The second Sunday of Lent is Prague. The name is related to the traditional dish of sprouted grain | Magazine

In addition to the names Pražná and Suchá, the second Sunday of Lent also had the nickname Sazometná. Lent was not only intended for cleansing the body and soul. It was also used for thorough cleaning of homes or farms. Therefore, by the second Sunday of Lent, chimneys had to be swept, and stoves and ovens had to be cleaned of soot. In households and barns, everything was trimmed, bleached and washed, machines and tools were repaired so that everything would be ready for spring.

Meals at this time used to be very meager as supplies dwindled at the end of winter. Light, healthy and more or less vegetarian dishes were cooked, such as cucumber, choulet or cat wedding. Sometimes there was also a fish on the table, which symbolized the humility of fasting.

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Sprouted peas and grain were eaten

The basis of the fasting diet was mainly potatoes, onions, root vegetables, groats, various seeds and also legumes such as lentils or peas. It was the peas, which were allowed to sprout in advance, that were the basis of a dish called púčálka, prepared on the first Sunday of Lent. The germination process in the seeds activated valuable substances, which is why people allowed not only peas to germinate, but also grain, for example. This was a symbol of the harvest, and people paid respect to the grains and by extension the fertile land in this way. On Prague Sunday, men would meet in a pub and debate about when and how much to plant in a given year, so that the harvest would be as large as possible. And on that occasion they drank schnapps, which is roasted from grain. The women gathered in some cottage and had a shot of liqueur (traditionally it was nut liqueur) or jelly, which was a sweet alcoholic drink made mostly from pickled forest fruits.

What is fried fish and sea bream?

From cereal grains, on the second Sunday of Lent, a thinner fried soup was prepared, as well as a dish called bream or bream. It was a very hearty and filling meal full of protein that was washed down with thin beer to make it easier to swallow. Spelled wheat or naked oats were ideal for bream. It was important to use healthy and unground grains, which had first been allowed to swell and sprout. The cereal grains were then roasted, but before that the sprouts were broken from them so that the valuable substances in them would not deteriorate during roasting, and these were then added to soups, porridges or salads.

How to prepare grain bream

If you want to prepare sea bream at home, you will need 500 g of cereal grains (wheat, rye, spelled or hullless oats are ideal). Take the grains, remove dirt, rinse and cover with cold water so that it reaches at least 2 cm above the grains. Let them stand like this for 24 hours, then drain them, fill them with clean water again and let them stand for another 12 hours. Repeat this process two more times, then drain the water and let the grains sit for 12-24 hours until they begin to germinate.

Then dry-fry the sprouted grains in a pan, stirring occasionally. You can then choose how you taste them:

Heat two tablespoons of butter in a pan, add a large, finely chopped onion and fry until golden. Then add the roasted grain, salt and pepper, add a spoonful of crushed cumin, or lightly cover with water and cook for a while. You can finally improve the sea bream with a spoonful of sour cream and green herbs.

Fry one large finely chopped onion in butter or lard in a pan. Add 200 g of cabbage cut into strips and boiled in hot water and fry briefly. Salt, pepper, mix with roasted grain and season with a pinch of ground cumin.

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