German Green Beans with Bacon
Learn today how to make German Green Beans with Bacon, nicely wrapped. It’s a delicious side dish for any menu. The recipe is using summer savory (Bohnenkraut) which is an herb that came to Germany in the 9th century, brought by monks to grow in their monastery gardens.
Summer savory is used in combination with vegetable like beans, lentils, dried peas and helps with the digestion, diminishing unpleasant side effects. Find it fresh on a farmers market, or get the seeds. It is not quite a common American herb, and it might be a bit difficult to find it. Using dry summer savory can be the alternative.
Green beans are very nutritious. They are low in Sodium, and very low in saturated Fat and cholesterol. Green beans make also a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate and Manganese. As you can see this green vegetable is very nutritious. Happy Cooking!
Ingredients German Green Beans with Bacon
800 g fresh green beans
10 branches summer savory (Bohnenkraut), fresh – optional
1 garlic clove (optional)
1 tsp black pepper corns
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp oil
8 slices bacon (Speck) or German ham, alternatively Prosciutto
1 tbsp butter
water to cook the beans, 1 dash salt
EDORA SEASONINGS ADD the SPECIAL TASTE
Cooking Instructions
– Wash beans and remove ends.
– Peel garlic clove, smash peppercorns.
Place oil in a pan, roast whole garlic clove, pepper corns, salt and summer savory briefly in oil.
– Add water, let cook for 10 min, drain.
– Separate beans in 3 portions. In this broth bring each green bean portion to a boil and let cook until soft (not too soft, they should be al dente)
– Dip beans fast in ice cold water (ice cubes and some water) to let them cool off, place on kitchen cloth and dry them.
– Wrap about 8-10 beans in 1 slice of bacon. If you use German ham or Prosciutto don’t pan fry.
– Heat butter in fire proof form (iron cast), place wrapped beans in form, cover with lid. You also can use a regular skillet and fry the beans until bacon is crunchy.
Important is to place the wrapped beans with the bacon seam facing the bottom and not facing the top. You can use tooth picks to hold the wrap together.
– Bake for 5 min on 360 F
– Turn them one time.
SERVING OPTIONS
Side dish for pork chops, pork or beef roast
With Fried Potatoes or Potato Salad
Roesti
Filet Mignon
Steaks
Good Source for German Style Meats Sausages
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German Lentil Soup – Authentic Recipe
The German lentil soup is a classic among all German soups. We tried out several options: Using lentils from a can and dried ones. We came to the conclusion: Dried lentils are the best. You can reduce the cooking time when soaking them the evening before in water, and let them sit over night. Just just need to boil them the other day in the same water.
In Germany these recipes such as Lentil Soup or Split Pea Soup are called “Eintopf” which means literally “One pot”. The fact that all ingredients are cooking in one pot at the same time, makes cooking easy. Just stir frequently and, if you use sausages, add the sausages five minutes before the soup is ready. It is also easy to make a vegetarian dish by not using the bacon and sausages. Happy Cooking!
Ingredients German Lentil Soup
(serves 4)
2 cups dry green or brown lentils
1-2 medium sized potatoes
1 medium sized onion
1-2 carrots
2 thin slices of German Speck (Bacon or smoked ham)
1/4 celery root
2 celery stalks
1-2 tsp sunflower or safflower oil
Purified or spring water as needed
2 tsp mustard, preferably German
Thyme and/or marjoram to taste
2 bay leaves
Salt, fresh ground pepper to taste
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
2-4 tbsp White Wine Vinegar (or to taste)
4 Wiener or Frankfurter Sausages
Cooking Instructions German Lentil Soup
– Wash dried lentils, then soak them in water the day before. They should be covered with water. Let sit covered over night.
– Peel potatoes and cut them into small cubes.
– Cut celery root, stalks and carrot in small pieces.
– Chop onion, cut ham in small cubes.
– In a medium to big sized pot heat oil, add onions and saute for 1 minute.
– Use lentils with the soaking water, add to onions. Fill up with water if you don’t have enough (lentils soak up the water, so you need to add some, lentils should always be covered with water).
