Taste of Bavaria E-Book

Monika Schuster

• Herausgeber: Gräfe u. Unzer
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: GU Länderküche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 270

Beschreibung

Mountains, lakes, cowbells, dirndl, chamois beard plus a jug of beer and some crunchy pretzels under a blue-and-white sky - it sounds like paradise and that is what it is, our Bavaria! As Bavarians love their food, and like to eat it in the open air, you will find here everything the heart desires in the beer garden, from sausage and radish salad to pork brawn. All the Bavarian favourites are here ordered by the occasions and places where Bavarians like to enjoy them. For example the Friday dishes - as that is when even the most meat-loving Bavarian will not put any meat into his or her plate: delicious steamed dumplings with crunchy crusts. And yes, many traditional events like the erection of the maypole, the driving down of the cattle from the mountain pastures, church fairs and folk festivals magically attract tourists. Why? Because there are so many delicious Bavarian foods to sample - visual and culinary delights. Hello then!

Leseprobe

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OFF TO THE PEAKS OF PLEASURE!

Bavarian cuisine – much like the Bavarians themselves – is perhaps a little rough, a little bitter and a little heavy. But those who think it’s summed up by pork knuckle and dumplings are greatly mistaken. Let’s get rid of this cliché once and for all! As you make your way to the peaks of Bavarian cuisine, you’ll discover all its unique, heavenly pleasures! The dishes are subtly elegant, usually simple, exquisitely honest, authentic and tasty – and always top-class.

Bavarian cooking is packed full of traditions its people are particularly proud of, and they foster and preserve them with great care. Nothing is wasted. This is perfectly exemplified by the Munich Kocherlball, or Cooks’ Ball, which has become a huge annual event. People meet on a Sunday morning by the Chinese Tower in the English Garden to commemorate all the servants – from kitchenhands to cooks to stable workers – who, in the 19th century, would gather here every Sunday at the crack of dawn before getting back to their hard work. People would chat, dance, kiss and eat. They didn’t have much, but they made the most of what little they had. That’s the Bavarians for you: making something out of nothing!

Bavaria has virtually achieved a cult status, and not just during the Oktoberfest! The home-grown recipes from times past, and for all manner of occasions, are today more relevant than ever. And they all fit into our “neatly packed rucksack”, which effortlessly transports everyone – locals, visitors and Bavaria fans alike – to the region’s culinary peaks. What you do need, however, are proper regional products, like healthy cattle, who love being out in the fresh Bavarian air, and flavoursome vegetables and herbs, which thrive in our wonderful soil.

So now it’s your turn to embark on your culinary ramble and scale unimaginable heights. We’re sure you’ll make it. And if you have the odd problem, don’t give up; just keep at it. Because the only way to get better is to actually get into the kitchen and start cooking. We would certainly love for you to reach the top and proclaim that “Bavarian food is awesome and tastes simply delicious!”

CAN‘T DO WITHOUT THESE

ESSENTIALS FOR THE KITCHEN

BROTZEIT IS THE BEST TIME

Since there’s nothing Bavarians love more than eating in the open air, we’ve got your Brotzeit picnic baskets covered – from sausage and radish salads to brawn. So it’s off to the beer garden, where a fresh Bavarian beer awaits!

BROTZEIT BASKET

ALL THIS IS INSIDE

LIQUIDS DO NOT BREAK THE FAST

Such was the pious and strictly followed rule. So it’s no wonder then that the art of beer brewing in the early Middle Ages was particularly cultivated at the Bavarian monasteries, where praying and working (Latin: orare and laborare), as well as the fasting times in between, were often exceptionally hard. The monks therefore applied their Christian diligence and zeal to refining their fasting beverages. The strongly brewed beer they produced was in fact greatly beneficial, and nourished the impoverished friars enough for them to continue working and praying. It also unquestionably brightened their mood. Each of the brothers would ultimately receive five helpings (or measures) a day. And the quantity which later became the Mass (meaning measure) was the equivalent of one to two litres of the delicious brew. So the Bavarians’ ongoing love of beer today clearly has spiritual origins, and can be seen as having a Bavarian Catholic heritage.

