Red Cabbage dish and noodles? with Sauerbraten......

[DDW]

Hello!

We were just in a great German restaurant for lunch on Friday and would love to repeat this meal at home.

We had Sauerbraten (any recommened recipes would be great) the sauce was tangy, sweet and quite peppery.

The red cabbage side was smalled chopped pieces of red cabbage and was warm - it didn't appear to have any "sauce" but the cabbage had a sweet taste with a slight hint of cinnamon. Any ideas??

Next on the plate were little blobs of dough like noodles - can't remember what they were called but mixing them in with the gravy from the sauerbraten was so.....good and then taking a bite of the yummy cabbage - my tastebuds were going crazy.

I would LOVE to repeat this menu at home - can any of you help?????

Thanks so much!

Doni

[txzuckerbaeckerin]

The dough was most certainly "Spaetzle", which are noodles and for some reason are refered to in the US as "dumplings" God knows why. I have not seen a really great Sauerbraten recipe and the red cabbage in Germany never has sauce with it, but is mushy and chopped, it should be prepared with cloves and some folks use cinnamon, too. I'm on the road right now and will not have a chance to go through my german recipe books, but am willing to list some nice recipes, once I'm back in Sep. TZB

[Dee514]

May I suggest this recipe for the Sauerbraten .

As for the red cabbage, this is how I make it.

In a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan, melt about 2 ounces of pork or bacon drippings (can sub butter, but will change the flavor a bit). Add 1 large head of red cabbage (finely chopped/shredded) , 4 tart apples (peeled, cored and chopped), 1 onion (chopped), 1 teaspoon sugar, a few whole cloves (about 3-4), and just enough vinegar (or water) to prevent burning.
Simmer for 2 hours.
Add 6 ounces of red wine, and continue to cook the cabbage until the liquid is reduced to nothing.

HTH

[DDW]

I found the restaurant on the internet and checked out the menu. It was spatzle (they spelled it spstzle) but it was just little blobs. The recipes I've read here are talking about a special cutter - is that necessary? They called the cabbage Rotkraut and the recipe above sounds like the one BUT I know there weren't any pieces of apple or onion in it, unless during the cooking process they "cook away", is that possible??

I will check out the Saurbraten recipe above and look forward to any contributions come Sept!

Thanks!

I'm looking forward to having this meal on a cool Fall day.

[txzuckerbaeckerin]

Rotkraut is the german/bavarian word for red cabbage and the apples normally cook down and "dissolve". Yes, the noodles were Spaetzle, and the best way to do it is really with the Spaetzle-cutter. it looks like a shredder and has a little holding part on the top, that you fill with dough, the dough "flows" through the holes and by sliding the holder back and forth, you cut the strands and they drop directly into the boiling water of the pot underneath it. This is the best way and the cost well justify the result as the whole procedure from start to finish willl take you only about 30 min total. The Spaetzle will float on the boiling water, once they are done and you take them out to drain. They keep well and you can also freeze them, so it pays off to make a lot in one go. You can also reheat them in butter and or with cheese in a frying pan (artery clotter), which will then be called Kaes-Spaetzle (cheese Spaetzle).HTH for now

here is a link for you to look at some different models, some slide back and forth, some rotate, the sliding ones are about $15 retail whereas the round ones will cost you around $35
http://images.google.com/images?q=Spaetzle+maker&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

[DDW]

Thank you, thank you! I look forward to your recipes next month. I will have to look into a maker - any that you suggest is the best?

Thanks again!

[txzuckerbaeckerin]

You are very wellcome and I have a sliding one with medium sized holes. the faster you slide the top, the shorter the Spaetzle will be. It is also a matter, how fluid the dough is. The sliding ones will rest safely over rim of the pot and moving back and forth is easier for me, than turning around, but this is a personal thing...have a check and just google the thing and several stores will come up, that sell it. maybe you also want to check out ebay, there are some great deals out there. I have a back up one, that i found at GODDWILL, of all olaces! LOL. All the best til then and I will be back with some recipes..TZB

[DDW]

txzuckerbaeckerin wrote:
You are very wellcome and I have a sliding one with medium sized holes. the faster you slide the top, the shorter the Spaetzle will be. It is also a matter, how fluid the dough is. The sliding ones will rest safely over rim of the pot and moving back and forth is easier for me, than turning around, but this is a personal thing...have a check and just google the thing and several stores will come up, that sell it. maybe you also want to check out ebay, there are some great deals out there. I have a back up one, that i found at GODDWILL, of all olaces! LOL. All the best til then and I will be back with some recipes..TZB

Hey there!

