austrian

Beef Bone-broth with Cream of Wheat Dumplings

March 18, 2018 By Caroline 7 Comments

Rich and savoury beef broth with fluffy cream of wheat dumplings add up to pure comfort in a bowl. This recipe packs a two-for-one punch: make the broth recipe, use part of it for the dumpling soup, and then freeze the rest to use later as your very own personal stash of beef stock. It will do wonders for pan sauce, add body to gravy and is so much better than using canned broth.

There is something very satisfying about taking a cheap bag of bones from the butcher shop and turning them into a delicious, healthy broth. Making bone-broth changed me. Now I look at bones from roasts, steaks, etc as possible additions to my next bone broth—I simply carve off most of the meat (leaving a bit on helps flavour the broth) and freeze the bones, saving them up until my next batch.

While bone broth has been trending these days as a source of collagen and minerals, Grandmothers everywhere have been making it for decades, and for good reason. The nice thing is you really don’t have to worry too much about exact measurements when it comes to making homemade broth. Work with as many bones as you can fit into your stock pot, top with water, add a few veggies and flavourings and let it all simmer for hours.

To extract maximum flavour from the bones, roast them in the oven first. This will provide crisp, darkened bits of flavouring to enhance your broth. I add the carrots and onions to bring out their sweetness as well. The roasting pan will emerge an hour later, crackling, sizzling and full of lots of browned bits.

While the bones are roasting, grab a few herbs (don’t overdo it, you don’t want to overly flavour the stock but just add a few subtle notes). Wrap them in a cheesecloth bundle and tie with kitchen twine, so they won’t fall apart during the hours of simmering to follow. This little package is also known as a “bouquet garni.”

Once you’ve roasted the bones, remove them from the roasting pan and place them in a large stockpot. Add water to the roasting pan and scrape up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan (this process is similar to the early steps of making gravy). The water will take on a lovely deep golden hue as you pull up all the flavour from the roasted bones and veggies. Once you’ve scraped it all up, transfer the water and any browned bits to the stockpot. Add the bouquet garni, celery, and top with water to fully cover the bones.

At this point, you can pretty much walk away, simmering the pot for hours, checking on it every hour or so to stir things up a bit. I simmer my broth uncovered to condense the flavours. It saves space in the freezer and I just add water back in as needed when I’m ready to cook with it.

Once done (five hours should be plenty of time but you can simmer a bit longer if you like) remove the bones and meat from the pot. (if you have a dog, they will go crazy for the soup meat (which you should remove from the bone before giving to them so they don’t choke on any bone pieces). Otherwise, it tends to be pretty flavourless after all that cooking and can be discarded.) Strain the stock into a separate container to remove any small bones or pieces so you are left with simply the pure, clear broth. Ideally, allow this to cool and place in the fridge overnight. This step will cause the fat to solidify at the top of the broth so you can easily lift it out in one piece and discard it. Otherwise, if you don’t want to wait, skim the fat from the top by hand before adding to any recipes.

With the fat skimmed off of the broth, one trick to freeze it is to use an ice-cube tray to freeze into 1-2 tablespoon cubes. You can freeze these in a ziplock baggie to drop into sauces, gravies etc. You can also use larger ziplock containers depending on how you plan to use it later. Remember to add a label with what it is and the date you made it!

Now, on to the Cream of Wheat Dumplings! These are based on a classic style of dumpling originating in Austria, known as Griessnockerl. Traditionally, I believe these were made with Semolina flour, however I use Cream of Wheat which is more readily available and makes for a nice, fluffy dumpling.

These are super easy. Start with room temperature butter, an egg, and some salt. Mix with a fork until the mixture is lumpy and looks like the photo below.

Next, add the cream of wheat and combine well with a fork, stirring and pressing for about one to two minutes. The mixture will be smooth and fairly firm. It should sit for ten minutes before you cook it. I once left it out for an hour causing it to get too soft. Then when I went to add it to the soup, it all fell apart. So don’t leave it for too long. Ten minutes is perfect. While it’s resting, heat up your beef bone broth and water. Add a bouillon cube and bring to a boil. Do a taste test for salt and flavour levels—usually I find more salt is needed. When the broth tastes right, and the dumpling batter is ready to go, it’s time to shape those dumplings!

This step takes a bit of practice. Use two spoons (very small spoons, ideally, as these dumplings will easily double in size while they cook). Pick up about 1/2 teaspoon of the dumpling batter in one spoon. Use the second spoon to shape into an oval shape, pressing the dumpling together. Drop into the soup, and keep going until all of the dumplings are done.