OANS, ZWOA, GSUFFA!

Bavaria’s brewing culture was officially born in 1040, when the city of Freising granted the Benedictine abbey brewery in Weihenstephan the right to brew and serve alcoholic beverages. In Munich, too, it was mainly the monasteries which brewed beer professionally some one hundred years after the city’s founding in 1158. The monks’ beer gained a prominent reputation, for nowhere else was beer produced with such fervour.

To ensure others could also profit from the amber-nectar business, Duke Stephen II established the “brewing constitution” in 1372, and from then on, anyone could purchase “the right to brew” for a fee. But, as one might imagine, this did not always benefit the beer quality; all kinds of preservatives were often added to the brew, making it not only taste terrible, but also at times causing strange psychedelic or other side effects not felt from the monks’ cleanly brewed liquid. There was talk of juniper, henbane and bay laurel, of vermouth and poppy juice, and even of ash and ox gall being added. To protect the quality and reputation of his Bavarian beer, Duke William IV of Bavaria finally enacted the “Reinheitsgebot”, or the Bavarian Purity Law, in 1516. From then on, Bavarian beer worthy of the name would only consist of barley, hops and water.

To this day, Bavarians still treat their beer as a staple, and are uncompromising in their choice. Once “the one” has been found – and sometimes this is even inherited – they will only frequent establishments which serve “their” beer. The Bavarians’ ongoing pride in the spiritual roots of beer is on display every year in Munich at the world’s largest beer festival, the Oktoberfest (although it actually starts in September), when the entire city goes wild for 16 whole days. Then it’s a question of everyone from all corners of the globe, whether Japan, New Zealand or Australia, donning traditional dirndl and lederhosen costumes and toasting each other “One, two, bottoms up!”.

SAUSAGE SALAD

EASY AND GOOD

SERVES 4:

150 g gherkins (from a jar, with 300 ml gherkin liquid)

1 red onion

2 tbsp white vinegar

100 ml vegetable stock

1 tsp medium-hot mustard

1 tsp sugar

salt | freshly ground black pepper

8 tbsp vegetable oil

500 g Regensburger or Lyoner boiled sausage

1 bunch chives

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 20 min

MARINATING:c. 1 hour

PER PORTION:c. 595 kcal | 16 g p | 58 g f | 4 g ch

1Thinly slice the gherkins. Peel and halve the onion, then cut it into thin strips. In a bowl, combine the gherkin liquid, vinegar, stock, mustard and sugar, using a whisk. Season with salt and pepper. Place the gherkins and the onion into the marinade and stir to combine well, then stir in the oil. Stir everything again, check the seasoning to taste.

2Pull the skin off the Regensburger or Lyoner sausage, then cut the meat into thin slices or strips. Stir the sausage into the marinade and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour.

3Rinse the chives, shake dry, then snip into thin rings. Serve the sausage salad in deep plates with a little of the marinade drizzled over the top, then sprinkle with the chives. Serve the salad with pretzels or rye bread with butter.

With the first rays of the sun, the Bavarians go outside to a beer garden. Most of them bring their own food – and pickled sausages or sour brawn are always in the basket. You can of course buy both of these as well as various other Brotzeit treats at the snack bars, but they taste so much better if they’re made at home.

SOUR “RED-WHITE” PRESSSACK

RUSTIC AND SPICY

SERVES 4:

4 slices each of red and white Presssack (= brawn, weighing 100 g each and c. 1 cm thick)

200 ml beef broth (>, or ready-made beef stock)

4 tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp sugar

salt | freshly ground black pepper

4 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large red and 1 large white onion

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 10 min

MARINATING:c. 30 min

PER SERVING:c. 310 kcal | 16 g p | 24 g f | 5 g ch

1If necessary, remove skins or strings from the Presssack slices. Place 1 red and 1 white slice into each deep plate.

