October 2012 Recipes

This month’s recipes have a Bavarian theme to tie in with the OktoberFest celebrations.  They are: German Pot Roast, Farmer-style Potatoes, Dumplings, Soft Pretzels and Fresh Sauerkraut, Shortbread Cake Pops Cheat’s Apple Strudel.

German Pot Roast (Sauerbraten) (6 servings)

Ingredients
1 kg rump or topside
30 ml canola oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 celery stick, sliced
15 ml cake flour
45 g ginger biscuits, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Marinade
400 ml dry red wine
150 ml red wine vinegar
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
15 ml muscovado sugar
2.5 ml freshly grated nutmeg
2.5 ml ground pimento or allspice
2.5 ml salt
2 dried bay leaves, crumbled
150 ml water

1. Make the marinade 2 to 3 days in advance.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
3. Place the meat in a bowl or dish that holds the meat snugly and pour the marinade over the meat. The marinade should come at least halfway up the sides of the bowl.
4. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days, turning the meat over twice a day.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 200 °C.
6. Lift the meat from the marinade, drain well and pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper.
7. Strain and reserve the marinade.
8. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish and brown the meat on all sides. Remove the meat and set aside.
9. Add the onion, celery and carrot to the casserole and stir-fry until cooked.
10. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir-fry at a high heat for 1 minute.
11. Stir in 400 ml of the reserved marinade and bring to a boil while stirring.
12. Place the beef on top of the vegetables and baste with the liquid.
13. Cover with a lid and roast for about 2.5 hours or until the meat is tender.
14. Transfer the meat to a warmed serving dish and cover loosely with foil.
15. Strain the cooking liquid, pour it into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
16. Add the ginger biscuits and stir until the sauce is smooth. Season to taste.
17. Slice the meat and serve with a little of the sauce spooned over.
18. Serve with spaetzle or Bauern Kartoffeln (recipes overleaf).

Note:
Leftovers can be combined with mustard and sauerkraut and used as a filling for sandwiches.

Farmer-style Potatoes (Bauern Kartoffeln) (6 servings)

Ingredients
500 g medium potatoes
2.5 ml salt
125 g bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, finely sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
50 ml fresh parsley, finely chopped

1. Place the potatoes and salt in a large saucepan and cover with water.
2. Bring to the boil and cook until just fork tender.
3. Drain the potatoes and allow to cool on a chopping board.
4. Stir-fry the bacon in a large saucepan until the fat is rendered. Add the onion and cook until the onion is translucent.
5. Flatten the potatoes with the palm of your hand or a spoon and transfer them to the saucepan.
6. Season the potatoes with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. Stir-fry the potatoes in the pan with the bacon and onion until the potato is crispy. Add a little olive oil if the pan is too dry.
8. Transfer the potatoes to a serving dish, garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Dumplings (Spaetzle) (6 servings)

Ingredients
250 ml cake flour
5 ml salt
freshly ground black pepper
1.25 ml ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
60 ml milk

1. Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.
2. In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture.
3. Gradually draw in the flour from the sides and combine well; the dough should be smooth and thick. Let the dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Bring 3 liters of salted water to a boil in a large saucepan and then reduce to a simmer.
5. To form the spaetzle, hold a large holed colander or slotted spoon over the simmering water and push the dough through the holes with a spoon. Do this in batches so you don’t overcrowd the saucepan.
6. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the spaetzle floats to the surface, stirring gently to prevent sticking.
7. Drain the spaetzle in a colander and give it a quick rinse with cold water.
8. The spaetzle can be made up to 1 hour in advance.

Fresh Sauerkraut (8 servings)

Ingredients
15 ml olive oil
125 ml onion, finely sliced
1 medium green cabbage, shredded
250 ml cider vinegar
125 ml apple cider
125 ml water
15 ml Maldon salt
5 ml carraway seed (optional)

1. Heat the oil in saucepan over medium-high heat and cook onion, stirring constantly, until it begins to soften and turn translucent.
2. Add the cabbage, cider, vinegar, water, salt and caraway seeds, if used, and bring to a boil.
3. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for approximately 30 to 45 minutes, until the cabbage is tender. Add a little water if it gets too dry.
4. The Sauerkraut can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Soft Pretzel (8 servings)

Dough
750 ml bread flour
10 ml salt
5 ml sugar
1 x 10 g packet instant Yeast
350 ml warm milk
40 g unsalted butter
125 ml extra bread flour

