Germany: Königsberger Klopse (Piquant Meatballs in Cream Sauce, Königsberger Style)

Königsberger klopse is the kind of dish that seems to turn up a lot on German restaurant menus, especially in areas frequented by tourists (either domestic or foreign). The dish has the advantage of being seen as comfort food, something that you might see in your small German town's local tavern or restaurant: but when you're away from home, there's always a chance that the place you're visiting might have some new spin to put on it.

Otherwise, Königsberger klopse tend to get presented to the non-German tourist as a regional specialty, with occasionally funny results. One English-language menu recently spotted describes Königsberger klopse as "a delicately simmered meat dumpling..." Fooey. Klopse translates as "meatball", and this is not a high-end dish. It doesn't need to be: with the anchovies in the meat mixture and the capers in the sauce to sharpen up the general effect, this is a tasty and satisfying meal to sit down to. Normally boiled potatoes come along with the klopse, and sometimes a slice of pickled beet as well.

Does the dish actually come from the Königsberg area? Difficult to say, at this late date. For one thing, city names and even country names have changed: Königsberg is now Kaliningrad -- capital of the Russian "exclave" region of the same name -- and the East Prussian cuisine area to which the meatballs are native now spreads from Kaliningrad to northern Poland.

Never mind. They're still good meatballs. Click on "read more" for the recipe.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v7.01
 
     Title: Konigsberger Klopse (Konigsberg Meatballs)
Categories: German, Beef, Meats, Main dish
  Servings:  4
 
MMMMM----------------------------MEATBALLS---------------------------------
      1    Hard Roll
    3/4 c  Water
      1 lb Ground Beef; Lean
      1    Bacon; Strip, Diced
      4    Anchovy Fillets; Diced
      1    Onion; Small, Chopped
      1    Egg; Large
    1/2 t  Salt
    1/4 t  Pepper; White
MMMMM------------------------------BROTH-----------------------------------
      6 c  Water
    1/2 t  Salt
      1    Bay Leaf
      1    Onion; Small, Peeled, Halved
      6    Peppercorns
MMMMM------------------------------GRAVY-----------------------------------
  1 1/2 T  Butter or Margarine
  1 1/2 T  Unbleached Flour
      1 T  Capers
      1    Lemon Juice; Of 1/2Med.Lemon
    1/2 t  Mustard; Prepared
      1    Egg Yolk; Large
    1/4 t  Salt
    1/4 t  Pepper; White
 
  Meatballs:
  Soak the roll in the water for about 10 minutes.  Squeeze it dry; place in
  mixing bowl with the ground beef.  Add the bacon, anchovy fillets, onion,
  egg, salt and pepper.  Mix thoroughly.  Prepare broth by boiling the
  water, seasoned with salt, bay leaf, onion, and peppercorns.  Shape the
  meat mixture into balls about 2 inches in diameter.  Add to the boiling
  broth and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.  Remove meatballs with a
  slotted spoon, set aside, and keep warm.
  Gravy:
  To prepare gravy, heat butter in a frypan and stir in flour.  Cook for 3
  minutes, stirring constantly.  Slowly blend in 2 cups of reserved broth.
  Add the drained capers, lemon juice, and mustard.  Simmer for 5 minutes.
  Remove a small amount of the sauce to blend with the egg yolk.  Stir egg
  yolk back into the sauce.  Season with salt and pepper.
  To Serve:
  Place reserved meatballs into the gravy and reheat if necessary.  Serve on
  a preheated platter.
 
MMMMM