Königsberger Klopse (German Meatballs)

I first tried this dish back in Stuttgart in 2006 when I was an exchange student in Germany.  My roommate at the time, Holger, who came from Rügen made this for me.  The flavor combination I find is quite amazing.  The meatballs are made with beef, pork and a small amount of anchovies (the secret ingredient).  The sauce contains capers, which may not be to everyone's taste, but they work well with the anchovies in the meatballs.

Ingredients:

1 old roll (from day before)
2 small onions, minced
butter
1 lb. mixed ground meat (50% beef, 50% pork)
1 egg
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons mustard
3 anchovy fillets, minced
1/2 liter beef broth
a pinch of whole peppercorns
bay leaf
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons flour
200 g cream
2 teaspoons capers
2 egg yolks

Put the old roll in water and let soak.  Mince the onions very fine and saute in butter until soft.  Mix the ground meat, sauteed onions, egg.  Take the roll and squeeze out all the moisture and then add to the meat mixture.  Add salt, pepper, mustard and minced anchovies and mix well.  (I used my hand here). With damp hand form meatballs.   In a large pan with lid, warm beef broth with pepper corns and bay leaf.  Carefully place the meatballs in the warm broth and cover, simmer for about 20 minutes on low heat.  Preheat the oven to 125F (50C).  When the meatballs are cooked through, place on a baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm.  Pass the broth through a sieve to remove large pieces and set aside.  Heat butter in the pan and add 2 tablespoons of flour until the flour is gold colored.  Add the broth and the cream and let simmer on low for 10 minutes.  Salt and pepper the sauce to taste and add the capers.  At the very end, beat the egg yolks together with 1 tablespoon of cold water and mix into the sauce, DO NOT let the sauce cook further.  Serve the meatballs with boiled potatoes and a side salad, cover meatballs and potatoes with sauce.  Guten Appetit!

Lamb Goulash with Green Beans (Lammgulasch mit grünen Bohnen)

I found this recipe in a cookbook my boyfriend bought for me called Das Thüringen Kochbuch.  I've never made goulash with lamb before but figured I've give it a try.  Green beans were in great abundance at the market and figured it was a perfect match.

Ingredients:
1 lb Lamb meat (cut from Shoulder, without bone)
1/2 lb. fresh green beans
6 potatoes
1 carrot
2 onions
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon of each, savory, rosemary and thyme
butter for saute
1.5 Liters broth (instant or homemade)
salt and pepper

1. Wash the meat, dry with paper towels and cut into mouth-sized pieces.  Wash the beans and snip the ends and cut into pieces that will easily fit a spoon.  Wash and peel the potatoes.  Carrots grate and set aside.  Peel and chop the onions.  Mince the garlic.

2.  In a dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter in a pan.  Add the meat and brown on each side.  Add the onions and garlic and continue sauteeing.  Cover with the broth.  Cover and let cook on middle heat for 50 minutes.

3.  Then add the beans and the herbs (no salt at this point) and continue cooking for 10 minutes.  Then add the grated carrots and the potatoes and cook an additional 10 minutes.  Serve warm.  The soup can also be garnished with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream.

Käsesuppe mit Porree (Cheese Soup with Leeks)

 This is my version of a recipes I got from the side of a package of leeks I bought at a grocery store here in Germany.  After seeing the originial recipe, I did some research online to look at other versions.  Most of them did not have mushrooms, and if I made it again, I may omit the mushrooms, but since I'm a big fan I figured they would be yummy.  Also, no version of this recipe called for garlic, but it is very difficult for me to make a dish without garlic.  This is what I came up with.  This soup is certainly not healthy, but super super delicious.  Most of the recipes I found said to make the soup one day, chill and serve the next.  Because I looked up the recipes on the same day it was not possible, but the leftover the following day were divine!

1 lb. ground meat (beef and pork mixture)
4 strips bacon, chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 stalks leeks, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
400 g. cream cheese (roughly one package)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1.5 liter broth

In a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium high heat, add the bacon.  Then cook until the bacon release its fat and the bacon begins to crisp.  Then add the onions and leeks.  Cook for about 5 minutes until they soften.  Then add the ground meat, stirring so the meat does not clump together while browning.  Add the mushrooms, garlic and dried herbs and stir well.   Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, lower broth to a simmer for about 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, add the cream cheese and mix until blended.  At this point you can allow the soup to cool, then transfer to a container and store in the refrigerator overnight.  You could alternatively just put the dutch oven in the fridge if you had enough room.  Reheat the next day and serve with bread.

