Creamy Potato And Bacon Soup (Kartoffelsuppe mit Speck und Sahne)

According to the cookbook listed below, this recipe was developed in Westphalia (Westfalen) in Germany. While the recipe I have here is not exactly the same, the general pattern of the recipe is from, "Germany, a Culinary Tour," by Wolfgang W. Reichert, Sigloch Edition, 1986, republished 1994, Künzelsau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Ingredients

1 lb. potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups water, salted mildly
1 medium onion, diced
2/3 cup smoked bacon, diced
1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon bacon rendered bacon fat
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt (can be cut or even omitted, as potatoes will be cooked in salted water)
6 oz. light cream or sour cream (reduced fat kind is fine)
parsley, chopped

In a skillet, begin to sauté the bacon in the melted butter over medium low heat. Then add the onion and cook until the onion begins to turn light brown. Add the flour and stir to form a roux, cooking for a couple of minutes, but do not allow the roux to really brown much. While this is all going on, heat the salted water and diced potatoes until the potatoes just begin to soften. Drain the potatoes, but save the water. Add the roux and skillet contents to the pan, keeping the pan on medium low heat. Gradually add the potato water, stirring and keeping the water very hot until it return to a low boil, to allow the roux to thicken the starchy potato water. Once the liquid as all been added and is boiling, return the potatoes to the pan, along with the marjoram, pepper, and any salt, if using. Simmer until the potatoes are done. Stir in the bacon, then add the cream or sour cream, stirring well to mix it in thoroughly. Just before serving add the parsley and stir a bit.

WORD HISTORY:
Garnish-The overall history of this word is hard to put together, and this is currently the best I have on it. "Garnish" is related to a number of English words, for example: "weir," the "ware" part of "beware," "wary," "warn," and "ward." It goes back to Indo European "wer," which had the notion of, "to cover, to protect, to shut," and then all of the extended meanings from these basic meanings. The Indo European root seemingly spawned variant forms in its Old Germanic offspring, with  "warnonan," being one of those, or "perhaps" the original Old Germanic source of the variant forms?  It had the meaning "to pay heed, to be cautious, to prepare for a threat, beware." This gave the Germanic dialect of Frankish "warnjan," with those same meanings, as well as the extended notion of "equip or supply to meet a threat or prepare to meet a threat." Old French absorbed the word from Frankish as "guarnir/garnir," the meaning of which emphasized the "supply, equip" notion of the Frankish meaning, but also retained the "pay heed" meaning as secondary. The "supply, equip" idea later expanded to also mean "to adorn," as well as, "to take up arms." The derived French form "garniss" was borrowed into English, seemingly as "garnischen/garnishen," and with the same meanings "take up arms, to adorn, to beautify." Later, the idea of "adorn" led to the meaning of "making the appearance of food more appealing with colorful additions, to decorate food." The other meaning of "garnish," having to do with putting a claim against a person's income, comes from the "pay heed" idea (a warning), as a notice was given, that funds would be withheld.

Chopped Liver

Originally published January 26, 2016, but updated somewhat on 12-12-20 and some new photos 1-1-22

 

Perhaps you've heard the expression, "What am I, chopped liver?" It is used by someone who, rightly or wrongly, feels left out of a particular situation; that is, that they are important. Well, this is not about ruffled feathers or hurt feelings, so forget it! This is about the real chopped liver, a chicken liver specialty spread associated very strongly with Jewish culture and cuisine. The history of the dish is somewhat hazy, but it certainly seems to trace back to Jews living among Germans (especially in the Berlin area), Poles, Lithuanians, Russians and Ukrainians. Whether Jews picked up the dish from any of these cultures, or gifted it to these various peoples, is unknown to me. Like many recipes, there are variations to chopped liver, often regarding the addition of herbs or spices. This version is my own.

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken livers
1/2 cup schmaltz (chicken fat)* (you can substitute some regular olive oil or vegetable oil)**
1 medium onion, diced
3 large hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (certainly optional)
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons dry sherry (use real sherry, cooking sherry has added salt and less flavor)
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon paprika

In a skillet, heat and melt 2 tablespoons of chicken fat. Add the onions and cook until softened. Add the livers, the thyme, the sherry, the salt, the pepper, the cayenne pepper, and the rest of the chicken fat. Cook over medium low heat until the livers are softened, but not completely darkened and dry. Naturally, no remaining blood from the livers should be present. Remove from the heat and empty the contents onto a large platter or board. Use a good large knife to chop the livers and mixture to a coarse level. Add and mix in the chopped eggs. Put everything into a dish and sprinkle the top with parsley and paprika, then cover and place in the refrigerator for several hours. Great spread on rye or pumpernickel bread, or as a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise, or perhaps mustard, which might be a bit too strong for such a sandwich, but if you like mustard, go for it.