– Add potatoes, carrots, celery, and bay leaves. Add some more water if needed.
– Bring to a boil, let simmer (covered with a lid) on low heat for about 1 hour until lentils are very soft. Do the test, if they are not soft, let them cook longer.
– While the soup is cooking, add mustard, vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
– Stir frequently so it won’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add some water if the soup gets too thick.
– 10 minutes before the soup is ready add the sausages to warm them in the soup. Of course you could boil them separately but the typical way is to cook them in the soup.
– If you want cut the sausages into pieces, and add them to the soup until they are cooked.
– Add parsley before serving.Serve the lentil soup with fresh farmers bread and butter. In Southern Germany the soup is combined with the Southern pasta specialty “Spaetzle”. In this case you would cook the Spaetzle separately and serve them with the soup.
– Recipe for Lentil Stew and Spaetzle –
TIPS
- For a vegetarian version: Instead of using ham and sausages just cook lentils with the vegetable.
- Add some tomato paste.
- Instead of oil use lard.
- Add vinegar before serving or use it as needed at the table. Helps to better digest the lentils.
- If you don’t soak the lentils the day before the cooking time will be on low heat (simmering) up to 3 hours.
Good Source for German Style Sausages & Meats
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Herring Salad – German Hang Over Breakfast
New Years Day is the perfect day for a herring salad because in general New Years parties come along with lots of drinking, so the next day is a hang over day. Now we need a “Katerfruehstueck” which means in English “hangover breakfast”. A herring salad is a typical hangover breakfast because it is sour and zesty – just right for such a breakfast. Happy New Year!!
Ingredients Herring Salad
2 eggs
2 tbsp apple juice
sour cream, natural yogurt
salt, ground black pepper, 1 pinch sugar
1/2 bundle dill
2 onions
2-3 pickles preferably German pickles
2 medium sized apples
8 pickled herrings each one 50g – Find it Here –
Cooking Instructions Herring Salad
– Boil eggs, keep them for some seconds in cold water and peel them.
– Drain pickles but keep the pickle liquid.
– Mix mustard, yoghurt, sour cream, 4 tbsp pickle liquid and apple juice.
– Spice with salt, sugar and black pepper; cut dill fine and add it.
– Cut onions in rings, apples in small pieces.
– Chop herring in smaller pieces, eggs in small quarters.
– Mix onions, pickles, apples, herring and eggs carefully (it should not get mushy).
– Cover the bowl and let salad in the fridge for at least 1 hour (preferably up to one day; make it the evening before and it will be just right for the party, or the day before for New years Day).
– Before your serve the salad try it and spice it again if necessary.
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Easy German Apple Streusel Cake
This easy German apple streusel cake is one of our favorite cakes (streusel means crumbles). It can be varied with the Damson plums, peaches or apricots. It is the ultimate “Kaffee and Kuchen Cake” in Germany – what we call a typical coffee cake. The cake is easy to make, even baking beginners can be proud of themselves. Give it a shot. This is a proven recipe from Germany. Happy Baking!
Ingredients Easy German Apple Streusel Cake
Dough
300 g flour
200 g butter
1 egg
100 g sugar
lemon juice
1 package vanilla sugar, 0.28oz
OR
– How to make Vanilla Sugar –
1 dash salt and 1 tsp baking powder (preferably Dr Oetker, not baking soda)
Baking Made Easy – German Streusel Cake Baking Mix
Topping
5 medium sized apples
cinnamon to taste
For the Streusel (Crumbles): 200 g flour, 200 g butter, 200 g sugar
Baking Instructions
– Combine all ingredients for the dough, mix until everything is combined well, then knead dough until it has a firm consistency, it should not fall apart.
– Form to a ball.
– Wrap dough in foil and keep cool for at least 30 min.
– Peel apples, remove core, slice them, mix with cinnamon. Sprinkle with lemon juice (prevents browning).
– Layer a deep baking dish (Height 2 inches, Length 16 inches) with parchment paper or grease it thoroughly with butte and dust with flour generously.
