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PA Dutch Cooking is a tradition that has out-lived many generations. The typical PA Dutch food can be best compred to that of the Alsace region which has changed hands between France and Germany a few times throughout history. The PA Dutch foods that we know today, however have been americanized to fit the many tastes and cultures that were arriving from Europe in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Below are a few of the more "typical PA Dutch" recipes. For more recipes and information, see the list of resources at the bottom of this page.
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Buwe Schenkel 1 ½ lbs. beef 5 potatoes 2 ½ tsp. salt dash of pepper 1 tbsp. butter 1 tbsp. minced parsley 1 small onion, chopped 2 eggs, slightly beaten Add about 2 tsp. of salt to the beef, cover with water and stew for several hours. (One alternative would be to use 1 ½ lbs. of ground beef. In this case, brown the ground beef and put in a pot with the potatoes as outlined below.) For the dough: 1 1/4 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tbsp. shortening (like Crisco) 1 tbsp. butter 5 or 6 tbsp. water Make the dough by cutting shortening and butter into the flour and baking powder. Add the water to this mixture. Divide the dough into six parts and roll each into a 6-inch circle. Set aside while you prepare the filling. Peel the potatoes and slice thin. Add the potatoes, salt and pepper to the beef and add water to almost cover the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are almost soft. Turn off the heat and add the butter, onion, parsley and the two beaten eggs to the potatoes. Let stand for ten minutes. Put a spoonful of the mixture in the middle of a dough circle. Fold the dough over to form half moons, pinching edges tightly togehter. Lift carefully into the kettle of boiling broth. Cover tightly and cook for about 30 minutes. This yields 6-8 generous servings. Back to top
Chicken Corn Noodle Soup one 4-5 pound chicken pinch of saffron 1 stalk celery noodles (see recipe) 6 ears of fresh corn on the cob 2 small onions 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley salt and pepper to taste Wash the chicken well and remove excess fat. Place in a large kettle and cover completely with water. Add some salt and pinch of saffron. Boil for about 1 to 1 ½ hours until the chicken is soft. While the chicken is cooking, prepare your noodle dough and vegetables. To save time you may use store-bought egg noodles, although it is more traditional to use homemade noodles. Remove the chicken from the broth and let it cool. Remove and discard the skin. Cut the chicken meat into small, bite-sized pieces and set aside. Finely chop up the celery and onions and add to boiling broth. Cut the corn off the cob and add the corn to the broth. Allow vegetables to boil about 10 minutes and then add the noodles to the boiling broth. Boil about 20 to 30 minutes. Add pepper, chicken pieces, and parsley. It may be necessary to add more water as the soup is cooking. Serves about 6 people. Noodles 2 cups flour 3 eggs dash of salt 2 tbsp. water Put the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center of the flour. Add well-beaten eggs and stir into a dough. Add only enough water (about 2 tbsp.) to make a workable stiff dough. Knead a few minutes and turn onto a floured board. Cover the dough with a bowl and let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 3 pieces and roll each piece as thin as possible. Use as little flour as possible. Lay the rounds of dough on a cloth and let set about 30 minutes. Turn the pieces over and let dry another 30 minutes. Roll out the dough and slice into thin slices the desired width of your noodles. A pizza or dough cutter works well for this. Add the dough pieces to the soup or cook in salt water and serve as a side dish with melted butter. Back to top
