|
Traditional German Food
Having spent
over 3 years living and working in German, I had the opportunity to
travel extensively through this amazing and wonderful country. I did
spend quite some time traveling throughout Europe. This was before
the formation of the European Union and before the fall of
communism.
Actually being
able to walk through castles that were built as far back as 500AD
was one of the biggest thrills of my life. Standing in the middle of
what once had soldiers doing battles with nothing more than a sword
and shield was just awe inspiring.
Not even in a TV movie could you ever see something like this or even begin to
imagine what it was really like to actually be standing right there
where it actually happened 1000 years ago.
Having that
opportunity, I also spent quite some time in Restaurants and homes
of German citizens and experienced some of the most wonderful food
you could ever sink your teeth into.
One thing I made sure of, not
knowing if I would ever have these same opportunities again, was to
be sure to get every recipe I could lay my hands on. After all, the
food is fabulous and I love to eat!! The recipes I was fortunate
enough to acquire did not come out of any cook book. No, these were
handed down from generation to generation
Here in the
USA, it is hard to realize, with this country only being just over
225 years old, what it's really like to sample some of these
traditional recipes, the architecture and country side, and I can
assure you, the German people went to great lengths to preserve
their history.
I think you
will enjoy creating these culinary delights and I know that you,
your family and friends will absolutely love them.
Unfortunately,
I haven't been able to find pictures for all my recipes but I'll
keep looking. So without
wasting any more time then, lets get into some of my favorites!
JAEGARSCHNITZEL
By far my most favorite of all German dishes!
4 slices of Pork Loin, cut no thicker than 1/4"
1/2 cup flour, blended with salt and pepper on a dinner plate for
breading
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 Cup finely chopped onion or Shallot
3 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 Tsp. paprika
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 Cup Sour cream or heavy whipping cream
1 Cup of chicken stock
1 lbs fresh mushrooms, sliced, any variety of mushroom works well.
1. Cut and pound the pork loin slices and pound very thin.
2. Press the slices into the flour mixture on both sides, and place
on another plate or cutting board until time to cook.
3.In a heavy frying pan over medium heat, brown meat on both sides
and, at the same time.
4. Remove the slices and put on a baking sheet and keep warm in
the oven.
5. Add the onions or shallots, garlic and paprika and cook until
tender. (about 2 minutes)
6. Add the mushrooms and cook until tender ( 1 minute )
7. Turn down the heat and sprinkle 2 tblsp of the flour mixture
left from the plate in the pan to soak up the oil.
8. Add the wine, mix and cook 30 seconds just to evaporate
alcohol.
9. Add the Stock and bring to a simmer whisking it until smooth.
10. Turn down the heat and wait 30 seconds. Add the sour cream or
cream. Heat it back up a little if needed. (DON'T BOIL you will
curdle the sour cream)
11. When serving , pour the sauce over the schnitzel, garnish
with a dab of sour cream, and chopped sparsely.
Serve with noodles, mashed potatoes, spaetzels ,dumplings or
French fries (like I do and dip the fries in the gravy.).
Knockwurst with
Sauerkraut Dinner
Ingredients:
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 slices cooked bacon, cut up
1 cup beer
1
cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons coarse-grain brown
mustard
2 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons caraway seed
1/2 teaspoon
ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 large rutabaga, peeled & cut
into 1" cubes
1 pound fully cooked knockwurst, bias-sliced into 2-
to 2-1/2-inch pieces
2 medium cooking apples, cored and cut into 8
wedges each
1 16-ounce can sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
In a Dutch oven or large pot cook onion and bacon until onion is
tender but not brown; drain fat. Stir in beer. In a 2-cup glass
measure combine the water, cornstarch, brown mustard, molasses,
caraway seed, allspice, and pepper; stir into bacon mixture. Cook
and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add rutabaga; cover and cook 15
minutes. Stir in the knockwurst, apple wedges, and sauerkraut. Cook,
covered, 15 to 20 minutes more or until apples are tender. Servings:
6
CURRYWURST
When I was in Germany,
this was my favorite lunch time meal, complete with fries and
Broetchen !
The most important part of currywurst
is the right ketchup.
A good German curry ketchup. There are German Delicatessens online
or you may have one close by. found at German Deli.com.
After that it's easy...You need cooked bratwurst, not the raw,
coarsely ground kind. Score them about three times, very lightly on
two sides. Brush them with oil. Grill over medium heat till browned
and heated through. Cut them up in 3/4-1 inch bites and shake curry
powder and paprika over the wurst segments. Smother liberally with
the curry ketchup. It's a nice touch to warm the ketchup before
using. Geniesse!!!
Heidelberg Meatloaf
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 cup beer or
bouillon
1/4 cup Onion; chopped
1 tsp caraway seed
1/4 tsp pepper
3
slices rye bread; torn up
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp celery seed
Directions:
Heat the oven to 350° F. Mix all of the ingredients together.
Spread the mixture into an ungreased loaf pan, 9 x 5 x 3". Bake
uncovered for 1 - 1 1/4 hours. Drain off the excess fat and let
stand for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Serve on a heated platter.
Want more
recipes, tips, news and articles from Cooking-With-Ed.com ?
Click this link now for information on
subscribing to our weekly Members Only newsletter. |
Kartoffel Klöße
Potato dumplings
Ingredients:
6 to 8 baking potatoes (medium size)
1/4 c
all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp.
margarine
3 slices bread, cut into cubes
Cook potatoes in water until tender. Cover and refrigerate 12 to
24 hours. Peel and finely chop cooked potatoes or mash thoroughly.
