Non-native English celebration fest

[feuervogel]

In response to some wanker complaining that there were posts in Russian on the Dreamwidth latest-posts feed, how horrible, make them go away, yvi is organizing a non-native English* celebration fest.

I suspect most of the people reading this who have a non-English native language also read her and already know about it, but just in case, I thought I'd share.

*the discussion in comments gets into how to be most inclusive, eg, for people who grew up in formerly-colonized countries and spoke primarily English until they learned their ancestral tongue later or learned them simultaneously, etc.

Comments

[beth_leonard]

On a only slightly related topic (I'm not even sure I have your direct e-mail anywhere) -- do you have any good pointers for vegetarian traditional german food? Hopefully something yummy and easy enough to make in large quantities. Reply here or beth@slimy.com.

Thanks,
--Beth

[feuervogel]

How large a quantity? Traditional German potato salad contains bacon, but it can be left out without any ill effects. (It's mustard-based, not mayo, and is typically served warm.)

The easiest thing I can think of is a spinach strudel. Sure, technically you're supposed to make your own dough and roll it out a hundred times like a croissant, but puff pastry from the freezer section works really well. I improvised the filling, so I don't have good quantities, just approximations. You can double it to make 2 strudels, of course. (Or triple or quadruple, etc.)

Thaw the puff pastry sheet as directed on the package. (I generally use the Pepperidge Farms one.) Unfold it and roll it out into a rectangle about 9"x13". (Bigger is OK; it'll just be thinner crust.) If the sheet breaks, stick it back together with some water.

Filling:
Thaw a 10-oz package of frozen spinach (or use fresh: chop it and wilt it in a pan with butter and some garlic then let cool; you'll need a good cup to cup and a half cooked.) Stir in a couple cloves of garlic (chopped). You can also add diced onion and/or tomato, and some recipes call for chopped mushrooms. (Know your target audience!)

Stir half a cup each of ricotta and mozzarella into the spinach mixture. Add more if you want a higher cheese-to-spinach ratio.

Place the pastry sheet on a baking sheet (either sprayed or lined with parchment paper to keep it from sticking) and spread the filling in. Make sure you leave enough room to close the pastry around it (draw the long sides together and just press the short sides closed). Using a serrated knife, cut 2-3 slices in the top (to allow for expansion.

Bake at the temperature directed on the pastry box (425 I think for the Pepperidge Farms) for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Serve plain or with marinara sauce.

All quantities are rough estimates. I can tell you, though, Germans love them some spinach strudel, even if it's essentially a German calzone. Presumably you could also use frozen phyllo dough, but puff pastry is a thousand times easier to work with.

(There's also Maultaschen, which can be filled with a similar spinach and cheese thing, but they're like a cross between ravioli and pierogies, which means stuffing fifty of them yourself then cooking them, which is kind of a pain. There's also a wide variety of things to do with cabbage, like traditional variants on cole slaw (=Kohlsalat) and sauerkraut.)

Hope this helps!

[beth_leonard]

Thanks so much!! This sounds perfect!
--Beth

Recipie-ified the spinach strudel

[beth_leonard]

The friend I passed this off to was showing signs of not understanding, so I re-wrote it in recipe form for him. Since the work is done, I thought I'd pass it back to you in case you ever need it again. It sounds so good I'm going to make some for our family the next time I cook. (Which will be over a week from now due to parties, relatives, and travel.)

Thanks again!
--Beth


Excellent!

The recipe comes from my friend who is a vegetarian who has
spent many years in Germany. I will re-write it in recipe form
for you:

Spinach Strudel

* 1 package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed
* 10-oz package frozen spinach
[or fresh and wilted]
* 1 Tbsp butter
* 3 cloves chopped garlic to taste
* 1/4 cup diced onion
* 1/4 cup diced tomato
* 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (or more to taste)
* 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (or more to taste)

Serve plain or with marinara sauce.

Thaw the puff pastry sheet as directed on the package.
Unfold it and roll it out into a rectangle about 9"x13".
(Bigger is ok, it'll just be a thinner crust.) If the sheet
breaks, stick it back together with some water.

Place pastry sheet on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Filling:

Thaw a 10-oz package of frozen spinach. Saute with
butter, garlic, onions, and tomato. Drain.

Stir ricotta and mozzarella into the spinach mixture.

Spread the filling onto the pastry. Leave enough room to close
the pastry around it. Draw the long sides together and press
the short sides closed.

Using a serrated knife cut 2-3 slices in the top to allow
for expansion.

Bake at temperature directed on the pastry box 15-20 minutes
or until golden brown and puffy. Serve with marinara sauce.