Rajská omáčka translates, rather charmingly, as paradise sauce, and on a cold evening the name does not feel like an exaggeration. On the plate it is a smooth, deep red sauce built on a butter and flour roux, loosened with the broth from a long simmered piece of beef and seasoned the Czech way, with allspice, peppercorns, bay leaf, a spoonful of sugar and a splash of vinegar. The beef is sliced into it, and bread dumplings sit alongside to soak it all up. Tomato sauces were first written down in eighteenth century Naples, but the sweet and sour balance and the spice jar are entirely Czech.

Czech families serve it with bread dumplings, with pasta or with rice, sometimes with a stuffed pepper sitting in the sauce, and on thriftier days with meatloaf or ground beef in place of the sliced beef. Everyone has an opinion on how sweet it should be, and plenty of cooks keep a small secret in the pot, a piece of cinnamon stick being the classic. Ours is a middle path: sweet enough to taste like comfort, sharp enough to keep adults interested.

It is also a gift to anyone planning a race weekend. The beef and its broth are happy to be made a day ahead, the sauce reheats beautifully, and the dumplings steam back to life in minutes, so the cooking is done long before the lights go out.

The beef and its broth

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lb (1.1 kg) beef chuck, brisket or bottom round
• 12 cups (2.8 liters) cold water
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 parsley root
• 1 piece (about 4 oz / 115 g) celeriac
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 whole allspice berries
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons fine salt

Method

1. Put the beef in the large pot and pour in the cold water. Set it over medium heat and bring it slowly to a simmer, which takes about 20 minutes. Starting in cold water and heating gently gives a clearer broth and more tender meat.
2. Using a large spoon, skim off the grey foam and throw it away. Keep skimming for 5 minutes, until only a little white foam appears. Turn the heat down so the water barely moves.
3. Add the carrots, parsley root, celeriac, onion, garlic, bay leaves, allspice, peppercorns and salt. Put the lid on slightly ajar and simmer very gently for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Check every 30 minutes that it is still only trembling, not boiling, and top up with a little hot water if the meat is no longer covered.
4. Lift the beef onto a plate and cover it with foil. Pour the broth through the fine sieve into the heatproof bowl or jug and discard the vegetables and spices. Measure out 5 cups (1.2 liters) of broth for the sauce. Keep the rest; return the beef to a little of it so it stays moist and warm while you make the sauce.

The tomato sauce

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons (45 g) butter
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1/2 cup (65 g) all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (200 g) tomato paste
• 5 cups (1.2 liters) hot beef broth
• 1/3 cup (65 g) granulated sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar
• 4 whole allspice berries
• 6 whole black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small piece (about 1 inch / 2.5 cm) cinnamon stick
• to taste fine salt
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) cold butter

Method

1. Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in the saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring now and then, for 8 to 10 minutes. You want it soft and pale gold, not brown.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and stir constantly with the wooden spoon for 3 minutes, so the raw taste cooks out. Add the tomato paste and keep stirring for 2 more minutes, pressing it against the pan.
3. Switch to the whisk. Pour in about 1 cup of the hot broth and whisk hard until smooth, then add the rest a cupful at a time, whisking well after each addition so no lumps form.
4. Add the sugar, 2 tablespoons of the vinegar, the allspice, peppercorns, bay leaves and the cinnamon if using. Bring to a gentle simmer, then turn the heat to low and cook uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom, as tomato sauces love to stick.
5. Pour the sauce through the fine sieve into a clean pan, pressing the onion through with the back of the spoon, and discard the whole spices. Taste carefully. Add salt, then more sugar or the last tablespoon of vinegar a little at a time until it is clearly sweet, clearly tangy and still tastes of tomato. Over low heat, stir in the cold butter until it melts.
6. Slice the beef across the grain into slices about 1/3 inch (8 mm) thick. Slide the slices into the sauce and keep them over the lowest heat for 5 minutes so they warm through without boiling.

The bread dumplings

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) instant or active dry yeast
• 2 3/4 cups (350 g) all purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 3 cups (about 100 g) dry white bread rolls or baguette

Method

1. Stir the sugar and yeast into the lukewarm milk in a jug and leave it for 10 minutes. The milk should feel just warm on your wrist, never hot, or it will kill the yeast.
2. Put the flour and 1 teaspoon salt in the mixing bowl, make a hollow in the middle and add the egg and the yeasty milk. Stir with a wooden spoon until it comes together, then knead with your hand in the bowl, or on a lightly floured counter, for 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Flatten the dough a little, scatter over the bread cubes and fold and press until they are spread evenly through it. It will feel lumpy; that is correct.
4. Cut the dough in two. On a floured counter, roll each half into a log about 8 inches (20 cm) long and 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) across, tucking any loose cubes underneath. Lay them on a floured towel, cover with a second towel and leave in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes.
5. Bring a very large, wide pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. Lower the logs in gently and turn the heat down to a steady simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, then turn each log over with the slotted spoon or spatulas and cook 10 minutes more.
6. Lift the logs onto a board and at once prick each one several times with the skewer so the steam escapes. Slice into rounds about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick by sliding a length of thread under the log, crossing the ends over the top and pulling them tight.

To serve

Ingredients

Method

1. Warm the plates. Lay 2 or 3 slices of beef on one side of each plate and 4 or 5 dumpling slices beside them. Ladle the sauce generously over the beef and let it run over the dumplings too. Pass extra sauce at the table.

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