German Cooking Today Read online

  Tip

  • Cooked rice will not stick together if you place a tea towel between the saucepan and the lid. The steam produced by the rice will then be absorbed by the towel, thus preventing condensation. A further advantage is that the rice does not continue to cook.

  • Arrange the cooked rice in a soup tureen, greased mould or cup, press down lightly and turn over on a preheated dish.

  • To heat up large quantities of rice, put in a greased, heat-resistant dish, cover and heat in the oven preheated to 150 °C/300 °F (Gas mark 2).

  • Leftover rice will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days but it should be covered. It is even better to freeze leftover rice, then defrost it in a sieve over hot steam before reheating it.

  • Rice which will be added to soup should be slightly undercooked and only added to the soup just before serving because it continues to cook in the hot liquid.

  Cereal

  The term cereal refers to cereal grains such as rice, rye, wheat, barley, oats, millet, buckwheat and maize. Cereals also include pearl barley, starch, sago and custard powder. Cereals are very important in the diet because they contain important vitamins, minerals, trace elements and fibre. Cereals come in a variety of forms including whole grain, crushed flakes and finely or coarsely ground.

  POTATOES, RICE & PASTA

  131 | Potatoes baked in foil

  Easy

  Preparation time: about 60 minutes

  8 floury cooking potatoes, about 1 kg/21⁄4 lb

  salt

  For the sauce:

  150 g/5 oz crème fraîche

  2 teaspoons chopped parsley

  salt

  freshly ground pepper

  some ground caraway seed (optional)

  In addition:

  aluminium foil

  Per serving:

  P: 6 g, F: 12 g, C: 39 g, kJ: 1207, kcal: 290

  1. Preheat the oven at the top and bottom. Brush the potatoes thoroughly clean under cold running water, pat dry and make a lengthways incision 1 cm/3⁄8 in deep. Wrap each potato separately in foil and put on a shelf in the bottom third of the oven.

  Top/bottom heat: about 200 °C/400 °F (preheated),

  Fan oven: about 180 °C/350 °F (not preheated), Gas mark 6 (preheated),

  Cooking time: 45–60 minutes.

  2. In the meantime, make the sauce. Stir the chopped parsley into the crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper. Add a little caraway if desired.

  3. When the potatoes are cooked, open up the aluminium foil, split the potato open using two forks and pour in the sauce.

  Tip: Serve baked potatoes with grilled fish or vegetables, with steak or as a snack.

  Very large potatoes (250 g/9 oz) are sold as baking potatoes, and usually 1 potato per person will be enough.

  Variation 1: Potatoes baked in foil with salmon. Cut 100 g/31⁄2 oz smoked salmon or gravad lax into very fine strips. Stuff the hot baked potatoes with the crème fraîche and garnish with the strips of salmon.

  Variation 2: Potatoes baked in foil with horseradish curd cheese. Instead of crème fraîche, mix 200 g/7 oz curd cheese (20% fat) with 1–2 tablespoons milk and stir in 1–2 tablespoons grated horseradish (from a jar) and season with salt. Finely chop 100 g/31⁄2 oz ham and stir into the sauce. Fill the hot potatoes with the curd cheese and ham mixture.

  Variation 3: Potatoes baked in foil with Bolognese sauce. Prepare half the amount of the Bolognese sauce following the recipe on this book, reduce until thick, fill the hot potatoes with the Bolognese sauce and sprinkle 1 tablespoon chopped basil on top.

  POTATOES, RICE & PASTA

  132 | Boiled potatoes

  Easy

  Preparation time: about 30 minutes

  750 g/11⁄2 lb potatoes

  1 teaspoon salt

  Per serving:

  P: 3 g, F: 0 g, C: 22 g, kJ: 447, kcal: 106

  1. Wash the potatoes, thinly peel with a knife or potato peeler and remove any eyes.

  2. Rinse the potatoes again, cut the larger potatoes into two or three pieces and put in a pan. Sprinkle with salt, barely cover with water and bring to the boil. Cook the potatoes covered for 20–25 minutes.

  3. Drain the cooking water. Leave the potatoes in the open pan, shaking occasionally so that the steam escapes, or put a tea towel or kitchen paper between the lid and the pan to absorb the steam.

  Tip: Boiled potatoes go well with most meat, fish or vegetable dishes with sauce.

  Variation: For parsley potatoes, prepare the potatoes as above and toss in 20–30 g/3⁄4–1 oz melted butter and 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley.

