3 Great Entrees from "Classic German Cooking" by Luisa Weiss 🌞

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SCHUPFNUDELN MIT APFEL-SAUERKRAUT
Potato Noodles with Apple Sauerkraut

SERVES 4, WITH LEFTOVERS

Consider these hand-shaped, pan-fried potato noodles southern Germany’s
riposte to Italian gnocchi. Though opinions differ on the most traditional
way to make Schupfnudeln, most contemporary recipes have you boil them
briefly first, then fry them in a pan until golden brown. It’s a bit of a
production to make the noodles: first you make the dough, then you shape
them, boil them, drain them, and fry them (repeating in batches)—so maybe
keep this recipe for a weekend rather than a weekday meal. But the upside
is that there is no real skill involved in shaping the noodles; you simply roll
them into pointy little sausages. Children are good helpers here.

Schupfnudeln are quite plain, unadorned with any spice beyond salt,
which make them ideal paired with something deeply flavorful, like a rich,
meaty gravy or, as below, a pungent tangle of braised Sauerkraut. To
balance out its aggressive sourness, I particularly like Sauerkraut that has
been cooked with sliced apples for natural sweetness. Choose a cooking
apple that gets fluffy and soft in cooking. The Schinkenspeck is completely
optional, though very tasty. You can also take Schupfnudeln in an entirely
different direction by sprinkling them with ground poppyseeds and
confectioners’ sugar (Mohnnudeln) or serving them with cinnamon-sugar as
a snack or sweet meal.

FOR THE NOODLES

2.2 lb / 1kg starchy potatoes, like Russet, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 Tbsp coarse salt
2 eggs
1 tsp salt1¾ cups plus 2 Tbsp / 300g all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
Butter for the pan

FOR THE SAUERKRAUT

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, lard, or vegetable oil
2.6 oz / 75g Schinkenspeck or lean smoked bacon, minced, optional
1 large onion, minced
1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored, quartered, and thinly sliced
1 lb / 500g Sauerkraut, drained
1 cup / 250ml vegetable or chicken broth
1 bay leaf
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
Freshly ground black pepper

1.
Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by an inch. Add
the coarse salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat. Cover
and simmer until just tender, about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the
potatoes.

2.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the apple Sauerkraut: Place the
butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted,
add the Schinkenspeck, if using, and let cook for a few minutes. Add the
onions and apples and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until fragrant and softening.

3.
Add the Sauerkraut, loosening it with a fork, and mix well. Raise the heat to
high and cook for a minute or two, then pour in the broth and add the bay
leaf, salt, sugar, and pepper. Mix well. As soon as it starts to bubble, turn
the heat down to low and cover the pan. Braise for 30 minutes. Taste for
seasoning, adding more salt or sugar if necessary, then set aside until ready
to serve.

4.
The potatoes will be done while the Sauerkraut is cooking. Drain them very
well, return them to the pot, and mash them until smooth with a potato
masher.

5.
Add the eggs and salt to the potatoes and mash to combine. Stir in the flour
with a wooden spoon and as soon as a dough starts to take shape, scrape it
out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a cohesive dough
emerges, adding more flour only if absolutely necessary. You want the
dough to be soft but not sticky.

6.
Using a bench scraper, cut the dough into four equal pieces. Working with
one piece of dough at a time, roll it into log 1 inch / 2.5 cm thick. The other
pieces should rest on the floured counter. Cut the log into 1-inch / 2.5cm
sections. Take each section of dough and roll it between your palms until an
oval noodle with tapered ends takes shape. Set aside on the floured work
surface and continue with the remaining 1-inch / 2.5cm sections of dough
and then with the three remaining chunks of dough, repeating the process
until you have a work surface covered with noodles.

7.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. You will cook the noodles in
batches. Drop a quarter of the noodles gently into the boiling water and stir
once carefully. When the noodles bob at the surface, remove them with a
spider and let them drain briefly over the pot.

8.
Place the next round of noodles in the boiling water and repeat. Repeat with
all the remaining noodles.

9.
While the noodles cook, melt a knob of butter in a sauté pan over medium
high heat. As soon as the first batch of noodles have drained, place them in
the sauté pan and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the noodles have
browned on all sides. Shake the noodles into a serving bowl and repeat with
more butter for the next batch. Proceed until all the noodles have been used.

10.
Serve the noodles together with the Sauerkraut. Leftover Sauerkraut can be
refrigerated for several days and reheated with a splash of water in a pot.
Leftover noodles can be refrigerated for a few days and revived by
sautéeing them in some melted butter.


From "Classic German Cooking"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/206180618-classic-german-cooking

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BULETTEN
Savory Meat Patties

MAKES 16 PATTIES

The French name (originally “boulette”) of these seasoned meat patties
betrays their provenance, though there is some dispute over whether they
were introduced to German tables from French Huguenot refugees who
sought asylum in Prussia after the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685 or
from the occupation of Berlin by Napoleon’s troops some two hundred
years later. Either way, the Bulette or Boulette swiftly became one of
Berlin’s most treasured recipes.

