Svíčková na Smetaně (Roast Sirloin in Sour Cream Sauce w/ Dumplings)

For Svíčková – Braised Beef:

• Prick the sirloin steak with a long, sharp kitchen knife and insert the bacon fat in the holes. Season the meat well with salt and pepper all over and add the allspice and peppercorns. Place half of the diced vegetables in a large enough dish, place the meat on top and cover with the rest of the vegetables. Melt the butter in a frying pan and pour over everything, cover with a lid or plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill overnight.
• The next day, melt a knob of butter in a large skillet and place the meat inside and sear it on all sides over high heat.
• Place the meat in a roasting pan together with all the vegetables, pour the beef stock over it and cover with aluminum foil or a lid.
• Place in the middle rack of a preheated oven at 320° F (160° C) for 2-3 hours until the meat becomes very tender. Baste it about every 30 minutes or so. While the meat is roasting we can prepare the dumplings.
• When the meat is done, transfer the meat to a separate dish and leave it to rest and cool slightly. Meanwhile, mash the vegetables using a hand blender and place them in a saucepan.
• Pour in the cream and bring the mixture to a boil. Then stir in the vinegar, lemon, sugar and salt to taste and cook for 5-10 minutes until nicely thickened. If the sauce is still a little runny, add a little flour to thicken it up and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes until glossy.
• Once the steak is cool enough to handle, slice it into 1/2-inch slices and place them in the pan with the sauce to heat through.
• Serve the svíčková along with the dumplings. If you like you can also add a little cranberry jam on the side and a dollop of whipped cream.

For the Bread Dumplings:

• In a mixing bowl, place the coarse and semi-coarse flour, salt, turmeric and ground mace and combine well.
• In a small bowl, add half the amount of the milk and the sugar and stir until the sugar fully dissolves. Crumble the fresh yeast and stir it into the mix. Leave to rest for up to 10 minutes, until the yeast starts to grow and form bubbles on the surface.
• Make a well in the flour and add the egg, and the yeast mixture and combine everything, adding a little milk at a time. Knead the mixture with your hands until it forms a dough. You may want to make it a little wetter than you would normally, because we will be adding in the bread, which will absorb the excess moisture.
• Cut the bread rolls into small dices (1/4-1/2 inch or wide or about 1-1/2 cm)and mix the bread into the dough until evenly distributed.
• Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave the dough to rise for about 45 minutes. After this time, shape the dough into a 2-3 inch diameter roll.
• Place a deep pot of water on the stove to boil and add some salt. When the water is boiling, place the dumpling roll into the water and cook it for 15-20 minutes. Poke it with a fork to avoid the dumpling changing shape after cooling. Take it out before the surface of the dumpling roll becomes slimy and place on a plate.
• Cut the dumpling roll into 2/3- inch (1 ½cm ) thick slices and divide them onto plates along with a couple of slices of steak and drizzle plenty of sauce on top.

Enjoy!