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The Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg is well known for its' gastronomic
delights. The country boasts more Michelin stars per square mile
than anybody else, a safe indicator of the people's high opinion
where matters of food are concerned.
Most traditional dishes are of peasant origin, but Luxembourg's
affinities with both French and German culture, have long ago
been translated into the country's speciality foods. We aim to
present here some of the more succulent traditional dishes. It
may not always be easy to get every ingredient outside of Luxembourg's
borders, but with a little imagination, one can usually find alternatives.
The dishes presented here are:
Potato Dumplings - Gromperekniddelen
Mix thoroughly, shape into balls on floured board and drop into
boiling salted water (1 tsp. salt).
Cover and boil 25 minutes. Garnish with buttered browned bread
crumbs.
Trout in Riesling Sauce
(serves 4) - F'rell am Rèisleck
Clean, wash and dry the trout with a cloth. Sprinkle them with
salt, pepper and flour. Melt the butter in a pan and fry the trout
gently 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Meanwhile butter a stew pan and place the trout in it. Fry the
finely chopped herbs in your frying pan, add the dry Riesling
wine and pour this mixture on the trout in the stew pan.
Add the fresh cream, season to taste with pepper, salt and a pinch
of paprika and place the stew pan into a hot oven. Cook for 15
to 20 minutes basting the trout occasionally.
Take out the trout and put them on a hot plate. Boil your sauce
while whisking until thick.
Cover the trout with the sauce and serve, with boiled potatoes.
Do not fear; 3-4 kilos of mussels are not too much. Take each
mussel individually, and make absolutely certain that its shell
is tightly closed. Remove any algae and clean the shells of any
impurity with a short sharp knife. Put the cleaned mussels in
a bowl of water. Throw away any which do not pass the test.
Press the mussel and rub the two sides of the shell together in
a light scissors movement. A healthy mussel will close again by
itself. Any others should be discarded, as should any about which
you are in any way doubtful. Wash the mussels thoroughly by rubbing
them vigorously together. Change the water 2 or 3 times.
There is another mode of testing the mussels if you are still
not sure. Place the mussels in cold salt water. A living mussel
will open slightly and sink to the bottom. After 2 hours throw
away any which are still on the surface.
Now the preparation:
Clean all the vegetables, except the garlic, and chop them very
finely. Allow the butter to reach room temperature so that it
is soft.
Lightly fry the onion and shallots in 50 grammes of butter in
a large pot, and add all the chopped vegetables and the thyme
and tarragon, also finely chopped. Pour ¼ of Riesling, and
allow to simmer for a quarter of an hour.
During this time, crush the garlic, and mix with the remaining
100 grammes of butter. To this add a little freshly milled pepper.
Put the pot on a very high heat, and drop the mussels into the
boiling contents, pouring in the rest of the wine. Cover firmly.
Every two minutes stir with a circular movement to make sure the
mussels do not remain at the bottom of the pot.
After ten minutes almost all the mussels should have opened. Now
put the garlic butter in the pot. In two or three minutes, with
regular stirring, the sauce should have mixed thoroughly. Sprinkle
with freshly chopped parsley, and serve immediately.
Crisp pommes frites should be served with mussels, and an outstanding
Riesling. Luxembourg's Belgian neighbours often drink a cold beer
with their mussels.
NB: Mussels as well as pommes frites are best eaten with the fingers.
Do not forget to place an empty bowl on the table for the discarded
shells. Experienced mussel-eaters slide the empty shells into
one another. This takes up less space, and no one can tell that
he alone has eaten two or three kilos!
For the sauce:
In order to serve the fish whole, a large fish kettle or something
similar is required.
Boil the vegetables and spices for 45 minutes to produce a stock
to which a glass of Riesling should be added. While this is being
done, clean and descale the fish.
Put the stock in the fish kettle, and place the fish on the riddle
therein.
Bring to the boil and continue to cook, with the lid on, for about
an hour.
During this time butter a casserole and lightly cook the sorrel
and chervil on a low heat. Pour in half a cup of stock, add the
cream and boil for a short time. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Lay the poached fish on a pre-heated plate. Mix the freshly chopped
parsley and chives into the sauce, and immediately pour it over
the fish.
Serve with boiled potatoes, and a green salad.
A fine Luxembourg Riesling should accompany this dish.
Chop the vegetables very finely, and mix with the parsley and
tarragon. Lightly fry the vegetables in 50 grams of butter, pour
in the Riesling and fish stock, and simmer for twenty minutes.
Do not forget the thyme and bayleaf. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Now send sensitive people from the kitchen and take the crayfish.
First of all make sure they are all alive. Place sieve ready,
take a crayfish and lay it on a chopping board. Hold the tail
in one hand, and take hold of the central fins, tearing them out
in one movement, twisting at the same time. Make sure the thin
blue-black intestine is thoroughly removed, as it tastes terrible.
Place the simmering vegetables on a very high heat and bring to
a boil. Throw the crayfish straight in together. Cover and continue
to boil hard. Stir from time to time. They are ready in about
¼ hour.
Serve on a very hot dish. Having mixed in the rest of the butter,
pour the contents of the pan over the crayfish and garnish with
the parsley.
The meal should be eaten with one's fingers, and a fine Luxembourg
Riesling should be served as an accompaniment.