It has numerous other names depending on what region of Germany you’re in:
Fleischpflanzerl in Bavaria, Frikadelle in the north, and Fleischküchle in Swabia.
But since I’m a Berliner, they’ll always be Buletten to me.

Traditionally Buletten are made with a mix of beef and pork and
aggressively seasoned with sautéed onions, mustard, and marjoram. I think
paprika adds a nice warmth. They can be eaten hot or cold, large or small;
they make good leftovers; and they are crowd-pleasers. When my neighbors
make Buletten, they often ring our doorbell to share a little plate of them
with us. Buletten are usually served with mustard and a soft little bun or a
Brötchen.

½ cup / 60g unseasoned bread crumbs
¼ cup / 60ml whole milk
2 small shallots or small onions, grated or very finely minced
2 eggs
1 lb / 500g ground beef
1 lb / 500g ground pork
2 tsp salt
2 tsp Dijon or yellow mustard
2 tsp dried marjoram
2 tsp sweet paprika
Freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

1.
Mix the bread crumbs and milk together in a large bowl. Set aside for 5
minutes.

2.
Add the shallots, eggs, both meats, and seasonings to the bread crumbs.
With your hands, mix well until all the ingredients are evenly distributed
and the mixture is smooth and combined.

3.
Shape the mixture into sixteen patties, 3 to 4 inches / 7.5 to 10cm in
diameter. You can also make smaller patties for finger food (subtract a few
minutes from the cooking time).

4.
Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a 10-inch / 25cm skillet over medium-high heat and,
working in batches, fry the patties. Do not crowd the pan. Sear on one side
for 2 to 3 minutes, until brown, then flip and sear an additional 2 to 3
minutes, until brown. Then lower the heat and cook for 8 to 10 minutes
more, flipping once in between, until cooked through.

5.
Place the cooked patties on a serving plate and repeat with the remaining
meat, adding more oil if necessary, and wiping out the pan in between if
necessary.

6.
Serve hot or at room temperature.


From "Classic German Cooking"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/206180618-classic-german-cooking

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MAULTASCHEN
Swabian Meat and Spinach Dumplings

MAKES 24 DUMPLINGS

There may be no more revered Swabian dish than Maultaschen, plump
dumplings of noodle dough stuffed with a hearty mixture of meat and
minced spinach and shaped into little square pillows. Maultaschen are
traditionally served in a savory beef broth or pan-fried with caramelized
onions or scrambled eggs or both. Swabian potato salad is also a
typical accompaniment.

The legend behind Maultaschen, whose nickname in local dialect is
Herrgottsbscheißerle, which translates approximately to “fooling the lord
God,” is that although they were originally conceived as a vegetarian dish
to be eaten during the fasting days when eating meat was strictly forbidden
by the Church, an enterprising monk started adding a little bit of ground
meat to the spinach filling, figuring that even God wouldn’t be able to
detect the meat hidden within those delicious little dumplings. (Incidentally,
you can make these Maultaschen vegetarian by using vegetable broth; just
make sure to also increase the other filling ingredients, especially the
seasoning.)

My Korean American friend Jane Joo Park, who spent many years in
Stuttgart raising a family, learned how to make Maultaschen from her
Swabian next-door neighbor and adoptive grandmother. Jane generously
shared this recipe with me, and I have adapted it, incorporating some
Maultaschen wisdom from a famous Michelin-starred Swabian chef named
Vincent Klink. I call for frozen spinach, because I find it easier to deal with
than fresh, though you can, of course, use fresh spinach in its place.

Each Swabian home cook has a slightly different way of rolling and
shaping their Maultaschen. I’ve given instructions that I think are easiest for
novices to follow. If you go to my Instagram account @wednesdaychef,
I’ve saved the process of shaping Maultaschen as a highlighted Story on my
profile.

One final note: You’ll notice that I’ve only written the yield on this
recipe and not how many it serves. The reason is that it varies widely from
eater to eater! One of my testers and her husband finished the entire batch
on their own. Another tester fed her family of four. You will have to decide
for yourself whether you want to serve two per person, or four or more.

FOR THE DOUGH

2¾ cups / 350g all-purpose flour, plus more for the surface
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp water

FOR THE FILLING

1 lb / 500g frozen spinach
3 oz / 85g stale white rolls (2) or equivalent amount of stale white sandwich
bread, roughly cubed
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely minced
2 tsp salt
½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley, minced
½ lb / 450g ground beef
½ lb / 450g ground pork
2 eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried marjoram
30 scrapes of whole nutmeg
2 Tbsp unseasoned bread crumbs
8½ cups / 2L beef broth (this page)Minced chives for serving
Caramelized onions (recipe follows) for serving, optional

1.
First, make the dough: Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in
the middle. Crack the eggs into the well, then pour the oil into the well.
Using a fork, break the eggs and mix them with some of the flour. Continue
to mix as you add the water. As soon as you get a shaggy dough, turn it out
onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
When the dough is smooth and elastic, place it back in the bowl and cover
with a towel or plastic wrap. Set aside for 30 minutes.

