Swabian Maul...What?!

What looks like a larger version of ravioli, but is waaaaaay more tasty, is called 'Schwäbische Maultaschen' (Origin: Swabia, Germany). I would like to share this recipe with you because it is one of my favourite dishes in the world! But let's take a minute to go back to where it all started....

Where does it come from? 
My grandparents told me the following story (don't worry, I double-checked with Wikipedia so we are good to go with this one!): During lent, some monks in an abbey in a fairly small town called 'Maulbronn' were struggling to go without meat (which they had to give up to prove to God that they were good Christians). Obviously, they had the disadvantage of not being able to cheat as easily as we do today, so they had to come up with some more creative ideas. The result was 'Maultaschen', otherwise called 'Herrgottshbscheißerie' ('Cheating on God') - this second name arose because they monks argued that God would not be able to see the meat in the pasta dough. Now, I really don't know where the idea that German's are not funny comes from...

How can I make this yummy dish?
They are actually quite simple to make and, again thanks to my grandma, I can give you an original Swabian recipe which is guaranteed to impress your friends and family!    

All you need is: 

• 500g pasta dough
• 150g spinach 
• 400-450g sausage meat
• 5-6 eggs
• 4 old bread rolls from the day before (ideally soaked in water)
• 1/2 - 1 piece of leek
• 1 bundle of parsley
• 1 onion
• salt, pepper, nutmeg
  
  

To start off cut the leek, onion and parsley and fry it in a little bit of butter. Once it has cooled down, mix it with the other ingredients (spinach, sausage meat, bread and eggs) and stir with your hands -mmmmm, great fun! Now add all the spices, but be careful that it's not too spicy. 

Now place the pasta dough on the table (or anywhere else you can find a flat space), place the mix in the middle of the dough (make sure you leave a margin of dough around the mixture, otherwise it will get messy) and fold the dough into the middle (see step 1 in the image). 

The easiest way to cut the dough is to place it on a plate and then slice it with a sharp knife. Place a couple of 'Maultaschen' (the pieces you have just cut) in hot, but not boiling, salted water for about 10 minutes. 

Congratulations you have now made your very own Schwäbische Maultaschen! You can either fry them, with or without scrambled egg, in a pan or you can eat them with vegetable stock as a soup. Alternatively, you can make lasagne with them as well. 

Maultaschen are traditionally eaten with salad or potato salad (cook potatoes and make a dressing with broth, oil, vinegar, mustard and salt).

For a vegetarian option, you can just use: 

• 750g of spinach
• 1 bundle of chives
• 1 bundle of wild garlic
• 300g of goats cheese
• Plus the other ingredients mentioned above - minus the meat!
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Guten Appetit!

​Written by
Sarah Ehemann