2Warm the beef broth until lukewarm, transfer to a bowl and combine with the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Leave the marinade to stand for 5 minutes until all the spices are dissolved, whisk in the oil.

3Peel the onions, cut or shave into very thin rings and arrange on the Presssack – white onions on the red Presssack, red onions on the white Presssack. Pour about 7 tablespoons of marinade into each plate and leave to marinate for about 30 minutes. Serve the Presssack with farmhouse bread, pretzels or Brotzeit sticks (>).

SOUR CHEESE

SOUR AND AROMATIC

SERVES 4:

150 g gherkins (from a jar, with 200 ml gherkin liquid)

1 large red onion

4 tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp sugar

salt | freshly ground black pepper

400 g Limburger cheese (or Maroilles cheese)

200 g Handkäse (sour milk cheese, plain or blue)

3 tbsp sunflower oil

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 15 min

MARINATING:c. 1 hour

PER PORTION:c. 420 kcal | 38 g p | 28 g f | 4 g ch

1Cut the gherkins into ½ cm cubes. Peel and finely dice the onion. Combine the gherkin liquid with the vinegar and sugar, season with salt and pepper to taste and stir well. Leave the marinade to stand for about 5 minutes until all the spices are dissolved.

2Cut both types of cheese into 1 cm slices. Stir the oil into the marinade, add the gherkin and onion cubes and stir everything again to combine well. Check and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

3Put 2–3 tablespoons marinade into a shallow dish (c. 18 x 30 cm). Place the cheese slices into the dish side by side, alternating. Pour over the remaining marinade, cover with clingfilm and leave to draw flavour for at least 1 hour at room temperature.

USEFUL TIPS

The longer you leave the cheese in the liquid, the better will it take on the aroma of the marinade. You can even marinate the cheese a day in advance; in that case omit the onions and add them only just before serving (finely cut them into very thin rings instead of dicing them if you like).

Really delicious: Add 1–2 pinches of caraway seeds to the cheese salad. If you don’t like to bite on the seeds, use ground caraway instead.

OBAZDA

Obazda, pronounced “o-buts-dah”, cannot simply be translated. A beer garden classic, this well-spiced, mashed-up cheese, butter and cream spread needs to be enjoyed to be understood.

FLAVOURSOME AND CREAMY

SERVES 4–6:

1 small onion

100 g soft butter

120 g ripe Romadur cheese (45 % fat, or any other red culture cheese)

200 g ripe Brie or Camembert

½ tsp sweet paprika

2 pinches of hot paprika

1 tsp caraway seeds

2 tbsp wheat beer (optional)

150 g cream cheese

salt | freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch chives

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 25 min

MARINATING:c. 1 hour

PER SERVING(when serving 6):

c. 365 kcal | 16 g p | 33 g f | 1 g ch

1Peel and finely dice the onion. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan. Add the onion and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes until translucent or golden. Take off the stove and leave to cool.

2Finely dice the cheese (see tips). In a bowl, beat the remaining butter with the whisks of a handheld mixer for 2 minutes until nice and creamy. Whisk in the diced cheese, paprika, caraway seeds and the wheat beer if using, adding the cream cheese right at the end. Season with salt and pepper to taste, but use the salt only sparingly as the two cheeses are already quite salty.

3Stir the onion into the beaten cheese mixture, check the seasoning and leave to rest and marinate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, rinse the chives under cold water, shake dry and snip into thin rings. Place the Obazda in a bowl or on a chopping board, spinkle with the chives – and enjoy.

USEFUL TIPS

The cheese for an Obazda is easiest to work when it is at room temperature, so it pays to remember and take it out of the fridge before making the dish.