2.
While the dough rests, make the filling. First, cook the frozen spinach
according to the package directions and set aside to drain well.

3.
Place the rolls in a bowl with water to cover. Set aside.

4.
Melt the butter in a 10-inch / 25cm skillet over medium heat and add the
onion and 1 tsp of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until faintly golden and
fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes.

5.
In the meantime, press out as much water from the spinach as possible, then
transfer the spinach to a cutting board and mince finely. Add the spinach to
the onions and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the excess liquid
evaporates. Stir in the parsley, turn off the heat, and set aside.

6.
In a large bowl, mix the beef, pork, eggs, the remaining 1 tsp of salt, the
pepper, marjoram, and nutmeg.

7.
Drain the soaking bread and squeeze out as much water as possible. Add to
the bowl with the meat and scrape in the somewhat cooled spinach mixture
and the bread crumbs.

8.
Using your hands, mix everything together, pressing and squeezing as you
go to distribute the ingredients evenly and to create a homogenous, smooth
mixture. It should be quite moist but still hold its shape somewhat. Set
aside.



9.
Divide the dough in half, covering one-half with a towel. Using a rolling
pin, roll out the first piece of dough to a long rectangle about 28 inches /
70cm long and 7 inches / 18cm wide. The dough should be nearly
translucent. If, by the end, it’s too elastic to hold its shape as you roll, you
can set aside the rolling pin and gently pull on the dough to make it even
thinner.



10.
Spread half of the filling all over the dough evenly with your hands or an
offset spatula, leaving about 1 inch / 2.5cm of a border on one long end and
about ½ inch / 1.3cm border on the other three sides. Fold in the shorter
sides of the dough over the filling a little and pull one of the longer sides
(the one with the smaller border) gently over the filling, then roll up the
dough. Moisten the inch-wide border with a bit of cold water just before
you finish rolling. The seam should be on the bottom now. Using your
hands, gently flatten the dough roll.

11.
Using the round handle of a wooden spoon, mark the roll into 12 equal
pieces (I start by marking the middle, then work my way outward). Then,
using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 pieces. Set aside.
Just before cooking, gently plump each square with your thumb and index
finger as if plumping a pillow.

12.
Repeat with the second piece of dough and the remaining filling.

13.
Bring a large pot with the beef broth just to a simmer. When the broth is
simmering, gently place about 10 Maultaschen in the hot broth and
immediately cover the pot. Let the Maultaschen cook for about 10 minutes
on the lowest heat possible (some Swabians turn off the heat entirely). Place
two Maultaschen per person in soup plates along with a ladleful or two of
hot broth. Sprinkle some snipped chives over each serving. Repeat with the
remaining Maultaschen and hot broth.

14.
Alternatively, you can cook the Maultaschen in simmering salted water, as
above, then drain and serve them boiled with caramelized onions (recipe
follows). Any leftover boiled Maultaschen can be pan-fried in vegetable oil
or butter for a few minutes on each side the next day. It’s traditional to
scramble an egg in the pan with the fried Maultaschen. Once the
Maultaschen are boiled and cooled, you can freeze them for up to 3 months.

From "Classic German Cooking"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/206180618-classic-german-cooking

Mmmm just the thing for a cold night!

Germans are particularly nostalgic about the food of their
grandmothers, some of which is quite simple, like thin pancakes
filled with applesauce or sticky potato dumplings served with
brown gravy, some of which is more elaborate and now relegated
to the occasional holiday meal, like a roast goose stuffed with
prunes or braised beef rolls. In fact, if I had to pick any one word
to describe German food, I think nostalgic is the word I’d choose.

Traditional German home cooking is old-fashioned; many of the
recipes featured in this book have been made in some form or
another for at least a hundred years or, in some cases, many
more. But one spoonful of a savory beef broth with ethereal snips
of pancakes and minced chives will be enough to convince many
of the staying power of traditional German cuisine, as will the
toothsome chew of Swabian Spätzle under a cloak of caramelized
onions and melted cheese. A plump cabbage roll in a savory
gravy, served with a pillowy potato dumpling to pull apart with
the tines of your fork, will satisfy in a way a salad never could.
The same goes for the tradition of sweet main courses in
Germany and Austria, like fruit dumplings rolled in toasted,
buttered bread crumbs, eggy bread puddings layered with fruit, or
thick pieces of a souffléd pancake caramelized in a pan and
served with stewed plums, to name just a few.

Luisa Weiss From "Classic German Cooking"