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Demikát
Demikát: Slovak shepherds' soup of sheep's cheese, onion, chives and caraway poured over bread
Shepherds in the hills of central Slovakia needed only a kettle of water, a lump of bryndza and a loaf of bread to make demikát, a soup that comes together in a quarter of an hour at the salaš, the summer sheep hut. The soft, salty sheep's cheese is mashed with fried onion, paprika and caraway, loosened with boiling water and poured over chunks of bread, then finished with heaps of chives. It is tangy, creamy and very warming. Bryndza is traditionally made with animal rennet and sometimes from raw milk, so for a vegetarian, safer bowl choose a pasteurised sheep's cheese made with vegetarian rennet (a soft feta-style cheese mashed with a little cream cheese works well). The usual slip is boiling the soup after the cheese goes in, which makes it grainy; just bring it to steaming. Chef's tip: use day-old rye bread, toasted, so it soaks up the broth without falling apart.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the soup
- ⅔ oz butter
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp caraway seeds
- 3 ¼ cups boiling water or vegetable stock
- 1 garlic clovecrushed
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 pinch saltonly if needed
To serve
- 4 slices day-old rye breadcut into chunks
- 4 tbsp chivessnipped
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Toast 4 slices day-old rye bread in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes, until crisp, and divide between warm bowls.
5 minStep 2: Melt ⅔ oz butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and fry 1 onion for 5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Stir in 1 tsp sweet paprika and ½ tsp caraway seeds for 20 seconds, until fragrant.
5 minStep 3: Take the pan off the heat and mash in 7 oz bryndza-style soft sheep's cheese, vegetarian rennet, pasteurised with a fork until fairly smooth.
1 minStep 4: Gradually whisk in 3 ¼ cups boiling water or vegetable stock until the soup is milky and smooth. Warm over a low heat for 2–3 minutes until steaming, but do not let it boil.
3 minStep 5: Stir in 1 garlic clove and ½ tsp black pepper, taste, and add 1 pinch salt only if needed; the cheese is already salty.
1 minStep 6: Pour the hot soup over the bread and scatter thickly with 4 tbsp chives.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 21 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does demikát take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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