Homemade Noodles with Ham Recipe

Serves 3–4 • Prep: 35 minutes + 30 minutes resting time

Ingredients for Homemade Noodles with Ham

For the dough:

1¼ cups semolina flour plus extra for rolling

2 room temperature eggs (medium size if using a pasta machine, large size if rolling by hand)

1 large pinch salt

For the filling:

9oz (250g) cooked ham

7oz (200g) cream or crème fraîche

½ bunch watercress or

1 small bunch parsley

2 tablespoons butter

freshly ground salt and pepper

How to make Homemade Noodles with Ham

1 For the dough, knead the flour, egg, and salt for 5 minutes until a smooth dough has formed. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2 In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Slice the cooked ham; mix the cream with salt and pepper. Coarsely chop the watercress (or pick the parsley leaves and chop).

3 Sprinkle the dough with flour and roll (with a pasta machine, use the second thinnest setting or as thin as possible with a rolling pin). Occasionally wait a moment so the dough can rest. Use a pastry roller to cut the dough into irregular squares. Boil in salted water for 3–4 minutes (5–6 if hand rolled) or until al dente. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to drip-dry.

4 Melt the butter in a frying pan and heat the ham. Add the noodles and cream; cook for 2 minutes. Plate the noodles and sprinkle generously with watercress to serve.

Tip: Set some of the pasta water aside and use to thin the sauce if it becomes too thick during heating.

Variations: For Krautfleckerl cabbage noodles, replace the ham/cream mixture with 1lb 12oz white cabbage. Quarter the cabbage, remove the stalk, and cut in thick slices. Melt a bit of butter in a pan and sauté the cabbage. As soon as it is lightly browned, deglaze with 12⁄3 cups beef broth. Steam, covered, for 10 minutes. Mix with the cooked pasta and serve.

Dumplings with Sautéed Beet Salad Recipe

This beet salad also tastes good raw. In some regions, red beets used to be fermented like sauerkraut. It is rare to find these days; it is most likely to be found at the markets on the eastern edge of the Alps such as at the Gurken-Leo stand at Vienna’s Naschmarkt.

Serves 4 • Prep: 35 minutes + 90 minutes cook time

Ingredients for Dumplings with Sautéed Beet Salad

For the noodles:

7oz (200g) stale bread or large bread crumbs

14oz (400g) cooked potatoes (from the day before)

7oz (200g) Tyrolean gray cheese or hard blue cheese

4½oz (125g) low-fat quark, or regular quark if unavailable

2 small bunches chives

2 eggs

1⁄3 cup flour

freshly ground nutmeg

2–3 tablespoons butter or clarified butter

freshly ground salt and pepper

For the beet salad:

7oz (200g) young red beets

7oz (200g) white root vegetables (such as turnips and parsnips)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

5 tablespoons peanut or canola oil

How to make Dumplings with Sautéed Beet Salad

1 For the dumplings, dice the bread into cubes and place in a bowl, then pour ½ cup lukewarm water over them. Let rest for 30 minutes in a warm location. In the meantime, press the potatoes through a potato ricer and coarsely grate or crumble the Tyrolean gray cheese. Squeeze the excess liquid from the quark using a clean dish towel. Snip the chives into thin rings.

2 For the beet salad, peel the beets and turnips; coarsely grate and add to a bowl along with the apple cider vinegar and peanut oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside until the dumplings are formed.

3 Knead together the soaked bread, potato puree, quark, chives, eggs, and flour. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Form small dumplings from the dough using moist hands, and flatten.

4 Melt the butter in a large frying pan and fry the dumplings (if necessary, in batches) over medium heat for about 8 minutes on each side or until golden brown. In the meantime, add the beet salad to a pot and steam for about 6 minutes over low heat. Plate the dumplings and salad; serve.

Puffed Potatoes with Sauerkraut Recipe

Serves 4 • Prep: 35 minutes + 90 minutes cook time

Ingredients for Puffed Potatoes with Sauerkraut

For the sauerkraut:

2 onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced

1 apple (such as Granny Smith), quartered, cored, and sliced

3 tablespoons butter or goose fat

1¼fl oz (40ml) gin

6¾fl oz (200ml) apple juice, pear juice, or white wine

2lb 3oz (1kg) white cabbage, thinly sliced

1lb 2oz (500g) smoked spare ribs (if desired)

freshly ground salt and pepper

For the puffed potatoes:

1lb 2oz (500g) Russet potatoes

2 egg yolks

2⁄3 cup semolina flour plus extra for rolling

freshly ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1lb 2oz (500g) clarified butter or goose fat

How to make Puffed Potatoes with Sauerkraut

1 For the sauerkraut, melt the butter in a pot and sweat the onions and apples for 5 minutes over low heat. Deglaze with gin and wine. Add the cabbage, bay leaf, smoked spare ribs (if using), and 2 cups water. Season with salt and pepper then simmer for 60–90 minutes.

