blue artichoke

Sunday was the last night of the German Oktoberfest Wandering Gullet meals. I made just two recipes, a soup and a dessert. The soup was a fairly typical beef and vegetable variety, plus tiny dumplings. I hated making the dumplings, mostly because it took several false starts to find the right equipment. See, the dumplings really are tiny, formed by pressing the dough through small holes in, say, a colander. My colander has really tiny holes, so the dough cooked on the inside of the colander before I could even press it through the holes. No good. I tried just cutting off tiny portions of dough from a big lump, but the dough was too runny. Next, I tried squeezing the dough through a pastry bag fitted with my smallest round tip and cutting off the dough in small bits as it squeezed out, like making gnocchi. That was OK, but the dough wasn't really thick enough to cut, so it ended up looking like odd strips. Finally, I found a tool that worked well:

This is a strainer that I found when I lived at my grandmother's house and took with me when I moved, because I thought it was neat. I usually use it to drain grease after browning ground beef in a skillet, but now it is my official spätzle -maker. (By the way, there are tool specifically for making spätzle . Check them out if you find yourself in need of another kitchen-cluttering gadget). If this strainer didn't work, my next attempt would be to use a food mill fitted with the disc with the largest holes. I think that would have worked as well, or better, than my strainer, but it wasn't in arm's reach at the time. For an even easier method of making tiny dumplings, I recommend buying a vacuum-packed package of gnocchi and cutting them into smaller chunks. Yes, cutting gnocchi is tiresome, but much, much easier and faster than making your own spätzle .

After dirtying up most of the dishes in my kitchen, I really hoped this soup would be terrible, so I wouldn't be tempted to make it again. It was good, really good. The dumplings totally make the soup, so if you consider leaving them out, there's no need to make the soup at all. The recipe says that it serves 4, but we have enough leftovers to serve four. The dumplings soaked up most of the broth, so I'll have to add water or beef stock when I serve it again.

Gaisburger Marsch (Vegetable-Beef Soup with Tiny Dumplings)

1# boneless beef chuck, cut into 1” cubes
1# beef marrow bones, sawed, not chopped, into 1” pieces
2 qt cold water
1 large onion, peeled and pierced with 2 whole cloves
1 small bay leaf
1 t. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 c. coarsely diced peeled celery root
½ c. coarsely diced scraped carrots
½ c. coarsely diced scraped parsnips
1 c. coarsely diced leeks, including 2” of the green top
2-½ c. coarsely diced potatoes
Once recipe Spätzle*
1 T. finely chopped parsley

In a heavy 5- to 6-qt flameproof casserole or soup pot, bring the beef, bones and water to a boil over high heat, skimming off foam and scum as they rise to the surface. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible point, add the onion pierced with cloves, bay leaf, salt and a few grindings of pepper; simmer, partially covered, 1 ½ hours, skimming whenever necessary. Remove the onion and bay leaf, discard them, and transfer the bones to a plate.

With a small spoon or the tip of a knife, scoop out the marrow from the bones; add it to the soup and discard the bones. Add the celery root, carrots, parsnips, leeks and potatoes; simmer, undisturbed for 30m, or until veggies and meat are tender. Stir the Spätzle into the simmering soup and cook 1-2m longer to heat them through. Add the parsley, taste for seasoning and serve from a large heated tureen or in individual soup bowls.

Serves 4.

Spätzle (Tiny Dumplings)

3 c. flour
1 t. salt
¼ t. ground nutmeg
4 eggs
1 c. milk

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, ½ t. of salt and nutmeg.

Break up the eggs with a fork and beat into the flour mixture. Pour in the milk in a thin stream, stirring constantly with a large spoon, and continue to stir until the dough is smooth.

Bring 2 quarts of water and remaining ½ t. salt to a boil in a heavy 4- to 5-qt saucepan. Set a large colander, preferably one with large holes, over the saucepan and with a spoon press the dough a few tablespoons at a time through the colander directly into the boiling water. Stir the Spätzle gently to prevent them from sticking to each other, then boil briskly for 5-8m, or until tender. Taste to make sure. Drain the Spätzle thoroughly in a sieve or colander.

Makes ~ 4 cups.

Foods of the World: The Cooking of Germany, by Nika Standen Hazelton and the Editors of Time-Life Books. NY: Time Life, 1969.

I omitted the celery root, because I couldn't find any at either of the grocery stores I went to, and I didn't feel like driving all over town to track it down. Also, this was my first known encounter with beef marrow. Not bad.

For dessert, I made hazelnut macaroons. Macaroons are small, round cookies with a crunchy outside and soft inside. Traditionally made with ground almonds, sugar and egg whites, they are often flavored with coffee, chocolate, nuts or fruit. Originally from Venice, perhaps the use of hazelnuts instead of almonds makes these German in character. These are flavored with chocolate, and are fantastic.

Haselnussmakronen (Hazelnut Macaroons)

2 t. butter, softened
2 egg whites
¾ c. sugar
1 ½ c. shelled hazelnuts, preferably blanched, pulverized
6 T. unsweetened cocoa
2 t. finely grated lemon peel
Pinch salt
1 t. vanilla

With a pastry brush or paper towel, coat a large baking sheet with 2 t. of soft butter and sit it aside. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with a wire whisk or electric beater until they foam and thicken slightly. Sprinkle the sugar over them and continue to beat until the whites form stiff, unwavering peaks on the beater when it is lifted out of the bowl. Combine the ground hazelnuts with next 4 in a small bowl, and whit a rubber spatula, gently but thoroughly fold the mixture into the whites, using an over-under cutting motion. To make the cookies, drop the dough by the tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them ~1” apart. Let the cookies rest at room temp for 1h before baking.

Preheat the oven to 300. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30m, or until firm. With a spatula, carefully transfer cookies to a rack to cool. Can be stored for several weeks in tightly sealed jars or tins.

Makes ~20 cookies.

Foods of the World: The Cooking of Germany, by Nika Standen Hazelton and the Editors of Time-Life Books. NY: Time Life, 1969.