Favorite recipe from
the backstage cafeteria
The communicative heart of the festival is the cafeteria, the living room for participants and volunteers. This year, Melissa Müller is organizing the kitchen management. The trained event manager comes from a family with a background in gastronomy and swears by the principle of “simple and delicious.” As an event manager and production manager, she feels at home in the festival world and looks forward to making up to 120 people a day happy with two hot meals and breakfast. “Food is the most beautiful way to bring people together,” she says.
“I plan dishes with elements of home-style cooking, always based on vegan ingredients, which can be built up with different toppings as desired.”
In addition to the volunteers, Melissa Müller is once again directing trainees from the Kaiserswerth Diakonie, who are completing their internships at the festival and thus getting a taste of real working life.
Bread dumplings with mushroom ragout and green bean salad
4-6 Portions
Bread Dumplings:
- 400 g wheat rolls
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) cornstarch
- 300 ml plant-based milk
- 1 large onion
- 10 g fresh parsley
- 0.5 teaspoon nutmeg
- Salt
- Pepper
Prepare ingredients:
- Cut the buns into small cubes and place them in a large bowl.
- Sprinkle cornstarch over the bread cubes.
- Heat the (plant-based) milk and pour it warm over the rolls.
- Leave to soak for 5–10 minutes.
Seasoning & binding:
- Finely dice the onion and chop the parsley.
- Add both to the bread with a little grated nutmeg.
- Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Knead well with your hands until a malleable mass is formed.
- Form the mixture into a wide, elongated roll.
Cooking:
- Heat salted water in a large pot, but do not bring to a boil.
- Wrap the dumpling mixture in a clean kitchen towel,
tie the ends tightly with kitchen twine or rubber bands. - Leave to steep in boiling water for approx. 30–40 minutes.
- Then remove from the water, allow to cool briefly, unwrap
For the mushroom ragout
- 30 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 250 ml hot water
- Min. 300 g fresh mushrooms of your choice (e.g., button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, etc.)
- 2 onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 5 sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 200 ml vegan red wine
- Olive oil for frying
Preparation:
- Soak the porcini mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes, reserving the liquid!
- Clean fresh mushrooms, cut in half or quarters depending on size.
- After soaking, cut porcini mushrooms smaller than the other mushrooms.
- Finely dice the onions and finely chop the garlic.
Preparation:
- Heat the pan to a high temperature, add a little olive oil
- Fry fresh + dried mushrooms in batches until they are deeply browned.
- Then remove from the pan and set aside.
- Reduce heat, add a little oil if necessary.
- Sauté the onions and garlic until translucent.
- Increase the heat again,
add tomato paste (and mustard, if desired), and sauté briefly. - Deglaze with mushroom stock, add red wine if desired.
- Return the mushrooms to the pan,
add chopped thyme and sage. - Simmer everything together until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Season with salt, pepper, and a little chili.
Green bean salad with onion & apple cider vinegar
For the bean salad
600 g green princess beans, trimmed
1 medium onion, finely diced or thinly sliced
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp neutral oil (e.g., canola or sunflower oil)
Salt, freshly ground pepper
Optional: ½ teaspoon mustard or a pinch of sugar
Preparation:
- Clean the beans, remove the ends
- Cook in salted water for approx. 6–8 minutes until al dente.
- Drain and rinse with cold water, then drain well.
- In a large bowl:
- Mix together the onion, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper.
- Optional: stir in mustard or sugar
- Add the beans and mix everything well.
- Leave to stand for at least 15 minutes, season again before serving.
Enjoy!
