Not far to go! (Week 45 - Austria)

Just across the boarder for our next food challenge and this provided us with the oddest name dish!

We did have the famous Weiner Schitzel, although I did read that there were important rules in its making, one of which was not to use brought breadcrumbs, but to make them yourself from French loaves which had been dried in the oven and then grated, I did make my own but out of older white bread. I also did a strange meal called Spaetzle; which I did with bacon and onion, but should traditional be done with cheese (which I don’t eat) I am not convinced I cooked it correctly as my batter didn’t fall through the sieve as they instructed. However, I did drop it in the water in tiny teaspoon amount and it cooked that way.

It looked revolting once all finished, we nicked named it ‘Cat sick’ but we thought it tasted great! There was some left over, and I labelled it ‘cat sick’ remembering not to give it to my Grandmother, as I am sure she would wonder why I had frozen it! My Mum makes a wicked strudel, using puff pastry, but my recipe called for filo pastry and the filling to have cherries rather than apples. As we had a glut of apples, I used apples and it went down a treat! I did make some other biscuits, which had a lovely lemon icing on, although my son didn’t like that bit! They didn’t last as long as I had hoped, which must be a good sign – would make them again, for sure. 

In the past I have made the Viennese Buns (Wiener Buchteln), which smell gorgeous when they come out of the oven and my little boys friend (who is a little fussy with his food) loved then, despite them being a little flat! We also had the infamous Linzertorte, which as my son pointed out, is jam tart. So I have included those recipes for interest. 

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Spaetzle…………………………………………………86

Weiner Schitzel……………………………………..88

Zimtsterne (Cinnamon stars) ….…………..86

Other recipes:

Sauerkraut (Cabbage dish)

Wiener Buchteln (Viennese Buns)

Linzertorte ((posh) Jam Tart)

Zimtsterne (Cinnamon stars)

(I made mine slightly different, in that I added all the meringue mixture and then made some lemon icing for the top using 125g icing sugar, 1 ½ tbsp. lemon juice.)
2 large egg whites
1 tsp lemon juice, plus zest 1 lemon
200g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
250g ground almonds
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger

1. Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and line a large baking tray (or 2 smaller) with baking parchment. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to whisk until foamy. Add the lemon juice and whisk again until they hold soft peaks.
2. Slowly mix in the icing sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is stiff. Remove about a quarter of the meringue mixture and set aside to use for the topping. Put the almonds, cinnamon, ginger and lemon zest in the bowl with the meringue and mix to form a stiff, slightly sticky dough.
3. To form the stars, put the dough on a piece of baking parchment lightly dusted with icing sugar and dust the top of the dough with sugar, too. Place a second sheet of parchment on top of the dough and roll out to about 0.5cm thick (the dough is a little sticky, so the parchment makes it easier to roll). Peel off the top sheet of parchment and use a 5cm star-shaped cutter to cut out as many cookies as possible. Place them on your prepared baking tray.
4. Using the reserved meringue mixture, spread a small amount onto the top of each cookie, covering the entire top – you may need to add a few drops of water to make the meringue a little easier to spread. Put the tray in the oven and bake for 12-15 mins until meringue is set but not browned. Allow to cool fully before storing in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
   By Edd Kimber

Spaetzle

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

1/4lb smoked bacon, diced

1 yellow onion chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and milk. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until smooth; let stand for 30 minutes. Press the batter through a sieve into boiling salted water. Cook about 1 minute. Drop cooked spaetzle into ice water. Drain spaetzle and set aside.
2. In a skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until golden, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. In a separate skillet, saute the cooked spaetzle in the oil until golden. Add the bacon mixture, season as needed with salt and pepper, and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
   Source: http://www.food.com/recipe/bacon-onion-spaetzle-352913
   
   

Wiener Schnitzel

Wiener Schnitzel which is German for "Viennese cutlet” is traditionally is served with lemon slices and green salad or potato salad or cucumber salad and sometimes french fries.
Source: http://germanfood.about.com/od/meatbasedrecipesandmenu/r/wienerschnitzel.htm


4 (5-ounce) veal cutlets (or chicken or pork cutlets) pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1/4 cup all-purpose flour or brown-rice flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large well-beaten eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Oil or lard for frying (lard is traditional)

