Neunerlei: Nine-Dish Christmas Eve Dinner from the Ore Mountains

Method

You'll need2 large pots (one with a lid), 2 medium saucepans, small saucepan, 2 frying pans, potato ricer, box grater, serving bowls

1. Start the compote

   The day before, bring the dried fruit to a boil in a small saucepan with 400 ml water, the sugar and the cinnamon stick. Simmer over low heat for 10 min until the fruit is plump and soft, then let it cool, covered, and refrigerate overnight. Meanwhile, cover the potatoes for the dumplings, skins on, with water in a large pot and cook for 20–25 min until a knife slides in easily. Drain, peel while still warm and keep covered in a cool place until the next day.

2. Cook the celery root salad

   Also the day before, peel the celery root, halve it and cut it into slices just under 0.5 cm thick. Put them in a medium saucepan with the water, vinegar, sugar, salt and allspice so the slices are just covered. Simmer gently, covered, over low heat for 20 min until soft but not falling apart. While it is still lukewarm, stir in the oil, adjust the sweet-sour seasoning and let it marinate in the fridge overnight.

3. Braise the sauerkraut

   On Christmas Eve, cut the bacon into 0.5 cm cubes and render it in a large pot without added fat over medium heat for 4–5 min until crisp; take out half for the lentils. Finely dice the onion and sweat it in the bacon fat for 3 min until translucent. Add the sauerkraut, 250 ml water, the juniper berries, caraway and bay leaf and braise, covered, over low heat for 40 min. Finally, finely grate the raw potato into the pot and cook for 5 more min until the sauerkraut has thickened and turned creamy.

4. Cook the lentils

   Meanwhile, rinse the lentils and bring them to a boil in a medium saucepan with 600 ml water and the bay leaf. Cook without salt over medium heat for 25–30 min until soft but still with some bite. Finely dice the onion, sweat it with the reserved bacon in a frying pan for 3 min, dust with the flour and stir everything into the lentils along with their cooking water. Simmer for 3 min until thickened and season sweet-sour with vinegar, sugar and salt.

5. Shape and cook dumplings

   Press the peeled potatoes through the ricer and knead them with the flour, egg, salt and nutmeg into a smooth dough. Cut the sandwich bread into 1 cm cubes and toast them in the butter for 2–3 min until golden. With wet hands, shape 9 dumplings, press two to three bread cubes into each and roll them smooth and round without cracks. Bring plenty of salted water to a boil in a large pot, add the dumplings and let them cook gently over low heat for 20 min; the water should only simmer, not boil.

6. Fry and make Semmelmilch

   Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the bratwurst for 12–15 min until browned all over. Clean and quarter the mushrooms and fry them in the butter in a second pan over high heat for 5–6 min until they take on color; season with salt and pepper. For the Semmelmilch, cut the bread rolls into 2 cm cubes. Warm the milk with the sugar and vanilla sugar until lukewarm, pour it over the bread, let it soak for 10 min and sprinkle with the hazelnuts.

7. Serve

   Put all nine dishes on the table at the same time in bowls: bratwurst, sauerkraut, lentils, dumplings, mushrooms, celery root salad, compote, Semmelmilch and the nuts in their shells. Bread and salt go with them; at Neunerlei they are always on the table.