In a medium bowl, combine potatoes, flour, eggs, salt and nutmeg to
form a firm, but light paste. If mixture is too moist, add flour as
needed. This will keep the dumplings from falling apart during
cooking. Melt margarine in large skillet. Add bread cubes and sauté
until golden brown. Working with floured hands, form potato paste
into a roll about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut roll in 8 to 10
pieces. Form pieces into dumplings enclosing a few sautéed bread
cubes in center of each dumpling. Bring a large pot of salted water
to a boil. Add dumplings, one at a time, and simmer about 15
minutes. Dumplings are done when floating on top. Remove dumplings
with slotted spoon drain well.
Weinerscnitzel
Ingredients:
4 thin boneless pork chops or veal chops
1/2 c. oil (For this I use olive
oil)
3/4 c. fine bread crumbs ( I like Italian Style)
2 eggs
salt & pepper
2 lemons
Prep Time: 10 -15
minutes
Heat the oil in a large skillet at medium high heat. Place each
chop between two sheets of plastic and pound with the smooth side of
a meat tenderizer until thin (1/4" - 3/8"). Beat the two eggs in a
bowl that is wide enough to dip the meat into. Spread the bread
crumbs onto a plate or flat surface. Take each cutlet, season with
salt and pepper and dip both sides of meat into eggs to coat. Then
coat the entire cutlet with the bread crumbs.
Place in hot oil and cook on both sides until golden brown. It
only takes about 1-2 minutes per side. Serve each cutlet with half a
lemon on the side. Some people go ahead and squeeze the lemon onto
the schnitzel before serving.
I prefer to squeeze the lemon juice onto the meat just before I
eat it. I prefer to serve with half a lemon, rather than wedges,
because it is not as messy when you squeeze it.
SAUERBRATEN
A Sunday favorite in
our house!
our house !
Ingredients;
1/2 Cup Vinegar
1/2 Cup Water
1 Onion, sliced
Salt and Pepper
1 bay leaf
1 clove
1 1/2 lbs Beef (shoulder)
1 marrow bone
2 Tblsp. Fat
1 Onion
1 tomato
Sauce;
1 Tblsp. Flour
vinegar or lemon juice
pinch of sugar
salt
butter
cream or wine
Preparation:
1. Cook vinegar, water, sliced onion and seasoning together for 10
min.
2. Steep beef in this marinade 2 to 3 days, Drain (save liquid).
3. Brown the meat and marrow bone in hot fat.
4. Add the onion , tomato and 1/2 cup of the marinade, cover and
simmer on top of the range for 1 hour.
5. Turn the meat in remaining liquid so that it gets cooked in
the marinade on all sides.
For The Sauce;
1. Mix flour with the pan liquid smoothly.
2. Add the rest of the marinade and stir until smooth and
thickened.
3. Sauerbraten calls for more ample ingredients than other sauces.
Add to taste,
a little vinegar or lemon juice, a pinch of sugar, salt , a little
fresh butter and a tblsp of cream or wine. Strain and pour over meat
or serve as a separate sauce.
Serve with potatoes, dumplings or spatzle. (serves 3 or 4)
With all this great food, I
guess we should top it off with one of my absolute favorite
desserts!
Apfelstrudel
Apple Strudel
Ingredients:
For the dough:
10-1/2 oz. bread flour
l/6 oz.
salt
1-l/2 oz. vegetable oil
5-1/3 oz. water, lukewarm
For the
filling:
4-1/2 lb. apples (Golden Delicious), sliced
5-l/3 oz.
granulated sugar
1-1/2 oz. dark rum
5-1/3 oz. raisins
1/8
tsp. ground cinnamon
2 lemons (juice and peel)
For the buttered
breadcrumbs:
10-1/2 oz. butter (unsalted)
10-1/2 oz. bread
crumbs
Directions:
Knead flour, salt, oil and water into a medium-firm dough. Divide
into 3 small round loaves, brush each loaf with melted butter and
let sit for 1 hour.
Peel, core and slice apples. Mix in granulated sugar, raisins,
grated lemon peel, lemon Juice, rum, cinnamon and blend together
well.
Roll the dough loaves with a rolling pin, then stretch rolled
dough on a strudel sheet with the backs of your hands. Coat 2/3 of
dough sheet with buttered breadcrumbs, spread apple filling over
remaining 1/3 of dough. Tear off edges, shape strudel into roll by
lifting strudel sheet. Place strudel on a buttered baking sheet and
brush with melted butter. Bake strudel for 60 to 90 minutes in a 400
degrees F to 425 degrees F oven.
My mother-in-law was just
here and looking through the German recipes,
she's from Saarbrucken, and the first
thing she said was" where's the Potato Pancakes?"
Okay, here they are!
2 cups mashed potatoes
1 large egg, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons
all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons grated onion
Salt and pepper to
taste
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying In a bowl combine
mashed potatoes and the egg, stir in the flour and onion, mixing
well; season with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet heat the
oil over medium-high heat until it is hot and fry heaping
tablespoons of the potato mixture, flattening them slightly with the
back of the spoon, for 1 minute on each side, or until they are
golden brown. Transfer the pancakes as they are cooked to paper
towels to drain. Serve the pancakes as an accompaniment to meat, or
eggs.
Serves 6.
|
|