(I lightly fried mine, and then cooked in the oven – as I cannot tolerate deep frying)

Preparation

1. To pound meat thinly, you may want to place the cutlet between sheets of plastic wrap for easier washing up. Use a heavy, flat-surfaced pan to pound if you don’t have a meat mallet.
   Pound the meat evenly to 1/4-inch thickness for best results.
   To bread the schnitzels, set up 3 shallow dishes. Place the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in one, the well-beaten in the second dish and the bread crumbs in the third dish.
2. In a large skillet, heat at least 1/4 inch of oil to 350°F.
3. Working one at a time, dredge cutlets first in flour until the surface is completely dry. Dip in egg to coat, allow the excess to drip off for a few seconds, and then roll quickly in the bread crumbs until coated. Do not press the bread crumbs into the meat. The crust should not adhere completely, but form a loose shell around the schnitzel. Immediately place meat in the pan with the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Cook the schnitzel in batches, if necessary.
4. Fry the schnitzel for 3-4 minutes on one side. Make sure the breaded meat “swims” in fat. Contrary to instinct, the breading will take on less oil than if the meat is sticking to the pan. Also, the bread crumb topping has a chance to puff up a little, and your clean-up is easier! You may want to swish them around a little with your fork to make sure they are not sticking to the pan. Turn them over once and fry until both sides are golden brown. Remove from pan, allow the oil to drain off.
   
   

Quick Sauerkraut

Food.com
Serves 8 Ingredients:
15 ml olive oil
1 small onion, sliced thin
2  package of shredded green cabbage or 1 medium green cabbage, shredded
300 ml cider vinegar
120 ml apple cider
120 ml water, to taste (use less water if you like it more tangy)
15 ml kosher salt
5 ml caraway seed (optional)
 

Method:

1. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat and cook onion, stirring constantly, until it begins to soften and turn translucent.
2. Add cabbage, cider, vinegar, water, salt and caraway seeds 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. This can be kept in the fridge for 2 weeks.
   
   

Homemade Sauerkraut

I have included a more traditional recipe for sauerkraut, as it you need to allow time for the correct fermenting process to occur. Which is why when recipes refer to the inclusion of sauerkraut, it is often suggested you buy it in a jar.  nourishedkitchen.com Yield: 1 gallon

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

This is a simple recipe to make traditional, lacto-fermented, homemade sauerkraut using only cabbage, salt and time.
Ingredients
2 medium cabbage heads (about 4 to 5 total pounds, cored and finely shredded)
2 tablespoons sea salt

Instructions

1. Toss cabbage and salt together in a large mixing bowl and begin to squeeze the cabbage and salt together with your hands, kneading it thoroughly to break up the cellular structure of the shredded cabbage.
2. When the cabbage has become limp and releases its juice, transfer it to a sauerkraut crock or vegetable fermenter. Pack the salted cabbage into the crock or fermenter as tightly as you can, eliminating air bubbles. A kraut pounder is particularly helpful in packing the cabbage tight within the crock.
3. Continue packing the cabbage into the container until the cabbage is completely submerged by liquid. Cover loosely and allow it to sit at room temperature, undisturbed, for at least 1 month and up to 6 months, testing the sauerkraut every few days until it is done to your liking. Transfer to the refrigerator or other cold storage where it should keep for at least 6 months and up to 1 year.
   Notes
   If scum appears floating in the brine of your homemade sauerkraut, simply spoon it off. You won’t be able to remove it all, but spoon of what you can and don’t worry about. The real key to preparing homemade sauerkraut, and any fermented food, is that the solid materials rest below the liquid. Fermentation is an anaerobic process and to expose your ferments to air increases the likelihood that they’ll become contaminated by stray microbes, yeasts and molds which is why crocks designed specifically for fermentation (like this one) can help to eliminate the risk of microbial contamination and increase the reliability and consistency of your ferments.
    
   The finished product can be eaten cold, but is more often warmed up. A traditional serving suggestion is to heat sauerkraut with pieces of bacon and a liberal dollop of goose fat.
    