A few notes to avoid any issues with the dumplings falling apart (which so far has only happened to me once!)

Use room temperature, not melted, butter for your batter
Allow the batter to rest for ten minutes before you start to shape the dumplings—but not much more than fifteen minutes, to avoid the batter becoming too soft.
Don’t have the broth at a rolling boil when dropping the dumplings in, keep it at a gentle simmer.
Shape the dumplings fairly tightly so they hold together well. If they are too loose they might fall apart in the broth.

Depending on how large you made them, the dumplings usually take about ten to fifteen minutes to cook. They will float to the top when they are close to being done. Test one first, by cutting through it. The inside should be a uniform consistency. If the centre is still hard, you need to cook them a bit longer.

Serve sprinkled with freshly chopped chives. Some Maggi (seasoning sauce) at the table is always a good idea too in case anyone wants a bit more flavouring in their soup. A nice appetizer before a meal, or as a light lunch, this soup is both comforting and delicious!

Beef Bone Broth Soup with-Cream-of-Wheat Dumpings

4.5 from 2 votes

Beef Bone-broth with Cream of Wheat Dumplings

A beautiful savoury beef broth full of natural collagens with fluffy cream of wheat dumplings. A traditional Austrian soup often served as a first course.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Austrian

Servings 4

Ingredients

Beef Bone Broth

2-3 fresh parsley sprigs
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 Bay leaf
5 black peppercorns
4-5 lb meaty beef shanks/bones
1 meaty veal shank
2 onions: peels on, quartered
1 large carrot, quartered
2 ribs celery, quartered
water to cover bones
1 1/2 tsp salt

Cream of Wheat Dumplings with Beef Bone Broth

4 cups beef broth
2 cups water
salt to taste
1/2 beef boullion cube
2 tbsp softened unsalted butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cream of wheat
chopped chives to taste

Instructions

Beef Bone Broth

Preheat oven to 450°. Spread bones, veal shank, onion and carrot in a roasting pan. Transfer to the oven and roast until dark brown in places, about one hour.
Make bouquet garni: wrap herbs, Bay leaf and peppercorns in a cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine.
Transfer the roasted bones and veggies into a large stockpot. Add approximately two cups of water to the roasting pan, scraping up browned bits from the bottom. If you roasting pan is stovetop-safe, heating it on the stove may help loosen more bits. Add to stockpot with celery pieces. Top pot with water until bones are covered, and bring to a boil. Add salt.
Froth will develop at the top of the stock, especially during the first hour. Skim and discard the foam. Simmer gently uncovered for five to seven hours. Remove large bones and pieces from the pot and discard. Strain the broth through a fine sieve. Cool and refrigerate overnight to allow the fat to solidify at the top, remove. Transfer to storage containers and freeze/use as needed.

Cream of Wheat Dumplings with Beef Bone Broth

Heat beef broth and water, add bouillon and taste and adjust seasoning as required. Bring to a gentle simmer.
In a small to medium bowl beat egg. Add butter and salt, and combine well with a fork. Add cream of wheat and mix well with a fork, pressing to combine ingredients. Allow to rest for ten minutes.
Using a very small teaspoon, take 1/2 tsp of batter and use a second spoon to shape it into an oval dumpling, pressing together. Drop into the broth. Continue with the rest of the batter. If your spoons get sticky, drop into the broth between shaping.
Keeping the broth at a light simmer, cook the dumplings until they float to the top, about ten minutes. Check to see if they are done: cut one if half and see if the centre is consistent. Taste—if the middle is hard, cook for an additional five minutes or so. Serve topped with finely chopped fresh chives.

Vanilla Kipferl: The Can’t-Live-Without Holiday Cookie

December 4, 2017 By Caroline 11 Comments

This is it. The one everyone agrees is THE cookie. More delicate than shortbread, scented with vanilla sugar, to be made only with finely ground walnuts (no imposter almonds!) Take a bite and the cookie cascades like a buttery waterfall of sugary crumbs that melt in your mouth, with an elegant finish of earthy walnut. These are Grandma’s Vanilla Kipferl (Vanillekipferl), and this is the recipe her family has made for generations.

I remember when Grandma shared the recipe with me. She told me a special grinder was needed for the walnuts, to get them fine enough. And that she mixed everything right on the countertop. (No bowls: mind=blown!) She taught me how the residual amount of butter on the foil wrappers they come in is usually just enough to grease the cookie sheets if you rub the wrapper directly onto the sheet. Her recipe was completely in metric, and she had what I thought was the most unusual dry measuring tool. It was shaped like a funnel with ingredients like flour, sugar, etc outlined in German on the inside along the top, and the corresponding units in grams below each ingredient (as 100 g of flour would sit at a different height in the funnel than 100 g of sugar). No mixing tools were used at all, she just used her hands to form the dough.

