Zeughauskeller Potato Salad
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Salad dressing: About 1/2 C of a good mayonnaise, the fresher the better -- I think the Zeughauskeller makes their own fresh, every day -- mixed to taste with German-style mustard (i.e. a sharp yellow mustard rather than a brown one). Every utensil must be scrupulously clean, then scalded, including pans. ~- Peel and cut up potatoes. Cook until "almost ready", then drain (trying to retain starch). Put in pan. -- Pour BOILING stock over potatoes to bring out the starch and bind the potatoes together. Let sit 45 minutes to absorb. -- Chop parsley and onions (to taste) by hand. Add to potatoes, toss; let sit in hot mixture to add flavor. -- Pour salad dressing over salad: toss. Servings: 8
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Engadiner Gerstensuppe / Engadine Barley Soup
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Bring ham, beef, barley and beans to boil in about 30 fl oz water, and allow to simmer for about 2 hours. Add shredded cabbage and potatoes (other vegetables such as carrots and celery can be added if desired). After a further hour's cooking, thicken soup with cream previously blended with the flour, bring to the boil once more, and serve. Servings: 4
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Kloesschensuppe / Little Dumpling Soup (Oberlandner)
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Heat the butter, salt and water together until boiling. Add all the flour at once and stir until the dough cleans the pan. Then allow to cool. Combine the beaten egg with the dough mixture: then add the Parmesan and the chopped parsley. Form into small dumplings with two teaspoons. Heat the beef stock and poach the dumplings in it gently for about 5 minutes. Serve. Servings: 4
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Maluns / Long-fried Potatoes, Graubuenden Style
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Peel the parboiled potatoes and grate them on the coarse side of the grater. Sprinkle over them the flour and salt, and stir together lightly. Heat the butter and stir in the potato-flour mixture. Keep the heat low and steady, and stir almost constantly until the potatoes form large "crumbs" and are golden brown. When done, shave butter over the top before serving. Serve with Milchkaffee (half and half milk-and-coffee) and applesauce (a sharp or tart one is best). Servings: 4
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Basic Fondue (Fondue Neuchateloise)
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(Note: the above measurements are for *each* person. Multiply by your number of guests.) * Grated and mixed half and half. ** This is Swiss cherry firewater: clear, dry-tasting -- *not* "cherry brandy", which is sweet. Most good liquor stores should carry it, at least one of the US brands like Hiram Walker, or else maybe Bols. The best Kirsch is "Dettling" brand from Switzerland: another good one is "Etter". -- In Switzerland, fondue is usually perpared in a "caquelon", an earthenware dish with a handle, glazed inside; but any enamelled saucepan can be used, or a not too shallow fireproof dish. Rub the inside of the pan with half a cut clove of garlic, and let it dry until the rubbed places feel tacky. Put the wine in the dish and bring it to a boil. Slowly start adding cheese to the boiling wine, and stir constantly until each bit is dissolved, then add more. When all the cheese is in, stir the kirsch into the cornstarch well, then add the mixture to the cheese and keep stirring over the heat until the mixture comes to a boil again. Add freshly ground pepper and nutmeg to taste. -- Remove the dish to on top of a small live flame (Sterno or alcohol burner) and keep it bubbling slowly. Bread should have been cubed -- about 1-inch cubes -- for spearing with fondue forks and stirring around in the cheese. Other fondue info: Do not drink water with fondue -- it reacts unkindly in your stomach with the cheese and bread. Dry white wine or tea are the usual accompaniments. Another tradition: the "coupe d'midi", or "shot in the middle", for when you get full: a thimbleful of Kirsch, knocked straight back in the middle of the meal, usually magically produces more room if you're feeling too full. Don't ask me how this works...it just does. -- The crusty bit that forms at the bottom of the pot as the cheese keeps cooking is called the "crouton", and is very nice peeled off and divvied up among the guests as a sort of farewell to dinner. Servings: 1
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Potroasted Kid, Locarno Style (Capretto Alla Locarnese)
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Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle the meat with the salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a casserole, and add the sage, juniper berries, mint, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add the meat and brown on all sides. Lower the heat and add the wine. Simmer, covered, until the meat is tender (little more than an hour...). Remove the meat and keep warm. Strain the sauce. Put the sauce back in the casserole, and stir in the cream and rum. Bring to a boil and reduce to the consistency of heavy cream. Return the meat to the sauce and heat through. Serve with dry boiled rice and green peas. (it says here: but I served it with wide homemade egg noodles, and I think that works better than rice would, even if not strictly the way they would do it in Locarno.) Servings: 4
