The popularity of culinary novels and memoirs heated up several years ago and it’s a trend that shows no signs of slowing. Favorites of mine include The Last Chinese Chef, My Life in France, Eat Pray Love, Like Water for Chocolate, and Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris.
Bookshelves, it seems, are flooded with books about living, cooking and eating in France, Italy and even Asia. So when I stumbled across Luisa Weiss’ memoir, My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes), I was intrigued.
Weiss chronicles her story of the path less taken: breaking off an engagement, quitting a dream job and moving back to Berlin. All the while, she commits to cooking up her kitchen adventures through a new blog The Wednesday Chef, which gains—and has maintained—quite a following to date. Be patient with the storyline—after several chapters, this book blossoms into a heart-warming love story.
And after reading about Weiss’ adventures of assimilating to the culture, ingredients, and people of Berlin, you’ll want to dig into the recipes that follow each chapter. One of my favorites was the Rote Grütze with Vanilla Sauce, which our entire family devoured on almost a daily basis during a trip to Germany. According to Weiss, “Rote Grütze is a summery pudding made only by briefly cooking raspberries, sour cherries and red currants together with juice, a bit of sugar, and cornstarch for thickening.”
If I could, I would make this recipe exactly as she pens it, but the lack of fresh red currants and sour cherries (and soon raspberries) makes it challenging. What follows is an interpretation of this recipe that you can make year-round. It’s especially satisfying now, as we’re starting to feel the void for summer fruits. Mix it into Greek yogurt and oatmeal for breakfast, or serve with vanilla ice cream or vanilla pudding for dessert.
Rote Grütze, Revised
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 cups unsweetened cherry juice (such as RW Knudson, often found in the organic aisle)
- ¼ cup sugar
- Grated peel of one lemon
- 1 large jar pitted sour cherries, drained (often found in European aisle)
- 16 oz. bag of frozen blackberries, defrosted
- 16 oz. bag of frozen raspberries, defrosted
- 16 oz. bag of frozen blueberries, defrosted
- Note: Use fresh berries if you have them!
Method:
- Place cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk in ¼ cup of water to make a lump-free slurry. Set aside.
- Pour the juice into a heavy pot and add sugar and lemon peel. Set on medium heat and stir until sugar has dissolved.
- Give the slurry a whisk and pour into the pot as the mixture as it starts to bubble. Stir.
- The grütze will start to thicken almost immediately.
- Add berries and gently combine. Bring back to a simmer.
- Cook five minutes and remove pot from heat.
- Let mixture cool completely before refrigerating. Enjoy!
- Food photos: Laura Koster
