german

This easy to make recipe for beef and potato soup with green beans is a great example of peasant food from Central Europe, especially Germany and Austria. Known as Grüne Bohnensuppe, it's a functional and seasonal meal which serves as a great winter warmer.

In rural German farming communities, the soup was designed to utilise whatever was fresh in the home garden during the late summer and early autumn harvest. Because it was peasant food, the baseline ingredients were cheap, carbohydrate-dense, and easily accessible.

The base is green beans paired with potatoes and onions. For protein, farmers would throw in scraps of smoked bacon (Speck), ham hocks, or leftover beef chunks that were available to give the broth depth and fat.

In this recipe, we'll be using casserole beef, which is cheap and commonly available from supermarkets, along with thyme and peppercorns for additional flavour.

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Ingredients - 1 kg braising or casserole beef - 2 onions, chopped - 1 litre vegetable stock - 2 large potatoes (or several smaller ones), peeled and diced - 500 g green beans, trimmed and cut into small pieces - 2-3 sprigs of thyme - salt and pepper - cooking oil - (optional) parsley - (optional) dark bread such as rye

Instructions 1. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the beef and season with salt and pepper. 2. Cook until the beef begins to brown then add the onions and cook until the onions begin to soften. 3. Add the thyme and stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 40 minutes. 4. Add the potatoes, bring back to the boil, then cook for a further 15 minutes. 5. Add the green beans and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Serving Dish the soup into a bowl and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with a dark bread such as rye.

Servings Four.

Storage Keep the soup in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 48 hours.

This week's recipe is a cold weather favorite of mine and never fails to warm me up - Sauerkraut with apple, bacon and sausage. Sauerkraut is popular in all German speaking areas and is often served with a variety of meats. This particular recipe borrows from Bavarian tradition in that it adds apple for sweetness and additional flavor.

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Ingredients - 1kg sauerkraut - 1 tablespoon caraway seeds - 1 apple, diced - 250g bacon, cut into 3cm pieces - 1 large onion, chopped - 680g continental sausage, cut into 2cm slices

Instructions 1. Place the sauerkraut, diced apple, and caraway seeds into a large pot or saucepan. Stir well. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to low heat and cook for two hours. 2. Place bacon and onion into a frypan or skillet over medium heat and cook until onion is soft and bacon begins to cook, about ten minutes. Stir the mixture into the sauerkraut. 3. Brown the sausage in the remaining bacon grease (add more butter or oil if needed) until sausage begins to brown, about ten to fifteen minutes. Stir the sausages into the sauerkraut. 4. Preheat an oven to 165 C. Prepare a baking dish with grease paper or cooking spray. Spoon the sauerkraut mixture onto the baking dish. 5. Bake in the oven at 165 C for one hour.

Servings Four

Storage Keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 48 hours.