Schloss Kiwi
  • Home
  • Traditional German/Austrian Foods
  • Recipes: My own 'Fusion
  • German Christmas Recipes
  • Fancy cakes (my hobby)
  • Inspirations and ideas
  • About
  • Contact

German Green Bean Stew/Gruene Bohnen Eintopf

11/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
I'm not sure where this particular recipe originates from.I can't find even a close resemblance in any of my mother'sold German books,but it is written in her'hand' (written) book.  Basic ingredients that is. Not exact measurements or anything like it, so I have tried to put quantities together for 4 portions. Either way it is delicious and something I grew up with as a 'staple' in our house.


500g stewing beef (shin is the best in my opinion)
1 litre of beef stock (homemade or instant or shop bought)
400g green beans, topped and tailed and chopped into approx. 2cm pieces
300g potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 sprig fresh summer savoury (bohnenkraut) or 1tsp dried
oil
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper
chopped fresh parsley

Cook the beef until half cooked in the stock. Add the green beans and summer savoury and simmer for about 15 minutes, then add the potatoes and cook until all is tender. 
 In a separate pan bring 1/2 a cup of oil to a high heat, add 2/3 of the flour and stir like you would a roux till the flour browns. It HAS to go brown.
Quickly add the hot oil flour mix into the BOILING meat/bean mix and stir in. Bring to the boil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve scattered with chopped parsley.
0 Comments

Vanillin/Vanilla Sugar

11/7/2014

0 Comments

 
Crucial for Vanille Kipferl (Vanilla Crescents) at Christmas time, this is a staple in many German baking recipes.

Outside of Europe its not always readily available, and if it is,it often costs as much as the rest of the ingredients put together.

So, make your own! Its super easy, and you always have it in the cupboard as it has no expiry date :-)

500g castor sugar(extra fine sugar)
2 vanilla pods

Cut open the vanilla pods,length ways and place into a jar. Fill the jar  with the sugar and seal. Leave to stand at least 2 weeks before using it - 4 - 6 weeks would be even better. 
The sugar takes on the vanilla flavour and can be used like vanillin in the German recipes - 3 level teaspoons would equal 1 sachet.


0 Comments

Dampfnudel/Sweet steamed dumplings

10/2/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
0 Comments

 Sweet sour pickled pumpkin

10/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
This is a slightly easier less time consuming version of the one my mother knew as a child. The original method called for the pumpkin to be cooked and then steeped over night, then to remove the pieces and  cook the liquid into a thick syrup before bottling it.


1kg pumpkin cut into smaller cubes. (I have used various types of pumpkins and butternut. As a rule though if the flesh is more orange than yellow it should work well)
750ml white vinegar
1l water
1kg sugar (white or brown)
15 cloves
2 tablespoons ground ginger
10 peppercorns
2 tablespoons salt

In a large pot bring vinegar, water, sugar, and spices to a boil. Add the pumpkin cubes and bring to the boil. Simmer for approximately 10- 15minutes till the pumpkin has just lost the crisp rawness. Remove the pieces with a
slotted spoon into prepared bottling jars. Pour hot pickling liquid over the pieces and seal jars. Leave to 'mature' in a dark cool space for a minimum of 2 weeks before eating.  

Whilst these are delicious on their own I find them even better in a salad that needs a little 'excitement' added to the flavour, or even as an accompaniment to cheese as part of  cheese board.


0 Comments

Rotkohl/Braised red cabbage German style

9/30/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
500g Red cabbage finely sliced (mandolin is excellent for this)
some oil or butter (or a combination thereof)
1 small onion finely chopped)
2 small tart apples (the kind that have a crisp tartness in the taste - Granny Smith are very good) peeled, cored and diced
1/2 bay leaf
3 whole cloves
salt, sugar and vinegar

Heat oil and/or butter and sauté the finely chopped onion till translucent. Add the cabbage and braise in the pot for approx. 3 minutes.  Add a cup of water, salt, sugar and some vinegar - mix well Place the diced apple on top of the cabbage. Place lid onto the pot and braise for approx. 30 minutes. Season  to taste with salt, sugar and vinegar.


You can thicken the juices with a cornflour mix or finely grate a small (or half) potato into the mix before the cooking has finished.
0 Comments

Semmel/Bread Dumplings

9/30/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
8 - 10 day old bread rolls (in England and New Zealand I often used French bread sticks or baguettes)
50g butter
2 eggs
250ml milk
100g Flour
1 medium onion finely chopped (optional)
good handful chopped parsley
salt

Cube the bread and leave in a mixing bowl. I actually leave the bread to dry for a few hours before continuing but that is not essential. Saute the onion until lightly golden ,and add the chopped parsley into the butter onion mix. Turn off heat. Add the onion parsley mix to the  bowl with the bread. Beat eggs with milk and salt and our over the bread cubes. Sprinkle the flour over the bread mix as well and mix to combine into a dough like consistency.
At this point I was my hands, ensure that I have a pot of water boiling on the stovetop/hob and then with wet but clean hands split the bread mix into equal portions and roll into balls. drop into boiling water and poach for about 8 minutes.