Chicken Pot Pie one 3-4 pound chicken salt and pepper to taste 3 carrots, peeled and cubed 3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed parsley 2 small onions, chopped a pinch of saffron pot pie dough (recipe below) Wash the chicken and remove excess fat. Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with water, add salt and saffron and bring to a boil. Simmer 1 ½ to 2 hours until chicken is soft. Remove chicken from the broth and allow to cool. Remove the meat from the bones, cut into bite-sized pieces and set it aside. Add carrots, onions and pepper to the broth and bring to a boil for about 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and boil for about another 10 minutes. Roll out pot pie dough and cut into large squares, about 2x2 inches. Be sure the broth is boiling well and add the dough squares. If there is not enough broth be sure to add water before boiling the pot pie. Cover and boil about 20 minutes or until the dough squares are cooked. Add parsley and chicken and serve. Pot Pie Dough 1 ¼ cups of flour 1 egg shell of water 1 tsp. baking powder 1 egg 1 teaspoon salt Mix all dry ingredients together. Add egg and water and mix. Roll out dough and cut in squares. Back to top
Corn Pie 6 or 8 ears sweet corn, husked and cut off the cob dash of sugar 2 tsp. butter 2 hard-boiled eggs salt and pepper to taste 2 - 2 ½ cups milk pastry dough - enough for top and bottom crust Line a 9-inch pie dish with pastry. Place about half the corn in the bottom of the dish. Slice one hard-boiled egg on top of the corn. Add the rest of the corn and slice the other egg on top. Add the sugar, salt and pepper. Cut the butter into pieces on top. Roll out a top crust and cut a hole in the center about the size of a quarter. Place the top crust on the pie, pinch and seal the crust and cut off excess dough. Pour the milk in through the hole, filling until the corn is covered. Bake at 400 degrees for about 1 hour. Back to top
Fastnachts 1/4 cup mashed potatoes ½ cup sugar 1 ½ cups potato water (from boiling the potatoes) 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup butter or shortening ½ tsp. salt 2 eggs, well-beaten 1 cake Fleischmann's fresh yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup lukewarm water Boil a medium-sized potato in 2 cups of water until it's very soft. Drain off water and save. Mash the potato and put ¼ cup of it into a large mixing bowl add ½ cup of sugar. Mix until smooth. Add butter and salt. Pour on gradually 1 ½ cups potato water or additional hot water to make 1 ½ cups, stirring until sugar is dissolved and fat melted. When lukewarm, add well-beaten eggs and yeast (dissolved in water.) Add about 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour gradually, and eventually work in with fingers. The dough will be sticky. Do not turn it out on a board, but work as well as possible in large mixing bowl. Do NOT add flour until the dough no longer sticks to fingers as in other dough mixtures or the mixture may be too stiff. Cover and set aside to rise in a warm place for about 2 ½ - 3 hours, until the dough is a little more than double in bulk. Turn out dough onto a well-floured board or cloth-covered pastry board. Fold over lightly several times and shape into a ball, but do not knead. Roll out 1/4 inch thick. Cut with a doughnut cutter. With large spatula transfer to a large cloth-covered board. Cover with cloth, put in a warm place and let rise until light and double in bulk (about 2 ½ hours). Fry in deep fat until golden brown. Yield: 35 medium-sized Fastnachts. Back to top
Potato Pancakes 1 cup grated, raw potato 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1 cup flour 3/4 tsp. salt 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 small onion, grated Combine the potato, baking powder, flour and salt. Add to them the beaten eggs. Gradually add the milk and beat until smooth. Lastly, add the onion. Heat oil in a frying pan and drop batter in by tablespoonfuls. When pancakes are full of bubbles, turn and fry other side until brown. This yields about 6 pancakes. Back to top
Potato Soup 6 or 8 medium potatoes ½ pound sliced bacon 2 stalks celery 2 tablespoons parsley 3 medium onions 1 tablespoon flour 2 - 3 leeks salt and pepper to taste Peel the potatoes and slice thin. Dice the celery and add to the potatoes. Place in a kettle, cover with water, and boil until soft. While the potatoes are boiling, dice the bacon and fry in a pan. Drain the bacon, but keep the fat in the pan. Dice the onions fine and slice the leeks. Fry them in the bacon fat until lightly browned. Drain off excess fat and add the bacon, onions, and leeks to the potatoes. Sprinkle in the flour, parsley, and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook just a few minutes more until slightly thickened. A good way to serve the soup is with large croutons. Back to top
