Friday, July 20, 2012

Nudelsalat (German Noodle Salad)


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After telling people I was moving to Germany, I was warned about German food.

"They don't have fresh fruits or vegetables"

"All they eat is meat"

"All they drink is beer"

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Now the third statement is the closes to the truth, however, the first, is far from it. In fact the first time I went into a German grocery store I was pleasantly surprised at how beautifully red the tomatoes were and how brightly colourful the fruits looked. And their basil (basilikum), is sold as a plant, you can't get it in those plastic containers, it's only sold as a plant. If that's not fresh, I'm not sure what is.

As for meat, well the German do love their meat. But that's not all they eat. They eat cheese too.

So just meat and cheese, that's what Germans eat, oh yah and pretzels. Meat, cheese and pretzels.

Okay, Germans are pretty easy to stereotype, but that's why I love them so much! However, after being in Germany for almost a month now, I've realized their dishes are not as simple as meat, cheese and pretzels. In fact many regions in Germany have their own dishes that they are known for. Since I've spent a lot of time in Stuttgart, visiting a good friend of mine, she's acquainted me with all sorts of Schwaben dishes, including Käse Spätzle and the very versatile Maultaschen. Maultaschen is a stuffed pasta, similar to a ravioli, filled with ground bratwurst, eggs, spinach and parsley. It's a dish that can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and even in a soup (Suppenmaultaschen). 

Although Germans and Canadians are quite different, we do have one thing in common, we both enjoy a good barbecue. I went to my first German barbecue in Stuttgart, actually just outside Stuttgart in a small village. The trek to the barbecue was pretty entertaining, drove through vineyards and orchards, and realized we were in the wrong village and had to go one village further. I wasn't complaining, it was a beautiful ride. And with us we brought Nudelsalat, a German noodle salad, the perfect combination for bratwurst and beer. It is probably the most addictive noodle salad I have ever had. 

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One thing I have to mention is that we used THOMY Mayo for the noodle salad. This is probably my most favourite thing in Germany and the best mayo in the world. It's not like any other mayo, there is seriously some magical ingredient in there that I just can't describe to you. But if you must, use your regular mayo, it shall suffice. 

Enjoy!

Nudelsalat (Noodle Salad)
Makes a large bowl to bring to a BBQ

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  • 670 g of pickles
  • 300 g of sweet cooked corn kernels
  • 350 ml of mayo
  • 3 hard boiled eggs
  • 500 g of pasta (I prefer using shell shaped pastas)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add salt. Cook the pasta until al dente. Set aside. 
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. Grate all the pickles in a large bowl and add all the pickle juice from the jar. Pour in the corn and mayo. Mix ingredients together. noodleSalad_d.jpgnoodleSalad_d1.jpg
  3. Shell the hard boiled eggs and chop into small pieces. Add into pickle corn mixture. noodleSalad_d2.jpg
  4. Combine the dressing with the cook pasta. The excess juice will thicken. 
*Serve this salad the day of. Although the dressing may taste even better the next day, the noodles become soggy... and well, no one likes soggy noodles. 

*Sorry for the metric measurements, (I'm in Europe now baby) but I used all the ingredients in the picture above (except I only used 2/3 of a full jar of mayo). If you add more or less of something, it will still schmeckt gut (taste good)!

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4 comments:

  1. this looks delicious! and easy to make :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. So simple, but sounds so delicious! Pinning this!

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  3. My favourite is wurstsalat which is the same dressing over shredded bologna. I often add chopped onions and tomatoes to this dressing. The secret ingredient in the mayo is probably Maggi. It is in everything!
    Thanks for the reminder and have fun in Germany.

    ReplyDelete

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