Pilsen Cuisine, a Summer Journey in Search of Beer and Czech Kolach - #PCČ2

Second Stop, the West of Bohemia

Last weekend we toured the fishponds of South Bohemia, today we head west. The Pilsen region is the land the whole world envies for its beer, yet the list hardly ends there. The cooking here is honest, built on potatoes, pork and cabbage. Beer is not just a drink but an ingredient that gives sauces and roasted meat their depth.

Pilsen cuisine is pub cuisine. Wherever a good lager is on tap, the food is almost always good too, and in Pilsen that goes double. Add Chodsko, a headstrong little region around Domažlice where the most famous kolach in the country is baked. Suddenly you have a plan for the whole weekend.

In part two we taste dishes cooked with beer, the vošouch pancake and the Czech kolach. We also suggest where to go in West Bohemia when you get hungry.

Where Beer Belongs in the Pot

The year was 1842 when the first pale lager in the world was brewed in Pilsen. Pilsner Urquell gave its name to a whole style of beer, and the city has been inseparable from it ever since. In Pilsen pubs, though, the lager does not end up only in glasses. It travels into the kitchen too.

Beer works wonders with meat above all. Pork neck baked with beer and garlic turns soft in its own beery juices. Beef goulash has belonged to the Pilsen table forever, whether cooked with beer or without. And pickled hermelín cheese with chili peppers? That is the pub classic no one between Šumava and Rokycany can imagine a pint without.

We picked three recipes that bring the Pilsen pub evening home. All you need is a cold beer.

Vošouch, the Pilsen Potato Pancake

Remember the cmunda from part one? Around Pilsen the same pancake is called vošouch, and locals would scold you for mixing the two words up. The base is just as honest, grated potatoes, garlic, marjoram and a hot pan with lard.

A proper vošouch is crispy at the edges and soft inside. In Pilsen pubs it is served as a quick dish with beer, at home it works as the kind of dinner nobody questions. We added a fresh vošouch recipe for this part of the series, and for comparison we are throwing in our crispy potato pancakes as well.

Chodsko and the Czech Kolach

Less than an hour's drive from Pilsen lies Domažlice, surrounded by Chodsko. The region keeps its own dialect, folk costumes and bagpipe music to this day. For centuries the Chods guarded the land border and earned royal privileges they are still proud of.

And then there is the kolach. Large, round, with three fillings at once, quark, plum jam and poppy seed, arranged in a pattern that resembles a flower. The Chodsko kolach has always been baked for weddings and village feasts, and every family has its own pattern. During the Chodské slavnosti festival in August, they are baked by the hundreds in Domažlice.

We prepared the Czech kolach recipe fresh for this part of the series, including a guide to arranging the fillings into a flower.

Where to Go When You Get Hungry

In Pilsen, start on Republic Square. The Cathedral of St. Bartholomew has the tallest church tower in the country at 102.6 meters. Climb the 299 steps to the gallery and in good weather you can see all the way to the Šumava mountains. Thirst is then best dealt with on a tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery. The tour ends with unfiltered lager tapped straight from an oak barrel in the historic cellars.

In Domažlice, walk the long arcaded square, climb the tower and buy a kolach for the road in one of the local bakeries. From there it is a short trip to the Výhledy viewpoint above Klenčí, with the whole of Chodsko spread out below.

And if you want a proper walk with your food, head to the western Šumava and the Black and Devil's Lakes. The Black Lake is the largest natural lake in Czechia and the forest trail to it is worth every step.

Next Stop, the Krkonoše Mountains

The west of Bohemia proves that beer is not just a drink but a whole culture, and that a famous lager deserves an equally famous cake. If you head to the Pilsen region this summer, tell us where the food won you over.

The Summer Journey Across Czechia and Moravia series continues next weekend. We head north into the mountains, where kyselo soup simmers and sejkory pancakes sizzle on the stove. The Krkonoše Mountains and their foothills await, pack good boots.