Add pig's blood (about 3/4 litre) and 3 or 4 cups water meat was
cooked in and mix well. Fill casings with mixture. Then cook rings
of Trèipen in boiling water in open kettle. Sausages are
done when clear juice spurts out when they are punctured with
needle. Hang sausages to cool. When ready to use, heat well in
frying pan or in oven.
Ham in Hay - Haam am Hée
This recipe comes from the very north of Luxembourg.
Take a very large metal container, even a washing boiler, and
pad it out with the hay. Pour between three and five litres of
water over the hay. Lay the ham on the hay in such a manner that
it does not touch the water, so that it is cooked by steaming.
If necessary add hay during the cooking process. The pot should
be covered.
Place the pot on the heat. From time to time add water, to replace
that which has evaporated. Cooking time is about 20 to 25 minutes
per half kilo.
The cooked ham should be presented on a bed of hay, and served
with pommes frites and salad.
Chicken in White Wine -
Hong am Rèisleck
Quarter the chicken, and lightly brown them in half the butter
in a stewing pan for about 5 minutes, then season. Put in the
shallots, parsley and garlic, finely chopped. Continue to cook
on a low heat.
Flambé the meat with the Cognac, and then pour in the Riesling
and the stock. Simmer on a low heat for thirty minutes.
Chop the mushrooms and fry them lightly in the remaining butter.
Then add them to the pot. A few minutes before the end of the
cooking time, blend the flour, cream and egg- yolk. Pour this
sauce over the meat without cooking further, and season to taste.
Serve hot with noodles or dumplings.
Tripe is available ready boiled at the butcher's shop. Cut it
into rectangles of 5 x 8 cm. Take two soup bowls. In one mix the
eggs, salt and pepper. Put the flour in the other. Dip the pieces
first in the egg, and then in the flour.
In the meantime the oil has been heated in a pan. The pieces are
then fried on both sides until crispy. Put the pieces when cooked
on a preheated plate covered with a paper napkin.
Preparation of the sauce:
It is best to prepare the sauce prior to frying the tripe. It
takes about twenty minutes to cook.
Fry the finely chopped shallots in some butter, and place to one
side. Melt the rest of the butter on a strong heat. Sieve and
stir in the flour, allowing it to brown. Take the pot from the
heat and slowly add the stock, still stirring. Cook for a while
longer, stirring occasionally. Add a good slug of Elbling, or
other dry white wine. Add the cooked shallots, the gherkins, finely
chopped, and the capers. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and
perhaps Tabasco. Add the parsley and chopped chives.
Serve with boiled potatoes, and a good Elbling.
This dish can equally be prepared with a tomato sauce.
Boil all ingredients together until tender. Cut meat or grind
when cold. Strain broth while hot. Add meat and 1 cup vinegar
to broth. Let simmer 10 or 15 minutes. Add 1 package unflavoured
gelatine which has been dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water. Pour
into bowls and leave to cool.
Buckwheat Dumplings - Stäerzelen
Boil a litre of salted water. As soon as it comes to the boil,
add 1 pound of buckwheat flour and remove the doughy mass immediately.
Then repeat the following process: Dip a dessert-spoon in hot
fat, take a spoonful ("Stäerzel") from the dough,
and put it in a pre-warmed bowl. Pour cream or milk over the top
of the mound of dumplings, and add chopped speck.
This is a typical dish of the Ösling peasants.
If there is no blood in the hare, ask the butcher for a cup of
calf's blood.
Cut the hare into segments, being careful not to splinter the
bones. Put the hare pieces in the marinade ensuring it is fully
covered, and leave in the refrigerator for two or three days.
Move the pieces about twice daily.
Preparation:
Chop the speck, put it in cold water and bring to the boil, then
dry in a sieve. Fry the speck in some fat until crisp.
In the meantime take the hare from the marinade and allow to dry.
Put the hare pieces in the hot fat. Flambé with the Cognac,
stirring thoroughly. Pour the flour over the meat, and steadily
add the marinade until the meat is covered. Add the vegetables
and herbs.
Cover the pot and cook on a low heat for about 1½ hours.
A quarter of an hour before completion, add the mushrooms.
Serve the hare pieces on a preheated plate. Carefully sieve the
cooked marinade and pour it back into the pot, adding the speck.
Continue to cook. Mix together the blood, the liver and the soured
cream, adding some Cognac. Then stir this into the contents of
the pot. It should cook no more. It is now ready to serve.
Serve with noodles and red cabbage. A good red wine is a vital
accompaniment.
Verwurrelt Gedanken
- A Special Pastry During The Carnival Season
Prepare a dough and put on a pastry board, leave for one hour.
Then roll out and cut into thin strips, approx. 4-5 inches long,
knot them and put on a slightly floured board, cover with a cloth
for about 10-15 minutes to allow mixture to settle. Deep fry in
hot fat until golden brown, drain and sprinkle with icing sugar.
One could use yeast instead of bicarbonate in which case the pastry
would not be as crisp.
Mix dry ingredients, add shortening, then milk. Roll and place
in a cake tin.
Mix and pour on dough, bake at 375°C for 35 minutes.
Use only the egg yolks in the filling.
You may use the egg whites to make a Meringue separately.
Apple Cake - Äppelkuch
Use same dough as for cheese cake.
Pare and core apples. Place in rows on dough.
Cover with 1 cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon and dot with
butter, or cover apples with custard of:
2 eggs beaten, 1 cup milk, ½ teaspoon cinnamon mixed in 1
cup sugar.
Bake at 375°C for about 30 minutes.