Schnitz und Gnepp 3 pounds smoked ham hock 2 cups apple schnitz (sliced, dried apples) 2 tablespoons brown sugar cloves or ground cinammon to taste Cover the dried apple slices with water and soak overnight. When apple slices are ready, put the ham in a pot and add water to cover. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer over medium heat for 2 hours. (Precooked ham will only take about 30 minutes.) When the meat is tender, remove the ham and cut it off the bone. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and return it to the pot. Add the apples and water in which they were soaked. Add the brown sugar and spice and cook 1 hour longer. Add the Gnepp (dumplings) for the last 20 minutes. To make the Gnepp: 2 cups flour ½ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 egg, beaten ½ cup milk Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Stir in the beaten egg and melted butter. Add just enough milk until the batter is stiff. Drop a spoonful of the dough into the boiling ham and apples. Feel free to add water in order to cook the dumplings. Cover the kettle tightly and simmer 20 minutes. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon and set aside. Drain off excess water and place the ham and apples onto a platter. Serve with the dumplings on top. Back to top
Shoo Fly Pie Bottom Part: 1 cup molasses (King Syrup) 1 egg 1 teaspoon baking soda ¾ cup boiling water Beat egg and molasses together. Add baking soda and continue to mix. Pour in boiling water and mix well. Set aside. Top Part: 1 ½ cups flour ¼ cup shortening or butter ¾ cup brown sugar Mix flour and sugar and blend in shortening until crumbs are formed. Take out 1 ½ cups of the crumbs for the top of the pie. Add the remaining crumbs to the molasses mixture and place into a 9-inch pastry-lined pie dish. Sprinkle the 1 ½ cups of crumbs on top of this mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Back to top
Soft Pretzels 2 ½ cups warm water 1 tsp. course pretzel salt 4 - 5 cups flour ½ cup brown sugar 1 package dry yeast Mix water, brown sugar, and salt together. Dissolve yeast and add the flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Knead well until very smooth. Set aside, cover and let rise about 1 hour. Punch down the dough and divide into about 18 to 20 pieces. Let the pieces rest for a few minutes. Roll out into long ropes about 24 inches long. Twist into a pretzel shape. By the time you have all the pretzels shaped, you can start placing the pretzels in a simmering water solution of 1 tablespoon baking soda per 1 gallon of water. Simmer them for about 1 minute, take out and drain on towels. Place on lightly greased baking sheets and cover the pretzels with course pretzel salt. Bake in a hot oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Back to top
Sweet Pickle Rings 3 quarts cucumber rings 1 tbsp. salt 2 cups sugar 1 pint vinegar 3 doz. whole cloves Sprinkle salt over sliced cucumbers. Mix lightly. Let stand 1 ½ hours. Press out the juice, but do not bruise. Add the sugar, vinegar and cloves, and enough water to cover. Heat to the boiling point and can. This makes 5 pints. Back to top
Recommended resources for more information: Pennsylvania Dutch Country Cooking by William Woys Weaver. Copyright 1993 by Abbeville Press, Inc. The Landis Valley Cookbook: Pennsylvania German Foods & Traditions. Copyright 1999 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Landis Valley Museum website . To order cookbooks call the Weathervane Museum Shop at 717-569-9312. The Wooden Spoon Cookbook (Authentic Amish Cooking) by Miriam Miller. Copyright 2000 by Carlisle Press. A Taste of Pennsylvania History: A Guide to Historic Eateries and Their Recipes by Debbie Nunley and Karen Jane Elliot. Published 2000. Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking: A Mennonite Community Cookbook by Mary Emma Showalter. Published 2000. From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens by Phyllis Pellman Good. Published 1985. Lancaster County Cookbook by Louise Stolzfus and Jan Mast. Published 1993. Recipes from Central Market: Favorite Recipes from the Standholders of the Nation's Oldest Farmers' Market, Central Market in Lancaster, PA by Phyllis Pellman Good and Louise Stolzfus. Published 1996. Pennsylvania Heritage Cookbook: A Cook's Tour of Keystone Cultures, Customs and Celebrations by Kyle D. Nagurny. Published 1998. These and other cookbooks can be found at the Pennsylvania Visitors Network . |
