After baking until crisp they are allowed to cool and they make a nice savoury snack.
Individual Fried Zelnaky Cakes
This is the thicker version that gets fried and it’s pictured above. In this case you are eating it warm as either finger food or with a knife and fork. In this case they generally don’t chop the zeli so I find this version is more moist and a lot more filling.
Starter or Pub Food
I’d expect the fried version in this environment. Sometimes the pork fat gets supplemented or even replaced with smoked port or bacon which has already been fried before it goes into the mix. In a pub it often gets served with more zeli on the side or raw sliced cabbage and there’ll be a sauce of some kind (sweet chilli sauce seems to be common). My local pub serves Zelnaky this way i.e. three cakes with cabbage and sauce for CZK129 so add a beer and you’re looking at CZK200 for the meal.
The Potato Option
This is usually baked. The same ingredients as above but with the addition of eggs and dried potato powder. You’ll put this all in a tray or ceramic plate and bake it for about 40 minutes. Then it’s cut up like a cake and eaten hot or cold. It’s popular at home but not common to find this version in a pub/restaurant unless a particular place likes to sell it as beer food.