Poaching Liquid
1 liter of water
30 ml bicarb of soda
20 ml sugar

Egg Wash
1 large egg
5 ml water
Maldon salt

1. Line two baking trays with Wizbake baking sheets.
2. Combine the first quantity of the bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
3. Combine the butter and milk in a small saucepan and heat until the butter is melted. The temperature of the milk should be about 38 °C.
4. Add the milk mixture to the mixing bowl and mix on low until combined.
5. Knead on medium-low until the dough pulls away from sides of bowl.
6. Gradually add the extra flour until a soft dough is formed. If the dough is still wet and sticky, add more bread flour.
7. After 10 minutes, remove the dough from the bowl, spray the bowl with cooking spray, return the dough to the bowl, cover with Clingwrap and let rise in a warm place, until the dough has doubled in size. About 2 hours.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 200 °C.
9. Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan and add the bicarb of soda and sugar.
10. Knead down the risen dough lightly.
11. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces (use an electronic kitchen scale).
12. Using your hands, roll out each piece of dough into a 60 cm rope. Be sure to roll the middle part thicker than the ends.
13. Twist each dough rope into a pretzel shape. Form a U shape with a dough rope and twist the ends together twice.
14. Fold the twisted portions downward along the center of the U shape to form a circle, then gently press the ends of rope onto the dough to seal.
15. Place the pretzels on the prepared baking trays.
16. Once the water is boiling, submerge one pretzel at a time and poach it for 1 minute per side.
17. Remove the pretzels with a slotted spoon and drain on a clean dish towel .
18. Transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking trays. Cover with a kitchen towel and continue until all pretzels are poached.
19. Let the pretzels rest until they rise slightly, about 15 minutes.
20. Mix the egg and water in a small mixing bowl. Use a silicon brush and brush each pretzel with the egg wash.
21. Sprinkle each pretzel with the maldon salt.
22. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.
23. Pretzels are best eaten the same day, but will keep at room temperature, uncovered, for two days.
24. Do not store in airtight container or they will become soggy.

How to fold a pretzel

Shortbread Biscuit Lollipops (12 servings)

Ingredients
500 g cake flour
1 ml salt
250 g butter, softened
125 ml icing sugar
5 ml vanilla or almond essence

To Decorate
200 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
Royal Icing (see recipe overleaf)
Sugar balls, Fairy Dust, Cake Confetti or Crystals

1. Preheat the oven to 170 ºC and place Easy Pop Moulds of your choice on baking trays.
2. Combine the flour and the salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy in the bowl of a stand mixer. Or use a mixing bowl and an electric hand whisk.
4. Add the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
5. Beat in the flavouring of your choice.
6. Stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated.
7. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in cling wrap, and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or until firm.
8. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and place a portion in each mould. Use your fingers or a wooden spoon to flatten the dough and smooth the top.
9. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.  Insert a stick into each of the moulds to make a hole, but remove them again before baking the biscuits.
10. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the pops are pale golden.
11. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool before removing the pops from the mould.  Insert the sticks into the biscuits before the biscuits harden and transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack to cool completely.
12. Place half of the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water.
13. Once the chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat. Add the remaining chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until it has completely melted and is smooth and glossy.
14. Taking one cake pop at a time, dip one end of each cake pop in the melted chocolate and place it on a baking tray lined with a Wizbake baking tray.
15. Once all the cake pops have been dipped in the chocolate, place the baking tray in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, or until the chocolate has hardened.
16. Store in an airtight container.

Variation
Melt chocolate of your choice and colour and flavour it to your liking.  Pour the chocolate into the moulds and set aside to set.

Ingredients
1 large egg – white only
5 ml fresh lemon juice
250 ml icing sugar, sifted
Food colouring

1. Beat the egg white and the lemon juice in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined. Or use a mixing bowl and an electric hand mixer.
2. Add the icing sugar and beat on a low speed until combined and smooth.
3. The icing must be meringue-like and of piping consistency.
4. When you lift the beater, the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl must remain on the surface for a few seconds before disappearing. Another test is to take a cookie and place a small amount of icing in the center of the cake pop. Using a small knife, push the icing to the edge of the cake pop. If the icing runs off the edge, thicken the icing by adding a little more icing sugar. If the icing is too thick, add a little water.
5. Add food colouring of your choice and transfer the icing to a piping bag with a small plain tip.
6. If the icing is not going to be used immediately, transfer it to an airtight container as it will harden when exposed to air.
7. Pipe a border around the outside edges of the cake pops. Let it dry completely before covering the surface of the cake pops with the icing.
8. Be sure to let the icing dry completely before storing the cake pops. This may take several hours.
9. Cover the icing when not in use.
10. Store the cake pops between layers of wax paper for the best results.
11. The cake pops will keep several days in an airtight container.

 Cheat’s Apple Strudel (8 servings)

Ingredients
8 sheets phyllo pastry
60 g melted butter

Crumb Filling
50 g walnuts, coarsely chopped
60 ml dried breadcrumbs
75 ml sugar
5 ml ground cinnamon

 Apple Filling
1 x 765 g tin unsweetened pie apples
30 ml honey or sugar
icing sugar to dust the baked roll

1. Lay out the first sheet of phyllo pastry, brush with melted butter, cover with the second sheet and brush again.
2. To make the crumb filling, combine the nuts, breadcrumbs, sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle 1/4 of the mixture over the pastry.
3. Cover with the 3rd sheet of pastry, brush again and repeat the sprinkling and layering 3 x more, ending with pastry.
4. For the apple filling, chop the apples coarsely in the tin, mix in the sugar or honey and spread over the layered pastry, allowing about 40 mm at all edges uncovered.
5. Fold over the pastry layers from the sides to cover the filling and roll up carefully and not too tightly to allow for expansion during baking.
6. Lift the roll onto a greased baking tray and brush with the remaining butter
7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170 °C and bake the roll for 40 minutes until the crust is crisp and golden.
8. If the roll becomes golden before 40 minutes have elapsed, cover loosely with foil and bake the full 40 minutes to ensure that the pastry on the inside is thoroughly baked.
9. Dust the roll generously with icing sugar and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before transfer it to a serving platter.
10. Cut into slices with an electric or very sharp bread knife. The pastry will be very flaky. It will become less flaky if allowed to stand for a while.

Variations
Replace half of the apples with drained canned pears.
Replace the walnuts with pecan nuts or use 50/50.