– Gently press the dough into the baking dish with a rim that is about 1 inch high.
– Pre-heat oven to 350F.
– Place apples on top of the dough.
– For the streusel combine all ingredients, mix until you get a crumbly dough.
– Evenly spread the crumbles on apples.
– Bake in pre-heated oven for 20-30 min on 350 F (175C). The baking time depends on your oven.
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Römertopf Chicken – Baked in Clay Pot
Have you ever used a so called Römertopf or Schlemmertopf? It’s a clay pot that is used in the oven, like a Dutch oven, and you can make delicious meals like the Römertopf Chicken.
Using a clay pot for cooking is very healthy because all nutrients will stay in the food. You don’t have to use any grease or fat, so it’s a perfect alternative for a pan fried dish. Every ingredient will be placed into the pot and cooked in the oven. The meat turned out to be very tender and to be honest, it was the best chicken that I ever served. To get a Römertopf is quite worth it. Happy Cooking!
Ingredients Römertopf Chicken
1 chicken, about 2kg
2 smaller carrots
1 of each: leek, apple, medium size onion
salt, pepper, mild paprika – mixed
250ml white wine
Clay pot size in inches: L 13 x H 10 x W 8 – I used this pot size for the recipe
Cooking Instructions
– Wash the chicken inside and outside, pat dry with kitchen paper.
– Soak the clay pot in water for 10 min. If your pot is glazed you don’t have to. If only the lid is glazed, soak the lid only.
– Peel apple, onion and cut into coarse pieces. Cut carrot the same way.
– Mix veggies in a bowl.
– Mix the salt with spices and apply to the chicken inside and outside.
– Fill the chicken with some veggies.
– Place chicken into the pot and place remaining veggies around it.
– Fill up with the white wine.
– Close with the lid and place in the COLD oven. This is important. If the oven is warm or hot you risk that the clay pot will break.
– Bake on 390 F 75-90 min or longer depending on th chicken size. When you see that it’s bubbling under the skin, it’s done.
– 20-30 min before the cooking time ends remove the lid and continue baking so the chicken gets a nice crust.
– When the chicken is done let sit for some minutes, remove from the pot and serve.
GRAVY
Drain the veggies and make a gravy out of the stock.
Keep the stock in a small pan, add 1 tbsp corn starch and bring to a boil. Spice with salt and pepper to taste and add 1 splash of heavy cream.
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Bratapfelkuchen for the Holidays
A special German cake for the holidays is the Bratapfelkuchen – a cake that comes with whole apples and a pudding filling. A true delightful cake! Happy Baking!
Ingredients Bratapfelkuchen
250 g flour
100 g sugar
1 egg
150 g butter
1/2 package baking powder – 8g
250ml heavy cream and 500ml milk or half and half (for making the pudding)
1 package vanilla sugar, 0.5oz
1 bag vanilla pudding powder – 37g
6 medium sized apples (slightly sour)
almond slices for the topping
optional: raisins, brandy, rum, apple juice, baking marzipan
Baking Instructions
– Make the crust by combining flour, baking powder, egg, sugar and butter. Knead until you get a smooth dough.
– Place the dough into a 10 inch spring form, add dough along the rim as well.
– Make the pudding by using the powder, vanilla sugar and milk/heavy cream or per instructions. You can additionally sweeten the mix with sugar.
– Peel apples and remove the core with a special tool (see below). You can fill the apple with marzipan or raisins that were soaked in brandy/rum or apple juice.
– Place apples onto the dough in the form and pour the pudding over it. Make sure to let the pudding not cool off too much. It should be liquid.
– Pre-heat oven to 375 F / 180C.
– Sprinkle with almond slices.
– Bake for 1 hour.
– Let cool off in the form.
Serve with whipped cream.