As for some of the variations, some brown the onions, some add marjoram, some add Madeira or other types of wine, some add brandy, some add crunchy browned bits of chicken fat left over from making schmaltz, some do not mix in the chopped egg, but rather prefer to sprinkle it on top, many do not use cayenne pepper. In more modern times, food processors are used by many, I'm sure, and some undoubtedly make it very smooth, so make it as you feel you want it, and I'm pretty sure Golda Meir's ghost won't pay you a visit ... ahh, "Hi there Golda! What ya been up to? What's this, because of my remarks, you're going to serve everybody else lunch, but not me? What am I, chopped liver?"

* "Schmaltz" is the Yiddish spelling of German "Schmalz" (fat, grease). I assume English tends to use the Yiddish spelling, as it was originally borrowed and spread through English from Yiddish sources. Yiddish, which literally means "Jewish," is a Germanic language that developed about a thousand or more years ago, seemingly in the Rhineland area of Germany. It was based upon the High German dialect of that area, with elements from various German dialects, Hebrew, Slavic, and some Latin-based languages, like Rumanian. It was initially referred to as "taytsh/taytsch" (which meant "German," compared to Middle High German "tiutsch" and modern German "Deutsch"). As Jews moved across eastern Europe, they took this language along, thus picking up those various other characteristics from Slavic and Rumanian over time. It seems the term "Yiddish" wasn't really applied to the language until the 1700s. It is still spoken today, even in the United States, principally in New York City.

 

** I've made chopped liver with a mixture of olive oil, a little chicken fat and a little butter, and it's pretty good. The thing to remember is, specialty ethnic foods from various cultures are often based upon tradition, and traditional chopped liver is made with schmaltz. 

 

 

Chopped liver with toast and some cornichons ...

 

 

WORD HISTORY:
Spread-This word goes back to Indo European "sper-id," which had the notion of "strew, toss about." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "spreidijanan," which meant "to spread about." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "sprædan," meaning "to stretch forth, spread out." This then became "spreden," before the modern version. The noun was derived from the verb in the early 1600s. The other Germanic languages have: German "spreiten," Low German Saxon "spreden," Frisian "spriedjen" (seems archaic, although perhaps still dialectal), Dutch "spreiden," Danish "sprede," Norwegian "spre," and Swedish "sprida." NOTE: The North Germanic branch, represented here by Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, "may" have borrowed the word from Low German; at least that is the belief of some, and the fact that there is no form of "spread" in Icelandic gives some support to that idea, although a form could simply have died out in Icelandic.

Tuscan Liver Pâté

I've had this recipe for years, but I'm not sure where I got it, because I wrote it down on a small index card. For those unaware, Tuscany is a region of Italy; more specifically, a region of northwestern Italy, with the its capital being the city of Florence (Italian: Firenze). The famous wine "Chianti" is from this region.

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken livers
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste (mixed with a little warm water to thin slightly)
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed and finely chopped
2 tablespoons capers, chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper (very little salt, as the capers and anchovies will add salt)

Melt the butter and add the olive oil to a skillet. Add the chopped onion and sauté lightly on low heat. After about a minute or so, add the garlic. Sauté until both just begin to soften, but do not brown, especially the garlic, as it can get very bitter tasting. Add the anchovy and stir, as it will begin to dissolve into the mixture. Add the chicken livers and stir well. Continue to stir occasionally to make sure the mixture does not stick and to be certain the livers are all cooking through. Add the rosemary and the tomato paste, which should be just barely thinned with a little warm water. Stir well to mix. Add the capers, salt and pepper and mix once more. You can let the mixture cool, before putting it into a food processor and pulsing until smooth. It can be served warm or refrigerated. Great with some toasted or grilled Italian breads.

WORD HISTORY:
Caper-English has other forms of this word, but in this case, this is the noun and name of the plant and its edible flower bud, of dull green color, which is typically pickled in a salt brine. The ultimate origins of this word are unknown, but Greek had "kapparis," which was borrowed by Latin as "capparis." This gave French "câpres," and this, plus apparent reinforcement by the Latin word, was borrowed by English in the late 1300s as "capers." The ending "s" was later dropped for the singular, as is was mistaken as being the plural form.

