Maultaschen

A new recipe from a lovely, lively lady living in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I have known her for a long time and am excited she has shared her recipe for "Maultaschen," which are large, meat-filled pasta dumplings considered the "national dish"of the Swabian region in Germany. Per anecdote, Maultaschen were invented by lay brother Jakob on a Maudy Thursday as a way to disguise meat in dough. The strict lenten fasting did not allow the Cistercensian monks at the Maulbronn Monastery to eat meat, lay brother Jakob did not want the meat to go to waste.

In 1993, the monastery was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. One way to get there is on Sundays with the historical "Kloster Flitzer" railbus from Stuttgart, Germany. You are going west to the Black Forest region. (See info source for Kloster Maulbronn and Maultaschen in citation page.)

Ingredients for Dough

2 fresh eggs

1 to 1½ Tbs water

½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 to 1½ cups of flour

Ingredients for Filling

1/4 pound hamburger or ground turkey

1 egg

chopped parley

1 Tbs breadcrumbs

1/2 finely chopped onion

salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste

Steps for Dough

Mix the eggs, water and vinegar together. Slowly add in the flour and knead to a stiff dough. Let is rest for ½ hours.

Steps for Filling

Meanwhile mix together hamburger (or ground turkey) and a fresh egg. Add in some chopped parsley, bread crumbs, ½ onion chopped fine and blanched, some nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

Finishing Touches

Roll dough out as thin as possible (paper thin) and cut 4inch by 4inch square. Place one teaspoon meat filling in center, brush edges with egg white and fold over to form a triangle. Place triangles into slightly boiling water with some salt in it. When they come up to the top, remove with a slotted spoon, quickly dip into melted butter, and place on a heated plate or bowl. Serve with green salad, German style potato salad and browned onion rings.

The filling can also be spinach, and they can be served with meat broth.