A Taste of Germany - Roast beef & Knodels

Every once in a while the husband and I will attempt some German cooking. Usually it's from a box or a mix, but we try. This week we made roast beef with brown gravy, carrots and Knödels. Part of what makes German cooking so time consuming and intimidating for me is that all the instructions and temperatures are in German so I have to spend quite a bit of time translating and converting measurements. I cheated a little and made the roast and carrots in the Crockpot. Nothing special, just seasoned the meat and browned it. Then I cut the carrots and put it all in the Crock pot with about 2 cups of water. I cooked it on low for 6-7 hours.

The Knodels were actually really easy once we knew what to do.  
For the Knödels:

The Knödels came in individual bags a little bigger than golf balls full of pellet looking things. Put a pan of cold salted water on the stove with the number of Knödels you wish to cook. We cooked the whole box since there were only 6 in a box. 

Bring to a boil for 1 minute and then remove from heat. Allow to soak in the water for 15 minutes. Quickly rinse the Knödels in cold water but not for more than a second or two. Carefully remove the bags.

 The Knödels are ready to serve. We served ours with brown gravy since that is how my husband ate them at the German restaurant. I'm sure there are other ways. Feel free to experiment and share your experiences!

For more German recipes try these pages:

http://recipesbycindy.homestead.com/GermanRecipes.html

http://www.tasty-german-recipe.com/

http://www.recipehound.com/Recipes/german.html