Chicken Liver Pâté

This is really French cuisine, although telling the difference between the many forms of liverwurst by national cuisine can be difficult. Again, this is really more of my own recipe, but many are similar. Some use cognac, or sherry, and somewhere, I'm almost positive, I have a recipe that uses port wine. Some add ground cayenne pepper for some heat, and I've even seen recipes that use hot sauce instead. Often served with toast or crackers.

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken livers
salt
pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 tablespoons of brandy
1/2  medium onion, chopped, plus 1/4 fresh onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons butter

In a skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add the 1/2 of chopped medium onion, the garlic, the thyme and pepper, and a little salt (most people use salted butter, so limit the amount of salt you add). Cook on low heat until livers are cooked through and the onion and garlic are softened, stirring to prevent sticking or overcooking of any of the livers, but stir in the brandy just before the livers are cooked through. Let the mixture cool a bit and then put into a food processor, adding the last tablespoon of butter and the fresh finely chopped onion. Pulse until the mixture is smooth. You will likely have to scrape down the sides of the processor at times. Put the mixture into a bowl and cover, then place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving, with several hours in the frig being even better.

WORD HISTORY:
Cuisine-This word, closely related to "cook," seems" to go back to Indo European "kwekwo," "perhaps" a variant form of "pekwo," which seems to have meant "to ripen;" the notion being to prepare inedible raw food until it is 'ripe;' that is, ready to eat. This gave Old Italic "kekewo," and this gave Latin "coquere," a verb meaning "to cook." This then gave Latin "coquina," and the later "cocina," both meaning "kitchen." This gave French "cuisine," also meaning "kitchen," but gradually broadened to mean "foods and dishes prepared in the kitchen, cooked items." English borrowed the word from French in the late 1700s.

Homemade Liverwurst

A lot of people do not seem to like liver, but liver sausage in various forms has been quite popular in many cultures and cuisines. Of course, by liver, I don't just mean beef or calves liver, but liver from other animals too, most often pigs, chickens, ducks and geese, but certainly from other animals too. There are different names for liver sausage from the various cultures, most commonly: "Leberwurst" in German, pâté in French, and chopped liver in Jewish cuisine. In English interestingly, the most common word is "liverwurst," a compound using the English word "liver," and the German word "Wurst," which means sausage, although "liver" is the close relative of German "Leber." * By the way, this has nothing to do with German "Leberkäse," also, at times, spelled without the ending "e," except for much of the preparation.** So I'm going to do a series of four articles on liverwurst of different types. Of course, liverwurst can often be soft and spreadable, or it can be a bit firmer, and sliced, or sometimes it's something of both. Some liverwurst is in some kind of casing, be it from an animal or artificially made. Some liverwurst is boiled for the cooking process, some is baked, often called a terrine. Some liverwurst is actually smoked, while some has a smoky flavor from the addition of smoked bacon, or smoked flavoring, and other liverwurst has no such aroma or flavor. Many Americans are likely most familiar with the term "Braunschweiger" for liverwurst. "Brauschweig" is the name of a German city located in the state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), many times rendered as "Brunswick" in English. "To my knowledge" (a dangerous thing), there is no liver sausage made in that city using the name "Braunschweiger." The name seems to have been applied in the United States for liver sausage produced here. One more thing, liverwurst, of whatever type, is high in cholesterol and fat, so you should take that into consideration and eat it in moderation. Now let's get cooking so we can gorge ourselves .... Just joking, nutritionists.  I've seen lots of recipes for liverwurst, but this is something of my own, although many recipes are similar, and I don't use casings, but rather bake it in a dish.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb calves liver
1 lb pork liver
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 lb pork sausage
1/4 lb smoked bacon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon ground marjoram
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon mace
small amount of butter or oil
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

In a skillet, add a pat of butter or a small amount of oil, like canola. Add the onions and cook over relatively low heat, just until the onion is softened. In food processor or grinder, add one half of each type of liver and pulse or grind until finely chopped. Add this to the onion in a mixing bowl. Take the remaining liver and pulse it or grind it, but leave it with a more coarse texture, then add it to the mixing bowl. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add it to the mixture, along with the sausage and all of the other ingredients. If you want more smoke flavor, use the liquid smoke. Mix all of the ingredients well by hand and put the mixture into a baking dish, with a lid. You may choose to grease the baking dish first, but I do not. If your dish does not have a lid, use foil to cover the dish. Get an ovenproof pan large enough to hold the baking dish and add about an inch of water to the pan, then place the baking dish into the middle of the pan. The water will naturally rise up the side of the dish, so be careful. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Put the pan with the dish into the oven, mid level rack. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Do not over bake. Remember, while this may look something on the order of meatloaf, it is not supposed to be crispy on any part of it, so definitely check the temperature at the 45 minute mark. The finished product should be easy to slice, but more delicate than meatloaf. (Note: While I haven't done this, I would say the mixture can be stuffed into casings and then boiled as the cooking process.)

