One of the best ways to experience a place, people, culture or community is though the local traditional cuisine. Traditional foods and dishes are typically passed down from generation to generation and often have some historical precedence to them. The stories around these dishes are often as interesting as the dish itself and give us insight into the lives of the local communities. Paula Saalfied takes us along a journey exploring her home state of Thuringia in Germany and showcases German potato dumplings, a traditional dish from Thuringia.

From Paula,

My home state Thuringia is known as the green heart of Germany. It is a federal state with breathtaking nature, impressive history and cities with unique character and yet still so underrated. But for the last three years that I have lived in Weimar, which is known as the city of poets, I have developed an even greater appreciation for the unique spots and culture in Thuringia.

However, in this small state, there are many traditions. Every region or almost every village has its own mentality and tells its own story. Even the language varies from place to place, which is expressed by many interesting dialects.

For example, in the village where I grew up, the language ‘Kochum’ was created in the 17th century by gypsies (so-called wandering musicians). The residents of my hometown, Hundeshagen earned their money by singing on their travels. They developed a language, which enabled them to communicate with each other without strangers being able to understand them and therefore to speak freely about political topics. Even today my home village is still very much influenced by the musical background and this language.

Since Thuringia is surrounded by so many different influences, the individual border regions and especially the cities have their own character. Thuringia stretches from the northern traditional Catholic Eichsfeld to the Franconian south which is next to the Bavarian border. In the west, from the Wartburg in Eisenach, where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, to Weimar, home to famous German poets such as Goethe and Schiller. Continuing on to Erfurt, the capital city of Thuringia and one of the best preserved historical cities in Germany, to Jena in the east of the country, a lively student city with the home of Carl-Zeiss, a world-leading optics company whose lenses were even manufactured in the Hubble space telescope. The country’s numerous historical influences have given rise to a wide variety of regions, mentalities and things, thus favouring a wide-ranging creative process that is quite unique. For example, the world’s first kindergarten was invented here by Friedrich Fröbel as well.

But one thing brings all Thuringians together – a dish of potato dumplings.Yes, a simple potato dumpling that is much loved by every local and finds its place on the table next to other savoury dishes at every banquet. It is traditionally served with red cabbage and lots of meat. Today I want to share with you a traditional plant-based variation that you should definitely try. The dumpling recipe is slightly time consuming, so it’s best for a special occasion, but it’s definitely worth it.

Homemade Thuringian dumplings with mushroom goulash and red cabbage (Selbstgemachte Thüringer Klöße mit Pilzgulasch und Rotkohl)

For the mushroom goulash

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp oil
• 500g mushrooms
• 1 big diced onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp thyme, majoram and paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 tsp mustard
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat
2. Add onions and mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes
3. Add garlic, tomato paste, spices and sugar and roast for another minute
4. In a bowl: mix the flour, soy sauce, mustard and a bit of the veggie broth until smooth (no lumps)
5. Add the flour mix into the pan along with the remaining broth
6. Stir constantly and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer until it thickens up (about 5 minutes)

For the red cabbage

Ingredients

• 1/2 kg red cabbage
• 1 apple
• 1 onion
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 bay leafes
• 2 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar or apple vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 100 ml wine
• 100 ml apple juice 

Method

1. Cut or grate red cabbage into fine strips
2. Cut  apples into pieces
3. Finely dice onion
4. Melt the oil in a large pan, sauté the onion and apple in it. Add the red cabbage strips and stir together.
5. Deglaze with red wine & apple juice
6. Add spices and vinegar and cook for about 30-50 minutes at medium heat.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper

For the dumplings

Ingredients

• 1.5kg peeled potatoes for cooking (use the soft baking kind)
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp potato starch
• Alternative: many people here use a ready-packed dough from the store, so take a look if there is something similar in your market

Preparation

1. Put 1kg of the potato in a pot, cover with water, add the salt and bring to the boil. Cook until soft.
2. In the meantime, grate 2/3 of the potatoes as finely as possible.  The grater must be pressed out until it is very dry. This works best with a cloth.
3. Now finely crumble the dry potato rubbing with the hands into a large bowl. Add the potato starch and mix.
4. Blend the softly boiled potatoes with a hand blender to a liquid pulp. If it is too thick, add some boiling water. Bring everything to the boil.
5. Mix this boiling potato mash very quickly with a whisk to the dry potato dust. The dough must be smooth and shiny.
6. Immediately form dumplings with wet hands and pour into the hot, non-boiling water. Allow the dumplings to sit in the water softly for about 10 minutes. Do not boil.To assemble a plate, add the dumplings, scoup some goulash and add a side-serving of red cabbage on the side.

Thank you so much Paula for this amazing recipe of a vegan version of German potato dumplings and introduction to the culture of Thuringia.

{Words and Images by Paula Saalfeld; Instagram @plantifultaste }

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