Velikonoční nádivka
Czech Easter Herb & Smoked Meat Bake (Nádivka)- Yield
- 8 servings as a main course (one 9 x 13-inch dish)
- Active
- 40 minutes
- Total
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Medium
The story
Velikonoční nádivka, Czech Easter stuffing, is baked on Bílá sobota, Holy Saturday, and is traditionally served for supper that evening. Despite the name it is not stuffed into anything. It is a bake of soaked bread, eggs, smoked meat and young greens, cooked on its own in a dish and cut into squares. Spring greens are the base, above all the first young nettles, often with parsley, chives or wild garlic. Czech writers describe the bit of smoked meat as a bridge between the Lenten fast and its end. In many regions the dish is called hlavička, little head, and food writers trace the name to older versions made with meat from the head of a lamb, kid or calf. Another explanation links the name to hlavnička, the main dish. Other local names are velikonoční svítek and sekanice. Older versions were based on a thick porridge of semolina and milk; today white bread is usual, and families hand their recipes down. In 2027 Holy Saturday falls on March 27. Bake it that afternoon and keep the leftovers for Easter Monday, when it is good cold with pickles.
Ingredients and method
The full recipe, with US and metric measures and stand-ins for hard-to-find ingredients, is part of the Easter edition. Buy it once and keep the PDF.
Want to try first? Frankfurter Grüne Soße is free to cook.