I was determined to learn how to make these cookies, so I went home loaded with notes and worked on sorting it all out into something I could make with the tools I had. For starters, the walnuts. While she highly preferred using a specialized hand-grinder, I didn’t have this so I tried out my mini-food processor to grind the nuts instead. I have done this ever since and with a good quality, sharp blade you can get the nuts quite fine. No one has ever complained about the texture when eating my cookies, so I think it is just fine this way. Though if you have a German hand grinder, it would certainly make for a lovely, fine texture for your cookies. Below you can see a close-up photo of the grind texture obtained using a mini-processor. You also need to take care not to over-process, after which you will turn the nuts into nut butter instead of ground nuts!

Next, how to mix the dough. I have to admit I felt a bit uneasy diving in using my hands in the early stages of the dough with so much butter. I also preferred the comfort of using a mixing bowl. My instincts told me to treat this a bit like pastry—after all the cookie is almost somewhere between a cookie and a pastry itself with its delicate texture, and it does start with cold butter. So I modified the technique to combine the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter to get it roughly incorporated before moving on to using my hands to knead it together. This keeps the butter from getting too warm, and yields a great texture in the end product. (If you don’t have a pastry cutter, you could also use two knives for this step.) Below is a close-up shot showing the desired texture you want to achieve using the pastry cutter.

Now, roll up your sleeves, remove any rings, and get in there with your hands! Squeeze, press and shape the dough until it comes together and forms a solid mass or ball. Grandma’s recipe says to add a little bit of milk if it’s not holding together, but generally I find I don’t need any, there is a lot of butter and the walnuts have some natural oils, too.

Grandma was able to roll out the kipferls with such deft efficiency, I felt utterly useless with my pathetic looking little crescents at first (that took me three times as long to make). But don’t give up, it just takes practice. After all, she had probably hand-rolled literally thousands of these cookies by the time she was teaching me the ropes. One tip I learned from practice: don’t roll out too much dough at once, it will just fall apart. Also, you need to get the pressure just right—press too light while rolling and the roll will crumble from the centre. Press too hard and you’ll crush it. I found an even rolling style, using my palms rather than my fingers (finger impressions leave the roll dented and uneven), and gently coaxing the roll to grow out to the sides while pressing down works best.

Starting with a small handful of dough (about the size of a large egg) roll it between your hands to get it started into a long roll. Then move it to the counter and roll it out until it is about 1/2″ inch in diameter. Next, cut the roll into 1″ pieces, and roll those out a bit more, turning the ends into the crescent shape and pinching the ends into points.

It is important to remember that these cookies puff out and grow, so make them smaller than what you desire for the final cookie. I find it is really important for the aesthetic of the cookie to pinch the ends into points, otherwise they puff out and the ends lose their shape. For comparison, check out the raw cookie dough on the baking sheet shown immediately below, and the baked cookies, further down, to see the difference in size. A note about baking: during the final 3-5 minutes, you need to watch them like a hawk as they will go from perfect golden brown to dark with a bitter taste in a matter of 30 seconds—this is in large part due to the walnuts that burn easily. Even Grandma used to end up with a batch here and there that she would complain were overdone 🙂 When they display a nice even golden hue overall, they are ready to come out of the oven.

It is also important to note how fragile Vanilla Kipferl are. When you take them out of the oven, do not try to move them for at least five minutes, or you will be sure to break them. They need a bit of time to set as they cool.

For the sugar coating, Grandma always used packaged vanilla sugar mixed with icing sugar. If you can’t find packaged Vanilla Sugar, you can make it yourself by mixing a cut open, scraped out vanilla bean (along with the vanilla seeds) with icing sugar, ideally letting the bean sit in the sugar overnight to maximize the flavour transfer.

I find Vanilla Kipferl are far too delicate to be tossed in sugar. Instead it is much easier and more efficient to sift the powdered sugar over top. I also like to ensure the bottoms of the cookies get their sugary coating, so I developed the method shown below, where you set out two cookie sheets and the final storage tin lined with wax paper. Place your cooling rack with cookies onto the first tray, then dust both that and the empty tray with vanilla sugar. Then move the cookies onto the dusted empty tray to coat the bottoms, before moving them into the paper lined tin.

