Germany – Cook and Drink

Flammkuchen

15 February 2024

We continue our series of very simple, tasty dishes by preparing Flammkuchen (Tarte Flambée in France, Feuerfleck in Austria). The dish originates from the Alsace. The first part of the name refers to fire and flames. The story is that bakers baked bread in wood fired ovens. The oven would initially become too hot, and the bakers had to wait for the oven to cool and reach the right temperature. The Flammkuchen would be the indicator. If it was ready within two minutes or so, then the temperature was right. If it would burn, the oven was too hot, but nothing was wasted.

The dough of Flammkuchen is extremely simple, but also a bit puzzling. In all cases it’s flour, salt, olive oil and water. Some suggest adding egg yolks, others yeast. Adding yeast makes it into a bread dough. Doesn’t it seem obvious that the bakers would use the already prepared dough? Adding egg yolks seems odd too us. Why make a more expensive dough for a product that was to be used as an indicator only?

Back to yeast or no yeast. Which brings us to the question: isn’t Flammkuchen a kind of pizza? They do look very similar, and both are baked in a hot oven, but there are differences. Traditionally Flammkuchen are covered with crème fraîche, lardons and thinly sliced onions. The Flammkuchen should be very thin and very crispy. We think the bakers didn’t use their bread dough but made a quick, simple dough with the sole aim to test the temperature of the oven. Perhaps only water and flour?

Another difference is that Flammkuchen were not on the menu of restaurants until the 1960’s. Probably you would buy them at the local bakery or make them at home. Thanks to the global popularity of pizza, Flammkuchen have gained some visibility.

Drink Pairing

Flammkuchen are tasty, crispy, flavourful and not complex. Enjoy with a glass of white wine, with a beer, or your favourite drink.

What You Need

For the Dough
- 250 grams of Flour
- 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
- 125 ml Water
- Pinch of Salt
Crème Fraîche
Black Pepper
Mushrooms (we used Trompettes de la Mort)
Red Onion

What You Do

Pass the flour through a sieve. Add a pinch of salt and mix. Add water and olive oil and quickly turn the mixture into a dough using your hands. Don’t kneed too long. Leave on room temperature for an hour. Pre-heat your oven to 220 °C or 430 °F. Roll out until very thin, 2 millimetre is perfect. Add black pepper to the crème fraiche and mix. Place the dough on baking or parchment paper in a baking tray, cover with a layer of crème fraiche, add mushrooms and sliced onion. Bake for 10-12 minutes or so and serve immediately.

Baking Flammkuchen on a higher temperature is preferred, but then you can’t use baking or parchment paper. Best is to use a pizza stone. The baking time will be 3 to 5 minutes on 300 °C or 570 °F.

Cucumber and Potato Salad

12 June 2023

For many years we enjoyed the weekly Schnitzel evening at Café Heider in Potsdam, Germany. A traditional veal schnitzel served with a lukewarm cucumber and potato salad and (in autumn) with cranberry compote. The very thin meat is dusted with flour, then coated with egg and finally with breadcrumbs made from Kaiser rolls. The schnitzel is fried very quickly in rapeseed oil and then transferred to a second pan to be fried in clarified butter. The result is crispy and absolutely delicious. A dish to be enjoyed with a nice beer or a glass of white wine (Sylvaner).

The lukewarm salad was equally tasty, so one we wanted to prepare at home. Our first try was not even close to the one served at Café Heider. It was just cucumber with potato and a dressing. Obviously, we needed to do a bit of research. The result is a light, flavourful, refreshing salad, one that goes very well with Wiener Schnitzel (as you would expect) but also with Haddock, Cod Cheeks or Chicken à la Milanese.

If you happen to be in Berlin or Potsdam, please visit Café Heider. During the DDR years this was the only privately owned bar/café/restaurant in Potsdam. A place where people would go to meet and talk, although the much-feared Stasi (the state security service of the DDR) was never far away.

What You Need

(Organic) Cucumber
One Waxy Potato
White Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil
Dill
Chives
Vegetable Stock
Black Pepper

What You Do

The taste of the salad very much depends on the cucumber, so make sure you buy one that is tasty and not watery. Another key ingredient is the vegetable stock (onion, leek, carrot, celery, bouquet garni). If possible, please don’t use cubes; in general stock made with cubes is salty with very little aroma and flavour.

Cook the unpeeled potato until just done. Let cool. Make a dressing by combining olive oil, vegetable stock and vinegar, ratio 1:2:2. When marinating the cucumber in the dressing it will be enhanced by juices from the cucumber. Peel the cucumber, slice thinly and add to the dressing. Slice the potato, preferably as thin as the cucumber and add to the dressing. We’re not too keen on potatoes, so our salad is more about cucumber than about potatoes. Add coarsely chopped dill and chives to the salad. Mix and transfer to the refrigerator and allow to cool for a few hours. Don’t forget to mix every hour, taking care not to crumble the potato. Add some fresh black pepper and dill just before serving.

PS

Perhaps you wonder what happed to lukewarm. That’s achieved by adding lukewarm vegetable stock to the cucumber salad (at room temperature) just before serving. We prefer the cool, integrated version!

Classic Cèpes

22 September 2022

What better way to start the mushroom season than serving Classic Cèpes? The recipe is very simple and the result is about cèpes and cèpes alone. The stems a bit firm, the caps moist, the flavours intense and the taste rich and earthy, with a touch of freshness from the parsley. It’s a classic in Germany (Steinpilze auf klassische Art), France (similar to Cèpes a la Bordelaise), Italy and many other countries.

Wine Pairing

If you want to enjoy the cèpes with a glass of white wine, then we suggest drinking one that is fresh, fruity, round and balanced, for instance of a glass of Bodegas Mocén Selección Especial made from verdejo grapes. A glass of rosé with similar flavours is also a good idea. The idea is to support the cèpes by adding fruitiness and freshness to the dish.

When you decide to drink a glass of red wine, then we suggest a full-bodied red wine with gently fruit and present tannins.

What You Need

200 gram Cèpes
Butter
One small Shallot
Parsley
Black Pepper

What You Do

Clean the mushrooms and slice lengthwise. Finely chop the shallot and the parsley. Add butter to a relatively hot heavy iron skillet. Reduce the heat and fry the cèpes for a few minutes. Add the shallot. Cook on medium heat for 2 minutes. Add chopped parsley, add more butter, black pepper and stir. Serve on a warm plate.