Ingredients:

• 3/4 kg / 1.6 lbs potatoes (mealy or mashing type like Russet)
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 small egg
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg (optional)
• pinch of pepper, preferably white ground
• oil for frying, canola

Preparation:

1. Wash the potatoes and place in a large pot. Cover with water and add salt. Boil, covered, until soft. Drain the water. Peel and place in a bowl, then mash with a hand masher, or use a potato ricer while still hot. Set aside.
2. Place about one inch of oil in a frying pan. Begin heating at medium to start. Be careful not to burn the oil.
3. Separate egg carefully, and add yolk into the potatoes. Set aside the egg white. Add butter in flakes to the potatoes, as well as the flour, and seasonings. Blend together well.
4. Whisk the egg white in a bowl. In a separate bowl, pour in breadcrumbs. Set both bowls aside.
5. Knead the potato dough with your hands, and then shape into long cylinders. Cut with knife if necessary, to create about two inches long, and 3/4 to one inch thick pieces.
6. Quickly coat each piece in egg white, then gently press into breadcrumbs to cover.
7. Test oil by dropping a few breadcrumbs in, and if the oil sizzle, the pan is ready. If not, raise the temperature slightly and wait a few minutes more.
8. Fry croquettes, turning frequently, until golden brown. Turn heat down if they are browning to quickly.
9. Set croquettes on paper towel to drain off some oil. Serve while hot.

Difficulty: Moderate.
Preparation Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Portions: 6.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 to 3-pound red cabbage
• 2 tbsp. butter, or minced bacon
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 2 tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 small yellow onions, diced
• 1/2 c. red wine vinegar (in a pinch, apple cider vinegar will also work)
• 2 c. broth (beef, vegetable, or chicken stock)
• 2 c. red wine
• 6 whole cloves (make a small cheesecloth bag containing the cloves, to be removed after cooking)
• 6 whole peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• Thickener: 2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. flour

Preparation:

1. Remove blotchy or ragged leaves from the cabbage, cut cabbage into quarters, wash and drain thoroughly. Shred the cabbage and discard the core and tough ribs.
2. Heat butter (or bacon, if using) in a dutch oven. If using the bacon, do not let it brown, and remove the bacon when enough fat has collected in pan.
3. Add sugar to hot fat and saute until golden.
4. Add onion and apple to the sugar mixture, then cover pot and braise over very low heat for 2 minutes.
5. Add the shredded cabbage and toss until it is coated with the fat.
6. Pour the vinegar over the cabbage and mix thoroughly.
7. Cover pot and braise slowly over low heat about 10 minutes, or until cabbage has turned purple.
8. Add the broth, wine and cheesecloth bag  into the mix and stir. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours.
9. After about 40 minutes, check for seasoning. If more saltiness is desired, add salt now.
10. Once cooked, knead together butter and flour for thickening, and cut into the cabbage pot. Simmer for 3 – 4 minutes while gently stirring, until thickened.
11. Refrigerate until ready to use. This can also be canned for much later use. Warm before serving.

These are the best candidates for a good Rumtopf (make sure fruits are pitted, cored, and with stems/leaves removed, if applicable):

• Pineapple (cut into large chunks)
• Cherries (any variety)
• Peaches (cut in halves, quarters, or slices)
• Apricots (halves)
• Nectarines (halves)
• Plums (half or quarter)
• Pears (peeled and sliced)
• Grapes (sweet seedless red or green grapes are ideal)
• Strawberries (don’t wash, just remove stem & leaves).
• Raspberries (don’t wash).
• Red currants
• Gooseberries

The following fruits are not good candidates:

• Citrus fruits (too acidic)
• Apples (odd texture)
• Bananas (mushy!)
• Blackberries and Blueberries (bitter)
• Watermelon and cantalope (waters down the mixture)
• Rhubarb (can make the mixture sour)

A few points to make.  First of all, fruit should be ripe, not overripe. Overripe fruit will become mushy and could affect the taste negatively. Also, frozen fruit is not recommended due to the excessive moisture upon thawing.

Our next segment will explain preparation of your Rumtopf.

See also:

Rumtopf – Preserving Seasonal Fruits Pt.1

Rumtopf – Preserving Seasonal Fruits Pt. 3

Difficulty: Moderate.
Preparation Time: 1 hour 30 minute.
Portions: 6.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head red cabbage, cored and sliced
• 2 large tart apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 medium sweet onion, sliced and separated into rings
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 whole peppercorns
• 2 whole allspice
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons cold water

Preparation:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, toss cabbage, apples and onion. Add water, vinegar, sugar, butter and salt. Place the peppercorns, allspice, cloves and bay leaf on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and stir with kitchen string to form a bag. Add to Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/4 hours.
2. Discard spice bag. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir in cabbage mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.

Difficulty: easy.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes.
Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbs butter
• 3 tbs flour
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 large can, 2 small cans, or 2 cups of fresh quartered or sliced mushrooms
• 1 – 2 cups broth, beef, pork or vegetable
• pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. If preparing as a side to schnitzel, set the meat aside and keep warm, so you can use the same pan for added flavor. Otherwise, use a small saucepan.  Melt butter in pan, then add in flour and mix constantly over medium-low heat.  The trick is to get the flour a pale brown color, but do not burn.  This mixture should be paste-like.  If it is too thin, add a smidge more flour, if too thick, add a bit more butter.
2. Add in nutmeg and continue to brown flour.
3. If using canned, open the mushrooms and drain juice into a measuring cup.
4. Pour mushrooms into the flour mixture, and stir, cooking this way for about a minute.
5. Pour in broth with the juice in the cup, until you have 1 cup of liquid.  Add this to the pan and stir constantly.  Raise the temperature to medium.  **At this point, you want to monitor the thickness, and decide how thick of a sauce you want.  A total of 1.5 cups of liquid is perfect for my family, but you may have different tastes.  It thickens very quickly, so this is not a long process, and if you have 1 can of broth, that should be plenty, even if you go thinner.  You can even supplement with some hot water if necessary.
6. Add salt, and a pinch more nutmeg if desired.  Serve immediately.

