Can’t find the berries you’re looking for? Grow your own! - Gooseberry Sauce (Stachelbeersoße)

In her last entry, Nadia talks about her remedy to get the berries she could not buy in the United States: home gardening. And she gives us a new recipe for gooseberry sauce that might even be included in a future edition of Spoonfuls of Germany.

A few years after I came to the United States, my cravings for the berries that accompanied the summers of my childhood in Germany became so strong that I decided to grow my own – gooseberries, black currants, red currants, and elderberries. I was happily surprised to find all types of berry plants are available from nurseries in the United States.

I would have loved to include dishes like Gooseberry Pie, or my grandmother’s Elderberry Soup with Egg-white Dumplings, in Spoonfuls of Germany but since I knew these ingredients are very hard to find in North America, I left the recipes out.

Four years into my garden, I am thrilled to report that my undertaking has been successful. The hardy berry bushes are thriving here in northeast Pennsylvania. I was even able to grow black currants. In Germany black currants, which, just like gooseberries, cannot be eaten raw, are used to make jams and jellies that burst with flavor. Black currants might not be widely known in the United States today but they were once popular, before their ban in the early 1900s, that is. The ban was based upon the suspicion that black currants helped spread a tree disease--white pine blister rust--that was endangering the country’s lumber industry. The federal ban on growing currants was finally lifted in 2003, in perfect timing for me when I started my garden in 2004.

Of course I couldn’t stop at berry growing. I also started growing everything else that we can eat fresh from the garden, or that I can possibly freeze or preserve in any other way. In view of increasing food prices and the desire to better control the chemicals that we put into our bodies, home gardening is booming in the United States. Just recently, on June 11, the New York Times reported that “seed companies and garden shops say that not since the rampant inflation of the 1970s has there been such an uptick in interest in growing food at home.”

Germans have always been keen on organically grown products, as long as they don’t cost too much, and are easy to find. With food becoming more expensive in Germany as well – my mother just told me on the phone last weekend that for two pounds of white asparagus, two pounds of strawberries, and two pounds of cherries, she had to dish out 19 euros (about 30 US dollars) at a local farm stand – I think Germans will also latch onto growing fruits and vegetables in their back yard.

For those of you who can get their hands on fresh or frozen gooseberries (canned gooseberries are not suitable because they contain too much sugar), here’s a great sauce for roasted poultry or game.

8 ounces ripe gooseberries
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup chicken broth
¼ cup white wine
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons sour cream
Salt and freshly milled black pepper

1. Cook the gooseberries in the chicken broth, covered, until very soft. Strain them through a fine sieve or a food mill.

2. Deglaze the pan in which you roasted the poultry or game with the wine. Strain the juice into a small saucepan. Add the gooseberry puree and the ginger and simmer for a few minutes to thicken. Add the sour cream, salt and pepper and serve hot.

Pictures courtesy of Nadia Hassani and her garden.

Red Berry Pudding with Vanilla Sauce (Rote Grütze mit Vanillesoße)

In the second part of our German berry feast, Nadia not only provides the recipe for one of the most scrumptious German summer desserts, but she also tells us why Red Berry Pudding is like German cuisine – a rediscovered culinary treasure.

When I was a child growing up in Germany, I could not get enough of this dessert, and I was never sure what I liked more: the fruity pudding, or the smooth vanilla sauce. It was not a popular dish. One of the reasons, I always thought, was the ugly name. “Grütze” means porridge in German, and the word sounds unappealing even to German ears. Because it was my grandmother who always made it, and because it was so hopelessly old-fashioned, I simply renamed it “Nostalgiepudding” (“nostalgia pudding”).

My first inkling how delicious Red Fruit Pudding was not only for my own taste buds but also for others' dates back to my 17th birthday party. I watched one of my classmates, a guy with the reputation for coolness and great intellect, standing next to the buffet and scratching the last little bit of Red Fruit Pudding right out of the large glass bowl! It was around that time that Red Fruit Pudding became a culinary blockbuster in Germany. It made a comeback, just like German cuisine did, and nowadays it’s everywhere. Despite its unappealing name, Rote Grütze has made it to Germany’s culinary hall of fame.

