Goulash

Cold days have arrived to stay for long weeks. Last saturday was very cold and snowing here in Schleswig. We decided to go later that day, to the local Christmas market in the old Convent beside the XII c. Cathedral, but before to get some warmth and eat something special, we cooked one of the traditional dishes in Germany for cold days: Goulash.

Though Goulash is not german, it is indeed an hungarian recipe, it is known and loved by all the central european countries, mostly precisely here in Germany. I guess there is not a single german that doesn't like it. At least I have not met the first!

So here it is our home made recipe for Goulash, given to my husband from his mom. Delicious!

Ingredients:

• 500 gr Good quality lean Beef meat (1/2 to 1 inch dices) (avoid too much fat as much as possible)
• 200 gr Onion (chopped)
• 2 Tbsp. Paprika powder (sweet paprika)
• 2 Tbsp. Concentrated Tomato paste
• 150 gr. Sour Cream
• 1 Tbsp. Corn Starch or Flour (if you want a thicker sauce)
• 1Tbsp Oil
• 1 Tbsp margarine
• Salz
• Fresh grounded Pepper

Serving:

• 200 gr. short Pasta
• Fresh Parsley

Preparation:

Have your meat diced and onions previously chopped. In a large sauce pan, add oil and margarine to heat and dissolve. Add the meat in portions and fry them until it is dark brown, remove and add another portion, repeat process until all the meat is fried. In the empty sauce pan, add the onions and fry them until they are half transparent.

Then add the meat again and mix well. Add paprika powder and mix. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Season with some salt and pepper.

Mix everything very well for about 1 or 2 minutes. Then add 300 ml water, mix and let it boil.

Reduce the heat to medium and cover your sauce pan. Let it cook for around 90 minutes. Mix from time to time and rectify seasoning when needed.

10 minutes before finishing, cook the short pasta as you always do. After the 90 minutes passed and the meat is done, add the sour cream and mix well. If the sauce it is still too liquid, dissolve the corn starch or flour in 3 or 4 Tbsp of cold water, then add it to the sauce and mix well and let it boil. Move the souce pan out of the heat and let it rest for 2 minutes.

Wash the fresh Parsley, dry it with a clean cloth or kitchen paper, and chop fine.

In a deep pasta dish, serve the pasta, then add the Goulash, and finish with some fresh chopped parsley on top.

Enjoy!!!

Note: Goulash is a very spicy dish, I have reduced 1 Tbsp the original paprika amount. If you want it more spicy add 1 Tbsp more of paprika and more pepper. For a richer taste add 1 tsp roasted garlic.

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And after we had lunch, we went to the Christmas Market. Here are 2 photos from there:

Vanillekipferl - Vanilla crescent

Here comes another typical recipe from the wide range of options for Christmas cookies that are baked in almost every home in Germany during this festive days. Vanillakipferl, or Vanilla Crescent have to be my favorite ones... just LOVE THEM!

They are crunchy and at the same time dissolve in the mouth. Not that sweet in this recipe, and the taste of nuts with vanilla makes them a delight no-one should miss. And they are SO easy to make! -one of the easiest cookies I've ever made!

Ingredients:

• 100 gr Flour (I used whole grain)
• 150 gr Corn Starch (Maizena)
• 1/4 tsp Baking powder
• 110 gr Confectioners sugar
• 3 egg yolk
• 200 gr Soft butter or Margarine
• 125 gr Grounded Hazelnuts or Almonds (I made them with Hazelnuts)
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract (liquid or powder)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven in 180-200°C (356°F - 392°F). Mix the flour with the corn starch and the baking powder. Sieve and pour in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix first with your mixer using the kneading hook in slow speed first then on the highest speed.

Once all is mix and you have a consistent dough, place it in your working table and knead with your hands until you have a soft dough, like if you were making bread. If your dough is too sticky, add some flour to your working area and to your hands and continue kneading until it is soft and not sticky anymore. You can also place it in the freezer for some minutes.

Take a very small portion of the dough and form the crescent form (or half moon) and place them in your baking plate, previously prepared with baking paper.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes (check constantly as every oven is different).

When ready, let them cool down (I just had to get them out to our balcony for about 5 minutes, it is so cold, snowy and windy over here right now!) and then sieve some confectioners sugar over them.

Munch them and enjoy!

Lebkuchen cookies

Christmas is knocking our doors... or I better say our windows. Yay! It's been snowing since a couple of days now up here in the north of Germany. It is a bit ahead of time as it is not common to have snow on these last days of November. Nevertheless I celebrate it! I love snow and cold weather :). And because of that, last night I made a recipe I wanted to make since long. Delicious and crunchy Lebkuchen Cookies. (Lebkuchen Plätzchen in german).

Lebkuchen is a traditionally german Christmas biscuit. Comes from medieval times in the area of Franconia in south Germany. It is also known as Pfefferkuchen (pepper cake) or Honigkuchen (honey cake). The characteristic taste comes from honey and from the mix of spices used, usually cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, anise, cardamom among others. Usually Lebkuchen is very sweet and it is somewhat soft. But in this case I made them as cookies... and trust me they are delicious. I recommend them for any cold snowy afternoon, with a cup of hot tea with a hint of fruits, cinnamon and ginger.

Ingredients:

• 100 gr Honey (liquid)
• 180 gr Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract powder / or liquid or the inside of 1 straw pure natural vanilla.
• 150 gr butter or margarine
• 4 tbsp. Milk
• Spices:
  • 1/2 tsp. Almond extract (liquid or powder)
  • 1 tbsp. Cinnamon powder
  • 1/4 tsp. Cardamom powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Cloves powder
  • 1/4 tsp. Anise powder
  • 1/4 tsp. Ginger powder
  • 1 tsp. grated Lemon rind
  • 2 tbsp. Cacao powder


• 400 gr Flour (all purpose)
• 100 gr Corn Starch (Maize Starch - Maizena)
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• For the decoration:
  • 150 gr Confectioner's Sugar
  • 2 - 3 tbsp Lemon Juice

Preparation:

Place the honey, sugar, vanilla, margarine and milk in a sauce pan and cook in low-medium heat until everything is mixed and sugar and butter are dissolved. Move out of the heat and let it cool down. Prepare the flour. In a bowl, sieve together flour, baking powder, corn starch and cacao powder. Mix all the dry ingredients well and reserve.

When the melted butter, sugar and co. mixture it's cold, mix with your hand mixer on the highest speed. You will obtain a light yellow thick paste. Add all the spices.

Add by portions, 2/3 of the flour mix. Mix well until all ingredients are combined. Reserve 1/3 of the flour for next step. Pre-heat your oven in 392 °F (200 °C). Prepare your baking plate with a sheet of baking paper (maybe you will need 2 baking plates, that will vary according to the size of your cookie or biscuit cutter).

Place the dough mix in your working table and with the rest of the flour-cacao mix, knead until you obtain a soft non-sticky dough. If it is a bit sticky, add a bit more of flour. Cut in half.

Take the first half and use your rolling pin to flatten it until 1/2 cm or 0,2 in. Cut your cookies and place them in the baking plate. You can make the whole dough or you can reserve the half in the freezer. Keeps well frozen.

Bake for around 15-20 minutes on 356 °F / 180 °C . When done, let them cool down and proceed to the decoration.

Add the lemon juice to the Confectioners sugar. Mix well until you get a thick white syrup. You can use your pastry/piping bag, or more free deco -as you can see in my photos- with just a tsp., a knife or a wooden stick, letting the thick syrup fall over the cookies in thin lines. You can decor as you wish :)

Let them cool down again... and enjoy!