Fancy Frikadellen

When it comes to thinking about German food, I summon up images of plump Vienna and bratwurst sausages with copious amounts of fried onions, big jars filled with home made sauerkraut or huge pickled gherkins, the ginger spiced Lebkuchen that is a Christmas tradition in our house, spatzle noodles with a rich wine soaked venison casserole and chilled bottles of sweet Riesling damp with perspiration, perfect for washing down slices of stollen.

But one of my favourite German dishes has to be 'frikadellen', a sort of meat patty resembling what most people would consider a burger. Made properly frikadellen are deliciously moist and full of flavour.
For my version of the traditional recipe which I call....'Fancy Frikadellen' I have drawn on a few of those German 'traits' that help give wonderful flavour and moistness to this dish.

you will need : enough frikadellen to feed 4 people

For the Frickadellen or the meat patties:

400 g minced pork

100 g of light rye breadcrumbs.....wholemeal is fine if you can't get rye
50 g rolled oats

2 spring onions sliced very fine

3 tablespoons finely chopped pickled gherkins

1 medium egg

sea salt / fresh black pepper

for the sauce:

200 g peeled carrot sliced

1/2 stalk of leek sliced thinly in rounds

1 small onion sliced thinly

2 stalks celery sliced thinly

400 mls hot chicken stock

1 glass of dry white wine

a little olive oil.......not extra virgin

50 g butter

50 g plain flour

100 mls soured cream

1 tablespoon of chopped parsley

how to:

for the frickadellen: you will get 8 patties from this recipe...2 per person

• place the minced pork, spring onion, breadcrumbs, oatmeal, pickle and beaten egg in a mixing bowl, season with a little salt and pepper.....mix together until all is combined......using your hands makes this an easy job
• divide the mixture into 8 even sized meatballs
• place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet, press the meatballs as flat as you like with the palm of your hand and lay on the parchment
• cover with cling film and chill in the fridge 

If you can, leave these overnight in the fridge overnight for the onion flavors to develop, if you can't wait then chill for at least 15 minutes, or even make them in the morning so they are ready to cook when you get home.

• heat a little oil in a frying pan and brown the meat patties on each side, remove from the pan and set aside, the patties will be nearly fully cooked at this point
• take the pan off the heat and add a little stock which will help lift off the tasty meat sediment, keep this to add to the sauce

for the sauce: this sauce is similar to a basic white sauce

• heat a tablespoon of olive oil and the 50 g of butter in a casserole pot, add the sliced onion, leek, celery and carrot and cook without colour for a minute, cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for about 5 mins
• remove the lid, turn the heat up to medium then add the flour, stir well until it has absorbed the butter and coated all the vegetables, add the hot chicken stock in small amounts, mixing well after each addition, 
• continue to add the stock until finished, then add the wine, keep stirring as the sauce thickens, be careful not to let it boil too fast, keep it at a steady simmer
• add the frikadellen into the sauce, continue to cook gently for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
• finally, add the soured cream, bring the sauce to the boil, add the chopped parsley and serve

These saucy little frikadellen are delicious served with some brown rice or with whole boiled or mashed potatoes. I like to fry up some extra onions too and serve them on the side, don't forget the pickles!