February 25, 2020
COOKING
Tyrolean Easter tradition: Really fine Lenten soups
Every year, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the traditional Lenten season in Tyrol. This is an old Christian custom that is intended to cleanse and strengthen the body and mind in the 40 days until Easter. The focus, however, is not necessarily on body worship and excess kilos, but rather on slimming down superfluous routines and questioning one's own life patterns. The cleaning spring cleaning lies long (again) fully in the trend and can be arranged extremely variously: One renounces spirits, meat and sweet sins, switches simply times the Smartphone on mute or meets to delicious Tiroler chamfering soups.
Liquid does not break the fast
In the past, Christian fasting was followed much more strictly - during the day, at most one pious (meatless) fasting meal was allowed. The Catholic Church has always adhered to the principle that "liquids do not break the fast. Resourceful Bavarian monks therefore once brewed the first strong beer - and even received the papal blessing for it: When the sample they sent reached the Vatican in 1751, completely spoiled, the Holy Father praised the Pauline monks' extraordinary capacity for suffering and blessed the strong Lenten beer by the grace of God. Today, however, you don't have to imitate the pious monks' 40-day beer prayer - you can also do penance without a hangover. And you can do so with fine Lenten soups, which are traditionally enjoyed together in Tyrol on Ash Wednesday. Then local associations and families invite in spontaneous soup kitchens to liquid delicacies without meat. This is also the case in Leutasch, where fine Lenten soups are served free of charge every Ash Wednesday at the Föhrenwaldplatzl in Leutasch (opposite Sport Wedl).
Lenten soups for gourmets
Preparation of the Lenten soup
For one of these fine Lenten soups, the Leutasch soup masters Maria, Christl and Margit have revealed their recipe to me. The basis of such soups lies in the holy trinity of their ingredients: Butter, flour and broth (optionally water) - nothing else. A quite classical "Brennsupp'n" thus, which can be extended then however still with all kinds of subtleties, know the three soup sisters. A Lenten soup should be simple and wholesome - the following recipe can therefore be cooked at home, shared with friends and expanded as the mood takes you.
Ingredients:
- 40g fat
- 40g flour
- 2 small onions
- 3 carrots
- 1 piece celery
- 1 clove garlic
- some leeks
- good 3 liters of water
- Parsley
- Salt, pepper, cumin, nutmeg, bay leaf, marjoram, rosemary, juniper
To taste:
- some floury potatoes
- a handful of native mushrooms
- some parsnips
- stale (shake) bread
- Cereal flakes
- Barley grains
- Chives
- A splash of white wine (vinegar)
- A pinch of sugar
Preparation:
Peel onions, parsnips and carrots, wash and chop leeks, peel celery, pluck parsley from stem, crush garlic and boil all vegetables with salt and water for about three hours to make a strong broth. Then remove the solids, set the broth aside, finely chop the onions and sauté with the butter until translucent. Then add the flour and fry until golden to dark brown, finally deglaze with the broth and stir constantly to make a creamy burning soup. Finally, finely dice the carrots and celery and boil them in the simmering broth until soft. Finish with salt, pepper, cumin and spices to taste and serve garnished with parsley. With or instead of the root vegetables, local mushrooms (Schwammerlsupp'n), potatoes (Erdäpflsupp'n), barley grains (Gerstlsupp'n) or some bread (Bauernsupp'n) can also be added to the fine Leutasch-style Lenten soup as a filler.
Tasty Lenten soup served
Freshly tapped fasting joy
Anyone who fasts maintains a controlled calorie deficit, knows the nutrition specialist. This cleanses the intestines, body and mind - but occasionally also leads to small chills, slight irritability and hungry grumbling in the stomach. These quite normal side effects can then be counteracted not only with delicious Tyrolean fasting soups, but also with fine tea infusions or a soothing wellness stay. Within the medieval walls of the Klosterbräu & Spa in the historic village center of Seefeld, you can even follow in the footsteps of Bavarian monks - including a home-brewed beer prayer.
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