Eating Around the World (From Home....And Gluten Free...): January 2022

Welcome to Luxembourg! Luxembourg is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe - it's only 998 square miles! According to Google, the population is 626,108 people and the capital is Luxembourg City. Their national dish is...

Judd Mat Gaardebounen

I don't even know how to begin pronouncing that! Essentially it is beans and ham. This was going to be interesting because 1. I had never heard of the type of beans it called for and 2. I can't eat beans. But, Handsome Husband can, and he was the taster! To go with the Judd Mat Gaardebounen, we also made Gromperekichelcher (Crispy Potato Fritters) and Schuedi ("The Great Luxembourg Sugar Cake) for dessert. Here's what I did:

JUDD MAT GAARDEBOUNEN

Leftover ham - however much you want!

1 quart of ham stock

12 oz white wine

2 cloves

2 leeks, chopped and washed

1 lb fava beans (mine were dried, so if you use dried, follow the instructions on the package for soaking before cooking)

1/2 pound diced bacon

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp gluten free flour

2 onions, chopped

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/2 C heavy cream

Heat the ham in the oven until warm (you want it warm when you eat this meal!)
Heat the ham stock, wine, cloves, and leeks in a small saucepan - simmer for at least 1 hour. (It can simmer until you use it in the beans.)
Bring a saucepan of salted water to boil. Add beans and cook until tender (about 5 minutes) and drain. Set aside.
In the same saucepan, melt butter and add the onions and bacon. Cook until bacon is just about cooked through.
Add flour to onions and bacon and stir well.
Pour all the ham stock and additions into the onion, bacon, and flour mixture. Whisk until mixed through - it should be halfway thick.
Add the beans, dried herbs, and bay leaf, and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Add the cream and mix.
Serve and enjoy!

(Source: Judd Mat Gaardebounen)

GROMPEREKICHELCHER

3 small russet potatoes, grated

1 onion, diced

1/4 C dried parsley

2 eggs

5 tbsp gluten free flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

Avocado oil, for frying

Heat oil for frying.
Grate the potatoes, and put them in a cloth to wring out. Get as much water out as possible.
Add all the ingredients, except the oil for frying, to a bowl and mix well (I found this easiest to do with my hands rather than a spoon)
Get a handful of the mixture and flatten out to about 1/2 inch thick.
Gently lay the fritters in the hot oil and fry on both sides until deep golden brown (this took about 6 minutes per fritter)
Drain on paper towels and eat hot with ketchup or applesauce.

(Source: Gromperekichelcher)

SCHUEDI

2 3/4 C gluten free flour, sifted

2/3 C milk

3 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1/4 C butter

1 egg

2 1/2 tbsp sugar

Zest from 1 lemon

A pinch of salt

For the topping:

6 tbsp butter

5 tbsp sugar

Proof the yeast by mixing 3 1/2 tbsp melted butter, sugar, a pinch of salt, and 1/4 C lukewarm water. Add yeast and let it sit until it is frothy.
Mix the flour, egg, lemon zest, and milk
Add the frothy yeast mixture and knead for 12 minutes.
Transfer to a floured bowl and shape into a ball.
Cover with a warm, damp towel and let it stand in a warm place until it is doubled in size (about an hour).
Once it has doubled in size, spread the dough evenly into a buttered cake pan and let it rise again for about 30 minutes.
Once it has risen the second time, make small indentations with your hands in the dough.
Place shavings of the topping butter in the dents.
Melt some additional butter and use a brush to brush the top of the cake.
Sprinkle the topping sugar on the cake - make sure there is a thick layer.
Bake the cake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, until golden.
Cool completely before serving.

(Source: Schuedi)

The verdict? I love ham, so the ham part was great. The fritters were also very tasty. I did not use ketchup or applesauce with my fritters because ketchup is nasty and we didn't have applesauce. They were delicious just the way they were! The cake was not my favorite. To be fair, the I tried a new gluten free flour, and we think that may have changed the taste dramatically. It tasted like bread with sugar on it. It's not a sweet cake at all. Handsome Husband said it wasn't bad, but we're not keeping the leftovers... Since I can't eat the beans, I will have Handsome Husband tell you his thoughts!

Handsome Husband here. The beans were very interesting, in a good way. I had never had fava beans before, and while they look A LOT like lima beans they are very different. They taste like they are a combination of a bean and several spices, which was surprising. The dish as a whole was very much like a typical bean soup. Nothing fancy or exciting, but a tasty and hearty dish. And you certainly can't go wrong with ham, especially with beans!

Taste of Judd Mat Gaardebounen (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): NA

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): NA

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): NA

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Judd Mat Gaardebounen (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6