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Spatzli (Egg Noodles)
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Sift flour, salt and nutmeg together in a bowl. Pour eggs and 1/4 cup water into middle of flour mixture, beat with a wooden spoon. Add enough water to make the dough slightly sticky, yet keeping it elastic and stiff. Using a spaetzle machine or a colander with medium holes, press the noodles into a large pot full of boiling salted water. Cook noodles in the water about 5 minutes or until they rise to the surface. Lift noodles out and drain on paper towels. Brown noodles in melted butter over low heat, and serve with a main dish. Or, don't bother browning them, and serve in/with soup, or with stew. (Another method for shaping the noodles is to spread the mixture on a wooden board and cut off little pieces, dropping them in the boiling water and fishing them out quickly when they're done.) Servings: 4
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Roesti (Swiss-style Potato Cake)
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The potatoes should be boiled in their jackets the day before. These should be waxy potatoes of the potato-salad kind. The next day, peel them and grate them on the coarsest blade of the grater. Heat a large heavy frying pan, and let the fat get hot: then put in the potatoes, sprinkle with salt, and fry, turning them constantly. When they have soaked up the butter or whatever, add more. Now form a "cake" by pushing the potatoes from the edges of the pan into the middle and flattening down the top. Sprinkle with the water or milk, reduce heat, and cover with a lid or inverted dish. Shake the covered pan occasionally to keep the potatoes from burning, and leave on low heat for at least 15 minutes. The potatoes must stick together, but not to the bottom of the pan. When cooked, turn the cake out onto a plate, bottom side up, and serve. (Or alternately, brown the other side as well.) . Variations: (1) Saute 2 T chopped onions in the fat before adding thte potatoes. Don't let them brown. Also note that in this version, the potatoes will need less fat. (2) Saute 2 - 3 1/2 oz. diced bacon before adding potatoes. You won't need any extra salt. (3) Sprinkle cooked potatoes with grated cheese before serving, and heat it briefly in the oven to melt it. Servings: 4
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Stollen
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PREHEAT OVEN TO 350F. Combine the citron, angelica and raisins in a small bowl, pour boiling water over to cover, then stir and let stand. Melt the butter and let cool to lukewarm. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk in a large bowl, stir, and let stand a few minutes to dissolve. Add the salt, eggs, butter, granulated sugar, mace and cardamom, and mix well. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat vigorously until smooth. Add 3 more cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each. After adding the last cup, beat until the dough holds together in a shaggy ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or 2, sprinkling on more flour if necessary to keep it from being too sticky. Let rest for 10 minutes. Drain the fruits and raisins in a strainer and press firmly to remove excess water. Sprinkle the fruit and nuts over the dough, and resume kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add a little more flour as necessary to keep it from being too sticky. Place in a greased bowl, and turn the dough about to coat all surfaces. Cover and let rise until double in bulk. (This dough is especially rich, and the first rise might take as long as 3 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.) Punch the dough down and divide in half. Shape and pat each piece into an oval about 10 inches long and 4 1/2 inches at the widest part. Fold almost in half the long way, bringing the upper edge only about 2/3 of the way over, so the bottom edge extends beyond the top. Place the loaves on a greased baking sheet, leaving several inches between them. Cover lightly and let rise for 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 40-to-45 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and dust with the confectioners' sugar sprinkled through a sieve, then transfer to racks to cool. Makes 2 Loaves
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Fasnachtskiechli / Carnival Treats (Basel)
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Mix well and roll out 1/2 cm thick. Cut out rounds and fry in deep fat (200 C). Dust with powdered sugar. Servings: 10
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Salm nach Basler Art / Salmon Basel Style
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Season the fillets with salt and pepper, squeeze the lemon juice over them, and leave to marinate for a short time. Dredge the onion rings in the flour. Shake off the excess. Dredge the fish in the remaining flour, then brown quickly in the combined butter and oil for 5-6 minutes on each side. Brown the onion rings as well (after the fish have been removed from the pan). Arrange the fish on a warm plate and cover with the onion rings. Deglaze the pan with the fish stock and serve as a sauce over the salmon. Serve with boiled potatoes. Servings: 4
