Czech Baked Meatballs with Stuffed Eggs
Pštrosí vejce are meatballs wrapped around boiled eggs that hide seasoned soft cheese instead of the yolk. Pop the dish in the oven and within an hour you have a juicy meal that tastes just as good hot with mashed potatoes as it does cold on a party platter.
Total: 1 h
Servings: 4
Method
01.
Prepare the minced meat mixture using your own trusted recipe for meatloaf or patties, or season it with minced meat seasoning and mix it with the egg and breadcrumbs.
02.
You can also make a mixture from about 500 g of minced meat, 2 grated cloves of garlic, 1 finely chopped onion, a teaspoon of paprika and a teaspoon of marjoram, 1 egg, 70 ml of water and breadcrumbs made from two stale bread rolls; season with salt and pepper and work everything together well.
03.
Peel four boiled eggs and carefully remove the yolks. You can add them to the minced meat mixture, eat them, or use them to make a spread.
04.
Fill the space left by the yolks with soft cheese (for example Veselá kráva). You can use lučina, žervé or goat's cheese instead, and flavour the filling with whatever you like: garlic, herbs or spices.
05.
Coat the filled eggs in the meat mixture and pat them firmly with a wet hand so that no air pockets are left anywhere. Place the meat balls – the pštrosí vejce – in a baking dish greased with oil.
06.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C until golden brown, basting with water and spooning over the pan juices as needed.
07.
Serve with mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes or bread and vegetables, or with cucumber salad.
08.
Some people coat pštrosí vejce in breadcrumbs, egg and flour as well, but we prefer them without it, with the cheese filling instead of the yolk, which can be flavoured differently every time.
09.
Pštrosí vejce also work as a quick party dish. Bake them in advance and then slice them cold into rounds or wedges.
