Sugar, spice — all things nice

• Published date: 18 April 2024
• Publication title: Katikati Advertiser

Sisters Eva and Maria Konecsny know that spices have the power to transform our everyday cooking

They also believe that cooking to feed our kin — whether it’s chocolate semolina porridge, tender fennel roast pork or a tray of spiced Christmas cookies — can be a deeply nourishing and connective force in our lives.

In Kindred, Eva and Maria take you into their homes to share the spices, seasonal rituals, traditions and recipes from their German heritage.

SOUTH GERMAN

POTATO SALAD

Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat We grew up in the south of Germany, in a little town called Hürben, with a population of just under 1000.

Here, the potato salad is made with a mixture of vinegar, stock and oil, not like in the north, where they add mayonnaise, a true crime if you ask a Schwabe. Each year, the town hosts the Hürbener Dorffest, the town festival, where our family friend Helga leads the charge in making 125 kilograms of potato salad, and her husband Friedel heads up the Roll-Me-Home Brothers, the local band with a fitting name. – Eva

Ingredients 1 kg firm, waxy potatoes, such as desiree, of even size

large white onion, very finely chopped

250 ml (1 cup) chicken, beef or vegetable stock

1 Tbsp malt vinegar

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp fine Himalayan pink salt

tsp crushed celery seeds

3 Tbsp sunflower oil

Method Leaving the skin on, wash the potatoes and place them in a large pot. Add water until it is only half covering the potatoes.

This lets them...