sour cabbage
Sour cabbage roll with ham and cream cheese
I got the recipe of this excellent, savoury starter from a Bavarian cheese maker: Susanne Hoffmann.
I met her first in the famous Viktualien market, in Münich (Germany) where she has a cheese shop and stall. About two years ago S. Hoffmann parents retired from their cheese business (In Bad Tölz /Bavaria) and passed over the farm to Susanne. After one year reviving the business she decided to take the plunge and withal she was busy with producing her own special cheeses the Romadur, she started to do a course for cheese lovers. So we met there (when I participated in one of her course) and meanwhile I had tasted tons of different kinds of cheeses I also became passionate about trying out her original, artisanal recipes,- of course in every one some sort of cheeses were added-.
Here you are one of my most favourite recipe: Sour cabbage cheese and ham balls
Ingredients: 120 gr camembert cheese or spicy cream cheese, 200 gr sour, cooked white cabbage (in wine or natur), 80 g good quality of speck-smoked ham, 1 small onion, 3 tbs butter, 3 tbs oil, 1 egg, 40 gr flour, salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Chop the onion finely and cut the bacon into small cubes. Soaté the onion. 2. Put the bacon into a bowl, add soatéd onion and sour cabbage, cream cheese (camembert or more creamy), egg and the flour. Flavour with salt and pepper (but be carefull because the cheese and ham are already salty) Mix everything well. 3. Form small balls with your hands then fry them in a frying pan or friteur. Serve with white wine or beer.
The best of Germany: the roasted pork
In Bavaria, (Münich) where I live at the moment one of the most popular dish is the sliced pork roast called Schweinsbraten. It´s hearty, simple and a perfect comfort food, with a crunchy crust. Usually made with beer and serve with red cabbage (Blaukraut), sour cabbage or fresh cabbage salad and with one or two dumplings. Tourist and local people can find everywhere, in restaurants, at B&B. But be aware of it the portions are so big I always have to share mine with my husband.
To cook the dish is kind of time consuming but it’s worth.
Ingredients: 4 -6 lbs pork shoulder or 4 -6 lbs pork butt, 2 tablespoons caraway seeds, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 teaspoons ground pepper, 2 tablespoons cooking oil, 3 medium onions, roughly chopped, 2 carrots, celery, peeled and chopped, 1/2 cup water or 1/2 cup stock or 1/2 cup white wine or 1/2 cup beer, 2 -3 tablespoons flour, 2 -3 tablespoons butter, coriander, marjory and garlic
Other seasoning that can be rubbed into the pork before roasting: marjoram or minced garlic or mustard
Directions:
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Rub the entire roast all over with the oil and sprinkle with caraway, salt, pepper.
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Let stand for one hour. Spray your roasting pan with cooking spray. Place the vegetables into roasting pan and pour liquid of choice.
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Place the roast, fat side down, in the roasting pan on top of the vegetables. Cover tightly and roast for one hour.
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Remove from oven, uncover and turn roast fat side up. Cut decorative diamonds into the fat, insert meat thermometer and replace, uncovered, back into the oven for approximately 2 hours or until meat thermometer reads 165°F. Remove from oven and take out of roaster; cover with foil to preserve temperature, and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and save the vegetables to serve on the side.
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Measure pan juices; add enough chosen liquid (water, wine, stock, or beer) to make 2 cups. Make a roux by blending the flour and butter together very well in a saucepan; add the pan juices and bring to a simmer. Slice the roast thinly and serve with the gravy on the side. For additional richness, the gravy may be finished with a little butter, cream or sour cream.
Two mouthwatering cabbage recipes
German braised pork with curry and flat bread
In the 3. week of November the Wittelsbach square in Münich, Germany is being transformed into a Medieval city. Then it operates as an entertainment centre until Christmas. Beside the all kinds of gifts one can buy there, you may find excellent food stalls and bars for mulled wine. But what is really worth to taste (beside the games, wild boar, fish dishes) is a divine stew meal with saurkraut. It is called the Poor knight’s dinner (which is so rich in fat, that man can store up enough energy in the cold winter) and stylishly it is served in a crock pot with a flat bread. Just one more word to add: It’s too bad that you can’t feel the flavour of the food through the internet!
The recipe
Ingredients: 1 kg of pork tenderloin, 2 dl oil for cooking, 2 onions, prepared or self-made white sour cabbage, 200 gr speck (if it is made at home then you need vinegar or white wine, sugar, carraway seeds, salt and pepper to taste and oil for cooking) pepper, salt, carraway (grounded), 1 teaspoon curry, chicken stock
Cut the pork into big pieces about the length of your thumb. Heat the oil in a large casserole. Chop the onions fine. Fry the pork first then the onions until fragrant. Flavour with carraway and curry. Pour over a bit of water then add chicken stock, give it a stir. Cover, then braise on the hot plate about half an hour. Take the lid off and carry on the cooking, uncovered. The meat should be completely tender, turning golden brown.
Heat a bit of butter in an other pan, soaté the cut into pieces speck. Add speck to prepared sour cabbage. Then add cabbage and speck to the stew, turn up the heat and cook everything together for 5-10 minutes. Cook flat bread (buy fladen, pita or chapati bread from some local food store) on the skillet then put directly on a high flame, which makes it blow up like a balloon. Place flat bread into the crock pot, spoon over stew and enjoy!
My Chinese cabbage salad
The other cabbage recipe is my own invention. All right it’s not completely true because my muse was my Japanese sister-in-law, Shizuka. She visited me in this summer and one evening she did the cooking. Among other delicious courses she made a special Japanese cabbage salad (from Chinese cabbage). Later when I tried it I changed a bit on the recipe and the sesame oil with the Ajipon sauce did the trick and gave a real authentic Japanese flavor to the dish.
The recipe
In a small skillet, toast sesame seeds over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant.
In a small bowl, mix together sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, pepper and ramen seasoning packet. Add grated ginger and garlic. Prepare the cabbage. Add at least three spoons of Ajipon (lemon flavored soy sauce). Toss cabbage with dressing to coat evenly. Top it with toasted sesame seeds.
Good to know about cabbage
Cabbage has always been a food staple in Germany. Pickled cabbage was frequently seen already in the 16th-17th century. Saurkraut was used first by Dutch sailors to prevent scurvy during long ship voyages.
Nowadays in Germany cabbage is used in many ways, ranging from eating raw and simple steaming to pickling, stewing, sauteing or braising. Pickling is one of the most popular ways of preserving cabbage, creating dishes such as saurkraut. Savoy cabbages are usually used in salads, and it pairs well with red wine, apples, spices, horseradish and meat. But it can be used for roulades, in stews and soups, as well as roasted plain and drizzled with olive oil while smooth-leaf types are utilized for both fresh market sales and processing.
spajzgirl 