  POTATOES, RICE & PASTA

  133 | Potatoes boiled in their skins

  Easy

  Preparation time: about 30 minutes

  about 1 kg/21⁄4 lb potatoes

  Per serving:

  P: 5 g, F: 0 g, C: 33 g, kJ: 670, kcal: 160

  1. Thoroughly wash the potatoes, cover with water and bring to the boil, then cook covered for 20–25 minutes.

  2. Drain the potatoes, quench with cold water, drain and peel immediately.

  Tip: These potatoes can be served as a side dish or with herb curd cheese and salad as an entrée.

  The potatoes can be used in a salad or for making sauté potatoes. A firm potato is preferable for this purpose.

  Variation: Béchamel potatoes. Cook 750 g/11⁄2 lb firm-fleshed potatoes as above, quench with cold water, peel immediately and leave to cool a little. Make a béchamel sauce, slice the still warm potatoes into the sauce and heat through, stirring occasionally so that the sauce does not burn. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg and with 2–3 tablespoons grated horseradish (from the jar). Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Béchamel potatoes may be served as a side dish with rissoles, steamed vegetables or fried fish.

  POTATOES, RICE & PASTA

  134 | Potato pancakes

  Classic

  Preparation time: about 45 minutes

  1 kg/21⁄4 lb floury potatoes

  1 onion

  3 medium eggs

  1 heaped teaspoon salt

  40 g/11⁄2 oz (6 table spoons) plain (allpurpose) flour

  100 ml/31⁄2 fl oz (1⁄2 cup) cooking oil, e.g. sunflower oil

  Per serving:

  P: 11 g, F: 20 g, C: 37 g, kJ: 1566, kcal: 373

  1. Wash the potatoes, peel and rinse. Peel the onions. Grate the potatoes and onion finely over a bowl. Add the eggs, salt and flour and mix well.

  2. Heat a little oil in a pan. Spoon small quantities of the potato and onion mixture in the pan using a gravy ladle or tablespoon, press flat immediately and cook the potato pancakes on both sides over medium heat until the edge turns crispy brown.

  3. Take the pancakes out of the pan, remove excess fat by dabbing them dry with kitchen paper and serve immediately, or keep in a warm place.

  4. Make the rest of the pancakes in the same way.

  Tip: Potato pancakes can be served with apple sauce or plum compote, herb or horseradish curd cheese or with smoked salmon with herb-flavoured crème fraîche and a green salad. The potato pancakes will be even crisper if half the flour is replaced with 2–3 tablespoons rolled oats.

  Variation 1: Put the fried pancakes on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Put 1–2 slices of tomatoes and 1 slice of mozzarella on top of each pancake, sprinkle some pepper on top and cook briefly in the preheated oven (top/bottom heat: about 220 °C/425 °F, fan oven: about 200 °C/400 °F, gas mark 7) until the cheese melts. Garnish with small basil leaves before serving.

  Variation 2: To make potato pancakes with ham, cut 50 g/2 oz ham on the bone into thin strips and add to the potato and onion mixture together with 1–2 teaspoons marjoram. Alternatively, strips of ham may be added to crème fraîche and served with the potato pancakes.

  POTATOES, RICE & PASTA

  135 | Rösti

  Classic

  Preparation time: about 45 minutes, excluding cooling time

  500 g/18 oz fi
rm cooking potatoes

  salt

  4 tablespoons cooking oil, e.g. sunflower oil

  freshly ground pepper

  Per serving:

  P: 2 g, F: 13 g, C: 17 g, kJ: 797, kcal: 190

  1. Wash the potatoes carefully, put in a pan filled with water, cover and bring to the boil. Cook for 20 minutes, drain, then rinse in cold water and peel. Put them in a covered container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

  2. Grate the potatoes coarsely and season with salt. Heat some of the oil in a non-stick pan (24 cm/91⁄2 in in diameter). Put the grated potatoes in the pan, press flat and fry on both sides over low heat for about 10 minutes until brown and crisp, turning once.

  3. Cut the rösti into 4 pieces before serving.

  Tip: Rösti are delicious served with Züricher Geschnetzeltes (thin strips of meat cooked in sauce) and fried meat.

  To turn the rösti over you can slide it from the pan onto a saucepan lid and then slide it back into the pan.

  You can also make several small rösti instead of one large one.