   

Wiener Buchteln - Viennese Buns

These are served at tea-time of as a sweet dish after a main meal.
Ingredients
12oz plain flour
7g dried yeast
4oz butter or marg
A pinch of grated lemon rind
2 egg yolks
½ pint milk (approx)
3 oz castor sugar
Jam
Cinnamon (optional)              

Method:

1. Mix in the flour and yeast. Rub in the butter, as you would short-crust pastry.  Add eggs, lemon rind and sugar.
2. Add the slightly warmed milk, slowly to make a fairly soft dough.
3. Beat with a wooden spoon until it no longer sticks, is quite smooth and shows little bubbles.
4. Cover it up and keep in a warm place, until it has risen to twice its size.
5. Sprinkle a warmed pastry board with flour and place the dough on it in tablespoonfuls.
6. Make a small well in the centre of each of the little ball sof dough and fill with ½ tsp jam (mixed with cinnamon, if using). Fold the dough over the jam and close tightly. Put into a well greased oven-glass dish and grease each bun on the sides or they will stick together.
7. Leave in a warm place until risen to double size, then bake in a cool oven for at least 40mins, or until golden brown.
8. While still hot, sprinkle with vanilla sugar.
   NB Vanilla Sugar is made by placing a vanilla pod, cut into two or three pieces, in a screw-top jar full of icing sugar. After about 10 days, the sugar is delicately flavoured.
   
   

Linzertorte - Jam Tart

Ingredients
6oz Sugar
6oz breadcrumbs
1 egg (whole)
½ tsp mixed spice
6oz marg
6oz ground almonds
1 egg-white
Grated lemon rind
Strawberry jam

Method:

1. Make dough using all the ingredients, except the egg white and jam. Put ¾ of it into a baking tin, with a loose bottom. Moisten the 1 in thick dough with the egg-white.
2. Make the rest of the dough into long strips and with these make a rim around the bottom layer of the dough and a lattice-work pattern on top. Paint with the egg-white.
3. Bake in a cool oven until well browned, and then fill the spaces with strawberry jam. 

About the country....

Austria is one of Europe’s most heavily wooded countries, ibex and Chamois (antelope) can be found there. But it is its arts for which it is famed for, the Vienna Boys Choir, the Lipizzaner Horses and their composers such as Haydyn and the Strauss family. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the greatest composers of all times. He created his own distinctive style with blending traditional and contemporary together and was born in Salzburg and was already considered a genius as a child. He made his first attempts at composition at the tender age of six.

Austria has a strong economy with machinery, metallurgical products and textiles being of particular importance. Austria's industrial sector is, however, one of the world’s largest, it is also where graphite is mined, which is used for lead in pencils; however the country’s most important industry is tourism. Salzburg, despite being the birth place of the greatest (probably) composer in the world, it is more famous for its association with the von Trappe family, and “The Sound of Music”. Austrians living outside of the city are not as aware of the phenomenon as people from Salzburg.

 

CUISINE

 Old Austria was a country of many nationalities, they met and mixed in its splendid capital, Vienna and so did their respective cuisines. There is a deep-seated belief in eating well, and their food displays a sublime regard for slimming rules. It is a mixture of Austrian, Czech, Hungarian, with a splash of Polish and Italian thrown in.

Dough made with yeast is used in many different ways and is typically Austrian. Such as Viennese Guglhupf. Apfelstrudel is a national treasure, along with Linzer Torte. Linzertort is often said to be the oldest cake in the world and dates back to at least 1653, but no one knows who invented it. There are lots of variations and the oldest known recipe is in a cookbook that was written 350 years ago. Named after the Austrian city of Linz, which is justly proud of this delicious creation, the linzer torte has a crumbly pastry base, a jam filling and a lattice top.

 
Interestingly I found more information on the country’s drinking culture than I did food. From coffee to schnapps. Austrian Kaffeehäuser (traditional coffee houses), especially coffee houses in Vienna, are relics from a bygone era, when artists, politicians, bohemians and army officers convened there to read, philosophise, play chess and engage in intellectual duels while sipping carefully brewed cups of coffee.

Every Kaffeehaus is different, but certain rules and regulations are honoured everywhere. For example, if you order a single drink you can stay at the Kaffeehaus as long as you wish, making it a viable second home. A useful rule of thumb: the more newspapers, games and regulars, the better the Kaffeehaus.