To chop strong types of cheese such as Romadur or Miesbacher, it’s best to wear disposable kitchen gloves and chop the cheese on top of the wrapping paper – this way, neither your hands nor the cutting board will take on the strong cheese aroma.

LIGHT-WEIGHT VARIATION

To serve 4, pull apart 200 g ripe Camembert roughly with your fingers, place into a bowl and combine with 200 g cream cheese. Beat both with the whisks of a handheld mixer for about 2 minutes until creamy. Season with salt, pepper, 1 tsp sweet paprika, a pinch of ground caraway seeds and a pinch of sugar. Spoon this Obazda “light” into 2 screw-top jars (of 200 ml each), close well and keep chilled in the fridge until serving. If you like, you can also place some snipped chives and diced onion on the table (white or red onion) when serving. Now everyone can help themselves and garnish their own Obazda to their own taste.

BEER GARDEN FAVOURITES

Sitting outside under the chestnut trees and idly wondering whether the afternoon sun can penetrate through the leaves while enjoying a freshly drawn half or a whole Mass. This is somehow refreshing, and deeply relaxing for the mind, to the point where it doesn’t matter anymore who shares your bench. The beer garden provides a unique opportunity to see the Bavarians, otherwise more likely to be shy with strangers, talk to people from far and distant lands such as Rome or Tokyo, or even Düsseldorf in the Rhineland. This may well be due to the distinctive atmosphere felt in a Bavarian beer garden, rooted in a parallel universe somewhere between zen and social interaction. Or it may simply be the delicious beer …

The Bavarians owe this traditional and much-loved beer garden institution under the chestnut trees to the long-established Munich breweries. In 1539, new brewing laws stated that beer could only be brewed between the feast days of St Michael (29 September) and St George (23 April). It was prohibited during the hot summer months, because the boiling process created a serious risk of fire. To ensure that customers weren’t left high and dry during this “dry” period, the last beer – the so-called Märzenbier, or March beer, – was brewed to be more full-bodied, making it longer lasting, but also more palatable. To tide their stocks of beer over the warmer months, the brewers would set up storage cellars next to their breweries. In winter they would prepare by cutting lots of ice from the surrounding ponds and filling the cellars with it to keep the barrels cool in summer. Leafy horse chestnut trees were also planted to overhang the roofs, their thick foliage providing additional pleasant, cool shade.

PROST MITNAND! – CHEERS EVERYONE!

Under these inviting chestnut trees there was also room for tables and benches – the perfect place for the brewers’ Brotzeit, or break time. And gradually, walkers and daytrippers would also join in, enjoying a freshly drawn beer to ease the thirst in the midday heat. But what became a great sideline business for the brewers was an affront for publicans, who were up in arms about their lost business. In order to curb any further derailment, King Maximilian I of Bavaria decreed on 4 January 1812 that, unlike the pubs, the breweries were only able to serve beer, not meals.

So anyone wanting to enjoy a beer under the great chestnut trees now had to bring their own food, though even this could only consist of cold meals and other homemade snacks often packed in a basket. It would all be served on a checked tablecloth – just not one with the Bavarian diamond pattern. Set on the table were wooden cutting boards, and a selection of Bavarian beer radishes and little red radishes, fresh butter, Leberkäse (Bavarian loaf-shaped sausage), Obatzda (mashed cheese spread) or Griebenschmalz (crackling fat). This arrangement marked the official birth of the world-famous Bavarian beer garden. And the cosy spots under the trees – at least in the city – soon became vast stomping grounds for open-air drinkers of all ages, ethnic and new Bavarians, visitors and tourists, who gather here in rare and, above all, democratic harmony.

HOMEMADE LIVER PÂTÉ

This dish was traditionally made by butchers who knew how much meat to use and how to spice the mixture. This recipe is easy to follow and a good start to making pâté at home.

SOME EFFORT, BUT JOLLY GOOD

MAKES 6 JARS:

400 g onions | 3 cloves

3 large and 6 small bay leaves

1 tsp juniper berries

salt

700 g pork belly (important: as fatty as possible!)

