The Cantina Cuisine – food talk, recipes and more

Well, maybe then it’s time for our first restaurant recommendations here on the thread:

If you ever visit Hamburg, Germany

If you’re into Mediterranean (sea) food and Tapas, especially Spanish and even more Portuguese, you’ve to visit the Portuguese quarter very close the part of the harbor called the “Landungsbrücken”. It’s a dream come true if you’re into Paella and all kind of such meals. The density of restaurants and bars there is astounding indeed. I myself had a nice fish soup followed very good sea food paella, accompanied by a fine rosé in the restaurant O Pescador. The paella came in the classic pan and served two for about 27,50 EUR (see my post before for the picture).

When in search of authentic and very tasty Chinese food, visit the restaurant MAN WAH on the Reeperbahn. Some of the dished are only announced on chalkboard in Mandarin (?). There’s a huge selection of Dim Sum and the option to get fresh lobster from the tank to the wok and onto your plate.

Tried and true:

Fried duck on the bone, on a bed of crisp pork belly and roasted pork


Stir fried Tofu with octopus, king prawns and Chinese mushrooms


Edit: The cuisine in the Man Wah is Cantonese style.


The Portuguese Quarter



Part of the Reeperbahn environment

 

If you munch me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!

So I’m a food force ghost now – hurray!

 

Actually, I’m cooking up something, but preparation takes its time. Getting the yummy pictures ready and stuff, ya know. But it’s a hearty meal that’s unique on this planet, as only my grandmother made it, and now I would like to pass on the torch

 

Dear Gentlebeings,

As the kitchen is the heart and soul of any cantina, I’m proud to finally get back on track and present to you in this thread another food adventure after a long idle time. Enjoy!


Hearty Lah’mu Casserole

If you find yourself on a harsh planet, where Moof Bacon, some home grown Kraut and wizened tubers are all that you can muster, maybe this recipe can give some delight.

Actually, it became one of the favorite dishes of Galen during the Erso’s stay on Lah’mu, from the first time Lyra made it according to early settlers tradition.



In one the local Lah’mu dialect, the original name of that dish is “Sauerkraut mit Klump“.

Ingredients (for 6 persons)
· 2 kg (4.4 lbs.) potatoes (the floury cooking/baking type if possible)
· 650 g (24 oz.) Sauerkraut (the plain one, not pre-cooked and without any extras like pineapple *shudder*)
· 500 g (18 oz.) bacon / smoked pork belly (at least 4/5 needs to come in slices; I get the best results by buying it at a locals butchers shop and let them cut the slices from the whole lump)
· 2 onions
· 2 eggs
· some dashes of finely grated Nutmeg
· salt & black pepper to taste
· 1 clove Garlic
· 2 bay leaves
· 5 juniper berries
· 2 tsp. Honey
· ½ - 1 cup of fluid like water (but white wine or broth will do well)
· a sprinkle of vegetable oil



Main Utensils
· kitchen knife
· pot with Lid
· kitchen grater
· large bowl
· casserole (mine is about 17.5” by 13” and 7.5” high)


Preparing the Kraut
Dice 1/5 (about 100g/3.5 oz.) of the bacon, get the pot to medium heat, sprinkle with oil and fry the bacon until lightly browned. Then add 1 diced onion and garlic, , sauté until soft but not browned.



Drip off the Kraut and add it to the pot together with the bay leaves, juniper, honey, a bit of fluid to prevent it from burning. Place the lid on pot, let it simmer on low heat for about half an hour, stir occasionally. If it gets to dry, add more fluid.



At the End, remove bay leaves and juniper, add salt to taste.


Preparing the potato “Kartoffelpuffer” dough
Note: The dough makes for a classic meal for itself. The Puffer, fried in lots of oil, pancake style about 6” / 15cm in diameter, accompanied by either apple purée or smoked salmon with sour crème, are well known in Germany.



Grate the potatoes into a large bowl, then peel and grate one onion too. Add the eggs, 2 tablespoons of salt, some dashes of nutmeg and pepper, stir trough.



Pre-heat the oven to 175°C (350°F).



Putting the casserole together
Use the bacon slices to cover he casserole from the inside (bottom and sides), keep some slices aside for the final covering (Note that I remove any bony or rind parts from the bacon before doing this).



Use half of the potato dough to make a solid basement within the casserole on the bottom bacon layer, spread evenly with a spoon. Use all of Kraut for the middle layer, spread evenly.



Use the second half of the potato dough to cover it all.



Fold bacon stripes from the side down if placed higher than the last layer. Cover on top evenly with the last bacon stripes available.



Note: If the casserole form you use is more high then broad, Then make more layers, but always potato at the bottom and on top. So it can be two kraut layers in between with another potato layer in the center for a total of five.

Get the casserole to the oven for about 1:20 h. If during the time the bacon on top is getting to dark, try to cover the casserole with a lid or aluminum foil. Note then when using waxy potatoes, or the time was to short, the dough might appear as to raw, put it in the oven for another 15 minutes or so.

In the end, get it out and start digging through crisp bacon, potato and Kraut - serve and enjoy.



In another part of the galaxy, the recipe for “Sauerkraut mit Klump” was uniquely prepared by my late grandma. I never heard nor seen anything like it, be it in cook books or the internet. So it’s now onto the Cantina Cuisine’s Cooking Comrades to keep it alive.

 

And guess what, a dark beer like Porter, Stout, Malt, Schwarzbier, or any other one with a smokey and/or sweet flavor to it pairs well with the food!

 

Yeah well .. thanks pal! You guys always know how to warm my heart. I hope that in your part of the galaxy, a good Sauerkraut is easy to come by, my dear @DarthSnow!

But now I’m close to call it a day, let the spring sun do the warming, and fire up the grill. I can see BBQ and salad at the horizon for this evening…

 

I’m happy to hear that the resources are abundant and that we have quite a bunch of “Kraut’s” from all over the word in the Cantina!

You’re damn right @The Hud – having a casserole with that amount of bacon for over an hour in the oven, your kitchen starts to smell quite yummy!

Actually, there are lots of recipes and ready-to-buy products for Sauerkraut with pineapple in it in Germany, mostly used in combination with a type of meat preparation that’s called “Kassler” (the name given to a salted (cured) and slightly smoked cut of pork). But that doesn’t make it any better!

Well, it’s all about sharing, that’s the reason I kicked of this thread.
You’re most welcome my friend @tm0910196!