Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Recipe For Gruenkern Soup

I was hoping to be able to upload some photos with this post but judging from the comments, instant messages and emails I've been receiving the readership seems to be quite eager for a taste of Gruenkern, so here goes the recipe, without the beautiful prep footage:

GRUENKERN SOUP (whole)

1 lb. whole Greunkern kernels
1/2 - 1 lb. spicy meat (Salami works well cubed. Kielbasa is also good. Corned Beef would work...)
1 large onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
onion soup mix (a.k.a. "the Jewish spice" if desired... you can bet they didn't use that in Germany!)

Yes folks. I'm almost embarrased to say "That's it!".

Wash and soak the Gruenkern the evening before.
Sautee the onion until brown.
Combine the Gruenkern, onion, water and spices in a crockpot or pot. Bring to a boil for an hour. Add the meat and cook for another half hour. Taste and adjust the seasonings. You will obviously need less seasonings (if any) with more spicy meats. Check the water and add more, if necessary. It should have a very thick soup/stew consistency. Continue cooking over Shabbos and enjoy!


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Or Landjäger, the kosher kind of course.

Of all the things I miss from the "alte heim" (the Heights), the thing that I miss most is Fleishmann & Heymans aufschnitt and other delicacies!

My mother adds a cut up potato or two, and a few cut up carrots, and almost always makes it in the crock pot to serve for lunch on Shabbat.

Mark
twitter.com/MarkSoFla

Deb said...

at the risk of sounding like a moron, what exactly is gruenkern?

G6 said...

Deb -
Please refer to the comments section of this post.

Rafi G. said...

any idea what can be used as an alternative for gruenkern kernels, assuming they dont sell it where I live?

G6 said...

Rafi -

I wish I could help you, but trying to make Gruenkern Soup without gruenkern is like trying to make oatmeal without oats......

OneTiredEma said...

My MIL makes it with turkey stock (which I prefer) and her sister (DH's aunt) makes it with flanken. It's the lunch soup course on shabbat--in the crockpot. Almost never cholent :)

Rafi, my MIL brought a dozen of packages of it to put in her freezer when they made aliyah; I'm sure whoever visits after pesach will bring more.

Gisa said...

"... onion soup mix (a.k.a. "the Jewish spice" if desired... you can bet they didn't use that in Germany!)"

Only saw this today, 18 months after you published the recipe. Want to respond, though, because I just can' believe how incredibly ridiculous that remark quoted above really is - are you honestly trying to say people in Germany wouldn't cook with this because onion soup is called the "Jewish" spice??? Please take a moment to think - it's 2010, ie., 2011 by now...

As far as recipes go, no, indeed, onion soup would probably not be added, it's not a traditional thing in German cuisine, or stores, at that.

My personal favorite recipe for Gruenkern is to cook it like a simple Italian risotto, by the way. I find it delicious as a vegetarian dish.

Bon App, and, please, ...

G6 said...

Gisa -
I'm terribly sorry that you COMPLETELY misunderstood that line.
Referring to onion soup mix as the Jewish spice is only because it seems to be added lately to every dish, instead of perhaps more careful spice choices.
Mentioning that it was not used in Germany was referring to the JEWS in Germany because, as you said, it didn't EXIST there.
That is ALL that was meant.
Sorry for any confusion.

Gisa said...

Thanks, G6, I probably did overreact, sorry. I'd just never considered onion soup from a bag as specifically "Jewish"...
And,indeed, I googled Gruenkern and onion soup, and couldn't find a single German website with a recipe combining both within the same dish...
About Gruenkern itself: It's an old species of wheat, in German, "Dinkel," that is harvested long before it is ripe, and that is then roasted until dry. That it would taste good that way was discovered by farmers who'd lost a few harvests to rainy summers and didn't want to wait for disaster again, it seems.
And again, Bon App, and, thanks...

Anonymous said...

i remember visitng my aunt Frieda and uncle ernst on vermylea avenue. we lived in philadelphia and had family friends in the heights to visit. aunt frieda made the best gruenkern soup and also fantastic oatmeal. i do remember Fleishmann and Heymans aufschitt, too.

Anonymous said...

I am a born and bred Washington Heights Yekke and what really made it flavorful (and fatty) are marrow bones. We also used to put in a Ring Wurst which is sadly not available anymore and I have to settle for Kielbasa. I prefer this to cholent any day and so do my Sephardic husband and my kids.

Brenda

. said...

Can this soup be made with wheat berries? Thank you!