Recipes of German Dishes with the Weirdest Names

When it gets cold outside and the Christmas markets open their doors, it's time for mulled wine and Tote Tante (also known as Lumumba off the North Sea) in Germany. But don't worry, there is no dead person cooked. It is simply a hot cocoa with a dash of rum and a lush crown of cream. Originally, the drink is said to come from the island of Föhr and owes its name to an aunt who emigrated from Föhr to the USA and died there but wanted to be buried in her homeland. To save costs, the urn with its ashes is said to have been brought back to the island in a cocoa delivery. For all those who don't like rum, it can be easily replaced with amaretto or brandy.

Preparation:

1. Heat milk and mix with cocoa powder to a strong cocoa.

2. Add the rum (amount can be varied according to taste).

3. Whip the cream and add to the cups.

4. Drink and warm without stirring.

“Arme Ritter” is an ancient dish. Its first recipe can be found in a cookbook from the 14th century. Even the Brothers Grimm, Germany's best-known collectors of fairy tales, mention “Arme Ritter” in their dictionary. The name probably comes quite simply from the fact that the dish is inexpensive and easy to prepare - after all, it is mainly made from leftovers of bread - but still greasy and satiating: Something you can serve the knight who can no longer afford meat. In many other countries “Arme Ritter” is known in slight variations under other names: French toast in the USA and Canada, Pain Perdu in France and so on.

Preparation:

1. 1. Mix milk with eggs and sugar.

   2. Place the bread in a bowl and pour the egg milk over it. Turn carefully and wait until the milk is absorbed.

   3. Heat the clarified butter in a coated pan. Bake the slices in portions at medium heat on both sides for about 8 minutes until crispy brown. Serve hot, if desired with a little cinnamon, sugar powder or fruit compote.

Hackepeter is the name for seasoned raw minced meat that is so fresh that you can eat it raw - basically like a tatar, but not made from beef. Therefore, for hygienic and health reasons, it may only be sold on the day of preparation and should be stored consistently in the refrigerator after purchase and consumed within a day. As a rule one eats Hackepeter as bread or bread roll topping. The dish is called Hackepeter mainly in northern Germany and in Berlin, elsewhere it is also called “Zwiebelmett”. Allegedly, the Hackepeter was first offered under this name in 1903 in a Berlin inn.

Preparation:

1. Peel onions (and if desired garlic) and cut into small pieces. Pour into a bowl with the minced meat.

2. Mix salt and pepper (as well as caraway if desired) with the meat and knead well.

3. Place the minced meat on the halves of the bread roll or slices of bread.

The Rollmops fortunately has nothing to do with the small, sweet dog breed. However, at the time of its creation, some people felt reminded of the pug by the appearance of the rolled up, filled herring - for whatever reason. The stuffed fish originally comes from Berlin, but is widespread throughout Germany nowadays. The fish, which has been preserved longer by pickle, is particularly popular as a snack. It is also considered to be a unique hangover treatment and is therefore not only sold on the Hamburg fish market after a night's drinking on the Reeperbahn, but can also be found on some people's breakfast tables at home after alcoholic nights. This is mainly due to the high salt content of the food, which is also known as Gabelroller (fork roller) in Austria. The herring is classically filled with pickled cucumbers and onions. The rolled up fish is fixed with two wooden sticks, which are used as fork replacements for consumption.

Preparation:

1. Boil water, vinegar, a little salt, sugar and the bay leaf to a broth. Let it cool completely (!).

2. Peel the onion and cut into fine slices. Cut the gherkins into quarters or eighths depending on their size. Coarsely chop the capers and peppercorns and mix with the mustard.

3. Debone the herrings, cut off the head, wash and clean completely. Dab dry lightly with paper towels. Fold the fish parts apart and salt lightly.

4. Spread the mustard mixture, onions and gherkins over the fish and roll them up like a roulade. Then fix with wooden sticks.

5. Layer the rolls in a sealable container, such as a glass. Pour over the spice stock so that the rolls are completely covered and close.

6. Leave to stand in a cool place for 4 to 5 days.

“Spaghettieis” is one of the most popular ice cream sundaes in Germany and can be found in almost every ice cream shop here. The origin of the name is actually quite obvious: The sundae looks like spaghetti with tomato sauce and parmesan - only that the noodles consist of vanilla ice cream, the sauce of strawberries and the cheese of white chocolate. It is not quite clear who first came up with the idea of pressing the ice cream through a spaetzle press so that it ends up in thin threads on the cream. However, one who claims the invention for himself is the Mannheim ice cream store owner Dario Fontanella. According to his own statement, he had already put the creation on his menu in 1969 - but let himself be deterred by the costs and his father from patenting it. Something that the two must have regretted, as the sundae should spread throughout Germany very quickly. Meanwhile there are also many variations of the dessert: with other fruits, other types of ice cream or coconut flakes. To make the original yourself, you mainly need a well-cooled spaghetti, spaetzle or potato press with fine holes. 

Preparation:

1. Dice the strawberries (except for two or three pieces for decoration), sprinkle with the sugar and leave to infuse for about 30 minutes. Puree finely with a hand blender.

2. Wash and dry the press well and put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes; otherwise, the ice will melt while you press it through.

3. Whip the cream until stiff and spread on four plates. The cream must be under the ice to freeze and not disturb the look.

4. Press three scoops of vanilla ice cream per plate through the press on top of the cream.

5. Spread the strawberry sauce on the ice cream and sprinkle everything with the chocolate shavings. Then decorate with strawberry slices and enjoy.