Redcurrants are much more popular in Germany than in North America, where they are nearly impossible to find. Actually, my craving for this dish was one of the main reasons I started my own garden. But I shall leave that topic for my next blog entry.

It is up to your personal taste what other fruits you use: raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or blueberries. However, but there is one rule of thumb: you should include at least one tart fruit. Cherries are a great addition too. If you use fruits that do not yield much juice, or if you prefer a softer consistency, you might want to reduce the amount of cornstarch. Likewise, the amount of sugar you use depends on the ripeness of the fruit. Taste the fruit before cooking and let your instinct be the judge.


There are also several possibilities for toppings: vanilla sauce made from scratch, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream. My American husband likes Red Fruit Pudding plain. First I kept telling him that he is committing a culinary faux pas but then I realized that I prefer it that way – it leaves more vanilla sauce for me.

6 to 8 servings

For the pudding:
2 pounds mixed berries (fresh or frozen) and pitted cherries, washed and picked over
¼ cup bottled fruit syrup or a good fruit juice (raspberry, strawberry, or any other of the fruit you are using)
Sugar to taste
½ cup cornstarch

1. For the pudding, bring the blueberries and cherries to a boil in a large saucepan until they pop or release their juice. Hull the strawberries and cut very large ones into quarters. Add the more delicate fruit like strawberries and raspberries last. Stir in the syrup and sugar to taste.

2. Dissolve the cornstarch in at least ¼ cup cold water. Remove the pan from the heat, stir the cornstarch into the fruit mixture, and cook briefly over low to medium heat, stirring constantly. Make sure not to undercook the pudding, otherwise it will taste chalky. When the pudding turns clear and thickens, remove the pan from the heat immediately. Continue stirring for another 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Pour the hot pudding into a glass serving bowl or individual dessert bowls. To prevent the glass from cracking when you pour the hot pudding into it, put a damp dishtowel underneath the bowl (that’s an old trick my grandmother taught me). Refrigerate for several hours until set. Serve the pudding cold, but take it out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving, so it can develop its full flavor.

For the vanilla sauce:
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1½ cups milk
1 vanilla bean, or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla bean paste

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and cornstarch. Add the milk and the vanilla. If using a vanilla bean, slit it lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with a sharp knife, and add the bean and the seeds to the mixture. Cook over low heat until the sauce thickens, whisking constantly. Make sure that the sauce does not boil, or the egg will curd. Remove the vanilla bean, if using. Refrigerate. Stir the sauce well before serving.


Pictures courtesy of Nadia Hassani and Wikimedia Commons.

"Berry-ous" Delights from Germany: Blueberry Soup with Caramelized Croutons (Blaubeersuppe)

Think that German food is all bratwurst, wiener schnitzel, and sauerkraut? This week, Nadia Hassani, author of Spoonfuls of Germany, is here to disabuse of us of that notion with introductions to a variety of German recipes with berries – including cakes, desserts, and more!

Summertime is berry time, and German cuisine abounds in wonderful dishes with different berries. While some of the berries are widely available in the United States, such as blueberries and raspberries, you might have to hunt for gooseberries and other less common types, or join the growing ranks of home gardeners and grow your own.

Blueberry Soup with Caramelized Croutons, or Blaubeersuppe, is a refreshing, velvety soup and one of my summer favorites. It is a dish from the North of Germany, a cuisine that often combines sweet and sour ingredients. Traditionally it is served as an appetizer but it is also a wonderfully light dessert or a mid-day snack. The croutons are optional.

In Germany, the soup is made with “Heidelbeeren” (bilberries or whortleberries), the European cousin of the blueberry. Bilberries are smaller and tarter than the North American blueberries, which work just as well. And, as we all know as educated consumers: size does NOT matter. The important thing is that the berries are ripe, so don’t be tempted by those gigantic blueberries that almost look like purple grapes.

