Austrian Food for my Japanese Friends
18 June 2010
Recently three of my Japanese friends came to Germany for a figure skating competition in which we all took part. We all spent a week in the picturesque town of Oberstdorf in southern Germany, and for their first evening I invited my friends over for dinner at my rental apartment with the idea to treat them to some Austrian food.
It has always been a joy to cook for these girls – food is extremely highly valued in Japan, and they are always excited to try regional specialties. And this time again they were totally delighted at the Griessnockerlsuppe (semolina dumpling soup) as a starter, the oven-baked Schinkenfleckerln and the balsamico-dressed salad.
It was the first time I tried to make Schinkenfleckerln, a dish made of pasta and chopped ham, and I have to admit they came out really tasty. I had used some good quality ham and added a lot of nutmeg to the mixture, which gave a very nice touch. The right pasta to use for this – simple little squares of about 1cm – is actually not so common outside Austria, so I used farfalle (the butterflies) instead, which worked out just as fine. With all the cream, butter and eggs it is not exactly the lightest dish, but just so tasty... And after all we were there for a week of intensive sports, so we could really use a good basis...
I kept eating the remainders (of course I had made far too much) bit by bit the following days as a snack here and there, just cold out of the fridge. Simon joined me later that week and got hooked on it, too. We didn't leave a single noodle.
Schinkenfleckerln
| 300g “Fleckerl” pasta (little squares – alternatively take farfalle) |
| 300g cooked ham in slices (maybe slightly smoked) |
| 1 large onion |
| 3 eggs |
| 30g butter |
| 200ml crème fraîche |
| some nutmeg |
| a hand full of parsley, freshly chopped |
| pepper, salt |
Cook the pasta in salt water. When al dente, drain them well and stir in a bit of butter so they won’t stick, and let cool to room temperature. Pre-heat the oven at 180°C. Butter an oven dish and keep it prepared.
Finely chop the onions and let brown in a frying pan with a bit of butter. Cut the ham into little squares about the same size as the pasta (1-2 cm). In a mixing bowl, combine the butter with some pepper and salt as well as a generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and stir until creamy. Add the eggs and the crème fraîche and stir again until light and foamy. Then combine with the ham, the toasted onions, the parsley and the cooked pasta.
Fill the mixture into the prepared oven dish and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes (the top should get just slightly browned). Take out of the oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving.
My tip: The Schinkenfleckerln taste just as yummy the following day(s), warmed up or just cold!