 Pasta
German pasta is made from hardwheat, soft wheat and wholemeal semolina, in every shape and
often with additional ingredients such as spinach, tomatoes, herbs etc), with and without
eggs, the egg content being a measure of their quality.
Spätzle
One of the favorite comfort foods in Germany is Spätzle, a delicacy
associated with the regional area of Swabia but eaten all over Germany. Spätzle
literally translated means "little sparrows" in Southern dialect, and consists of tiny
noodles or dumplings made of flour, eggs, water or milk, salt and occasionally nutmeg.
German cooks have made flour and egg dough noodles for almost as long as the Italians,
except their recipes are easier to mix and shape! Traditionally the soft dough is spread
on a board and then shaved into a pan of boiling water using a sharp knife, which can be
a slightly tricky technique to master. There is, however, a simpler method that is just as
good and involves rubbing the very soft dough through a flat slotted plate or colander
using a spatula and ladle. Almost as soon as the little dough squiggles float to the
surface of the water they are cooked. It's that fast and easy! Fortunately for those of us
with limited time to cook and prepare food, packaged German spätzle is available in
the US.
Potato Pancakes (Reibekuchen / Kartoffelpuffer)
Potato pancakes are a traditional Rheinland confection. Once it was mother who wielded
the pan; increasingly nowadays, special bars and cafes are the ideal opportunity to sample
this dish, and there are street stalls selling them. The most famous is outside Cologne
railway station. Potato Pancakes go by many names in different parts of Germany, for example
Reibekuchen and Kartoffelpuffer. They are sometimes served with applesauce.
Dumplings (Knödel)
Up until about two hundred years ago only the wealthy ate potatoes, and the bread dumpling
was the staple fare of the Bavarian masses. Today, many delicious variations are enjoyed by
everyone using cheese, pork, milk and even potato! On Sundays the humble everyday breadcrumb
recipe is traditionally enlivened with liver. |
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