A note about lemon zest: Countless German dessert and baking recipes call for lemon zest. Preferably the lemons should be organic lemons but since they are not always available, or quite expensive, I have resorted to packaged lemon zest. My favorite is moist lemon zest, which is also sold as “European” lemon zest. You can also use dehydrated lemon zest, but to get the full flavor, you need to soak it in warm water for 15 minutes before adding it to the dish.

6 to 8 servings

Soup:
2 pints fresh blueberries
½ cup sugar
1 stick cinnamon
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated, preferably organic
2 cups dry red wine
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Croutons:
8 thin slices baguette, or 4 slices firm white bread
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon sugar

1. For the soup, clean the blueberries and pick them over for culls. Put them in a large saucepan with 2 cups water, the sugar, cinnamon stick, and lemon zest. Cover and cook over low to medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain the soup through a fine sieve and pour it back into the pan. Add the wine and bring the soup back to a simmer.

2. Mix the cornstarch with a few tablespoons of the soup in a small bowl until the cornstarch is completely dissolved, and whisk it into the soup. Simmer until the soup thickens and the cornstarch becomes clear. Remove from the heat. Cool and chill.

3. For the croutons, cut the bread into 1⁄2-inch cubes. Heat the butter in a large skillet and add the bread. Crisp the bread over high heat, turning frequently. Sprinkle the sugar over the bread and caramelize. Stir the soup well, ladle it in individual soup bowls, and top with a few croutons. Serve at once.

Pictures courtesy of Nadia Hassani and Wikimedia Commons.

Honey and Beekeeping in Slovenia - Škofjeloški Medeni Kruhki (Honey Biscuits)

Our last entry from Heike Milhench, guest blogger for the week and Hippocrene's expert on Slovenian culture and cuisine:

Čebela je kot beseda; ima med in želo.
A bee is like a word; it has honey and a sting.
- Slovenian Proverb

Man has depended on honey as a food and a medicine for thousands of years. However, not until the nineteenth century did modern beekeeping develop as we know it today in Slovenia. The first mention of beehives made of boards is in The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola written by the Slovenian scientist Janez Vajkard Valvasor in 1689. In the mid-eighteenth century, honeycomb boxes were invented in Kranjić, allowing the combs to be moved like drawers. This was an important turning point in apiculture. Anton Janša, a well-known Slovenian teacher of apiculture, developed the method of smoking bees out of their hive to collect the honey.

Beekeeping in Slovenia has contributed to the country’s most popular form of folk art, with the creation of painted beehive doors, panjske končnice. Dating as far back as the mid-eighteenth century, these painted wooden panels were made at monasteries and originally depicted religious scenes. Between 1820 and 1880, panjske končnice became all the rage and the scenes became profane, depicting humorous or satirical scenes from Slovenian folklore. As an example, a traditional beehive door depicts the devil sharpening a woman’s tongue, and two farmers fighting over a cow, while the lawyer milks the cow. The panels were painted by professional artists and amateurs alike. They used paint prepared with linseed oil, ensuring their longevity. This form of art ended in the early nineteenth century, when larger hives were built. The traditional-style panels are still made today for sale as souvenirs and gifts.

Bees and honey are still important in today’s Slovenia. Honey is produced and sold all over the country for use in bread, cakes and cookies. Beeswax is used to make decorative candles. Mead (medeno žganje) is a honey brandy, which is considered to have medicinal purposes. Pollen, propolis, and royal jelly are all used in homeopathic medicine. Many popular cake and cookie recipes use honey, such as this recipe for Honey Biscuits:

The Bee List: mead, or honey wine, and wax candles

Makes 60 cookies

4 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups honey
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
Grated lemon peel and juice from 1 lemon
3 tablespoons baking powder
4 tablepoons oil or butter, melted
¼ cup rum or whiskey

