Gaisburger Marsch, a traditional Swabian beef stew
On my recent trip to Germany the weather was crazy! Rain one day, the snow the next, and two days later 15C, blue skies and sunshine. Now we are near Stuttgart with my family and it is overcast, rainy and 7C outside. This stew/hotpot is exactly what this kind of weather calls for.
Stews/hotpots like this one are very nostalgic for me and are one of the reasons I find myself looking forward to weather like this, or winter in Brisbane, because it means snuggling up to a bowl of hot comfort food. I’m biased, but I stand by the conviction that some of the best soups and stews come from Germany.
Gaisburger Marsch is a traditional Swabian (South-West Germany) beef stew, named after Gaisburg, a district of Stuttgart.
The meat, cooked in a strong beef broth, is cut into cubes and served with cooked potatoes, carrots and Spätzle (a soft egg noodle).
The name “Gaisburger Marsch”, translates to “march of Gaisburg”. Folklore says that the name stems from the dishes popularity in the 19th century among officer candidates. So dedicated were they that they marched all the way to Gaisburg, where their favourite dish was served in the restaurant called Bäckerschmide. Another version claims that locals from Gaisburg became prisoners of war and their women were only allowed to bring them one meal every day, so they created this nourishing dish and marched with it to the camp.
Regardless of the origin, it is a dish that I love and is close to my heart.
Here is my granny’s recipe for a classic Gaisburger Marsch, that is rich in flavour, packed with nutrients and satisfying to both tummy and soul.
So without further ado, let’s get to and make some Gaisburger Marsch.
Peel the knob of celery, and cut into 3cm pieces. Then add to a big pot.
Peel the carrots, cut into 3cm pieces and add to the pot.
Cut the leek and add to the pot.
Clean and cut the parsley and add to the pot.
Add bay leaves and 3 peppercorns to the pot.
Add 2 litres of water to your ingredients in the pot.
Wash the beef broth marrow bones under cold water.
Now add them to the pot.
Wash the round steak under cold water and add it to the pot.
Cover the pot until it boils then set to simmer for 2hrs.
In the meantime, peel and cut potatoes and carrots.
Place potatoes in a separate pot, cover with water and boil until soft.
Peel and cut the rest of the carrots, place them in a separate pot again and cover with water and boil until soft. Remember these will not need as long to cook as the meat, but it never hurts to prepare.
Here is my Granny, keeping a close eye on all the pots for us and guiding me through the recipe.
Once all cooked, strain the stew vegetables and the beef broth marrow bones out leaving only the broth and meat. Cut the meat into bite size pieces, add the cooked carrots, potatoes and the Spätzle and simmer until all is warm again.
Serve hot and you can garnish with parsley, chives and golden-brown onions that have been fried in butter. **this was mentioned in the intro**
An Guada! (Swabian slang for “Guten Appetit” or “Enjoy your meal”)
Ingredients
For the broth
800g round steak
4 Beef broth marrow bones
3 carrots
1 knob celery
1 leek
½ bunch of parsley
1 bay leaf
3 peppercorns
Salt
2L water **it said 1 ½ in the recipe above**
For the Gaisburger Marsch
500g potatoes
500g carrots
500g Spätzle
Garnish
Chives
Parsley
Golden-brown onions that have been fried in butter **this was mentioned in the intro**
Instructions
- Peel knob of celery and carrots, then cut into 3cms pieces. Cut leek in quarters and place celery, carrots and leek into a big pot with parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns and add 2 litres of water. **it said 1 ½ in the recipe above**
- Wash the beef broth marrow bone and the round steak under cold water then add to the pot.
- Season with salt and bring everything to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours.
- In the meantime, peel potatoes and carrots (for the Gaisburger Marsch) and cut into 3cm pieces. Place them into individual pots, cover with water and cook until soft. Note: Remember that the carrots and potatoes will not need to boil as long as the broth.
- Once the broth is boiled and the meat falls apart, strain out the broth vegetables and the beef broth marrow bones.
- Take out the round steak and cut into bite size pieces and place back into the broth, together with the carrots, potatoes and Spätzle.
- Bring to boil and serve hot.
- (Optional) Garnish with chives and parsley and Golden-brown onions that have been fried in butter
Serves 4 – 6 persons
Von unserer Familie zu deiner
Kim Zoulek
Festival Director & Creative
