Top 3 German Recipes

Käsespätzle

Ingredients:

Dough for the spätzle

• 500g sifted flour
• 5 eggs
• 200-250 ml water
• salt

Cheese spätzle

• 500 g onions, cut in half and sliced
• 125 g Emmentaler, grated
• 225 g mountain cheese, grated
• 100 g butter
• Salt and pepper

For the basic spätzle recipe, put the flour and the eggs in the mixing bowl. Start kneading the mixture with an electronic dough kneader and then slowly add water until the dough is runny and sticky. It should slowly run from a spoon in a gooey consistency. Then it should rest for half an hour. In Germany, you can also get ready-to-eat spätzle in the supermarket, which makes this dish even faster and easier.

Bring salted water to a boil in a pot. Fill the spätzle press until the bottom is covered reawith the dough. Then press the dough in buttons into the boiling water. Sieve out each batch when it swims on the surface of the water. Repeat this until the dough has been used up.

For the cheese spätzle, preheat your oven to approximately 180 Degree Celsius. Then, melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the onions until they are soft. Mix the grated Emmentaler and mountain cheese and take an oven-proof dish. Cover the bottom with one layer of spätzle, then with cheese, and repeat this until all ingredients have been used up. You should also add salt and pepper to every layer. The top should be covered with a layer of cheese. On top, add the onions and put the dish into the oven until the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Schnitzel with potato salad

Ingredients:

Potato salad

• 1 kg waxy potatoes
• 1 red onion
• 250 ml vegetable broth
• 2-3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon German mustard
• 1 pinch of sugar
• 5-8 gherkins
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• a bunch of chives

Schnitzel

• thin cutlets from chicken, pork, or veal
• a little bit flour
• an egg
• breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper
• lemon

For the potato salad, place the potatoes in a pot and add salt generously, as salt will increase the flavour of the potatoes. Bring them to a boil. Depending on their size, the potatoes will need between 10 and 15 minutes of cooking time. Drain well, rinse with cold water and leave them for about 5 minutes to cool down slightly. Peel the potatoes while they are still hot. Slice them and place them in a large bowl. Finely slice 5 - 8 gherkins and place them in the bowl as well.

For the dressing, chop the red onion finely. Place it in a small pan, add the broth and cook until the onions are soft. Add 2 tablespoons of the vinegar and whisk in the mustard and the sugar. Add the oil and salt and pepper to taste. Slowly add the dressing to the potatoes, mixing very gently and taking care not to break the potato slices.

For the schnitzel, you either go to the butcher or supermarket and buy a schnitzel that is already breaded and ready to be sauteed, or you prepare the meat yourself. For this, you need thick boneless pork, chicken, or veal chops. First, trim off the fat that's usually around the outer edge. Make sure you take off any 'silver skin' that may also be along the edge. "Butterfly" the pork chop: Use a very sharp knife and cut the pork chop in half, almost all the way through. If you cut starting on the rounded side edge, you'll have the long straight edge as the 'butterfly back'. When you are almost all the way through, open the pork chop (like a book). You should be able to lie it flat. The middle part should be as thick as the rest of the pork chop.

If the middle is much thicker, cut it just a bit more. Flatten the meat. Cover the meat with some plastic wrap, and using the smooth side of the meat hammer, pound the pork chop sort of gently. You do not want the meat to tear. Set up three shallow bowls. The first has flour, the second an egg/water mix, and the third has breadcrumbs. Dredge the seasoned schnitzel into flour, then the egg, and lastly in the breadcrumbs. Repeat this whole process with all the schnitzel.

Fry the schnitzel either in clarified butter or a butter/oil mixture. Each side only takes a few minutes. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate and then keep warm in the oven until the rest have been fried. Add a piece of fresh lemon to the schnitzel when serving it. You can squeeze the lemon juice on top of the schnitzel. Enjoy!

Kartoffelpuffer

Ingredients:

• 1,5 pounds starchy potatoes, peeled and very finely grated (raw)
• 1 small onion, very finely grated
• 2 eggs
• 30 g flour
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• neutral-tasting oil for frying

Thoroughly wring out the liquid in the grated potatoes by placing them in a clean dish towel and wringing out the liquid. Place the drained grated potatoes in a medium-sized bowl with the grated onion, eggs, flour, and salt, and use your hands to work it into a tacky mixture.  Add a little more flour if needed. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and place a large spoon of the mixture (depending on size preference) in the hot pan and flatten into pancakes with the back of a spoon.  Fry on both sides for 3-5 minutes until the Kartoffelpuffer is golden.  Place them briefly on paper towels.  Serve immediately while hot with applesauce, for a savoury version serve it with herbed yogurt or creme fraiche, you can add smoked salmon and a green salad if you like. Enjoy!