Karl Lauterbach recently emphasized it sharply: “In the future we will have to eat less meat.” That sounded categorical, scientifically substantiated and would therefore, if it were up to him, probably be enshrined in law immediately. And the chances of that happening are good. After the left-green coalition’s ambitions in terms of peace policy and climate protection suffered a significant dampening in the wake of Putin’s war against Ukraine, one can assume that the will to help the good cause to triumph will now doubly affect animal welfare and cattle emissions – and we can expect significantly higher meat prices in the near future.
On the one hand you can say: Let’s put as much meat on the grill as possible, it could be the last summer with ribs, steaks and lamb shanks! Or you can take a look around at what grows in the local fields and what you can use to prepare tasty dishes for meat eaters. Possibly even with a sparse minced meat filling, which is hidden from the eyes of the inspectors of the strict Mr. Lauterbach by a vegetable coating.
There are a lot of delicious dishes where you can hide the meat in a vegetable casing
In southern Germany this cheating, defying the authorities, has a long tradition. Centuries ago, in order to be able to eat meat on Friday without any worries, the Swabians invented the Maultaschen, which were consequently called “Herrgottsbscheißerle”. There are a lot of delicious dishes where you can hide the meat in a vegetable casing. Stuffed peppers, for example, the spicy, minced meat-filled classic from the 1970s. However, it is only available fresh from Germany in July – so until then, to be truly environmentally friendly, we use hollowed kohlrabi, which is already harvested in May. In general, perhaps everyone should set up their own private emission exchange: Those who strictly rely on seasonal vegetables may consume more meat, and those who eat tomatoes and strawberries all year round may consume less meat. There are already cauliflower, spring onions, kohlrabi, mushrooms, spinach, chard and radishes from local harvests, from which all kinds of tasty dishes can be conjured up, which also allow a variable use of meat. An Asian-inspired chard soup can be prepared with vegetable, chicken or meat broth and enriched with sliced chicken or meat. Or not.
In this way, the increasingly diverse eating habits of the guests can be balanced at round tables. Numerous dishes work with and without meat and can be practically tailored to the different guests when serving. Two recently published vegetable cookbooks may serve as a source of inspiration: James Strawbridge’s “Fresh Vegetable Kitchen” and Andreas Mayer’s “The Scent of Vegetables”. Although the Englishman, who comes along as a hip country gentleman, and the heavyweight, down-to-earth German represent the two poles of the spectrum with an affinity for vegetables, both differ pleasantly from the vegano-totalitarianism of Attila Hildmann and, in addition to satiety, books that also promise enlightenment à la “Meine Glückskueche” or “Buddha- bowls Healthy & colourful”.
Surprisingly, Strawbridge’s recipes turn out to be much more rustic than the often very fine and intelligently devised creations of Mayer, who knows what he can do and has cooked for himself two Michelin stars. He impresses with a cauliflower lasagne with chard and slices of truffle and a vegan goulash soup based on baby carrots that have been roasted and mashed to a creamy consistency. Strawbridge, on the other hand, offers a detailed service section that is not only informative for beginners, in which he goes into the idiosyncrasies of individual vegetables and has lots of tips on proper processing and storage ready.
But now it’s asparagus time – and if we put on almost transparent slices of Tyrolean or Serrano ham instead of thick boiled ham, we can also fry an extra sausage in summer.