Soljanka

This was a typical dish back in the Former East Germany.  It was usually available at most canteens and public restaurants.  It is essentially soup that was made with left-overs.  As was common in both parts of Germany, there were always plenty of sausages. Strangley enough, this soup has ketchup as an ingredient, although an odd addition, it gives this soup its unique flair.  This makes a good quantity, so feel free to freeze some and thaw it out when you are short on time.

Ingredients:

2 onions, chopped
4 pickles, chopped
3 red peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
1 lb. leftover meat (pork or beef), chopped
1/2 lb. salami, chopped
1/2 sausage (mixed bockwurst, jagdwurst or whatever you have), chopped
4 1/4 cups beef stock
salt and pepper
1 tablespoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
butter

sour cream and lemon wedges, to serve

Heat butter in a dutch oven, add onions, cook until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add the red peppers, garlic and continue cooking.  Add the sausages and leftover meat, stir.  Add the ketchup, pickles, paprika and chili powder, stir.  Now add the beef stock and mix well.  Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for about 1 hour.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Ladle into soup bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream and lemon wedges.  Guten Appetit!

Altmark-Style Wedding Soup

This is a soup that hails from the Altmark region of Germany.  It is tradionally served on the day of a wedding to bring good luck in the future of the marriage, but it is commonly also made for special occasions.  This version of the soup use white asparagus which are a seasonal vegetable in Germany during May.  They can however be purchased year-round.  If white asparagus are not available, then green asparagus will be a suitable replacement (they do not need to be peel however). The soup is also traditionally served at the table with a bottle of Maggi Würze.

Ingredients

1 soup chicken
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. white asparagus
4 eggs
vermecelli noodles
water
onion

Put the soup chicken in a large pot and cover with water, cut the onion in half (with skin still on, it gives the broth a little color) and add salt and pepper, if you are using white asparagus, peel the asparagus and cut off the ends, add these to the stock.  Bring to a boil, cover, then simmer for 1 1/2 hours (30 minutes in a pressure cooker) until the meat is coming off the bones.  Remove chicken from pot, and strain the broth.  Return broth the the pot.  Take the ground meat and season to your liking (I used lovage or Liebstöckel, but parsley should also work well) and add salt and pepper.  Roll the meatballs about 1 inch in diameter.

Bring the stock to a boil, add the meatballs one by one to prevent sticking.  Then slice the asparagus

Now add the asparagus to the pot. 

The next step is to crack the four eggs in a small saucepan and beat until smooth.  Place the saucepan into a larger saucepan filled with boiling water.  The heat from the boiling water will begin to cook the egg, wait until the egg is completely cooked, then remove from pot.  Cut the egg into small cubes and add to the soup.  Finally, add the small vermecelli noodles to the soup.  Continue cooking over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until noodles are done.  Serve the soup ladled into bowls with a bottle of Maggi Würze at the table. Guten Appetit!

Leek Soup Saalfelder Style

This is a recipe that I found in a cookbook from the Thüringen region of Germany.  This dish comes from Saalfeld. It's basically a chicken soup with lots of leeks.  Once the soup is finished, its hard to notice all those leeks in there, but they sure do give the soup a great taste.  The recipe also called for Parsley, I decided on using an Herbes de Provence blend I found at the Maybach Ufer Market here in Berlin.  Although this soup is super tasty if made on the same day, its even better the day after.

Serves 4
Ingredients

1 soup chicken
5 leeks
1 lb. potatoes
2 carrots
2 tablespoons Parsley or other herb blend
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken in a large pot and cover with water, add a little salt and pepper, bay leaf and 1 tablespoon of herb mixture.  Bring pot to a boil, then cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hour.  When done, the chicken should be falling off the bone.  Remove the chicken from the pot and strain and reserve the broth.  Place chicken on a plate to cool off.  While the chicken is close to being done,  wash and dry the leeks, cut them into 2cm long rings.  Wash and peel the potatoes and carrots and cut them.  Add these and the other tablespoon of herbs to the broth and cook an additional 20 minutes.  Pull the meat off the chicken and dice.  When the potatoes are done, add the chicken.  Salt and pepper to taste.