Vepřo Knedlo Zelo

Ingredients

• 1.4 kg boneless pork shoulder, rind scored in a diamond pattern
• 2 tbsp caraway seeds
• 1 tbsp coarse salt
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
• 2 onions, thickly sliced
• 400 ml water
• 500 g plain flour
• 7 g dried yeast
• 250 ml lukewarm milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 3 stale bread rolls, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 700 g sauerkraut, drained with 100 ml juice reserved
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp lard
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tbsp caster sugar, plus a pinch for the yeast
• 1 tbsp plain flour

Before you cook

• Score the pork rind in a diamond pattern, cutting through the fat but not into the meat.
• Crush the garlic to a paste with the coarse salt and rub it all over the pork.
• Press one tablespoon of the caraway seeds into the scored rind.
• Cut the stale rolls into 1 cm cubes.
• Slice two onions thickly and chop the third one finely.
• Drain the sauerkraut, keeping 100 ml of its juice in a cup.

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 160C fan.
2. Scatter the thickly sliced onions and the remaining tablespoon of caraway across a deep roasting tin, then sit the pork on top, rind upwards.
3. Pour 400 ml of water into the tin around the meat, not over the rind.
4. Roast the pork for 2 hours and 30 minutes, basting it with the pan juices every 40 minutes.
5. Stir the yeast into the lukewarm milk with a pinch of sugar and leave it for 10 minutes, until a foam builds on top.
6. Mix the 500 g of flour, the egg, the teaspoon of fine salt and the frothy milk into a soft, sticky dough and knead it in the bowl for 5 minutes.
7. Fold the bread cubes through the dough until they are evenly spread.
8. Cover the bowl and leave the dough somewhere warm for 45 minutes, until it has doubled.
9. Melt the lard in a wide pan over medium heat and cook the finely chopped onion for 8 minutes, until soft and pale gold.
10. Add the drained sauerkraut, the reserved juice, the teaspoon of caraway and the sugar, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
11. Sprinkle the tablespoon of flour over the sauerkraut, stir it through and cook for 3 minutes more so the liquid turns glossy.
12. Turn the risen dough onto a floured board and shape it into two logs about 20 cm long.
13. Bring a wide pot of salted water to a rolling boil and lower both dough logs in.
14. Boil the dumplings for 12 minutes, then turn them over and boil for 10 minutes more.
15. Lift the dumplings out and pierce each one several times with a skewer so the steam escapes.
16. Raise the oven to 200C fan and roast the pork for a final 20 minutes to crisp the rind.
17. Rest the pork on a board for 15 minutes.
18. Cut the dumplings into 1.5 cm slices using a taut length of thread rather than a knife.
19. Skim the fat from the roasting tin and strain the juices into a jug.
20. Carve the pork into thick slices and serve with the dumplings, the sauerkraut and the strained juices poured over.