Schwäbische Maultaschen in Brühe
Large pasta pockets filled with minced meat, spinach, soaked bread and herbs, served sliced in clear broth. Swabia's "little God-cheaters."
- prep
- 1 h
- cook
- 30 min
- total
- 1 h 30 min
- serves
- 6
- level
- medium
Maultaschen are Swabia's oversized ravioli, big rectangular pockets of pasta stuffed with a mix of minced meat, spinach and soaked bread, a combination that goes back to a local legend about monks hiding meat from view during a Lenten fast.
They are usually served whole or sliced in a clear, simple broth, which lets the filling do the talking rather than a heavy sauce. Sealing the edges properly matters more than almost any other step, since a weak seal means the filling ends up in your broth instead of your bowl.
Part of our 20 best German recipes list.
method
Make the pasta dough: mix the flour, eggs and salt into a firm dough, adding water a teaspoon at a time only if it is too dry. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth, then wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
For the filling, mix the ground meat, squeezed bread, spinach, softened onion, egg, parsley and nutmeg thoroughly. Season well with salt and pepper.
Roll the dough out thin on a floured surface, into a large rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over one half, leaving a border, and fold the other half over the top.
Press down firmly between mounds of filling to seal, then cut into large squares, about 8 to 10 cm across, pressing the edges of each square firmly to seal completely.
Bring a large pot of salted water or broth to a gentle boil. Poach the Maultaschen in batches for 10 to 12 minutes, until they float and the pasta is tender.
Heat the serving broth in a separate pot. Ladle it into bowls, add one or two whole or sliced Maultaschen per bowl, and scatter over chives.
chef's tips
- Maultaschen are nicknamed "Herrgottsbescheißerle," roughly "little God-cheaters," after a local legend that Swabian monks hid meat inside pasta during Lent so God would not notice. True or not, it tells you how old and loved this dish is.
- Soaked, squeezed bread in the filling is traditional, not a filler ingredient added to stretch the meat. It keeps the filling moist and is part of the actual flavor.
- Seal the edges firmly and double-check for gaps before they go into the water. A poorly sealed Maultasche leaks its filling into the broth.
- Leftover Maultaschen are often sliced and pan-fried with onions the next day, a dish called "geschmälzte Maultaschen," which is worth trying if you have extras.