To make this authentic in appearance and taste, knockwurst is the best to use.  However, I have made it with hot dogs to great effect.  As a German vegetarian recipe option, why not try soy dogs?  The typical side dish to serve this with is french fries, or Pommes.  I make my own, but you could also buy bagged for an even quicker meal.

Difficulty: easy.
Preparation Time: 35 minutes.
Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of knockwurst (5 links) OR 1 package of hot dogs
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 2 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Preparation:

1. Place butter or margarine in medium saucepan and melt over medium heat.
2. Slice links in rounds about 1/2 inch thick.  Place rounds into pan and brown, stirring often.
3. Stir in sauce.  Add in all seasonings and mix well.
4. Lower heat to medium-low, cover and allow to cook for 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
5. Check flavor and add curry at your discretion.  Lower temperature and simmer for 20 minutes more.
6. Serve with french fries on the side, adding enough sauce to dip fries.  You may also sprinkle some curry onto the wurst for garnish.

Difficulty: normal.
Preparation Time: over 1 hour
Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 – 1 cup flour (if potatoes are dry, use less, wet, use more)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• vegetable oil or butter, or a mixture of both (for frying)

Preparation:

1. Either grate the potatoes and onion, or use a food processor (with coarse grating ability).  Squeeze and drain out some of the juices. Allow the starch to settle to the bottom, them pour out the water.  Reserve for later.
2. Add milk, then stir in flour, salt, and eggs.  Add starch back into the batter.  Mix well.
3. In a large, heavy skillet heat 1/2 inch of oil, or oil and butter, until hot.  Drop potato batter (1/4 cup per pancake) into the skillet and fry until golden brown and crisp on both sides.
4. To keep pancakes crisp, pat with paper towel to remove excess oil, and spread out over a cookie sheet in the oven, heated only to warm.  However, serving immediately is the best way to ensure they are at their peak.

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation time:  1.25 hours
Servings: 4 – 6 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 quart sauerkraut
• 1/4 cup onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp. butter, bacon drippings, or margarine
• 2 – 3 medium sized apples
• 1 1/2 cups white wine
• 1/2 cup beef broth or bouillon
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. celery seeds

Preparation:

1. Drain some of the juice from the sauerkraut.
2. Cook onion in a sauce pan with fat (butter, drippings, etc.), until golden.
3. Add sauerkraut to the onion and stir. Cook on low heat.
4. Wash, peel, and core apples; dice the apples and add to the sauerkraut. Stir well.
5. Add the wine and enough stock or bouillon to cover.
6. Cook slowly, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
7. Add sugar and celery seeds. Cover and finish cooking in moderate 325° oven 30 minutes longer.

**To make this dish vegetarian friendly, simply use margarine (Smart Balance is a good butter substitute) or vegetable oil, and vegetable broth or bouillion.

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation time:  Make 24 hours in advance.
Servings: 4 – 6.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups fresh or frozen, unsweetened berries (raspberries, strawberries, red currants, or a combination of these)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. For fresh berries: stem, wash and dry in collander.  For frozen berries: thaw before using.
2. For a smooth pudding, process berries in a blender, 2 cups at a time, until pureed.  For chunkier, process 4 cups, and chop the rest, blending with puree.
3. Stir cornstarch in cold water until smooth.
4. Combine berries and sugar in non-stick saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Stir cornstarch mixture again, then add into the berry mixture gradually, while still stirring.
5. Reduce heat and let simmer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and vanilla.
6. Pour into a serving bowl, or individual dessert bowls.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  This is traditionally garnished with a Vanilla Custard Sauce , but you may also use whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or heavy cream.

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation time:  2 hours
Servings: 6.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of dry split peas (1 bag)
• water
• 4 fresh bay leaves, chopped
• 1 cup of carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 beef bouillon cubes OR 2 cans of beef or vegetable broth
• 1 cup hot dogs, sliced
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• salt
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

1. Rinse peas and place in large pot (dutch oven is best).  If using broth, add 6 cups of HOT water into peas.  If using bouillon, pour in 8 cups of HOT water and bouillon cubes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for about 40 minutes.
2. Chop all vegetables.  Place vegetables into peas and water after 40 minutes.  Add in seasonings and sauce.  Cook for 20 minutes at same heat.  Be sure to stir regularly.
3. Reduce to a simmer and check consistency.  If desired, add hot water to thin.  Place a lid on the pot and cook for 50 minutes more.
4. Add hot dogs and cook another 10 minutes.  Serve.
5. Optional Note: You can make this in a slow cooker as well.  Add all ingredients at once, and either cook on high for 4 hours, then reduce to low until you are ready to eat that night, or keep on low all day (7 or 8 hours).  This is easy to make into a vegetarian pea soup.  Use vegetable broth or bouillon, and omit hot dogs.