Enjoying the magic of Christmas at a table full of festive delicacies and leaving the worries of cooking to top chefs is the best way to spend the holidays in peace. Here are my tips for great Prague restaurants that have prepared an exceptional Christmas Eve dinner for you, including prices and direct links to their menus.
Roast goose with cabbage and dumplings for St. Martin’s Day is one of the most popular Czech culinary traditions. Here are my tips for great Prague restaurants that will feature goose dishes on their menus, including prices, website links, and direct links to their St. Martin’s Day menus.
Masgouf is the Iraqi national dish prepared from a carp-like fish. It is slowly grilled over an open fire. This specialty has a history dating back to ancient Mesopotamia. The basis is an absolutely fresh fish cut along the back and rubbed with salt or marinade. The meat is skewered on spikes and placed vertically near the fire pit, where it bakes indirectly for several hours.
Guss is the Iraqi variant of the dish known as shawarma or döner kebab. The foundation is beef or lamb alternated with layers of mutton fat. Iraqis serve this delicacy in a traditional diamond-shaped bread called samoon. Guss is necessarily complemented by the spicy mango sauce amba, pickled vegetables, and fresh parsley.
Qeli is a traditional Kurdish meat dish created by long cooking and subsequent confit of meat in its own fat. This hearty specialty is inseparably linked to the Iraqi city of Akre. No complex spice blends are used in the preparation; the main flavor is provided by the meat itself. An essential accompaniment is qeysi, a warm sauce made from dried apricots. Its sweet and sour taste perfectly balances the richness of the meat.
Marag bamya is a hearty stew built on a combination of young okra, lamb, and tomato sauce. This Iraqi specialty distinguishes itself from similar okra preparations in surrounding countries mainly by its thickness and intense flavor. A key role is played by the slow stewing of the meat with the bone, a large amount of garlic, and an unmistakable acidity.
Timman sha’riyah is a traditional Iraqi side dish combining fluffy rice with golden-fried angel hair noodles, known as vermicelli. In other parts of the Arab world, this dish is called ruz bil sha’riyeh. In Iraq, it is served with stewed meats or vegetables with a rich sauce.
Fasolia is a thick soup made of white beans in a rich tomato sauce, often served with white rice. The dish has roots in the days of the Ottoman Empire, relying on simplicity and honest ingredients. The Iraqi variant avoids complex spice blends. The dish dominates festive Friday lunches when the whole family gathers at the table.
Makhlama is a traditional Iraqi breakfast scramble combining eggs with minced meat and vegetables. Although it is sometimes served with whole eggs on top, in ordinary bistros it is often prepared as a mixed scramble. The base is beef or lamb minced meat sautéed on onions with pieces of tomato. The mixture is subsequently combined with beaten eggs and seasoned with spices such as curry, turmeric, and black pepper. This hearty breakfast is served in Iraq with fresh bread and strong tea.
Kasa brinj is a traditional dish from Iraqi Kurdistan. It is steamed rice with finely shredded boiled chicken meat. For this recipe, the chicken is not roasted but slowly simmered in water until completely tender. Subsequently, the meat is manually stripped of bones and skin and shredded into smaller pieces so that only pure meat remains on the plate. A bowl of sauce is an inseparable part of the meal. Most often, you will be served a tomato ragout made of white beans or okra with it.