2 With about 45 minutes remaining, start preparing the puffed potatoes. Boil unpeeled potatoes for 20 minutes in salted water. Drain and let stand briefly in the hot pot. Peel, push through a potato ricer, then knead with the egg yolks, flour, a bit of nutmeg, and salt. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until ¼in (5mm) thick. Using a knife of pastry wheel, cut 2¼in (6cm) rhombuses. Do not allow to stand too long because the dough will become too soft.

3 Melt the clarified butter or goose fat in a deep frying pan or deep fryer. Fry the potato dough in batches for 3–4 minutes or until golden brown. Place on paper towels to remove the excess oil and keep warm. Plate with sauerkraut and serve.

Spinach Dumplings in Beef Broth Recipe

Whether bacon dumplings, beet dumplings, cheese dumplings, or, like these, spinach dumplings, all of the aromatic dumplings from South Tyrol are delicious. For light dumplings that do not fall apart, there are a few tricks: Chop the bread especially fine or even crumble it so the dumplings hold together, dry the spinach well, and use room temperature milk.

Serves 4 • Prep: 30 minutes + 15 minutes cook time

Ingredients for Spinach Dumplings in Beef Broth

7oz (200g) stale bread rolls or large bread crumbs

1 cup milk, at room temperature

7oz (200g) cooked spinach or defrosted frozen spinach

1 bunch parsley

1 onion

2¾oz (75g) Alpine cheese

2 tablespoons butter

2 eggs

1 tablespoon flour

3 cups beef or vegetable broth

salt

How to make Spinach Dumplings in Beef Broth

1 Slice the stale bread rolls then chop into small cubes (or chop the large bread crumbs into smaller pieces). Add to a bowl with a pinch of salt then pour in the milk. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.

2 In the meantime, squeeze the liquid out of the spinach with a clean dish towel. Pick the parsley leaves from the stems and finely chop with the spinach. Peel and mince the onion. Grate the Alpine cheese. Melt the butter in a pot; steam the spinach, parsley, and onions for three minutes. Knead this mixture together with the bread crumbs, eggs, flour, 1¾oz (50g) grated Alpine cheese, and salt.

3 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Form Ping-Pong ball–sized dumplings using moist hands. To test that the dough has the right consistency, cook a sample dumpling. If the dough is too soft and the dumpling falls apart, knead in more bread crumbs. Boil the dumplings gently for 15 minutes. 4 With a few minutes to go, bring the beef broth to a boil in a pot. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon, allow to dry, and transfer to the broth. Ladle into soup plates, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and serve.

Variations: For Speckknödel (bacon dumplings), dice 2¾oz (80g) of South Tyrolean speck and fry with the onions in place of spinach. Prepare the dough without flour and cook the dumplings as stated in recipe; serve in the broth. For Semmelknödel (bread dumplings), use the same instructions as for bacon dumplings, but leave out the bacon.

Ricotta Gnocchi (Potato Dumplings Recipe)

Potato dumplings and gnocchi are actually really easy to prepare, yet they often fail because the potatoes are too moist—in which case you have to add a lot of flour, making the gnocchi either become too hard or fall apart. If you prepare the potatoes in the oven, they’ll lose a lot of their moisture while baking and the gnocchi will be perfect. This variation is from Trentino. The local Grana cheese resembles a high quality Parmesan and is perfect for this dish.

Serves 4 • Prep: 30 minutes + 90 minutes cooking and resting time

Ingredients for Potato Dumplings

1lb 9oz (700g) large Russet potatoes

1lb 2oz (500g) ricotta or quark

3½oz (100g) grated hard cheese (such as Trentingrana or Parmesan)

1 cup semolina flour

3 tablespoons butter

2 eggs

¾ cup heavy cream

freshly ground nutmeg

2 scallions

salt

How to make Potato dumplings

1 Preheat the oven to 370°F (190°C) or 340°F (170°C) (convection oven). Bake the potatoes on a baking sheet on the middle oven rack for 1 hour. Remove, cut in half, and scoop out the soft potato. Weigh 1lb 2oz (500g) of cooked potatoes—this will be a little more than 2 cups— and press through a potato ricer. Squeeze the excess liquid out of the ricotta using a clean dish towel and knead with the potatoes, 2½oz (70g) grated cheese, flour, 1 tablespoon butter, and a pinch of salt. Cool for 30 minutes.