300 g pig’s liver (cleaned, best to pre-order from the butcher )

80 g butter | 100 g lard

freshly ground black pepper

1 heaped tbsp curing salt (20 g, Prague Powder #1)

1 tsp dried marjoram

½ tsp vanilla sugar (don’t be surprised, it counters the bitter taste of the liver)

a pinch of ground allspice

freshly grated nutmeg

Plus:mincer with a 4 mm disc

kitchen thermometer, 6 screw-top jars (200 ml each)

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 3 hours 45 min

CHILLING:overnight

PER JAR:c. 635 kcal | 32 g p | 55 g f | 4 g ch

1Peel the onions, halve one, finely dice the rest. Put 3 litres water, the onion halves, cloves, large bay leaves, juniper berries and 2 tablespoons of salt into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cut the pork belly into 10 equal pieces, place in the water and simmer uncovered and over low heat for about 1 hour 30 minutes. Roughly chop the liver, cover and chill.

2Meanwhile melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the diced onion and fry over medium heat for about 18 minutes until golden, take out and leave to cool. Melt the lard in the pan, season with salt and pepper, and take off the stove. Place the screw-top jars and the lids in boiling water, take out the jars and let drip dry. Leave the lids in the water.

3Drain the pork belly into a sieve, catching the juice and measuring off 200 ml. Season the liver with two-thirds of the pickling salt, combine well and turn through a mincer into a large bowl, constantly stirring the mixture. Mince the pork belly and stir well into the liver. Mince the onion cubes and the reserved cooking liquid and stir into the liver mixture. Season with the remaining spices, vanilla sugar and curing salt. Transfer 400 g of the liver mixture to a second bowl and purée finely with a handheld mixer, then stir back into the remaining mixture.

4Divide the liver mixture between the jars, hitting them several times onto the work surface in order to remove any air bubbles. Spread the lukewarm lard on top of the liver mixture and place 1 small bay leaf on each one. Close the jars with the lids.

5Place a trivet in the base of a wide saucepan and arrange the jars on top. Pour in about 1.5 litres of lukewarm water to cover the jars. Position the kitchen thermometer so that it is in the water. Slowly heat everything to a temperature of 80–85°C, cook the liver mixture for 1 hour 30 minutes. Take the jars out of the saucepan, leave them to cool, then chill overnight. Remove the liver pâté from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving. Tastes delicious on farmhouse bread with pickled gherkins or mustard.

PORK DRIPPINGS

YUMMY AND INEXPENSIVE

SERVES 4–6:

1 large onion

200 g pork dripping (e.g. the fat skimmed off the pork knuckle on >)

2 pinches of caraway seeds

2 pinches of dried marjoram

salt | freshly ground black pepper

a few slices rye bread

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 20 min

CHILLING:overnight

PER SERVING(when serving 6):

c. 415 kcal | 4 g p | 34 g f | 22 g ch

1Peel and finely dice the onion. Put 2 tablespoons pork drippings into a frying pan and melt. Add the diced onions and fry over medium heat for 6–7 minutes until golden. Add another 1 tablespoon of fat and fry the onion for a further 2 minutes.

2Season the onion with the caraway seeds and the marjoram, add the remaining pork drippings and heat through. Reduce the temperature and allow everything to simmer gently over low heat for about 2 minutes. Generously season the fat with salt and plenty of pepper.

3Pour the hot drippings into a heatproof jar or into individual dishes, close or cover. Leave the drippings to cool, then chill in the fridge overnight.

4To serve, either spread the drippings thickly onto slices of bread and serve these at the table, or serve the bread in a basket and offer the fat in a jar or in the individual dishes for everyone to spread onto their bread slices themselves.

ROAST PORK BRAWN

Pork roast does not lend itself to reheating, but it’s all the more delicious cold – whether as a Brotzeit sack with freshly grated horseradish or as a tasty Bratensulz, as in this recipe.

