Appetizers

Charcuterie and Alsatian Specialties

Alsace is the leader in the production of patés, with more than 40 varieties among them the richly flavorful paté de foie d'oie (goose-liver paté). The region is famous for its charcuterie and specialties of sausages and hams.

• Foie gras. Alsatian foie gras is a traditional product of Alsace and a well-known delicacy with a buttery, smooth texture and a sweet taste. In 1780, Jean-Pierre Clause, chef to Marshal Contades (military governor of Strasbourg at the time), came up with the recipe of the gastronomic foie gras, made of the liver of force-fed geese.

• Saucisses. Pork products, especially sausages, are available in great variety.
  The "Knack", authentic Strasbourg sausage, derives its name from the popping sound it makes when bitten; it combines a subtle mixture of pork and beef, seasoned and smoked and is served with the best choucroutes and hearty meals (potees, cassoulet, lentils).
  Other varieties: cervelas, white sausages, ham sausages, beer sausages (marinated in beer and shaped as a pear), liver sausages (a breadspread), pistachio sausages (porc, pistachio and beef tongue), blood sausages or black sausages (tongue, blood and lard).

• Others: Smoked cured meats and the famous "presskopf" (pressed-head), the winstubs favorite specialty, served with a vinaigrette.
  

Salade Alsacienne (Alsatian Salad)
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Cheese, tongue and vegetable salad, served in almost any winstubs with different version.

Flambee Tart or Flammekueche
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This is a very typical - and delicious - Alsatian appetizer. This simple thin bread dough topped with onions, cream and bacon is also known as flammekueche (Alsatian name). The name comes from a time when the pie was baked in a fire oven and was surrounded by flames. The tart can be served either with cocktails or as a first course with a local wine.

Tarte a l'oignon (Onion Tart)
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Onions blended with eggs and cream are the ingredients of this tart, served warm at the beginning of the meal with a Sylvaner wine.

Bretzel

Bow shaped and crispy salted biscuit served with aperitif and beer, an ideal snack.

Main Courses

Choucroute garnie a l'Alsacienne
(Alsatian Sauerkraut)
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Sauerkraut is the Alsatian dish par excellence, usually served in enormous portions, and the most famous version is cooked in Alsace wine.
Choucroute is white cabbage that has been shredded, salted and fermented in wooden barrels or large stone pots. Marinated cabbage is cooked slowly with a variety of smoked meats, such as bacon, smoked pork, pigs knuckles and 3 or 4 different kinds of sausages, together with boiled potatoes, It is a hearty dish, best consumed in fall and winter. Served with beer or Alsatian Riesling.

Baeckeoffe
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In Alsace there are as many ways to prepare baekenofe (also spelled baeckenoffa or baeckeffe) as choucroute garnie. The word baeckeoffe in the dialect of Alsace means "bakers oven", and in fact this tasty casserole of 3 kind of marinated meats (pork, beef and lamb) layered with potatoes, onions and moistened with white wine used to be cooked in the bakers oven.
Originally this dish was prepared on Mondays, when housewives usually did their laundry and had little time to cook. They brought the marinated stews in earthenware terrine to the local baker, who placed it into his wood-burning oven. When it was time for the midday meal, the stew was ready and brought home.
Its a cold-weather meal to be served with Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris or Pinot Noir.

Coq au Riesling
(Chicken simmered in Riesling)
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This fairly thick creamy stew is at the very heart of Alsatian cooking. The wine helps to tenderize and flavor the meat and provides the base for the sauce. This is a delicious lighter version of the Coq au vin (red wine) served more commonly in France.
It is served with egg noodles or spaetzle (dumplings) and must be accompanied with the local Riesling wine.

Poached Trout "au bleu"
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Trout from the Vosges mountains torrents and lakes is delicious. To justify its name and keep its nice blue color, the freshly killed trout has to be quickly poached in a court bouillon flavored with vinegar, onions, carrots, herbs and a dash of Riesling. Serve with a Riesling.

Matelote de poissons au Riesling
(Fish Stew with Riesling)
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"Matelote" is a name given to a fish stew. There are many recipes for matelote from all over France, each one varying in its use of local fish and wine.
In the Alsatian version, pieces of perch, trout, pike and eel swim in a rich sauce of cream and mushrooms, and local white wine. Serve with noodles.

Chou rouge aux pommes et aux marrons
(Red Cabbage with Apples and Chestnuts)
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Alsace is known for its sauerkraut but another cabbage is worth discovering: red cabbage. It is a vegetable best suited for cooler weather. Because fall is also the season for chestnuts, this recipe fulfills all the gastronomic and nutritional conditions to get prepared for the winter.
This dish is the perfect accompaniment to any form of baked ham, roast pork, boiled beef, or sausage. The cabbage is cooked in beer or in wine.

Cheese

Munster Cheese

A well-known cheese made in farms high up in the Vosges mountains. The town of Munster is its home. Of monastic origin (munster is a contraction of the Latin monasterium), it has been in existence since the Middle Ages. Faithful to tradition, munster is made with rennet-curded milk, put into molds, it drains slowly and matures for 21 days (14 for a small munster). The cheese, a flat disk in shape, has a smooth surface varying in color from yellow-orange to red. Mild when very young, it becomes spicy with a sweet, rich flavor as it matures. It comes in various sizes; the largest are the best.

This delicious cheese is enjoyed with cumin seeds, Gewurztraminer wine or a glass of kirsch. It should be brought to room temperature. Munsters devotees enjoy it plain, without bread, with warm boiled potatoes. It is used on regional recipes as well, such as quiche, pie and raclette.

Desserts

Kougelhopf
(Raisin and Almond Yeast Cake)

This yeast-risen coffee cake, with raisins and a surface sprinkling of flaked almonds and confectioned sugar, has become one of the region icons. For a perfect shape and texture, it is best baked in the authentic earthenware grooved mold.
In Alsace the cake is served on many occasions all year around: as a dessert; for breakfast, spread with fruit preserves, as appetizers, serve with a Gewurztraminer or a Cremant d'Alsace. It is considered to taste best when slightly stale.

Tartes aux fruits
(Fruit Tarts)
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Fruit tarts are an Alsatian specialty, one of the simple and most enjoyable dessert. Made with rhubarb, apples, pears, cherries and every type of plum, such as the quetsches (a yellowish-fleshed, sweet purple plum) and the tiny yellow mirabelles, or with the berries of the mountains, and covered with custard.

Tarte au fromage blanc
(Cheese Tart)
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Alsatian dessert par excellence, this delicious slightly sweet pastry with a light texture has often raisins in it and some lemon rind to give it that little lemony taste. There are many recipes, each with some variations. Serve with a Pinot Blanc, a Riesling or a Gewurztraminer.

Soufflé au Kirsch
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Baked dessert soufflé flavored with kirsch liqueur and served hot as soon as the dish is removed from the oven. It has a light, airy texture due to the use of stiffy beaten egg whites incorporated in its preparation.

Pain aux fruits secs or Birewecke

Birewecke is a bread filled with dried pears, apples, plums, figs, raisins, almonds and walnuts and flavored with kirsch. To be eaten a week after it has been baked, served in thin slices with a Gewurztraminer wine.

Pain d'epices
(Gingerbread)

Gingerbread is an integral part of the Alsatian tradition and is a popular Christmas treat in Alsace. Gingerbread comes in many different sizes, shapes (heart, star or man), and it can be soft or crispy, with hazelnuts or almonds.