Maultaschen (Schwabian Ravioli/Pasta)

The Maultaschen (Swabian ravioli) is a kind of pasta filled with seasoned ground meat and boiled in a broth.. The origin is from the Swabian region - rumour is that Swabian monks invented the Maultaschen as a way to eat meat during Lent (A 40 day period, begins on Ash Wednesday and ends a day before Easter).  It would be undetectable since the meat was concealed in pasta. 

If you have not tried Maultaschen, you are missing out alot.  Today, Maultaschens are not only served in a broth.  I have seen them served with (horror!) ketchup, brown sauce or simply in melted butter. Sometimes I would slice up the Maultaschens, bake it with cheese and sprinkled with crispy onions before serving.           

Time factor and pure convenience prevented me from going through all the trouble of mixing and kneading of the dough.  So I picked up a pack of ready-made pasta dough from the supermarket.

 

Basic filling :

500gm of mixed mince meat

a piece of stale bread

1 egg

1 stick of spring onion cut into fine rings

salt and pepper

 

To be sure that the pockets do not open during cooking, brush over the whole dough with eggwash.  Spoon or pipe equal portions of filling on half of dough


































Place the second half of dough over the filling and seal the edges over each and every 'lump' till they look like mole hills.  Cut out the pockets with a pizza cutter or knife.   

Drop 2 or 3 pockets into medium simmering broth for 5-6 minutes. Do not overcrowd or they will stick together.  Lift out the pockets and turn them in melted butter.   Serve with potato salad or crispy green salads, sprinkled with crunchy onions.