Pietra's potato wedges & spaetzle

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 large onions
• 1 tbsp butter (or fat for sautéing)
• 1,400 ml meat broth or vegetable broth
• 800 g potatoes (predominantly waxy)
• 600 g carrot(s)
• 1 piece(s) celery, with green
• 1 stalk(s) leek
• possibly lemongrass and ginger slices
• 500 g sausage, Swabian ham sausage (or: ham picker), sliced
• 1 kg spaetzle (homemade or good ones from the refrigerated section)
• Kaffir lime leaves
• Salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Traditional Swabian stew

Sauté finely diced onions vigorously in a knob of butter in a large saucepan (approx. 4 liters capacity). Remove and set aside. In the meantime, clean and peel the potatoes and vegetables. Roughly dice the potatoes and carrots, finely dice the celery, and finely chop the celery leaves. Pour (a little) of the onion fat into the broth, add the potatoes, celery, and carrots. At the same time, add the lemongrass and ginger slices. The easiest way to do this is to skewer the lemon leaves and ginger slices onto the lemongrass, which makes them easier to remove. Simmer until the potatoes are almost tender and the carrots are al dente (approx. 20 minutes, depending on the size of the diced pieces). Towards the end of the cooking time, add the leeks in thin rings and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. In the meantime, cut the Swabian ham sausage (pre-cut) into rectangles (just under 1 cm in length) and arrange separately on a platter. If available, the meat for the soup can also be served finely diced on a separate platter. Also, prepare spaetzle (approx. 600g flour, 6 eggs, a pinch of salt, and a little water as needed) or heat up some good ones from the refrigerated section. This traditional Swabian stew, “Gaisburger Marsch,” is usually served mixed in a large tureen. I place the piping-hot spaetzle, the cold sausage/meat platter, and the small plates of onions and herbs separately on the table, along with the tureen of piping-hot vegetable broth soup (the seasonings have been removed and it’s seasoned with salt). This has four advantages: Everyone can help themselves to their taste. Vegetarians can also enjoy a delicious meal. The spaetzle won’t get soggy, and the sausage won’t dry out. Leftovers can be used separately, as they don’t taste good when reheated together.