The chocolate biscuit cake “Kalter Hund” presumably exists since the early 20th century. The name probably comes from the fact that the cake is made without baking and the box form of the so-called "Grubenhunt" (pit dog) in the mining industry reminds of the baking form of the cake. Another well-known name for this is “Kalte Schnauze” (could muzzle), which probably comes from the fact that the cake’s surface is supposed to resemble the cold muzzle of a dog. The cake is especially popular at birthday parties and other festivities for children.

Preparation:

1. Chop the chocolate and the couverture.

2. Melt the coconut fat and the chopped chocolate and chocolate coating in a hot water bath.

3. Whisk the eggs, icing sugar, cocoa and if you like the rum with a manual mixer until foamy. Then stir the melted chocolate in well and put the mixture back into the water bath.

4. Lay out a box mould (approx. 1.5 l content) with cling film. Spread some chocolate cream on the bottom of the mould. Place 4 to 5 butter biscuits side by side in the mould on top of the cream. Repeat the layering process until the biscuits and cream are used up and finish with a layer of biscuits. Then cool the cake in the refrigerator for at least 6 to 8 hours and let it set.

5. Take the cake out of the fridge, turn it down and remove the cling film. Sprinkle the cake with cocoa powder as you like and serve.

The "Strammer Max" is an expression from the Saxon language, which probably exists since the 1920s and actually means an erect penis - even today, for example, one still uses the word "Pipimax" (pee Max) for penis when talking to very young children. The transfer of the term to the bread covered with fried eggs and ham probably either comes from the fact that it is a particularly hearty dish or because one has at times expected an increase in sexual abilities from eating it. Just like its name, the recipe originally comes from the region around Saxony and Berlin but is popular throughout whole Germany as a home-style fare and pub snack nowadays. There are different variations like “Stramme Lotte”, “Strammer Moritz” or “Strammer Otto”, which differ slightly in the ingredients. Important for the dish is the German farmer's or grey bread, which sadly is difficult to find abroad outside German bakeries. If you want to bake the bread yourself, you will find a recipe here.

Preparation

1. Heat some butter in one pan (or two because of the amount of eggs). Beat the eggs one after the other and let them slide carefully into the pan, then fry them over medium heat until they become fried eggs and season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Some also toast or roast the bread slices. Traditionally, however, they are simply spread with butter and then covered with ham. It is also optional to place a slice of cheese on the ham.

3. Arrange two eggs on each slice of bread.

4. Serve as desired with or without gherkins.

Leberkäse, also called Fleischkäse or Fleischlaib, is a kind of boiled sausage and is widespread in Germany as well as in Austria and Switzerland. In the past (at least outside Bavaria) liver actually belonged in the sausage. The term cheese derives from the characteristic loaf shape, an angular pate shape. Nowadays, liver is very rarely found in this loaf of meat. Leberkäse is particularly widespread as a topping for bread rolls with a little mustard. Slices of Leberkäse are sometimes fried separately and served with vegetables and potatoes. In addition, the Fleischkäse is used in various pan and casserole recipes. Leberkäse can be bought ready-made in most (German) supermarkets and at many fast-food stalls in bread rolls. You can find the recipe here, but you need at least a good food processor for it.

*Ice snow can be made with a cutter or a food processor, or by putting ice cubes in a plastic bag wrapped in a cloth and then working with a hammer and rolling pin until a flat mass of small ice crystals remains.

Preparation: 

1. Cut the meat into small pieces and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. When it is just before freezing, remove and mix well with the spices. Cool a square pâté dish.

2. Chop the meat in the food processor as small as possible for one to two minutes with a very fast rotation.

3. Now add the ice snow and chop everything up again until a fine, viscous mass is formed, which should then be processed quickly.

4. Grease the well-cooled mould thoroughly, add the mixture and make sure that no air bubbles form. Then smooth with a dough scraper and carefully press in a light diamond pattern.

5. Preheat the oven to approx. 160°C at top/bottom heat and then bake for approx. 90 minutes.

Maultaschen are not bags from mouths, but from pasta dough. They are filled with sausage meat, onions and soaked bread rolls. There is also a vegetarian version with cheese and spinach. Traditionally, they are either served as a soup insert in broth, "geschmälzt", so poured with onions fried in butter or cut into strips and then fried with onions. The dish comes from the Swabian region, which lies in southern Germany between Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.

 Preparation:

1. For the dough, whisk the eggs with three to four tablespoons of water and mix them with flour, semolina and a little salt to a smooth and firm dough. Then knead the dough vigorously on a work surface sprinkled with flour for one minute and let it rest for 30 minutes.

2. Cut the bread rolls into thin slices and put them in a bowl. Heat the cream and pour it over the bread rolls. Then finely dice the onions. Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the onions until translucent. Wash the parsley, chop finely, add to the onions and steam for three to four minutes. Finally add salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar and let cool.

3. Now put the minced meat, the sausage meat, the bread rolls, breadcrumbs, eggs and onion mixture in a bowl and agitate it to an even mass. Flavor with salt, pepper, nutmeg and marjoram and then cool it covered.

4. Now divide the dough into three portions. Roll out one portion on the floured work surface about 2 mm thin to about 42x32 cm and place it on a kitchen towel. Then smooth out 1/3 of the filling on the dough and roll up the dough loosely from the long side using the kitchen towel. Use a wooden spoon handle to divide the roll into four equal pieces and press the dough firmly into place. Cut off the pieces with a knife and work up the rest of the dough and filling in the same way. It is no problem if the dough does not completely enclose the filling.

5. Pour the Maultaschen into plenty of boiling salted water, reduce the heat and leave them in it for 10 minutes, but do not let them boil. Let them drain afterwards.

6. Heat beef stock and serve Maultaschen in it or - as described above - process as desired.