What’s cooking in Germany?
Hochzeitssuppe / Wedding Soup
Christine and I met years ago when Christine was my colleague in Geneva. Her husband Hans had already retired from the Dutch military service by then, but his career had allowed them to live in Brussels and Germany. When he was stationed in Germany, they both fell in love with the country and decided to call it their home. When Christine stopped working, they moved back to Germany where they still live now.
Christine loves cooking, but Hans is a great cook as well! Here is his version of the traditional German Wedding Soup, Hochzeitssuppe.
Hochzeitssuppe is traditionally eaten as a starter at weddings in Germany, and served to the bride and the groom first, right after the ceremony. It is eaten in all regions of Germany.
Cooking time: 45 minutes approximately
Ingredients (easily serves 6):
- 2 liters of chicken broth (either home made from a boiling-hen, or just from a stock cube)
- 2 big carrots
- 4 white asparagus (since it was not the season, I personally have left them out)
- 200 gr. Of cauliflower, cut into small pieces
- 1 leek
- 2 hands full of frozen green peas
- A bit of vermicelli
- 400 grams of minced meat
- 1 egg (for the meatballs)
- Parsley
- Leaves of celery
- Pepper
- Salt
- Paprika powder
- Fine bread crumbs
(note: you can vary with sorts of vegetables and choose how many you put in, however, traditionally cauliflower really belongs in the wedding soup).
For the ‘Eierstich’ (egg garnish):
- 4 eggs
- 250 ml of milk
- Nutmeg
How to prepare:
- Put on a pan with the 2 liters of chicken broth.
- Cut the carrot into thin strips (julienne) and the leek in thin slices, the asparagus in 2 cm parts, the cauliflower in small parts.
- Add all vegetables to the broth in the pan.
- Mix the minced meat with 1 egg, a bit of fine breadcrumbs, pepper, salt, and some paprika powder to your liking and make small meatballs.
- Add the meatballs to the soup.
- Chop up the parsley and the celery leaves and mix them up in a separate bowl. This will be the soup’s topping at the end.
How to prepare the ‘Eierstich’:
- Mix the 4 eggs with milk, salt and a bit of nutmeg in a bowl.
- Butter 2 (tea) mugs and pour the mixture inside of the mugs.
- Close off the top of the mugs with tin foil and put the mugs in a pan.
- You then add hot water until approximately the height of 2 thirds of the mugs.
- Let it boil, and once it boils turn off the heat and leave it for 30 minutes.
- You then take the ‘Eierstich’ out of the mugs and cut it into pieces.
QUICK VERSION:
We loved the quick version Hans has kindly told us about 😊 and so we made it in the microwave!
- Put the egg mixture in a greased cake tin in the microwave for 5 minutes!
- Do not fill the cake tin more than 2 thirds.
You then cut the Eierstich into cubes, or like we did, since it is a wedding soup, into hearts.
At the end of the preparation, you add some vermicelli to the soup, and the Eierstick. Cook through for a little bit more.
You serve the soup and then everyone can top the soup with the mixture of fresh parsley and celery leaves to their liking.
Thank you, Christine and Hans, for sharing this recipe with us! We loved the soup! It’s a healthy and convenient meal for families, as you can also prepare a big pan the day before, and serve it the next day. We will definitely be making it more often, as we have a few soup-lovers in our family!