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Gluhwein
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Combine the ingredients in a pan and heat (don't boil!): strain and serve. Servings: 8
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Swiss "French" Salad Dressing
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Blend together all the ingredients except the stock or water in a blender or food processor until quite smooth. Add enough stock or water to give a lightly coating consistency. Put in a screwtop jar and keep in the refrigerator. Use within 3-4 days. Servings: 8
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Fruit Bread, Glarus Style (Glarner Fruchtebrot)
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Dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk: add melted butter. Sift flour with the salt. Add milk to flour. Knead until smooth, allow to rise in covered bowl in a warm place, about 1 hour. Soak pears and prunes overnight in cold water. Cook in the soaking water about 20 minutes, drain off water and put fruit through a meat grinder. Add coarsely chopped nuts to the fruit mixture. Soak raisins in kirsch: add to the mixture, along with sugar and spices. Knead mixture into one-third of the dough, and shape into two narrow loaves. Roll out remaining dough, cut into two rectangles, and wrap around the fruit loaves. Fold the ends under and place on metal baking sheet with the seam on the bottom. Prick several times with a fork. Allow to rise in a warm place for one hour. Brush with egg yolk and bake in a pre-heated 340F oven for about one hour. Servings: 8
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Chocolate Fondue a la Chalet Suisse
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Break the Toblerone into separate triangular pieces. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan or small chafing dish. Stir over *low* heat until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Serve in a chafing dish over low heat. For dunkables, serve each person a plate with one, or a combination, of the following: Angelfood cake, or ladyfingers, cut in chunks Orange or tangerine slides, strawberries, bananas Profiteroles of puff pastry Servings: 4
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Weggeliteig (Button Rolls)
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Grease a large baking sheet (or have ready a Teflon one). In a large mixing or mixer bowl pour the hot water and add the milk, sugar, salt and 2 cups flour. Stir to blend. Add the yeast: stir. Measure in the shortening. (The recipe's creator, a Swiss baker, insists that half of the shortening should be lard if you're attempting to duplicate the original flavor.) If working by hand, beat with a wooden spoon: if in a mixer, use the flat beater. When the shortening has been blended into the heavy batter, add the balance of the flour, half a cup at a time, until the dough is a shaggy mass and can be worked with the hands or under the dough hook. Knead for 8 minutes by hand or in the mixer, until the dough is soft and elastic. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside until it has doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Turn dough from the bowl, and punch down. Divide the dough into 24 pieces, and roll each into a ball until any seams disappear. When each ball is round and cohesive, fashion it into a long roll - 4 to 5 inches -- by pushing it back and forth under your flattened palm with considerable pressure. Place the rolls end to end on the baking sheet with a three-inch space between the parallel rows. If there is dough for more rolls than the baking sheet will accomodate, reserve it and repeat this step when the sheet and oven are available. Cover the rolls with wax paper and leave undisturbed for 40 minutes. Then brush each roll with the egg/salt mixture. Leave uncovered for another 20 minutes. At the end of the hour, brush again with the glaze. Preheat the oven to 375F. When the rolls have been brushed for the second time, face the long side of the rolls. Hold scissors at a 45-degree angle, and snip 5 triangular cuts across each roll, about 1-inch long, down the center of each roll. The points of the cuts will rise, forming 'buttons'. Dip the scissors in water frequently so the points don't stick to the glaze. When all the rolls have been cut, place the baking sheet on the center rack of the oven. Halfway through baking, turn the sheet end for end to equalize the heat on the rolls. They are done when glossy brown, 35 minutes. Turn a roll over and tap the bottom crust to make sure the crust is firm. Place on a rack to cool somewhat before serving. Servings: 8
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Roast Chicken Stew / (*Braunes Gefluegelragout*)
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Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed non-reactive saucepan: add the chopped onions and cook until translucent. Add the flour, and cook until the *roux* is golden brown. Pour in the beef stock and port. Add lemon slices, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Allow the sauce to cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then pour through a fine strainer, test for seasoning, and add vinegar and salt or pepper to taste. Add the chicken pieces and heat over a low flame. Servings: 4
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