Maultaschen

Ingredients

Dough

• 400 gplain flour
• 4eggs
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tbspoil
• a little water, if needed

Filling

• 300 gminced pork
• 200 gbratwurst meat, or sausage meat
• 300 gspinach, blanched and squeezed dry
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 2stale bread rolls, soaked in milk
• 1egg
• a handful of parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tspgrated nutmeg
• 1 tspsalt
• black pepper
• 2 tbspbutter

To serve in broth

• 1.5 litresgood beef broth
• chives, sliced

To serve fried

• 3 tbspbutter
• 2onions, sliced
• 2eggs, beaten, if wanted

To serve alongside

• potato salad
• a green salad

Directions

1. Drain it and refresh it under cold water. Squeeze it as dry as you possibly can in a cloth. Wet spinach will make the filling loose and tear the dough. Chop the squeezed spinach finely.
2. Melt the butter in a pan and cook the chopped onion for eight minutes. It must be completely soft, since a crunchy piece tears the thin dough. Let the cooked onion cool completely. Squeeze the milk out of the soaked bread rolls. The bread is what binds the filling and keeps it light.
3. Put the minced pork and sausage meat in a large bowl. Add the chopped spinach, the cooled onion and the crumbled bread. Add the egg, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix it thoroughly with your hands for three minutes. It should be cohesive and hold together when squeezed. Chill it while you make the dough. The dough is a firm egg pasta. Put the flour and salt on the surface and make a well.
4. Break the eggs into it and add the oil. Work the flour into the eggs with your fingers. Knead it for ten minutes until smooth and firm. Add a little water only if it will not come together. Wrap it and rest it for forty-five minutes. The rest is what makes it possible to roll thin. Divide the dough into four pieces and keep three wrapped.
5. Roll one piece out very thin, or run it through a pasta machine. It should be thin enough to see your hand through it. Roll it into a long rectangle about twelve centimetres wide. Spoon the filling in a line along the lower half of the strip.
6. Leave a clear margin along the edges. Brush the exposed dough lightly with water. Fold the upper half of the strip over the filling. Press down firmly between each portion of filling.
7. Press with the side of your hand to make ridges between them. Cutting them is done with a knife or a wheel. Cut between the pressed sections into large rectangles. Maultaschen are deliberately large, about eight centimetres across.
8. Press the cut edges closed firmly with a fork. Set them on a floured tray without touching. Bring the beef broth to a bare simmer in a wide pot. Never let it boil, since a rolling boil bursts them open.
9. Simmer them for twelve to fifteen minutes. Test one: the filling should be hot right through. Ladle two or three into each deep bowl with plenty of broth. Scatter sliced chives over the top. Cook them in broth first as above, then drain them. Slice each one into thick strips.
10. Melt the butter in a wide pan and cook the sliced onions until golden. Add the sliced maultaschen and fry them until browned at the edges. Pour beaten egg over them if you want, and let it set. Serve it with potato salad and a green salad.

Technique

• The Maulbronn monk story is folk etymology rather than documented history.
• Squeeze the spinach completely dry, or the filling loosens and tears the dough.
• Simmer in broth and never boil, since a rolling boil bursts them open.

Substitutions

• All minced pork if bratwurst meat is unavailable.
• Chard in place of spinach, which some households use.

Variations

• In der Brühe, served floating in clear broth.
• Geröstete Maultaschen, sliced and fried with onions and egg.
• Vegetarian, filled with spinach, bread and cheese.

History

Swabian filled pasta linked by tradition to Maulbronn monks hiding meat during Lent, hence the nickname Herrgottsbscheißerle; PGI protected since 2009.

Frequently asked questions

What is Maultaschen?

Maultaschen is a main from Germany: swabian pasta pockets of meat and spinach, in broth or fried. Swabian filled pasta linked by tradition to Maulbronn monks hiding meat during Lent, hence the nickname Herrgottsbscheißerle; PGI protected since 2009.

How long does Maultaschen take to make?

Maultaschen takes 1 hour 30 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 20 pockets. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Maultaschen?

Yes, within limits. All minced pork if bratwurst meat is unavailable. Chard in place of spinach, which some households use.

What is the most important thing to get right in Maultaschen?

Melt the butter in a pan and cook the chopped onion for eight minutes. It must be completely soft, since a crunchy piece tears the thin dough. Let the cooked onion cool completely. Squeeze the milk out of the soaked bread rolls. The bread is what binds the filling and keeps it light.