  Variation 1: Courgettes and herb rösti. Wash 100 g/31⁄2 oz courgettes, wipe dry, cut off the ends and slice. Peel 1 onion, chop finely and stir into the grated potatoes together with 1 tablespoon dried herbs of Provence. Season with salt. Fry the rösti as indicated above. Put a few courgette slices in the pan and cover with the rösti mixture. Before returning the rösti to the pan after turning them, add a few more courgette slices to the pan and fry until brown and crisp. Serve as a snack with crème fraîche or yogurt and green salad.

  Variation 2: Mini-apple rösti. Wash, dry and peel 2 apples, remove the cores, cut the apples in rings and sprinkle 1 tablespoon lemon juice over them. Divide the grated potato mass into 12 portions and fry the rösti as indicated above. After turning, cover each rösti with 1 apple ring and fry until they are brown and crisp. Mix together 1 tablespoon chopped chives and 200 g/7 oz sour cream, add a little salt and pour over the apple rösti. Sprinkle with coarsely ground pepper. Serve hot as a snack.

  POTATOES, RICE & PASTA

  136 | Potato gratin

  For guests

  Preparation time: about 60 minutes

  1 clove garlic

  800 g/13⁄4 lb floury potatoes

  salt

  freshly ground pepper

  grated nutmeg

  125 ml/4 fl oz (1⁄2 cup) milk

  125 ml/4 fl oz (1⁄2 cup) whipping cream

  4 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

  In addition:

  fat for the mould

  Per serving:

  P: 6 g, F: 13 g, C: 26 g, kJ: 1051, kcal: 251

  1. Preheat the oven top and bottom. Peel the clove of garlic, cut in half and rub a well-greased, shallow gratin dish with it.

  2. Wash the potatoes, peel, rinse and pat dry. Then cut into thin slices and arrange these in the gratin dish sloping downward like roof tiles. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and nutmeg .

  3. Stir the milk and the cream together and pour over the potato slices. Sprinkle Parmesan on top. Put the gratin dish uncovered in the oven on the middle shelf and bake until golden brown.

  Top/bottom heat: about 180 °C/350 °F (preheated),

  Fan oven: about 160 °C/325 °F (not preheated), Gas mark 4 (not preheated),

  Cooking time: 45 minutes.

  Tip: Serve the potato gratin with meat, fish or vegetable-based dishes that have no sauce.

  Variation 1: Instead of milk and cream, use 250 ml/8 fl oz (1 cup) vegetable stock flavoured with 2 tablespoons white wine or crème fraîche to pour over the potato slices. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake as indicated above.

  Variation 2: Potato gratin with ceps. Put 20 g/3⁄4 oz dried ceps in a sieve and rinse with cold water. Add them to 250 ml/8 fl oz (1 cup) vegetable stock, bring to the boil and leave covered to cool down. Pour the stock with the ceps over the potatoes instead of the milk and cream. Sprinkle Parmesan on top, add a few knobs of butter and bake as indicated above.

  Variation 3: Potato and carrot gratin. Replace 300 g/10 oz of the potatoes with thinly sliced carrots. Arrange the sliced carrots and sliced potatoes as described above in layers and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon thyme.

  POTATOES, RICE & PASTA

  137 | Potato chips (French fries)

  For children

  Preparation time: about 60 minutes

  1 kg/21⁄4 lb floury potatoes

  salt

  For cooking:

  about 750 ml/11⁄4 pints (31⁄2 cups) cooking oil, e.g. sunflower oil

  Per serving:

  P: 4 g, F: 10 g, C: 30 g, kJ: 940, kcal: 224

  1. Wash the potatoes, peel, rinse and cut into pencil-thick sticks of equal length. Wipe dry with kitchen paper.

  2. Heat the oil in a pan to about 180 °C/350 °F. Put the potato sticks in the hot oil in small amounts, using a skimming ladle and fry for about 2 minutes until half-cooked. Important: do not put too many potato sticks in the oil at once because they should not touch each other in the hot oil and in addition the oil would cool down too quickly.

  3. As soon as the potato sticks turn yellow at the ends, remove them from the oil with the skimming ladle. Spread them on a baking sheet lined with kitchen paper and leave to drain. Precook all the potato sticks in this way.

  4. When the potato sticks have cooled down, return them to the hot oil and fry for another 4–5 minutes until brown and crisp. Remove from the oil with the skimming ladle, drain, sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

  Tip: You can check the temperature of the oil by dipping a wooden spoon in the oil. If small bubbles rise up along the handle the oil is hot enough. Lower the heat to a medium setting while frying the chips. If the oil is not hot enough the potato chips will become saturated with oil, but if the oil is too hot, the potatoes will burn without being cooked through.