Prepare the dough for the cookies. Sift together the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
Heat the honey until liquid. Add the honey, spices, lemon rind and juice, oil and whiskey to the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough is formed.Roll the dough out to a floured surface, and knead well.
Return the dough to the bowl. Cover and let rest at room temperature for two days.
On the third day, place the dough in a baking tin and let it sit in a warm oven (100°F or so) for 45 minutes or until the dough is softened.
On a floured surface, roll the dough out until it is ¼-inch thick.
Using a heart shaped (or other style) cookie cutter, cut the dough and place the cookies on a well-greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 300°F for 15 minutes.
After 10 minutes of baking, remove the cookies from the oven and brush them with honey heated with a little water. Return to the oven for the rest of their baking time.
Decorate with frosting as you wish.
Store in a tightly closed container. They are hard, but will soften a little if they are stored in a humid place.

Pictures courtesy of Heike Milhench and Wikimedia Commons.

Fried Olives (Ocvrte olive)

Heike finishes her marathon of Slovenian appetizers with a batch of fried olives:

Fried Olives make a great snack, and are served at Slovenian wine vineyards during wine tasting, to cleanse the palette. They are delicious made with a cornmeal batter, and are a hit at any cocktail party.

Makes 36 small or 24 medium-size fried olives

2 ½ ounces olives, pitted (approximately 36 olives or 24 medium-size olives), pitted, rinsed, and patted dry
1 egg
½ cup cornmeal
¼ teaspoon salt
Olive oil, for frying

Beat the egg in a shallow bowl, with a teaspoon of water.
Pour the cornmeal into another shallow bowl. Mix in the salt.
Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil. Heat the oil on medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes.
One by one, take each olive and roll in the egg mixture, then in the cornmeal mixture, until the olive is covered in cornmeal.
Fry each olive in the oil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned on all sides. With a spatula, roll the olives around periodically so that they brown evenly.
Remove from the pan and dry on a paper towel. Serve immediately.

Fried olives being served at a wine tasting at Movia Vineyards.

Images courtesy of Heike Milhench and Wikimedia Commons.

Zucchini Fritters (Ocvrt jajčevec)

Another Slovenian appetizer, straight from Heike's kitchen:

Zuchinni Fritters, showing the Italian influence on Slovenian cuisine, are a delicious treat. Served with a salad, they also make a nice lunch.

Makes 24 small fritters; 12 medium-size fritters

1 pound zucchini (2 or 3 medium-size), trimmed and grated
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg, slightly beaten
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Olive oil, for frying
Optional garnishes: sour cream; Parmesan cheese, grated; chopped fresh parsley or basil

Place the grated zucchini in a large bowl. Add the flour, Parmesan cheese, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir until you have formed a thick batter. Add an additional tablespoon or two of flour if necessary to get the right consistency.
Pour olive oil into a large heavy-bottomed skillet until the oil is ½ inch deep. Heat over medium heat. Heat until the oil sizzles when water is sprinkled in the pan.
Place large spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil, and flatten them with a spatula, not letting the fritters touch. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the fritters are browned on one side. Then flip them over, and cook them for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they are browned on the other side. When the fritters are browned evenly on both sides, remove them from the pan, and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Serve immediately; they will get soggy if you try to keep them warm. Serve with sour cream, additional grated Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, or plain, as you wish.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Fried Small Fish (Pečene Sardele)

The first of three recipes, in Heike's Slovenian appetizer series:

In Slovenia and Croatia, fried small fish, whether it be sardines, mackerel or smelts, make a wonderful appetizer with a cold beer.

Serves 4
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Olive oil, for frying
1/2 pound fresh sardines or smelts
Lemon wedges

Beat the egg in a shallow dish with a teaspoon of water.
Place flour in a second shallow bowl. Mix in the salt and pepper.
Coat the bottom of a skillet with ¼ inch layer of olive oil. Heat on medium heat until the oil starts to sputter.
Take each fish and roll it in the egg mixture, then roll in the flour mixture, until it is covered in flour.
Fry each fish for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it is browned on one side, then flip it over and cook 3 to 4 minutes on the other side, or until it is browned on the other side.
Remove from the pan and dry on a paper towel.
Sprinkle with freshly squeezed lemon juice and serve immediately.

