Recently, we had a truly wonderful visit with our friend Nancy from Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
I met Nancy in the year 2000 when I worked at The Children's Museum of Portsmouth. She worked for the local credit union, and they were the sponsor for the museum's 5K Fun Run for kids.
Nancy and I bonded immediately. Within minutes, I felt as though I was sitting with a friend I’d known forever.
At first it we talked about food. Then about our mutual experiences living in Germany (very close to one another and at about the same time!). Then we tested our lingual prowess with one another. And then, it was back to food - German pastries, hearty stews and such. In the end, doesn’t it always come back to food?
When Nancy decided to come for her first visit to Tucson, I started to think about what we could serve to her. She was arriving in the evening after a long day of travel, so I decided that soup would be the perfect comforting welcome dish for her.And something Deutsch would be great fun for her.
Coincidentally that day, I was reading my weekly email from Saveur Magazine and they featured a hearty German soup with barley and sausages called Graupensuppe. I knew immediately that Nancy would love it.
I didn't make too many changes to the original, but did use a different sausage than it called for, and I opted for the richness of chicken stock over vegetable stock. I happened have some Weißwurst on hand, so I substituted it for the Bockwurst that was called for.
This switch from Bockwurst to Weißwurst didn't cause any suffering for anyone. The soup was pretty perfect as it was. In fact, I happen to be craving some for this evening. The weather has turned cold here - unusually cold for Tucson; there is a fire in the fireplace, and all that is missing is bowl of hearty soup.
Graupensuppe. That's the ticket!
Guten Appetit!
~ David
Graupensuppe
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup pearl barley
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup finely chopped peeled russet potato
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery root
1/2 cup finely chopped leek
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 German sausages, like Bockwurst or Bratwurst (Weißwurst)
3 thick slices bacon
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup thinly sliced flat‐leaf parsley leaves
Heat butter in a 6‐quart saucepan over medium‐high heat; add onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add barley and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Add stock, potato, carrot, celery root, leek, marjoram, sausages, and bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sausages are tender, about 35 minutes. Remove sausages and bacon from saucepan, thinly slice sausages, and discard bacon. Season soup with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
To serve, ladle soup into 8 serving bowls, and garnish with parsley and sliced sausage.
Serves 6-8. Labels: bacon, barley, Bockwurst, carrot, celery, German, German soup, leek, marjoram, potato, soup, weisswurst, weißwurst