2 Form the dough into finger-sized rolls and cut diagonally into ¾in (2cm) wide pieces. Add to a large pot of boiling salted water and reduce the heat so that the water is barely boiling. As soon as the gnocchi float to the top, let cook five more minutes. In the meantime, mix the eggs, cream, and remaining grated cheese; season with salt and nutmeg. Slice the scallions into fine rings and melt the remaining butter in a pot.

3 Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon, allow to dry, and sauté in the butter. Remove from heat and mix in the cream mixture and scallions. Serve immediately.

Tip: To test if the dough has the right consistency, cook a sample gnocchi. If the dough is too soft and the gnocchi falls apart, fold in some flour. If it is too hard, add a spoonful of ricotta.

Valais Asparagus Tart Recipe

Instead of asparagus, you can also make this tart with spring carrots, finger-sized kohlrabi sticks, and scallions; sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts.

Serves 4–6 • Prep: 1 hour + 30 minutes baking time

Ingredients for Asparagus Tart

For the crust:

2 cups flour plus extra for rolling

½ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons cold butter

1 egg

pie weights or dried beans for blind baking

For the filling:

2lb 10oz (1.2kg) green and white asparagus

7oz (200g) cream cheese

½ cup crème frâiche

freshly grated nutmeg

¼ cup grated cheese (such as Gruyère or Raclette)

1 bunch chervil

1 tablespoon pine nuts, roasted

freshly ground salt and pepper

How to make Asparagus Tart

1 For the dough, mix flour and salt in a bowl. Cut the butter in cubes and add to the flour along with 2 tablespoons cold water and the egg. Use your fingertips to knead the dough until crumbly. Quickly form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2 Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C) or 360°F (180°C) (convection oven). Butter a quiche or tart pan and roll the dough out to about 1⁄8in (3mm) on a lightly floured surface. Line the bottom and sides of the quiche pan with the dough and poke the bottom multiple times with a fork. Cover with parchment paper and the pie weights or beans. Place in the hot oven on the second rack from bottom. Bake for 15–20 minutes.

3 In the meantime, peel the asparagus and cut in half. Cook in salt water for 10–12 minutes or until al dente, drain, and allow to dry. Whisk together cream cheese and crème fraîche then season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Take the quiche pan out of the oven and remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Add the asparagus pieces to the pan and cover with the crème fraîche mixture. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake at 430°F (220°C) or 390°F (200°C) (convection oven) for 25–30 minutes or until golden brown.

4 Pick the chervil leaves from the stems and chop coarsely. Remove the asparagus tart from the oven and sprinkle with chervil and pine nuts. Serve warm or cold.

Tip: Leftover dough will keep in the freezer for about 6 months.

Potato Leek Soup with Oregano Cream Recipe

The genus origanum is large and includes Italian oregano and marjoram. Wild oregano from a mountain meadow tastes different than its relatives, but they can still be substituted for one another. If you double the amounts in the oregano cream, it is easier to puree into a fine cream.

Serves 4 • Prep: 40 minutes

Ingredients for Potato Leek Soup with Oregano Cream

1 leek

7oz (200g) white cabbage or 1 kohlrabi

14oz (400g) Yukon Gold potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

½ bunch savory or parsley

1 bay leaf

freshly grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

For the oregano cream:

½ bunch oregano

5 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons pine nuts

salt

How to make Potato Leek Soup with Oregano Cream

1 Cut the leek in half lengthwise and chop in pieces. Cut the cabbage in half and remove the stalk; chop finely. Peel and slice the potatoes.

2 Melt butter in a large pot and cook the leek, cabbage, and potato for 5 minutes over low heat. Pick the savory leaves from the stems and add to the vegetables along with the bay leaf. Pour in 4½ cups water and season with salt and nutmeg. Boil for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through.

3 In the meantime, prepare the oregano cream. Pick the oregano from the stems and puree with 5–6 tablespoons soup broth, canola oil, and a pinch of salt using a food processor or immersion blender. Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan over low heat until they become aromatic and add to the cream; puree. Season with salt, transfer to a bowl, and set aside.

4 Puree the potato-leek soup using an immersion blender; season with salt and pepper. Serve in soup bowls with a dollop of oregano cream on top.

Tip: Aromatic, rustic sausages also go well with the soup: Simply add 14oz (400g) Saucisson Vaudois or raw Polish sausage to the soup as soon as it starts to simmer. Continue cooking over low heat for an hour, but do not boil. The ideal temperature is 170°F (75°C). Remove the sausage from the pot, puree the soup, slice the sausage, and add it back to the soup.

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