A quick note about storage: Grandma always said these cookies need to breathe, they do best in a tin lined with paper, and never seal the lid on tight—always leave a small air gap. The cookies last for weeks, in fact I think they get better with a bit of age.

I feel honoured to be able to carry on the tradition of making Vanilla Kipferl, following in the footsteps of so many generations before me. I always remember Grandma when making them—mine will never be quite as good as hers, but I think she would be pleased to know we still carry on her tradition every year. I hope you will try them out too, and maybe add a new cookie tradition to your holidays!

5 from 3 votes

Vanilla Kipferl: The Can't-Live-Without Holiday Cookie

More delicate than shortbread, Vanillekipferl melt in your mouth with a rich shattering of buttery, sugary crumbs lightly scented with vanilla.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Austrian, Viennese

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 50 cookies

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups walnut pieces (165 g)
2 1/4 cups flour (345 g)
1/3 cup granulated sugar (70 g)
2 sticks cold unsalted butter (240 g)
1 cup icing sugar
1 package Vanilla Sugar (9 g)

Instructions

Prepare 2–3 baking sheets by lightly coating them with butter (Residual on the foil butter wrappers is usually the perfect amount and you can just rub the wrappers face-down onto the cookie sheets). Preheat the oven to 375°.
Grind walnuts as fine as possible using a food processor, stopping when it starts to form solid clumps, to avoid over-processing it into nut butter. Add to a large bowl with flour and sugar and stir to combine.
Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter (or 2 knives) cut butter into the flour mixture until it forms an even small crumb. (Refer to photo in story for a visual reference.) Use your hands to completely combine the butter into the flour, kneading until the dough forms a smooth ball. Only if needed, add a small amount of milk to help the dough hold together.
Take a small handful of dough and gently roll with light pressure into a log about 1/2" in diameter. Cut roll into 1" pieces. Take each piece and gently roll into the final cookie length, curving into a crescent shape and pinching the ends to taper them. Keep in mind they will puff and grow larger in the oven, so make them a little smaller than your desired final cookie size. Place on prepared baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for 15–18 minutes. Rotate the cookies half-way through baking to ensure evenly browned cookies. Check carefully starting at 15 minutes to ensure they don't get too dark—the walnuts are delicate and will go from perfectly golden to burnt in a matter of 30 seconds if you step away! Remove from the oven when the cookies have an even light golden tone. Resist the urge to move the cookies off the sheet, as they are very fragile and will break while too warm. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before moving the cookies to a cooking rack. Allow to cool completely on the rack before coating with vanilla sugar in the next step.
Mix icing sugar and vanilla sugar in a small bowl, have a small sifter ready. Set out two cookies sheets that fit your cooking rack, and have a metal tin lined with wax or parchment paper ready. Place one cooling rack with cookies into the first cookie sheet. Dust with sugar using the sifter, and also dust the empty cookie sheet beside it. Next, transfer the sugar dusted cookies from the cooling rack to the empty cookie tray you just coated with icing sugar—this is to coat the bottoms of the cookies. Finally transfer the finished cookies into the prepared cookie tin.

Schvetskins (Apricot Dumplings)

August 25, 2017 By Caroline 8 Comments

Imagine your knife cutting through a soft, pillowy dumpling to reveal a juicy, fragrant, perfectly cooked apricot. You sprinkle with sugar to sweeten the fruit, and take your first bite. The crisp sugary breadcrumbs hug the dough and the sweet apricot flavour fills your mouth. This is the Schvetskin experience we enjoy as a special ritual every August when the apricots are at their peak. From humble ingredients—potatoes, breadcrumbs and apricots—you can make a delicious dessert that is hearty enough to be a light meal on its own.

While they may be officially known as Marillenknodel, we’ve always called them “Schvetskins”. You see, you can also make these with other fruits like plums or even cherries. The plum version is called Zwetschgenknoedel, which growing up sounded a lot like “Schvetskin-knoodle”—and the name stuck. So now, any fruit dumplings of this sort, we just go with “Schvetskins” which is easier for us Anglophones to remember!

For many years, Schvetskins were my nemesis. I could not get them to turn out for the life of me. They would always fall apart while cooking and turn into a terrible, goopy mess. I finally figure it out, I wasn’t using enough flour. Too much potato, and your dough will be sticky and fall apart when boiling. Even with a recipe, it can vary depending on your potatoes, humidity and other factors, so this is one you need to develop a bit of a feel for. I’ve included lots of photos to show the texture you are looking for. When in doubt, just add more flour. Better a little on the firm side, than falling apart!