LOOKS PRETTY TOO

SERVES 4:

¾ l beef broth (>, but unspiced, or ready-made beef stock)

1 sachet aspic powder (25 g, see tips)

6 tbsp white wine vinegar

salt | sugar

4 eggs (medium)

4 gherkins

150 g cherry tomatoes (if liked)

500 g cold roast pork (e.g. neck of pork, >, or pork knuckle, >)

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 40 min

CHILLING:c. 4 hours

PER PORTION:c. 415 kcal | 41 g p | 22 g f | 6 g ch

1In a saucepan, bring the beef broth to the boil, working in the aspic powder according to the packet instructions. Season the brawn with vinegar, salt and sugar (see tips and info), leave to cool and skim if necessary.

2Put the eggs into boiling water, cook for about 10 minutes until hard-boiled, drain, rinse under cold water, shell and cut into thin slices. Cut the gherkins diagonally into thin slices. Wash the tomatoes, if necessary, and halve them. Cut the roast pork into 8 slices (c. 1 cm thick).

3Divide the roast pork, eggs, gherkins and cherry tomatoes between deep plates, then pour over the brawn liquid. Make sure everything is well covered and “submersed”. Cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 4 hours (even better overnight).

USEFUL TIPS

If you have no aspic powder at home, you can use 9 sheets of white gelatin instead. Soak the gelatin in cold water 5–10 minutes, lightly squeeze out, add to the hot beef broth and stir briefly. The gelatin will quickly dissolve. Season the liquid brawn and continue as described in the recipe. The aspic powder is, however, more aromatic as it has been seasoned with spices, celery and carrots.

Important: Make sure you generously season the brawn liquid, using lots of vinegar and spices, perhaps even over-seasoning it, so that it almost takes your breath away. This is necessary because the ingredients (here meat, eggs, gherkin and tomatoes) will absorb plenty of the liquid’s flavour after after it has cooled and set.

WHAT IS BRAWN?

You can make savoury brawns using vegetables, meat and fish. Sweet jellies also taste delicious. Whether savoury or sweet, you will always need the so-called jelly stock, that is a well-seasoned liquid which sets after cooling. Fish, vegetable or beef broths are used as a basis for savoury brawns; for the sweet variation, a mixture of wine or sparkling wine and sugar syrup may be used, or alternatively alcohol-free apple, grape or redcurrant juice. The resulting liquid is then thickened with aspic powder, leaf or powder gelatin – it jellifies and the brawn thus achieves its typical consistency. For a vegetarian variation of the basic brawn recipe you can use non-meat jellifying agents, such as agar or locust bean gum flour (these are made from algae and seed pods and are available in most health food stores).

BROTZEIT STICKS

Bavarians love bread, especially dark country bread, and bread rolls – with or without seeds. There is an enormous variety of ways to make it, and they have the most poetic names: Pfennigmuckerl, Sternsemmeln, Mohnstangerl or, as here: Brotzeitstangerl.

CRUNCHY AND SPICY

MAKES 12 STICKS:

250 g rye flour (for sourdough bread)

250 g wheat flour (pastry flour)

½ tsp fennel seeds

½ tsp coriander seeds

1 ½ tsp salt

1 cube fresh yeast (42 g)

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 level tsp coarse sea salt (lightly crushed with pestle and mortar, depending on the size of the grains)

flour for working | baking paper

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 30 min

RISING:c. 2 hours

BAKING:c. 40 min

PER STICK:c. 145 kcal | 4 g p | 0 g f | 31 g ch

1Put the flours into the bowl of your blender (or into a kneading bowl if you are using a handheld blender). Finely crush the fennel and coriander seeds with pestle and mortar, then stir with the salt into the flour. Crumble the yeast into a cup, add 5 tablespoons of lukewarm water, 1 tablespoon of flour (from the flour mixture in the bowl) and the sugar. Stir to combine. Add to the flour in the bowl, together with 300 ml lukewarm water, and knead everything with the kneading hooks of the blender – start at a slow speed until all ingredients are well combined, then knead for 5 minutes on a high speed. Put a little flour into the bowl so that the dough comes away from the sides, and knead for another 1–2 minutes.

2Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, hand-knead for another 2–3 minutes and shape into a ball. Dust the bottom of the bowl with flour, put the dough ball into the bowl, cover with a kitchen cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for 40 minutes. Knead again the dough in the bowl and leave to rise for another 1 hour.

3Line two baking trays with baking paper. Transfer the dough to the floured work surface, shape it into a thick roll and divide this into 12 same-sized pieces (c. 70 g). Shape the dough pieces into 16–17 cm long sticks and place on the baking trays without touching each other. With a knife, make three diagonal cuts into the upper sides of each stick, cover them and leave to rest for another 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 210°C (convection oven 190°C).

4Lightly brush the sticks with cold water, then sprinkle with caraway seeds and sea salt. Put both baking trays into the oven – one top, one bottom – and bake the sticks for about 40 minutes until they are golden brown and crisp. If your oven uses top and bottom heat, swap the trays over after about 25 minutes. This ensures that the sticks will be evenly baked. In a convection oven the heat will circulate and the trays do not have to be swapped.

5Take the finished bread sticks out of the oven, place on a cooling rack and leave to cool. Eat soon so the sticks will still be crisp and fresh.

DUMPLINGS WITH ALPINE CHEESE

Bavarian cuisine is famous for its dumplings, which make ideal companions for roast pork, roast goose and goulash. They are also really good on their own – for example in a sour dressing with alpine cheese and radishes.

SUMMERY AND FRESH

SERVES 4:

300 ml vegetable stock (ready-made stock or homemade stock, see right)

6 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 ½ tsp sugar

salt | freshly ground black pepper

6 tbsp vegetable oil

500 g cold bread or serviette dumplings (> or >)

200 g mild alpine cheese (thinly sliced)

½ bunch radishes

1 bunch chives

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 20 min

PER SERVING:c. 610 kcal | 24 g p | 38 g f | 42 g ch

1Heat the vegetable stock to lukewarm, transfer to a bowl, stir in the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Leave the marinade to stand for 5 minutes until the spices are dissolved, then whisk in the oil.

2Meanwhile, cut the dumplings into ½ cm slices and place them into a shallow dish. Cut the cheese into strips about 1 cm wide. Wash, trim and thinly slice or shave the radishes. Arrange the radishes and cheese on the dumpling slices, pour over and gently combine with the marinade, then leave to absorb the flavour for about 5 minutes.

3Rinse the chives and shake dry. Snip them into thin rings and sprinkle over the dumpling salad just before serving.

USEFUL AND VERY VERSATILE:A HOMEMADE VEGETABLE STOCK

To make 2 litres of basic vegetable stock, wash or peel, trim and roughly chop 150 g onions, 150 g celeriac, 200 g celery, 200 g carrots, 100 g parsley roots and 200 g tomatoes. Peel and halve 1 garlic clove. Cut 1 leek (c. 100 g) lengthways and wash thoroughly. In a wide saucepan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the onions, celeriac, carrots and parsley roots and sauté for about 5 minutes. Season with 2 pinches of salt. Add the celery, tomatoes, garlic and 1 tablespoon of dried button mushrooms, pour in 2.5 litres water and bring to the boil. Simmer the stock over low heat for about 45 minutes. Now rinse a few parsly sprigs and add together with the leek, ½ teaspoon juniper berries, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves and ½ teaspoon allspice berries. Cook for another 45 minutes. Pour the vegetable stock through a fine sieve (if possible, use a sieve that you have lined with a fine straining cloth or kitchen towel), catching the stock. Discard the vegetables and immediately use the stock. Alternatively, pour the stock into thoroughly cleaned screw-top jars, close them well and place them upside down to cool. You can of course also fill the stock into suitable freezer containers and freeze it for future use.

