1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (73 page)

For dessert, what else but
rote grütze
? Served cold, it’s a ruby-red gelled pudding based on the fresh juice of red currants and raspberries or strawberries, each portion crowned with vanilla whipped cream and slivered almonds. This summer dessert is equally popular in Denmark, where it is known as Rødgrød med Fløde (see
listing
). If you can say it, you can have it!

Where:
Grosse Elbstrasse 143, Hamburg, tel 49/40-38-18-16,
fischereihafenrestaurant.de
.

A first cousin to both the chocolate soufflé and those trendy warm cakes with runny chocolate insides, this special dessert from Frankfurt is an exquisitely dark, bittersweet chocolate pudding. Enhanced with rum or coffee and almonds, it is steamed in an oblong ridged mold that suggests the look of a half cantaloupe. The pudding must be served hot, emerging from its mold with a light, moist, spongy texture that is optimally contrasted by a cool topping of vanilla-flavored whipped cream and, if one likes, a spoonful of chocolate sauce. Although the steaming process is simple, careful timing is required for the dessert to be ready at the meal’s end; the pudding should not sit for more than about fifteen minutes before being unmolded and served.

Serves 8

Equipment:1 melon mold, 6-to-7 cup capacity

3 ounces semisweet chocolate

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

⅔ cup sugar, plus more for the mold

Pinch of salt

5 large eggs, separated

2 tablespoons rum, or 2 tablespoons double-strength brewed black coffee

1½ cups ground unblanched almonds

3 tablespoons dry pumpernickel or zwieback crumbs

Boiling water

2 cups vanilla-flavored whipped cream (optional), for serving

2 cups cold semisweet chocolate sauce (optional), for serving

1.
Butter the melon mold and its cover, then sugar it. Tap out any excess sugar. Set the mold aside. Also have ready a lidded pot or casserole large enough to hold the melon mold.

2.
Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Let the chocolate cool for about 10 minutes at room temperature.

3.
Combine the butter, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to cream them until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, waiting until each is fully blended before adding the next. Stir in the melted chocolate. Add the rum or coffee, the almonds, and the bread crumbs.

4.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they are stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, fold the beaten egg whites gently but thoroughly into the chocolate mixture. Spoon the pudding batter into the prepared mold; it should be about two-thirds full. Snap the cover onto the mold.

5.
Place the mold, rounded side down, in the pot. Add enough boiling water to come two thirds of the way up the side of the mold. Cover the pot, and place it over high heat. Let the water return to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the pudding until it is completely set, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

6.
Remove the mold from the water bath and place on a wire rack, flat side down. Let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes before unmolding. Uncover the pudding and invert it onto a serving platter. Serve the pudding hot, topped with the whipped cream, if desired.

Mail order:
For melon-shaped pudding molds, amazon.com (search scandicrafts melon mold 6.5 cup).
See also:
Soufflés of All Sorts
.

Nicely gritty grains of
fränkischer grünkern
—green spelt of the scientific name
Triticum spelta
—are the basis of one of Germany’s more obscure winter favorites, prepared as a velvety stew. In this rib-sticking one-bowl meal, the grain’s fresh and grassy flavor is enhanced with meat, usually beef or pork, and vegetables such as onions, carrots, and celery.

Sold most widely under the Zimmermann Mühle label in Germany, the grünkern in this dish can be flavored in a variety of ways, starting with the choice of fat (butter or bacon), and continuing on to the cooking liquid (water or any meat or poultry broth) and the choice of vegetables, which may be browned first or added raw.

An ancient grain, spelt has more protein and crude fiber than wheat, with a high concentration of vitamin B17, which is said to ward off cancer. But this deliciously comforting dish isn’t eaten for its health benefits.

Serves 4 to 6

1 package (8½ ounces) grünkern

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 slices lean bacon (optional), diced

1 medium-size onion, chopped

1 medium-size carrot, peeled and diced

1 large rib celery, diced, plus

1 sprig celery leaves

1 small piece parsnip, peeled and diced (optional)

1 small piece celeriac, peeled and diced (optional)

1 small leek (optional), white portion only, sliced

½ pound beef or pork in ½-inch cubes, preferably a soft cut such as chuck

Pinch of thyme

4 cups chicken, beef, or veal broth or water

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or chives (optional), for garnish

1.
Rinse the grünkern in a sieve under cold running water. Place it in a large bowl, add 4 cups of water, and let it soak overnight in the refrigerator or at cool room temperature.

2.
Melt the butter in a heavy soup pot over moderate heat. Add the bacon, if using, and the onion, carrot, and diced celery and cook until the vegetables begin to turn a light golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

3.
Add the grünkern with its soaking liquid and stir to mix. Add the celery leaves, the parsnip, celeriac, and leek, if using, and the meat and thyme, followed by the broth or water. Add the salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer, partially covered, until the grünkern is entirely soft, about 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water if the mixture becomes too thick or sticks to the bottom of the pot.

4.
Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as necessary. Serve the grünkern in warmed bowls, garnished with the parsley or chives, if desired.

Variation:
For a richer flavor, brown the meat for a few minutes along with the onion, carrot, and celery. Potatoes are often a part of this stew, but they make it very starchy and a bit stodgy.

