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Czech

Svíčková na smetaně

Non-vegetarian

Beef braised with root vegetables and spices, the vegetables puréed with cream into a smooth, sweet-sour sauce. Served with bread dumplings, cranberries, lemon and whipped cream — the Czech festive classic.

Svíčková na smetaně is a Czech main course from Czechia, ready in about 3 hours and made with beef sirloin steak, carrot and celeriac. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Svíčková: sliced beef in cream sauce with bread dumplings, cream and cranberries
Photo: Patrick-Emil Zörner (Paddy) / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-2.0
Prep
30 min
Cook
2 h 30 min
Total
3 h
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
536

Optional overnight marinating of the beef with the vegetables and vinegar.

Ingredients

6 servings

To serve

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Make small slits in the beef and push in the bacon (opens in a new tab) strips. Season with salt and pepper (opens in a new tab). (For the traditional method, marinate overnight with the vegetables, spices and vinegar.)

    • 10 min
    Meat coated in a spiced marinade in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Ip Photographer on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Brown the beef on all sides in the butter (opens in a new tab) in a casserole, then lift out. Add the carrots (opens in a new tab), parsley root (opens in a new tab), celeriac (opens in a new tab) and onion (opens in a new tab) and fry until lightly golden.

    Meat searing in a hot pan
    How it looks · Photo: Skylar Kang on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Return the beef, add the allspice (opens in a new tab), bay, vinegar, sugar (opens in a new tab), mustard and stock. Cover and braise in the oven (opens in a new tab), turning the beef once or twice, until tender.

  4. Step 4

    Lift out the beef and rest it. Remove the bay leaves (opens in a new tab), sprinkle the flour into the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes, then purée until silky.

  5. Step 5

    Stir in the cream and simmer gently until velvety; balance with lemon juice (opens in a new tab), salt and sugar (opens in a new tab) so it tastes gently sweet-sour. Slice the beef and serve on the sauce with bread dumplings, a slice of lemon (opens in a new tab), cranberries and a spoon of whipped cream.

    • 8 min
    • low heat

About this dish

Origin
Czechia · Well documentedAlso popular in SlovakiaMore food from Czechia
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Stews & braises
Cooking method
Braised, Marinated / cured, Blended
Taste
sweet & sour, creamy, aromatic / warmly spiced, rich
Diet
No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Low-carb · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Beef sirloin steak · Carrot · Celeriac · Heavy cream · Bacon · Butter
Techniques
Simmering · Braising · Wet grinding · Marinating · Emulsification

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom butter, heavy cream
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Mustardfrom prepared mustard
  • Contains: Celeryfrom celeriac, beef stock
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom prepared mustard

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

536 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 438 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 32%
  • Carbohydrate 12%
  • Fat 55%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy536 kcal122 kcal
Protein43.3 g9.9 g
Carbohydrate16.6 g3.8 g
Net carbohydrate14.1 g3.2 g
Sugars7.2 g1.6 g
Added sugars2.1 g0.5 g
Fibre2.5 g0.6 g
Fat32.6 g7.5 g
Saturated fat17.3 g4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol170 mg39 mg
Sodium1094 mg250 mg
Salt equivalent2.7 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1109 mg
Calcium
117 mg
Iron
3.7 mg
Magnesium
67 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
469 µg
Vitamin C
9 mg
Vitamin D
0.9 µg
Vitamin B12
2 µg
Folate (DFE)
53 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: lingonberry jam, lemon, heavy cream.
  • Parsley root: Raw parsnip used as a stand-in; parsley root is a similar pale, starchy root vegetable.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • The sauce should be smooth and pourable; thin it with stock if needed.

Serve with

  • Houskové knedlíky (bread dumplings) are essential.

Food safety

  • If marinating overnight, keep the beef covered in the fridge.
  • Cool leftovers quickly (shallow containers) and refrigerate within 2 hours; reheat until piping hot (75 °C).

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days chilled; the sauce freezes well.

Reheating

  • Warm the beef slices gently in the sauce until piping hot.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 4, 5

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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