Maultasche

The casing is defined by law: whole egg, water, and durum or spelt flour.

Pork, Beef, Veal, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains beef, pork, veal.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 400 g durum wheat flour, or spelt flour
• 4 eggs, whole
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the filling

• 300 g minced pork
• 200 g minced veal or beef
• 100 g smoked bacon, chopped fine
• 300 g spinach, wilted and squeezed dry
• 2 stale bread rolls, soaked in milk and squeezed
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 4 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• black pepper

To serve

• 1.5 litres beef broth
• or 60 g butter and 2 onions, sliced

Method

1. THE CASING IS DEFINED BY LAW: WHOLE EGG, WATER, AND DURUM OR SPELT FLOUR. Its Composition and preparation section takes its terms from the European protected-indication scheme, and the casing MUST CONTAIN WHOLE EGG, WATER, AND FLOUR OR MEAL FROM DURUM WHEAT OR SPELT. Not yolks, not soft wheat.
2. AND THE SPECIFICATION IS A RECIPE, WHICH IS UNUSUAL. The article describes the whole as A SOFT MEAT OR VEGETABLE FILLING WRAPPED IN A FIRM DOUGH CASING -- soft inside, firm outside, which is the thing to aim for and the reason durum is named.
3. THE FILLING IS MEAT OR VEGETABLE, NOT MEAT ONLY. It may consist of MINCED PORK, BEEF AND/OR VEAL MEAT OR MINCED VEGETABLES such as parsnips, leek and ramson. Venison and blood sausage are named as the less usual choices.
4. MAKE THE DOUGH FIRM AND REST IT AN HOUR. Durum takes water slowly, so it will seem too dry at first and come together as it rests.
5. WILT AND SQUEEZE THE SPINACH UNTIL IT IS ALMOST DRY. Wet spinach is how a filling ends up in the broth rather than in the parcel.
6. THE SOAKED BREAD IS THE BINDER. Squeezed hard and worked through the meat, it holds the juices in instead of letting them boil out.
7. ROLL THE DOUGH AS THIN AS YOU CAN SEE THROUGH, in squares the width of a hand. The article's word for the finished parcels is LARGE, and they are: one or two make a serving.
8. FILL, FOLD AND SEAL WITH A WET FINGER, PRESSING THE AIR OUT. Air expands in the broth and bursts the seam.
9. THEN EITHER BROTH OR BUTTER, AND THE ARTICLE GIVES BOTH. They are served IN A SOUP AFTER BEING BOILED IN BROTH or, ALTERNATIVELY, SAUTÉED WITH BUTTER AND ONIONS. Ten minutes at a bare simmer in the broth, or boiled then sliced and fried.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Germany · All recipes