Mail order:
amazon.com (search fran-kischer grunkern).
Further information and additional recipes:
gruenkern.de/recipes
.
Tip:
Although not traditional, a teaspoonful or two of crushed caraway seeds added during cooking lends a fresh, airy note to the stew.

The soup is served during Holy Week.

Known as Gründonnerstag, or green Thursday, in Germany and Austria, Holy Thursday is a solemn day between Ash Wednesday and Good Friday during the meatless Lenten season. But there is cause for celebration in the form of a soup that honors the spring season during the pre-Easter week.

Spinach, watercress, lettuce, chervil, parsley, chives, and the sour grass sorrel, or some variation thereof—a minimum of seven fresh leafy herbs and vegetables—are simmered together in vegetable stock and then pureed to chiffon lightness to create a soup that is full of the promise of spring. A rich and creamy béchamel sauce is stirred into the hot mixture, then a beaten egg yolk is whipped in to brighten and bind.

Each portion gets a final garnish of hard-cooked egg, peeled and cut in half lengthwise to add a sunny bull’s-eye to the verdant brew. Some sprinkle on grated Parmesan for extra zest.

Lovely as the soup is when it’s made of mixed herbs, it becomes even more ethereal as
kerbelsuppe
, made only with chervil; but the fragile and exotic-tasting herb is scarce, and thus more suited for occasional use in home kitchens than as a regular offering in restaurants. As for the flagship green soup, it remains popular after Lent but might be bolstered by a base of chicken or veal stock and the addition of tiny veal or chicken meatballs.

Eating greens—wild or tamed—is still a spring ritual in Pennsylvania Dutch country, where German roots are reflected in many of the region’s cooked and baked dishes. But springtime greens-bingeing is common to many cultures, as is the belief that greens, especially bitter greens, have the cathartic effect of purifying the blood.

Further information and recipes:
The German Cookbook
by Mimi Sheraton (2014);
germanfood.org
(search herb soup, then click German Easter Recipes).

Rarely do travel poster–style local color and high-quality food go together, but anyone out to experience maximum Bavarian
gemütlichkeit
(cozy congeniality) would do well to visit Weichandhof, the guest house in the small, charming suburb of Obermenzing, in Munich.

Die Traditionsgaststätte met Herz
—the traditional guest house with heart—was once a farmhouse and was transformed into an inn by a star of folk theater named Philipp Weichand in 1755. Low wood-beamed ceilings, fireplaces, checkered tablecloths, and handsome kitsch such as gray stoneware Bavarian pottery, copper vessels, and paintings adorn the intimate dining rooms. The menu offers echt tradition, and in the most delicious ways.

Classic German specialties are the way to go here—skip the international items on the menu in favor of appetizers and starters such as the homemade headcheeses (
hausegemachter pressack
), bratwurst dumplings (
bratnockerl
), or soups like the mock turtle, the broth adrift with semolina dumplings (
griessnockerl
), and
zandersuppe
, made with the flavorful pike-perch that swim through Bavaria’s freshwater lakes and streams.

Then, on to the delectable
spanferkel
, or roast suckling pig, with its bacon-crisp skin and moist flesh nestled against potato dumplings. Or perhaps to the juicy boiled beef,
tafelspitz
(see
listing
), served with salsify (
schwarzwurzel
), buttered potatoes, and horseradish-spiked cream sauce. Local game, sauerbraten (see
listing
), and the crisp onion-mantled beefsteak
zwiebelrostbraten
(see
listing
) are also on the menu, as are pigs’ knuckles and shanks. If you can, follow these with wonderful desserts such as light, golden
palatschinken
crêpes (see
listing
) filled with various ice creams and fruits, and homemade apple or apricot strudel.

As for drink, nothing but a footed, embossed green-glass
schoppen
of the dry white wines of Württemberg, Baden, Franken or the more flowery Mosel will do.

Where:
Weichandhof, Betzenweg 81, Munich-Obermenzing, tel 49/89-891-1600,
weichandhof.de
.

A legacy of the Austro-Hungarian empire, rich and beefy paprika-spiced goulash soup has a special place on the Bavarian menu, most especially in Munich, where it is a late-night antidote to an evening of drinking and reveling. A feature of beer halls and casual cafés, it is especially popular in the feisty student section of Schwabing. But it can also be had in the many quick snack places, or
schnell imbiss
, all over that graceful, museum-rich city.

Though it’s basically a more liquid version of goulash stew, there are some important differences. The spoonable soup is based on tender cuts of beef like chuck, neck, or shin meat, well marbled but free of sinew and gristle. The small cubes of beef are briefly braised with minced onions and finely diced green pepper in lard, bacon, or butter-bacon combination. Salt, pepper, and a half-and-half mix of sweet and hot paprika are stirred in and sautéed over low heat until the paprika loses its raw smell.

The mix is half-covered and simmered over very low heat for about ten minutes before some white vinegar is poured in and allowed to cook off; for a sophisticated touch, heated brandy is poured over the mixture and set aflame.

Then come water and enriching tomato paste, crushed caraway seeds, a pinch of marjoram, a split clove of garlic, and peeled and diced potato. All simmer for an hour or so to a meltingly tender amalgam with a succulent and heady broth. Inevitably, a good goulash soup calls for hair of the dog in the form of just one more beer before the last
guten Abend.