Schwäbisch Maultaschen (Big, Fat German "Ravioli")

Name: Schwäbisch Maultaschen (Big, Fat German "Ravioli")
Total time: 3600 s
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: noodle dough -; 250 g Flour (2 cups); 2 Eggs; 1/2 tsp Salt; 4-6 Tbsp water; filling -; 150 g Ground beef or pork/beef mix; 1 bunch Fresh spinach (around 150-170g); 1 Egg; 3/4 cup Breadcrumbs; 1 medium onion, finely minced; to taste Salt & pepper; 1/2-1 tsp Nutmeg; other -; 2 liters Chicken or other soup broth; Parsley, to garnish

Felice @morinoko

Connecticut, United States

A traditional recipe (and one of my absolute favorites!) from the Black Forest - Schwarzwald, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemburg) -region of Germany. Maultaschen are basically big, fat "ravioli" filled with spinach, ground meat and a dash of nutmeg. The most common way to enjoy Maultaschen is serving in a simple soup. If there are any leftovers, the next day we like to slice them up and pan fry them with some eggs.

The "legend" behind maultaschen is that years back, Christian monks were observing a ritual period where you weren't supposed to eat any meat, but they had some meat that they didn't want to waste (or just wanted to eat it anyway). So what they did was ground up the meat, mix it with a bunch of vegetables and breadcrumbs and stuck it inside a pasta shell so you (and God!) couldn't see it! The Schwäbisch nickname for this dish is Herrgottsbescheisserle, or "God's little swindlers", lol.

There are a couple different ways to form the maultaschen, so I included 3 different methods below :)

Felice @morinoko

Connecticut, United States

There are a couple different ways to form the maultaschen, so I included 3 different methods below :)

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Ingredients

60 mins

4 servings

noodle dough -
250 gFlour (2 cups)
2Eggs
1/2 tspSalt
4-6 Tbspwater
filling -
150 gGround beef or pork/beef mix
1 bunchFresh spinach (around 150-170g)
1Egg
3/4 cupBreadcrumbs
1medium onion, finely minced
to tasteSalt & pepper
1/2-1 tspNutmeg
other -
2 litersChicken or other soup broth
Parsley, to garnish

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Steps

60 mins

1

DOUGH: Combine flour with 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp salt and 4-6 Tbsp water in a bowl. Mix until dough comes together. Remove from bowl and knead on a floured surface until smooth. Wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
2

FILLING: While the dough is resting, boil spinach for 1-2 minutes. Drain and dunk in very cold water. Squeeze out excess water and finely chop or process in a blender. (You can use the equivalent amount of frozen spinach as well).
3

Mix the spinach, meat, minced onion, bread crumbs, egg, nutmeg and salt & pepper together so everything is well blended.
4

METHOD 1 (Ravioli Style): Flour a working surface to roll out dough. Roll out thin into a large rectangle. Cut into smaller rectangles about 6 x 12 cm (2.5 x 5 in) with a knife or pie cutter.
5

Place a tablespoon of the filling on each dough rectangle, slightly off center. Fold over the dough and seal the pocket by pressing down around the meat filling.
6

Place on a floured tray or plate until all maultaschen are finished.
7

METHOD 2 (Rolled Maultaschen): This method is the easiest and fastest. Roll out the dough into one big rectangle (you might want to split the dough in half so it's more manageable) and spread the filling out evenly.
8

Roll up into a long roll. Seal the end with a little water.
9

Cut diagonally into thick pieces. The filling will be exposed but it will stay put when cooking if rolled up tightly.
10

METHOD 3 (Hybrid): Roll out the dough into one big rectangle and spread the filling out evenly, leave some space open on one side.
11

Fold into three, sealing the edge of the fold with a little water. Form square pockets by pressing down along the roll with the round handle of a wooden spoon. This will create a seal between each maultaschen.
12

Cut the pressed area with a knife or pasta cutter.
13

TO COOK: Bring the soup to a boil. Add the maultaschen and turn down to a simmer.
14

Simmer for 12-15 minutes. You can add a few veggies in the soup too if you like, though the 'classic' way is to just enjoy in the broth.
15

Dish out into shallow bowls and pour over some broth (it doesn't have to be a lot, because you want to be able to cut the maultaschen). Garnish with chopped parsley.

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Felice @morinoko

on August 05, 2015 06:54

Connecticut, United States

I grew up in Southern Germany and Ohio, and spent 10 years in Japan. I love bread baking, #German food, and healthy, homestyle cooking in general inspired by my family and the seasons.Follow my cooking adventures on Instagram :)https://instagram.com/morinoko_