In the Czech kitchen: Make creamy vegetarian dill sauce à la Prague's Kuchyň at home

• Don't work in stages: Pour milk over the sautéed onions and dill and boil. Wati to stir in the vinegar that you previously boiled with sugar and salt to ensure even seasoning.
• Watch temperature: The boiled vinegar also reduces the risk of the sauce curdling when acidified. For the same reason, the temperature of the vinegar stock should be similar to that of the milk in the pot.
• Careful with cream: Let it stand at room temperature before use!
• Correcting curdling is easy: Whip the sauce lightly with an immersion blender adding a little more cream until it emulsifies again.

• 25 ml of oil
• 250 g onions
• 100 g dill
• 1 l of milk
• 50 ml vinegar
• 50 g sugar
• 5 g salt (+ to taste)
• 375 ml whipping cream (min. 30)

• 50 ml of oil
• 50 g plain flour

• 10 poached eggs
• dill oil and fresh dill
• potatoes (preferably boiled type A, suitable for salads)

• 1.In a large pan over medium heat, saute finely chopped onion and chopped dill stalks in the oil.
• 2.Once the onions have been browned, add the milk to the pan (see next instruction) and bring to a boil.
• 3.In the meantime, in a separate pot bring the vinegar, sugar, and salt to boil in a saucepan. You will use the still-warm mixture to flavor the milk base of the sauce.
• 4.In a saucepan, prepare the roux, combining the oil and flour, and cook over low heat for at least 15 minutes.
• 5.The roux will be used to thicken the dill sauce. Let the roux bubble for a while over low heat, and then blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
• 6.Add the roux to the milk to create the béchamel sauce, thinning it out with the whipped cream, and add salt to taste.

• For a silky, smooth sauce strain the béchamel through a fine-mesh strainer or a cheesecloth placed in a regular strainer before serving.
• Pour a generous portion of the sauce into a deep plate.
• Add two poached eggs plus the boiled potatoes.
• Top fresh dill tips and a drizzle of dill oil.

In the Czech Kitchen is a weekly column written in cooperation with the culinary experts from Ambiente. Established in 1995, the Prague-based collective of pubs, restaurants, and fine-dining outlets has transformed the Czech culinary landscape and lent to the widespread awareness of quality food service and production in Czechia. Follow their socials or book your table at www.ambi.cz.