I was wondering if you are back, I'm axiously awaiting your recipes. The weather is turning cold and a good german meal is sounding very good.

Thanks!!

[Molly53]

DDW wrote:
Hello!

We were just in a great German restaurant for lunch on Friday and would love to repeat this meal at home.

We had Sauerbraten (any recommened recipes would be great) the sauce was tangy, sweet and quite peppery.

The red cabbage side was smalled chopped pieces of red cabbage and was warm - it didn't appear to have any "sauce" but the cabbage had a sweet taste with a slight hint of cinnamon. Any ideas??

Next on the plate were little blobs of dough like noodles - can't remember what they were called but mixing them in with the gravy from the sauerbraten was so.....good and then taking a bite of the yummy cabbage - my tastebuds were going crazy.

I would LOVE to repeat this menu at home - can any of you help?????

Thanks so much!

Doni

Suss-saures Rotkraut

Spaetzle

[BecR]

I promise you, this is top notch. Better than my German mother's recipe! Tip: garam massala is a combination of ground seasoning such as black pepper, rock salt, cinnamon, cardamom and others. If you can't find garam massala, use just a small dash of each of these seasonings.

Braised Red Cabbage (Rotkohl): http://www.recipezaar.com/108449

Becky

[Koechin (Chef)]

I never use a Spaetzle Maker! I have an acylic med. size cutting board. I put my dough on that, Tilt it over my simmering broth, or salted water., and dipping my knife into the liquid frequently I keep cutting off small pieces. I grew up in Germany and that's the way my mother made them. Much easier and cheaper than buying another piece of equipment. (where to store LOL)
Spaetzel Dough
1 1/2 c flour
2 eggs
1/3 c water.
1/4 tsp. salt
Place the flour in a med. size bowl. Lightly beat the eggs, water and salt to combine. Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour them in and with a wooden spoon beat it together until smooth. I love to make soup and drop them right into the soup towards the end of cooking.
You can also cook them like noodles in salted water. Drain them. Then melt butter in a large skillet until a nice nutty brown. Toss the Spaetzel with the brown butter, sometimes they also use fine dry breadcrumbs, and serve as a side dish.
Enjoy, Ingrid/Koechin

[DDW]

Ingrid, Interesting, I wondered if you needed to have a maker or not. Do you could you scrape the dough over large flat cheese grater or would the pieces be too small. I have no idea what size they should be. You cut them as you are dumping them in the water, do you have to worry about overcooking them, if some are boiling for a longer time as you are cutting the rest of the dough? How do you know when they are done? Sorry for all the questions - I hate messing up recipes and tend to second guess everything. I appreciate any advice you might have.

[DDW]

BecR wrote:
I promise you, this is top notch. Better than my German mother's recipe! Tip: garam massala is a combination of ground seasoning such as black pepper, rock salt, cinnamon, cardamom and others. If you can't find garam massala, use just a small dash of each of these seasonings.

Braised Red Cabbage (Rotkohl): http://www.recipezaar.com/108449

Becky

Sounds good. I'll have to look for that seasoning and see if I can come up with it by Sunday. Which do you use, the brown sugar or the maple syrup? Do you remove the bacon or leave it in? And lastly.....I bought my head of red cabbage and it's on the small side, would you leave the other ingredients "as is" or cut back? Some recipes you can do that and others you don't.

[BecR]

DDW, I use either/or/and brown sugar/maple syrup (interchangeable).

Also, you leave the bacon in.

Even if your cabbage is on the small side, the other ingredients can stay the same. This recipe is very forgiving.

Hope you have a nice dinner! In German, 'Guten Appetit'!

Becky

[Koechin (Chef)]

Spaetzel can be pretty much any size. Sort of like worms (yuck) or litle dumling like. When they come to the surface, they are done! I have never had any of them fall apart or get over cooked. Not even when I reheat them in soup etc. Only once when I accidentaly used sef-rising flour did I have a mess. I had this scum swiming on top. LOL Will not make that mistake again! I don't know about the grater? I think it would be a bigger mess than it is worth. So you have nothing to loose to try my method. It is fool proof. Good luck, Ingrid/Koechin