A sturdy potato ricer, like the one shown below, is a great tool for this recipe as it helps ensure there are no potato lumps in your dough. I used to have a cheaper one, but with the russet potatoes I prefer to use for their dryness, it didn’t hold up well and the handles would end up all bent. The one below is from Williams Sonoma and it has very sturdy handles that easily process the potatoes. Reminds me of Play Dough’s “hairdresser” salon kit (I always wanted one of those growing up!)

So once you have “riced” your cooked potatoes, you add flour, egg, salt and cream of wheat. I mix it with a fork at first, then you have to get in there with your hands and knead it.

Below is a closeup of the dough to help show the consistency. It should only be a little bit sticky, and hold together into a firm shape when pressed.

Once you have the dough ready, roll each whole apricot into a little bit of flour. Take a handful of dough, and flatten it into your hand so it is big enough to wrap around the apricot (smaller apricots are ideal to use here). Fit the dough around the apricot and press it together so there are no gaps—this is important as you will be boiling them later so you can’t have any water getting in. If you are finding that the dough is tearing and not forming well around the apricot, you probably need more flour. Roll it in your hands a few times to even out the dough and press out any air gaps that may have formed between the dough and the apricot. Set on a plate while you make the rest.

Once you have used all the apricots, there is usually some dough left. This is perfect for what we call “wutzels” (I don’t even have a story of where that name comes from, just go with it!) This is where you just take a small amount of dough and roll it out to the size and shape of a plump finger. Make a bunch of these and cook them with the dumplings.

Once they are all ready, get a large pot of water boiling on the stove. Not a rolling boil, as the dumplings are a wee bit delicate; you want a nice, steady simmer. Gently drop the dumplings (don’t forget the wutzels!) into the water.

While they are cooking (usually takes about 20–25 minutes), pull out a large skillet and melt some butter. Add the breadcrumbs and white sugar, and cook on medium-high heat to toast the breadcrumbs. Be careful here, I find it tends to go very slowly at first, so I’ll walk away and ignore it for a while, only to come back to find it on the edge of burning. Once they get going, you need to stir frequently to avoid burnt crumbs on the bottom of the pan (or turn the heat way down).

When the dumplings start to float in the water, they are almost done. I give them about 5 or so minutes after they start floating, and then out they come and straight into the breadcrumbs.

Roll them around and your finished product will look something like this:

Many recipes call for the removal of the pit, to be replaced with a sugar cube. I find it much easier to just cook these whole, and remove the pits while eating. Adding sugar to your own taste is nice, and I find you can sprinkle it more evenly over the fruit that way.

Have you tried making Schvetskins? If so I’d love to hear what you thought of them!

Close up shot of juicy apricots inside fluffy potato dumplings

4.5 from 2 votes

Schvetskins (Apricot Potato Dumplings)

A traditional Austrian treat otherwise known as Marillenknodel.

Course Dessert, Lunch

Cuisine Austrian

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

4 Russet baking potatoes
2 eggs
3 cups All purpose flour, + additional for dusting apricots
2 tbsp Cream of wheat
10 Apricots (fresh) smaller size preferred
3 tbsp Butter
1 cup Breadcrumbs
1/3 cup White sugar

Instructions

Boil whole potatoes with skin on until cooked through. (Leaving the skin on keeps the potatoes more dry). Remove skins and process through a potato ricer (or mash very fine until no lumps remain). Place into a large bowl.
Add flour, cream of wheat and eggs. Blend with a fork until mostly combined, then knead into a dough. Texture will be slightly sticky but it should be fairly firm and able to hold together well.
Rinse fruit, roll in additional flour. Pack some dough in your hand about 1/4" thick, large enough to wrap around an apricot. Fit the apricot into the dough, sealing around fruit so there are no openings or cracks. Roll around in your hands to even out the dough and eliminate any air gaps. Repeat until all dumplings have been formed. (If your hands are getting out-of-control sticky, flour them)
Roll any leftover dough into "wutzels"--finger length dumplings without any fruit.
Place a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Bring to a gentle boil, and drop dumplings carefully into the water, along with the wutzels. Cook at a simmer for 20–25 minutes. When the dumplings float to the top of the pot, give them about 5 more minutes and they will be cooked through.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet. Add bread crumbs and sugar. Cook until the crumbs are a nice deep golden colour. When dumplings have cooked, add them straight to the breadcrumb pan and roll them to coat. Serve immediately with sugar on the side to sprinkle on the cooked fruit.