“Erdbeer-Rhabarber” Pastry
Strawberries (Erdbeeren) are in season and they are soooo delicious. There’s a pick-your-own-Erdbeer place down the street, but we haven’t bothered to actually do the picking since there are also fresh-picked strawberries delivered right to the local Rewe.
Another food here that’s quite popular with the Germans — rhubarb — which has the coolest German translation: “Rhabarber.”
Anyway — what to do with this combination but make strawberry-rhubarb pie?! Well, sort of. Because I began this endeavor at around 8 p.m., I opted to buy pre-made pie crust. Unfortunately, this was not to be found in the local grocery store! With only puff pastry and pizza crust to choose from in the refrigerated section, I figured we’d give strawberry rhubarb puff pastries a try. And they were quite delicious!
Here’s the basic recipe, adapted from AllRecipes.com:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups cut up strawberries (about a pint)
- 3 cups diced rhubarb (about a pound). Make these pretty small.
- 1 cup, plus a couple tbs, white sugar
- 1/2 cup flower
- One egg yolk
- Butter (about 2 tbs, I guess)
- 2 rolls of pastry (or two sheets) — a.k.a. Blätterteig
Directions:
- Combine 1 cup sugar with 1/2 cup flower.
- Add dry mixture to chopped fruit.
- Stir and let mixture sit for about 30-45 minutes. This part is important. Don’t let impatience get to you.
- Cut pre-made puff pastry into about eight 5″ by 7″ rectangles (4 per sheet).
- Add strawberry rhubarb mixture to center of each puff pastry rectangle. Divide evenly.
- Add a couple dollops of butter to the top of the fruit mixture before sealing the pastry.
- Fold over the edges (so your pastry now resembles a small burrito) and seal with water (should have 1-1.5 inches of pastry overlap)
- Press the top and bottom edges with a fork to seal.
- Brush egg yolk over top, sprinkle with sugar, and cut some slits in the top to let steam escape.
Cooking:
- Arrange pastries on parchment paper or tin foil on baking sheet.
- Cook for about 25 minutes in a 190-200 C oven (about 400 F), until tops are golden brown.
- Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
Strawberry rhubarb pastry. Please forgive the awful camera shot. And the fact that I’d already taken a bite.
Raw Pork and Other German Food Finds
Yep, we ate raw pork. It’s called “mettwurst” in German. Smoked, and often cured, this delicacy was spread on a slab of bread with some salt and onion and chased with a half liter of beer to kill whatever bacteria was not annihilated in the curing process.
I know, you’re probably gagging, but it was actually tasty. We never would have tried this pig-sushi without our new friends, Emily and Nick. Nick is a native, and Emily is his American wife who has lived here for the past six years. (Thanks, Bethany Rock, for the introduction!). Though it was tasty, I convinced myself later in the evening I had a stomach ache. Probably because I’ve been told since childhood that raw meat is a no-no, especially pork!
Here’s a pic of Jeff and I ‘toasting’ to spreadable Wilbur. Prost.
Next, our foursome journeyed to a walk-up, take-out food-stand, where we sampled some other authentic German cuisine — Currywurst. This is essentially a sausage, cut into small pieces, drowning in what I non-eloquently described as “curry ketchup.” We ate it with miniature, two-tined wooden forks. Mmmm…
We followed our pork injection with a short walk down the Rhine to burn some calories. Here are a couple shots. These four homes are very famous, but I don’t recall why.
Slightly off the Rhine path, we found a full moon. In his silent protest for paying high taxes year over year, a local installed this gem facing city hall.
After our 15, maybe 20 minute, walk, we journeyed to our next pub, where we experienced some more local traditions: pig knuckles and Kolsch, a local beer that is served in .21 liter glasses and replaced automatically by the waiter/waitress after one is finished. The wait staff then tallies your consumption on a coaster. We finished 22.
As for dinner, Jeff sampled the pig knuckle. Don’t be fooled by the word knuckle. This thing is HUGE. You can order it either baked or deep fried. In effort to cut back on calories, Jeff opted for the baked version. Here are the before and after shots.
I had mussels. Just a few.
That’s it for the local cuisine. More to come on the other international treats we’ve ingested since our arrival. This is a foodie town, and I couldn’t be happier.
Here’s to vegetables.
Until next time…
A European Adventure 