Traditional German dishes…again

I know, this is the 3th solid German recipe in a row…am I boring you? I really hope I am not, because this time I share a traditional dish from the part of Germany I was born: Franconia. Keeping the best for last, I know :)

Franconia is a well known wine region of Germany, famous for it’s white wine ‘Silvaner’. During the months september and october you can buy the early, very sweet version of wine, called Federweißer. It is quite delicious, but you really have to be carefull not to drink too much because you hardly taste the alcohol in it. The traditional food that is served with this drink is onion tart. I guess I don’t have to tell you that the most delicious onion tart is made by my grandma. I tried so many times to duplicate her version, but I never equalled it. For some reason the dough was never as mouth-watering as hers. Finally I tried a dough out of the most traditional cookbook I own and found the missing ingredient. Any guesses?

Yes, it was butter (everything tastes better with butter, doesn’t it?). The topping of my tart is from another cookbook, because I like the flat, but creamy version of onion tart.

Onion tart

for the dough

375g wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

20g fresh yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

250ml lukewarm milk

60g butter

topping

750g onions

2 tablespoons oil

40g flour

350ml milk

200g Edam cheese, grated

3 eggs

200g crème fraîche

salt, pepper, caraway

1. Dissolve the yeast in the milk. Mix the flour with the salt and sugar in a large bowl. Spread the butter in thick flakes over the flour. Pour the milk with yeast over it and knead the dough until smooth. Let the dough rise for about 45min until it has doubled the size.

2. Cut the onions in rings and roast them in the oil until they are golden brown.

3. Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F. Cover a baking tray with baking paper and roll the dough out on it. Spread the onions on the dough and salt&pepper them. Strew some caraway over the onions (about 1 teaspoon).

4. Mix the milk with the flour and boil it up. Let it shimmer at low heat for 5min – don’t forget to stir it! If you produce glob (I am not able to avoid that…) you can puree it with a hand blender. Melt half of the Edam in the milk. Fold in the crème fraîche and taste to flavour with salt and pepper. Mix the eggs with the topping and spread it evenly over the onions. Strew the remaining cheese over the tart and bake it for 40min, until it has a golden brown colour.

I know, this is still not as good as my grandma’s tart, but it’s definitely the best I can do!

May I introduce you to: Dätscher.

This time I’ll present something that my boyfriend cooked for me. It is a specialty from his hometown and he emphasises that you can’t find this delicacy anywhere else. I told him that I just saw the Bavarian specialty ‘Rahmfleckerl‘ at the Oktoberfest which looks kind of the same to me. But after a closer look on the dough I have to admit that they are different.

I really like this special Swabian treat: the dough is fluffy in the middle, crispy at the edge and the filling is simple but delicious! The recipe is from his mother and maybe that is the reason why he is never happy with the result of his dätscher: some dishes just have to be made by your mother/grandmother to taste perfectly. Nevertheless, I only know his version and I keep begging him to dish them up for me! Maybe dätscher have to be made by him to taste right for me :)!?

Dätscher

(serves 4)

for the dough

350g wheat flour

20g fresh yeast

1 teaspoon salt

40g butter

125ml milk

for the filling

200g sour cream

1 egg yolk

salt

1/2 bunch chopped chives

1. Melt the butter and add it with the flour and salt to a large bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk. Add this mix to the bowl and knead it well. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rise at a warm place for 1,5h.

2. Preheat the oven to 250°C/480°F. Roll the dough and cut it to 4 portions. Roll the portions out to little circles Ø 10cm/4inches. Press the middle of the dough a bit that the edge is a bit higher (to avoid the filling is running down).

3. Mix the sour cream with the salt and chives and apply it on top of the dough. Bake it for about 20min, until the dough is golden and the topping has a nice colour. Enjoy it right out of the oven!

Instead of the chives you can also use caraway or spring onions!

Football & Pizza

Some food is just connected to certain occasions. Popcorn & cinema, fairy floss & fair or pancakes & sunday brunch. Even though I can have one without the other, I only get the pure self-indulgence if I have them together. One of these dream-teams is a football match on TV and homemade pizza. Usually I really hate it to eat in front of the TV, but with pizza and football this is different: I love to loll sit on the couch and eat the slices with my hands.

Since my boyfriend wanted to watch the champions league match yesterday, the choice of dinner was easy for me. I experimented a lot with different dough and sauces in the past years of my relationship (there have been a lot of football matches!), finally I found the perfect composition. I know that everyone has a different taste and definitely an opinion about pizza (and which is the perfect one), however I would like to share my favourite recipe with you:

Pizza with spinach and goat cheese

for the dough:

200g wheat flour (type 405)

200g whole wheat flour

20g fresh yeast (or the adequate amount dry yeast)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1,5 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried italian herbs

200ml lukewarm water (not too hot!)

tomato sauce:

300ml strained tomatoes

50g tomato paste

2 tablespoons fresh italian herbs (like oregano, basil, thyme, parsley), finely chopped

1 garlic glove

salt, pepper, chilli powder, paprika (hot)

topping:

150g grated cheddar cheesy

200g leaf spinach (frozen)

100g cream goat cheese

1. Put the spinach out of the freezer to defrost it. Liquidate the yeast in the lukewarm water. Stir the dry ingredients, add the liquid yeast and olive oil. Knead the dough until you can form a ball. Put the bowl in a warm (about 37°C/100°F) place for about 30min, until the dough has doubled its size. I like to put it into the oven and switch the light on, this is just the right temperature.

2. Stir the strained tomatoes with the tomato paste and the herbs and press the garlic glove into it. Season to taste with the spices.

3. Preheat your oven to the maximum power and start to roll out the dough. I like to roll the whole dough out on a baking tray, covered with baking paper, because my oven isn’t capable to bake 2 pizzas on top of each other at the same time. Spread the sauce evenly over the dough.

Then strew the cheddar cheese over the sauce. Squeeze the defrosted spinach to avoid too much water on the pizza. Put the spinach on the pizza and crumble the goat cheese over it.

4. Bake the pizza for about 20min, until the cheddar cheese is golden.