Leipziger Allerlei, Saxon Spring Vegetables
Leipziger Allerlei, Leipzig medley, is a Saxon dish from the days when the first tender vegetables of spring were something to make a fuss over. In its grand old form it heaped young carrots, cauliflower, peas, asparagus, and kohlrabi with morels and even crayfish tails into a buttery sauce. This is the everyday heart of it: a mix of carrots, cauliflower, green beans, and peas cooked just to brightness and bound in a light nutmeg cream. Creminis stand in for the morels, oat cream and a whisper of cornstarch replace the butter-flour roux, and lemon and parsley keep it fresh in place of salt. Add asparagus and kohlrabi when they are in season and cheap, the way a Leipzig cook would.
Ingredients
- 2 wholes Carrots, cut into short batons
- 2 cups Cauliflower, small florets
- 1 cup Green beans, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) lengths
- 1 cup Frozen peas
- 4 oz Cremini mushrooms, quartered
- 1 tsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 1/3 cup Oat cream
- 1 tsp Cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated
- 3 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp White pepper
Method
- Simmer the carrots and green beans in 1.5 cups (360 ml) water with the bouillon for 4 minutes, then add the cauliflower and cook 4 minutes more, until everything is just crisp-tender. Leipziger Allerlei is a celebration of the first spring vegetables, so each one is cooked only to the point it is bright and still has bite, never soft.
- Lift the vegetables out with a slotted spoon and set aside, keeping the cooking liquid in the pan. Add the quartered mushrooms and the peas to that liquid and simmer 3 minutes. The classic dish uses morels; creminis are the honest, cheap stand-in, and cooking them in the vegetable broth builds the savory backbone that a spring dish otherwise lacks.
- Stir the cornstarch into the oat cream until smooth, pour it into the simmering broth, and cook 1 minute until it lightly thickens into a pale sauce. This is the gentlest of binders: just enough starch to turn the cooking water and a little oat cream into a coating, in place of the butter-and-flour roux of the original.
- Return the vegetables to the pan, add the nutmeg and white pepper, and turn everything to coat and warm through. Nutmeg is the quiet warmth that defines German creamed vegetables. Finish off the heat with lemon juice and parsley, the acid keeping the cream fresh without any salt.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 120 calories, 6 g protein, 6 g fiber, 55 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