  If chips are made in a deep-fat fryer, a larger amount of oil will be needed (follow the manufacturer’s instructions).

  Variation: Potato crisps. Choose 500 g/18 oz potatoes with firm flesh, wash, peel, rinse and cut into thin slices with a sharp knife or vegetable slicer and pat dry. Pre-cook the potato slices in small quantities in the hot oil, remove them from the oil, spread them on a wire tray and leave to drain. Return the crisps to the hot oil and fry again until pale brown. Sprinkle with salt and paprika and serve as a snack.

  POTATOES, RICE & PASTA

  138 | Baked potato halves with curd cheese

  Easy

  Preparation time: about 60 minutes

  1.2 kg/41⁄2 lb floury potatoes

  3 tablespoons cooking oil

  40 g/11⁄2 oz (3 table spoons) butter

  4 teaspoons caraway seeds

  salt

  For the herb curd cheese:

  500 g/18 oz curd cheese

  4 teaspoons sour cream

  about 4 tablespoons milk

  2 teaspoons chervil, parsley, dill, chives, salt, coarse coloured pepper

  In addition:

  fat for the griddle

  Per serving:

  P: 5 g, F: 15 g, C: 35 g, kJ: 1256, kcal: 300

  1. Preheat the oven top and bottom. Brush the potatoes until thoroughly clean under cold running water and wipe dry. Heat the oil with the butter.

  2. Cut the unpeeled potatoes in half lengthways, brush the cut surfaces with the oil and butter mixture, sprinkle caraway seeds on top and arrange on a greased baking sheet with the cut surfaces facing upward. Pour the rest of the oil and butter mixture over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt.

  Top/bottom heat: about 200 °C/400 °F (preheated),

  Fan oven: about 180 °C/350 °F (not preheated), Gas mark 6 (preheated),

  Cooking time: about 40 minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, make the herb curd cheese by mixing the curd cheese with sour cream, milk and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the herb curd cheese with the baked potato halves.

  Tip: Serve the baked potato halves with vegetables or a green salad, or as part of a party buff
et.

  POTATOES, RICE & PASTA

  139 | Fried potatoes

  Good value

  Preparation time: about 60 minutes excluding cooling time

  1 kg/21⁄4 lb floury potatoes

  50–70 g/2–3 oz butter or 3–4 tablespoons cooking oil, e.g. sunflower oil

  salt, pepper, 2 onions

  Per serving:

  P: 5 g, F: 15 g, C: 35 g, kJ: 1256, kcal: 300

  1. Wash the potatoes thoroughly and put in a saucepan filled with water. Bring to the boil, cover and cook for 20–25 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then dip briefly in cold water and peel immediately. Leave to cool, then cut into slices.

  2. Heat the clarified butter or oil in a large pan, add the sliced potatoes, season with salt and pepper and fry over low heat for about 15 minutes until golden brown, turning occasionally.

  3. Meanwhile, peel the onions and dice. Add the diced onions to the potatoes and fry for a further 5–10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.

  Top/bottom heat: about 200 °C/400 °F (preheated),

  Fan oven: about 180 °C/350 °F (not preheated), Gas mark 6 (preheated),

  Cooking time: about 40 minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, make the herb curd cheese by mixing the curd cheese with sour cream, milk and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the herb curd cheese with the baked potato halves.

  Tip: Fried potatoes can be served with fried eggs or scrambled eggs, vegetables or meat in aspic, salad, sausages or roast beef with remoulade sauce. You can also flavour fried potatoes with paprika or 1–2 teaspoons dried herbs (for instance marjoram, thyme or rosemary). Fried potatoes are a perfect way of using up boiled or jacket potatoes leftover from the day before.

  Variation: Bauernfrühstück (“farmer’s breakfast”): Peel 1 more onion and cut into small dice. Chop up 75 g/3 oz streaky bacon. Add the chopped onion and bacon to the fried potatoes 5 minutes before the end of the expected cooking time. Mix together 3 eggs, 3 tablespoons milk, a little salt, pepper, sweet paprika and grated nutmeg and pour this mixture into the pan over the fried potatoes. Cook for a further 5 minutes over low heat to allow the egg and milk mixture to thicken, perhaps turning the potatoes over once during this time. Serve with pickled gherkins.