Recipes – № 10
Tafelspitz
Ask any German-speaker what dish he/she might associate with horseradish and you’ll likely hear about tafelspitz, Austria’s national dish and that nation’s answer to Italy’s bollito misto or France’s pot-au-feu. I had recently brought home a large fresh horseradish from the market and Kim was craving a meaty broth, so it was inevitable that I would give this dish a try. The preparation is fool proof. Your inner hipster (as well as your wallet) will revel in the use of an overlooked but delicious cut of beef that has yet to follow the once shunned short ribs and oxtail to nose-to-tail glory. Better yet, this dish works just as well with meat from leaner grass-fed animals.
Boiled beef with root vegetables sounds like good simple peasant fare but the dish has been a favorite of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. In fact the name tafelspitz can be translated as "head of the table". I have no clue how tafelspitz was served in His Majesty’s time, but the presentation at home can be quite elegant: A slice of beef evenly cut against the grain, semi-submerged in fragrant broth and sprinkled with bright yellow and orange carrot slices and chives.
In Austria tafelspitz is often served with a simple grated and fried potato dish called rösterdäpfel. Even to my German ears, this Austrian dialect word sounds like a subway train rolling by but we won’t hold that against it and I’m including a recipe here. Note that the potatoes are ideally boiled the day before using them in this dish. If you don’t want to make rösterdäpfel you could easily substitute simple pan-fried or boiled potatoes.
Serves 6
For the tafelspitz:
4-5 lbs top round/standing rump beef in one piece
6 slices of beef marrow bones (around 1.5 lbs)
4-6 carrots, ideally a mix of bright colors such as orange, yellow and red
1 large leek, lower white part only
2 yellow or red onions or equivalent amount of other onion variety
2 stalks celery
A few sprigs of lovage or parsley
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and sea salt
Chives for serving
Equipment: mesh skimmer
For the rösterdäpfel:
5 lbs waxy yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Yukon golds
1.5 yellow onions
3/4 cup canola oil
Kosher salt and fine sea salt
Beef
Season the beef with kosher salt up to a day in advance. Rinse the onions, cut them in half lengthwise and sear them cut side down with the skin still on in a large pot over medium heat without oil until dark brown but not black. Add the beef, marrow bones, a bit more salt and enough cold water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil and skim off the frothy scum that builds on the surface in the first few minutes of boiling with a mesh skimmer. While the pot is heating, peel the carrots, clean the leek, celery stalks and lovage/parsley but leave everything whole (except for the celery, which can be cut in half if it doesn’t fit in the pot). Once the broth stops frothing, add the vegetables along with the black peppercorns and bay leaf and simmer for 3 hours. Taste the broth and add salt as necessary. Carefully remove the meat and bones as well as the carrots, celery and leeks and set aside, taking care to leave the pieces intact. Strain the broth. Slice the meat with a very sharp, large knife against the grain, around 2/3 inch thick. (This would be a good time to use that honing steel that has been collecting dust.) Plate beef in large soup plates with a marrow bone and a ladle full of broth and top with some leek-, celery- and carrot slices and some chopped chives. Serve with horseradish sauce and potatoes.
Rösterdäpfel
Cook the unpeeled potatoes in salted water until just cooked and drain. Cool the potatoes in the fridge, ideally overnight. Rub the skins off the potatoes with a small knife and shred the potatoes with a box grater or similar tool.
Peel and finely dice the onion and sauté in 1/3 of the oil in your largest frying pan with a bit of salt until light brown. Set onions aside, turn up the heat and sauté the shredded potatoes in the remaining oil with some salt if necessary until some parts are crispy and golden brown. Depending on the size of your frying pan, you might want to fry the potatoes in two rounds. Stir in the onions, check for salt once more and serve.
Rösterdäpfel recipe adapted from fallstaff.at
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