wilt du kreytter krepfla machen

Stuffed pasta or buns are found almost everywhere on the planet in one way or another. Whether Marco Polo brought the idea of stuffed pasta from Asia or there was already something similar in Europe cannot be established with certainty. What we do know for certain is that Philippine Welser included a recipe for ‘kreytter krepfla’ in her cookbook – probably the precursor to ‘Maultaschen’ as they were later called.   

FROM THE COOKBOOK OF PHILIPPINE WELSER

»wilt du kreytter krepfla machen – so nim 1 salfenn blettla 8 maseron stydlin ain hand fol beterling 3 blettle melisen 12 oxen zungen bletter 10 an dyfa bletter ain wenig kera krautt 10 bur augen bletter mangelt 4 mal so fil als der anderen kreytter allen sent vn geforlich hacks dar nach klein vnnd dauß jn ain schmaltz vnd riers dar jn vm vnd schitz jn ain schisel vnd schlag 4 ayr dar ein vnd nim ain hand fol gerybes kes vnd der nu sey vnd ain wenig gerybes brott ryers als wol durch ain ander las ain weyl ston das er star so kann mas jn dayg don den dayg macht ma dar zu wie den zu den dortten mus jn din walga vnd schlag dar nach die kreytter darein vnd seut sy jn ainer erwas brye die gar goutt ist oder flesch brey wie ma will so fyl kertt auff ain dysch«

TranSCript

(Stuffed herb pasta – Take 1 leaf of sage, 8 sprigs of marjoram, 1 handful of parsley, 3 leaves of melissa, 12 leaves of common bugloss, endive leaves, a little chervil, 10 leaves of borage, around 4 times as much chard as other herbs; finely chop them, add them to lard, mix and pour them into a bowl. Crack open 4 eggs on top, add a handful of ground, new cheese and a little ground bread. Mix well and let it sit for a while, so the mix becomes solid and is easily added to the bread. The dough is made in the same way as the dough for pâtés; it needs to be rolled out thinly, stuffed with the herb mix, and then boiled in a good pea broth or a meat broth; prepare as much as you wish.)

The simplicity and yet variety of recipes for stuffed pasta is incredible. 

Always made of flour, water, sometimes a little oil and even eggs, the dough is always rolled out thinly and portioned. Some stuffing of choice is placed on a piece of dough, more or less artfully closed up, and then boiled, steamed, fried, or deep-fried. There are even a few versions in Philippine Welser’s cookbook – we chose the boiled variety. It may be considered a precursor to the Swabian Maultasche; Philippine and her cookbook are originally from Augsburg, after all. As with the Swabian national dish, also these ‘kreytter krepfla’ are served in a broth…

The famous Maultasche is said to have been invented in the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648): a lay brother of the Maulbronn Monastery stumbled over the bag of a fleeing thief with a nice piece of meat in it. As this happened during Lent, he minced the meat and mixed it with the vegetables prepared on Maundy Thursday. He felt bad about what he had done and packed the meat-vegetable-mix into little pillows of pasta dough, so he could hide them from the eyes of God and his fellow brothers. He then served the stuffed pasta pillows as Lenten food. In Swabia they are still called by their nickname ‘Herrgottsbscheißerle’ (God cheaters). A story that would have made Philippine Welser chuckle for sure…