These days I've been buried into “Die echte deutsche Küche”, a culinary book that I own for some years now, but usually ignore. The cold weather outside, however, is asking for a hearty German meal. Today I prepared Maultaschen – savory meat stuffed dough pockets from Swabia /Schwaben/.
Throughout the years, I've tried this dish several times in different restaurants. It has always been delicious and I've always wanted to prepare it at home. Serving soup in a bread pots is a perfect way to indulge yourself after winter outdoor activities. And the best part - once you're finished with the meal, there are no dishes to wash;)
Traditionally, the Bulgarian Christmas Eve table weighs down under the abundance of food the earth has presented us with – fruits and vegetables, nuts and beans, honey and wine. The center of the festive dinner is the ritual bread, decorated with pastry fruits, flowers and ears of wheat – symbol of fertility. Inside the bread is hidden a fortune coin – symbol of prosperity.
A few weeks ago I attended a Stollen baking workshop organized by Der Beck - a local bakery. We tried different combinations of dried fruits, nuts and marzipan and all of them were delicious. Ever since, I've been planing to bake one of my own and today, I finally found the time.
Stuffing pumpkin with mushrooms and cream sounds pretty simple, but the combination of sweet and salty tastes and earth flavors makes a wonderful autumn vegetarian meal ... if you love pumpkin, of course;)