BAVARIAN BURGERS

A Fleischpflanzerl, or Bavarian burger, should be light, aromatic, juicy and crunchy. The soaked bread roll makes it light, mustard and spices supply flavour, and if well cooked it will be juicy and crunchy.

IRRESISTIBLE COLD OR HOT

SERVES 4:

2 stale bread rolls (c. 100 g)

150 ml milk

1 large onion

1 small garlic clove

6–8 sprigs flat-leaved parsley

2 tbsp butter

salt | 2 eggs (large)

500 g mixed minced meat (pork and beef)

1 tbsp medium-hot mustard

1 tbsp coarse-grained mustard

2 tbsp breadcrumbs

freshly ground black pepper

2 pinches cayenne pepper

2 tbsp clarified butter

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 30 min

RESTING:c. 10 min

IN THE OVEN:c. 20 min

PER SERVING:c. 570 kcal | 33 g p | 39 g f | 21 g ch

1Cut the bread rolls into 1 cm dice and place them in a bowl. Heat the milk to lukewarm and pour evenly over the breadroll dice. Peel and finely dice the onion and the garlic. Rinse and shake dry the parsley, pull off the leaves and chop, but not too finely.

2In a small saucepan heat the butter until it starts to foam, then use a little of the butter to brush a baking tray. Add the onion and garlic dice to the saucepan with the remaining butter and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes until translucent. Lightly season with salt and leave to cool.

3Combine the soaked bread rolls with the eggs, onion, garlic, parsley, minced meat, the two types of mustard and the breadcrumbs. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Leave the mince mixture to swell for 10 minutes.

4Preheat the oven to 140°C (convection oven 120°C). Divide the mince mixture into 12 even portions. With moistened hands, shape each portion into a ball and flatten slightly.

5In a large frying pan, melt the clarified butter. Add the burgers and fry for 2 minutes until golden brown, turn and fry the other side for 2 minutes until also golden brown. Transfer the burgers from the frying pan to a baking tray, put into the oven (centre) and continue cooking for 20 minutes until finished.

6Remove the burgers from the oven and arrange on warm plates. A potato salad (>/>) makes for an excellent accompaniment.

USEFUL TIPS

Finishing the burgers in the oven means they will stay nice and juicy. Of course you can also cook them in the frying pan until they are done: Simply start by frying the burgers as described, then cover and finish cooking over low heat for 15 minutes, turning them several times.

The burgers taste even better and more “classy” if you make them with minced veal. And if you still have some homemade sauce (e.g. from the roast pork or the dark sauce, > and >), the simple burgers will become a veritable feast.

STEAK TARTARE AND CHIVE SANDWICH

The old-fashioned way of presenting a steak tartare is to put the raw, minced beef in the middle of the plate, top it with an egg yolk and garnish it with onions and gherkins. Everyone can see the fresh meat and then dress their own tartare to taste at the table. This delicious variation is ready-made for you to enjoy.

EXTRAVAGANT AND SPICY

SERVES 4:

For the tartare:

2 shallots

3 anchovy fillets (in oil)

1 tsp capers (in brine)

2 gherkins

500 g minced beef (freshly minced by the butcher)

2 egg yolks (medium)

1 tsp medium-hot mustard

1 tsp hot mustard

a few dashes of Tabasco

salt | freshly ground black pepper

For the chive sandwiches:

1–2 bunches chives

4–8 slices country bread (depending on size)

butter for spreading

HOW LONG IT TAKES:c. 15 min

PER SERVING:c. 550 kcal | 37 g p | 29 g f | 35 g ch

1To make the tartare, peel and finely dice the shallots. Rinse the anchovy fillets under cold water, then pat them dry and finely chop them. Drain, pat dry and finely chop the capers. Also cut the gherkins into small dice.

2