* For the history of the words "liver/Leber," see my article:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/11/german-question-part-fifty-nine.html

And for the word history for "Wurst," see my article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/09/german-question-part-forty.html

** "Leberkäse," which means "liver cheese," has no liver and no cheese in its ingredients. Hey, don't complain to me about the name, tell the Germans! It is popular in many parts of the southern German language area, including Austria, Bavaria and Switzerland.

WORD HISTORY:
Crane-This noun goes back to Indo European "gereh/gerohn," which meant "to shriek, to cry out in a rasping voice." This gave Old Germanic "krano," which meant the name for one of the wading birds with a screeching cry. This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "cran," with the same meaning. It was quite some time before the word added the ending "e" to signify that the "a" had a long sound. The bird's long neck and general build gave rise to the use of the name for the mechanical device used for lifting. The verb form came from the noun circa 1800.

Christopher Lee, Best Known for Horror Films

British actor Christopher Lee died last June, but I wanted to write this, as he was a big part of my childhood and teenage years, and indeed even adulthood, as his movies continued to be shown for decades after their initial releases. Further he appeared in both "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings" films. Throughout his long career, Christopher Lee played various roles, including Rasputin, Sherlock Holmes, Fu Manchu, and Frankenstein's monster, but to many, if not most people, he is remembered for playing Dracula in a series of films for Hammer Films, a British movie company noted for horror films. Lee did an admirable job filling the shoes of Bela Lugosi, who earlier had become THE actor associated with Dracula. So a belated farewell to Christopher Lee, whose physical presence may be gone, but whose movies continue to live on. Christopher Lee was 93.

WORD HISTORY:
Ladder-This noun, related to "lean," goes back to the Indo European root "klei," which had the notion of "lean, slope, rest at an angle." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "hlaidrizo," which meant "ladder," a device leaned against an object in order to climb upwards or downwards. This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hlæder," with the same meaning. This later became "laddere," before the modern version. "Apparently," the Old Germanic form did not survive in the North Germanic branch, but it most certainly survived in the West Germanic branch, as besides the English form, German has "Leiter," ^ Low German Saxon has "ledder," Dutch and North Frisian have "ladder," and West Frisian has "ljedder."

^ Just a note, the German noun is grammatically feminine; thus, "die Leiter," as German has the homonym "der Leiter," which is grammatically masculine, and means "leader," and yes, it is closely related to the English word "leader."

Smoky Bean Stew

This a relatively simple dish to make. Here's what you'll need for about 4 servings:

3/4 to 1 lb of cottage ham or and ham slices, for that matter, cut into small chunks, and the ham needs to be smoked, not just cured, in order to give the proper taste to the stew, or you could use smoked bacon
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
2 medium potatoes, diced (peeled or for extra nutrition with the skin on, but thoroughly washed)
3/4 cup water
1 cup beef broth
1 15.5 oz. can cannellini beans (or you could use Great Northern beans or navy beans), well rinsed
pepper to taste
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of ham soup base
3 tablespoons flour + 3 tablespoons butter (or oil) to make a roux, but I like stew extremely thickened, so you might want to only use 2 tablespoons of each

Put the water and carrots into a medium sauce pan, let cook over medium heat for just a couple of minutes and then add the potatoes. Once both the carrots and potatoes begin to soften, add the beef broth, then the ham. Bring to a simmer and add the ham soup base, stirring well. Let gently simmer for about 4 or 5 minutes, then add the beans and season to taste with pepper. Simmer a further couple of minutes to heat the beans. Check to be sure the potatoes and carrots are tender, and you are ready to serve. You will not need to add salt, as the beef broth and ham base will add the necessary salt, as will the beans to some extent, although they should be well rinsed.

WORD HISTORY: 
Ham-This word goes back to Indo European "konemo/kanema," which meant "shin, shinbone." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "hamma/hammo," which meant "back of the knee, hollow area behind the knee." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hamm," with the same meaning, but also a further development of just "a part of the leg." Later the second "m" was dropped and the meaning altered more to be applied to part of the leg of an animal, most often of a swine. While the other Germanic languages once had forms of the word, many eventually replaced those words with forms related to English "shank," as their word for ham, although, "shank" is often used, at least in the U.S., for a type of ham. Dutch still has "ham," and some German dialect has "Hamme," and some Low German dialect has "hame," although it may now be little used.