These are delicious served with traditional roast pork and gravy,or Goulasch or even just on their own fried in a little butter and topped with a fried egg.
 
0 Comments

German Leberwurst/Liversausage pate

9/29/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
This is one of those 'make do' recipes that I came up with as a result of not having the time nor inclination to mince almost raw pig liver, then mixing it with other ingredients, putting it into casings, poaching the sausage and then lightly smoking them. However, I did desperately feel like some good German Leberwurst. Yes,we do have some amazing German deli specialists in New Zealand, but they re quite a way from where we live, and pricey when going there just for one item.
So, I made a compromise with a  Pate that tastes almost just like Leberwurst


200g Pork Liver
200g Pork Mince
100g bacon
1 large onion
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon each marjoram and thyme
salt and pepper to taste
150g butter

Chop the liver and bacon as finely as possible - In a large bottomed pan, sauté onion in a little oil then add bacon, liver and mince and cook until the liver is just done. Add the mace, thyme and  marjoram - season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the butter and allow to  melt.
In a blender, blend the mix to your preferred consistency(if you like the smooth Leberwurst, blend your pate mix till smooth)
Pour mix into a serving dish,set to cool in the fridge.

Serve with fresh bread.

Or, as it is a pate, serve with good quality crackers.
   
0 Comments

Fleisch Salat/Coldmeat Salad

9/26/2014

0 Comments

 
This is generally made from  a larger high meat content cold meat sausage often sold at deli counters. Of course if you have  a continental butcher close by, try them first:-)   If all else fails a mild flavoured ham could also work, but it is not quite the right meat.

200g Fleischwurst (pork meat cold meat) finely diced

200g gherkins finely diced

150g mayonnaise

50g crème fraiche

Mix all ingredients and season to taste.

Traditionally this recipe has equal amounts of meat, gherkins and mayonnaise, but I often prefer to do it with a little less mayonnaise//crème fraiche mix. It is simply a matter of taste.




0 Comments

Bienenstich/Bee Sting Cake

9/23/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
500g Flour
1 sachet yeast
250ml luke warm milk
75g sugar
100g butter
1 egg
grated lemon rind
pinch of mace


Sift dry ingredients in a bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the luke warm milk and leave to stand until it froths.Mix into the flour and along with the butter and egg knead into a dough. Leave to rise in a warm place covered with a tea towel for approx. 30 minutes.

80g slivered almonds
100g butter
200g sugar
vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons of milk


melt butter with the sugar and vanilla extract. Add the almonds and mix well. Remove from heat and add in the milk - leave too cool slightly.

In a baking form (mum always used to do this as a tray bake,gives you an idea of size) Roll the yeast dough to a generous thickness to cover the tray. You don't need to worry about making it too thin if you want to put the filling in. (my mother always made 2 trays out of this recipe if she was doing a beesting without the filling) Cover the top of the dough with the sugar almond mix. Bake at 180C for approx. 35-45 minutes or until done.
Remove from oven and leave to cool.


Filling

Vanilla pudding (custard) cooked with 500ml milk and 80g custard/vanilla pudding powder.
cover with clingfilm over the warm custard to prevent a skin forming and leave to cool to room temperature.


250g butter
250g icing sugar
vanilla extract


Cream the butter and icing sugar adding some vanilla extract for flavour.
The next step is best done in a food processor with a constant mixing going on.
Whilst beating the butter icing slowly add spoonful by spoonful, the coold custard. Ensure that each bit is mixed in properly before adding the next bit. This is similar to making mayonnaise - too much at once and it can split the icing. You may need to stop adding custard before all of it is added - I can't explain it any better than that same'feeling' one has when making mayonnaise.


Cut the cake in half, layer the icing in the middle. Place the top half onto the icing and serve.

Note: done as an icing with pudding the icing does not have the texture of icing. Secondly, there is quite deliberately no sugar in the custard pudding - the icing sugar in the icing provides enough sweetness.
My understanding was that this basic buttercream recipe evolved as a result of lack of ingredients at the time for the war. It still allowed for icing without full use of butter etc.
In SA my mother found this particular icing was better in the cakes especially in the summer months when it got so hot and the normal custard style filling with cream often wouldn't hold.



0 Comments

Leberknoedel/ Liver Dumpling Soup

9/22/2014

0 Comments

 
125g ox liver (although my mother did often use pork)

30g bacon

2 day old bread rolls

2 - 3 tablespoons milk

breadcrumds

1 small onion

1 egg

salt,pepper, marjoram




Soak the stale bread rolls in milk until soft. Squeeze off as much of the milk as possible and along with the liver, bacon and onion put through the mincer. Add egg and seasoning to the mix. If the mix is still too wet to roll into little balls, add some bread crumbs till you have the right texture. Roll teaspoons full into little balls and simmer in a good beef stock for 10 - 20 minutes. 







0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Categories

    All

    Cakes and baking

    RSS Feed


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.