Picture (Head Chef at Grand Hotel Toplice, in Bled, frying trout) courtesy of Heike Milhench.

Slovenian Appetizers: Lightly Fried and Delicious

Heike continues taking us on a tour of the culinary gems of Slovenia, with an introduction to three Slovenian appetizers. The recipes for each of these dishes looked so delicious that we decided it would a travesty to put them all together in just one posting and will, instead, be posting one a day for the next three days.

Here's Heike's introduction to Slovenian appetizers:

In Slovenia and other parts of Central Europe, fried appetizers make tasty treats. Whereas in the US where the term “fried food” has a negative connotation, in Europe, food is fried lightly in a small amount of oil with a flour or cornmeal batter. The results are delicious, and not overly heavy or filling.

Enjoy!

All three recipes will be posted soon, we promise! If you can't wait, though, you can use the map below to refresh your knowledge of Slovenian geography, in case you want to trek to find these dishes at their source:

Photos courtesy of Heike Milhench. Map copyrighted by David Liuzzo.

Arno's Cream of Mushroom Soup (Gobova kremna juha)

This week Heike Milhench, author of Flavors of Slovenia, takes Hippocrene Cooks on a trip to the Slovenian town of Bled, where she discovers a memorable soup at a local restaurant.

Bled is a picturesque town in the foothills of the Julian Alps in Northern Slovenia. A spa town at the turn of the century, it is a wonderful place to spend the weekend if you enjoy hiking, golf, swimming, or lounging by the pool. It also has beautiful old villas, some of which are now quaint hotels and restaurants. An additional treat is the friendliness and the openness of the Slovenian people.

During my first visit to Bled with an old friend of mine, we asked the gentleman at the hotel for a local place to go for a meal and a cold beer. He steered us in the direction of Gostilna pri Planincu. The minute we walked in, we knew we had found our place. Located in a building dating 1903, the pub and restaurant is very cozy. The bar is decorated with local art, car license plates from around the world, and motorcycle posters. It is truly a local restaurant, and on Sunday afternoons the restaurant is packed with families from Bled enjoying a leisurely meal. Local wines are served, as are local beers on tap. The fare is simple, but delicious, using local ingredients from Slovenia and northern Italy.

Gostilna pri Planincu is a third generation family business, currently owned and managed by Arno Pucher. Arno has traveled the world (hence the license plates) and enjoys entertaining guests from foreign countries. As soon as he heard us speaking English, he bought us a beer, and joined our table. A few hours later we were still talking and laughing with Arno, now enjoying his homemade blueberry schnapps, and listening to stories of his successful motorcycle races.


The following recipe comes from Arno. It is the signature dish of Gostilna pri Planincu and you must try it. You may use a mix of wild and cultivated mushrooms–feel free to experiment! It is a rich recipe. If you prefer to make it lighter, you may substitute milk for some of the cream, and skip the whipped cream on top (although this truly is a treat!)

Dober tek!

Serves 8
2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1½ pounds mushrooms (button, or a combination of portobello, shiitake, or oyster)
1½ teaspoons salt
4 cups beef or vegetable broth
2 cups assorted vegetables (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes) cut into small pieces
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried sage
¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
¼ teaspoon powdered mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
2 - 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1½ cups cream
Salt
¼ cup of chopped parsley, for garnish
1 cup whipping cream, whipped, no sugar added (optional)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring continuously, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and salt. Continue to cook and stir over medium heat.

Once the mushrooms are tender, after about 10 minutes, add the beef stock, vegetables and herbs. Cook over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

In the meantime, in a small bowl, combine the sour cream and the flour.

Slowly add the sour cream mixture to the hot soup, stirring continuously. Add the cream, stirring continuously.

Add salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

Remove the soup from the heat. Serve in bowls and top each with a spoonful of unsweetened whipped cream and a sprinkle of the parsley. Serve immediately with fresh bread and butter.

Pictures courtesy of Heike Milhench.