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Sausages in Beer Gravy – Authentic German Recipe
Sausages in beer gravy is a authentic and original German dish. Germany is the country of the best sausage making since centuries. The best sausages are made in Germany. You probably know the simple version of a boiled and/or fried sausage that you enjoy with a roll or bread and Sauerkraut. The recipe today shows an interesting way to cook the sausages: They are served in a beer gravy together with mashed potatoes and Sauerkraut. Any other side dish would be delicious too: fried potatoes, Spätzle, red cabbage or dumplings. For making the gravy you would use dark beer, see below what kind of beer to use. Happy Cooking!
Ingredients Sausages in Beer Gravy
4 sausages (uncooked Bratwurst or Brats)
1 onion
125 ml beer (preferably dark beer, if the typical Bavarian dark beer is not available, you can use instead ale, Guinness or Stout)
125 ml water
1 clove
1/4 bay leave
1 slice lemon
2 tbsp flour, salt
Worcester Sauce to taste
1 tbsp mustard (medium, preferably German)
NO SUBSCRIPTION NEEDED! Makes a Great Gift!
Cooking Instructions Sausages in Beer Gravy
– Place sausages in a pot with water and bring it to a boil; take them out.
– Heat ghee or butter in a skillet. Fry sausages on all sides evenly until they are showing a light brown crust on both sides.
– Remove from the pan.
– Chop onions fine and saute them in the same pan you fried the sausages until they are light brown.
– De-glaze with beer and water (or just use beer).
– Add bay leave, clove, lemon, salt, mustard and Worcester Sauce.
– Bring to a boil then place sausages into the sauce.
– On low heat and covered let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
– Remove bay leave, clove and lemon, place sausages on a warm dish and cover with aluminum foil (keep it warm).
– In some cold water mix the flour, stir until smooth; add to the gravy.
Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes, Sauerkraut or red cabbage.
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German Spaetzle – Swabian Noodle Specialty
German Spaetzle are not only popular in the South of Germany, in Swabia, they are known in Switzerland and the Alsace. I am very happy that I even can purchase dried ones here in the USA! But do you know how to make them? If not, then you will love the following recipe. Spätzle are served mainly with meat dishes cooked in gravy such as a roast, beef Goulash or beef rolls (Rouladen). They soak up the gravy and are therefor an ideal side dish for your pork or beef roast.
Do you actually know what the word “Spätzle” means? It literally means “little sparrows”. In 1725, Rosino Lentilio, a councillor and personal physician from Baden-Würtemberg, stated that “Knöpflein” and “Spazen” were “all the things that are made from flour”. Spelt was grown widely in the Swabian-Alemannic area at the time.
Since March 2012, Swabian Spätzle and Swabian Knöpfle have been awarded the EU quality seal for “Protected Geographical Indications (PGI)” and are protected throughout Europe as a regional specialty. In order to be able to bear this sign, one of the production stages of the product must have taken place in the respectively defined region of origin.
German Spätzle are originally from Baden-Württemberg, the region around Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Freiburg. German Spätzle served with fried onions and cheese are called “Cheese Spaetzle”, and this is a meal for itself that tastes awesome with a mixed salad.
To make them you can use a Spätzle maker like shown on the photo below. Just make the dough and pour it through the movable upper part of the board. Happy Cooking!
Ingredients German Spaetzle
(serves 4)
2 cups flour (wheat, all purpose) – or 250 g flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup water or mineral water – 1/4 l water
Delicious Swabian Spatzle from Lovegermanfood.com
Cooking Instructions German Spaetzle
– Mix the flour with half of the salt and the nutmeg.
– Add eggs, mix them in with a fork.
– Pour in water while stirring constantly with a large spoon until dough is smooth.
– Bring water to a boil in a big pot, add remaining salt.
– Set the Spaetzle maker over the boiling water and by going back and forward with the machine, press the dough through the wholes, a few tablespoons at a time, directly into the boiling water.
– Stir the Spaetzle gently to prevent them from sticking together.
– Boil them briskly for 5-8 minutes or when they are floating on the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon.
– Keep them in a bowl until all are done. Never do them all at one time.
That’s all, it is not that complicated. If you don’t want to make them from scratch just buy them packaged.
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