German-style sauerkraut braised with bacon, apple and herbs: it deserves more renown as the deliciously comforting side dish that it is.
Fermenting? Not new to me
All the health campaigners urging us to eat more fibre and more fermented foods don’t impress me much: I was raised on sauerkraut. In Poland, Germany and the rest of eastern Europe (plus among the good folks of Alsace) fermented cabbage is a staple.
Fermenting is a method of preserving vegetables for when fresh produce is scarce. These days nothing is ever scarce, lamentably for the appreciation of seasons, but fermented foods have been rediscovered as nutritionally valuable. Fermenting means converting sugars in vegetables into lactic acid, encouraging good bacteria to grow. Those bacteria act as probiotic in the gut, improving the microbiome they find there.
Sauerkraut is also naturally rich in vitamin C and B, thus probably the only reason why peasants of eastern Europe didn’t used to drop dead of scurvy en masse.
Cooking destroys probiotics
That is the sad truth. If you want to eat your sauerkraut mainly for health reasons, consume it raw, in salads or as a topping. If it’s only lightly warmed up, which also refers to pasteurisation, it’s still fine as far as the gut-friendly bacteria go.
But cooking made us human, and we don’t only eat for the nutritional benefits (otherwise cake would never have been invented). And cooked sauerkraut, be it bigos or choucroute garni, is delicious so no reason not to add it to your menu.
Homemade or bought in jars?
If you own a mandolin, a large preserving jar and have a free afternoon, there’s no excuse not to ferment your own sauerkraut. A head of white cabbage which will yield at least three pounds of sauerkraut costs 70p; a pound jar of a hipster brand labelled ‘raw’, ‘organic’, ‘live’ and whatnot – at least a fiver. The sums speak for themselves. Plus, you can add whatever you fancy to your homemade sauerkraut, or nothing at all, just salt.
But if you can’t or won’t, buy a jar of simple, inexpensive German or Polish (kapusta kiszona) sauerkraut. For this recipe it needn’t be raw (or organic, or the rest of it) so pasteurised is fine, and it’s usually cheap. Just make sure there’s no vinegar in the ingredients – that’s a pickle not sauerkraut. The genuine article will contain cabbage and salt, plus occasionally wine.
How to braise sauerkraut
To start, briefly cook diced bacon, speck or pancetta to render fat and release the flavour.
If you’re in a rush though, simply pack all the ingredients into a pan, cover with a lid and it will be just as good.
The spices I use here are slightly different to the usual caraway and juniper combo. I find the fennel and nigella, together with mustard seeds that I love, give the sauerkraut a gentler but richer flavour.
Grated apple makes it sweeter and smoother, and plenty of butter is a must. As my grandma used to say, cabbage loves butter and that’s after all what sauerkraut is.
Braising will take between thirty minutes to an hour, depending on how fermented the sauerkraut was. The resulting dish should be smooth, creamy and not at all soupy which is why a little flour added at the end rounds up the texture.
Variations
Where to start? Skip the bacon and use vegetable stock for a veggie version and (as much as I personally wouldn’t enjoy it) swap butter for olive oil to make it vegan.
You can revert to the traditional herb and spice mix, using caraway, bay leaf, juniper berries and/or allspice.
Braised sauerkraut is delicious with dried wild mushrooms. Soak them in boiling water, then chop and add to the sauerkraut with the soaking liquid replacing the stock. That kind of dish is actually traditional Polish Christmas Eve side. A version with split peas rather than mushrooms is popular in some regions.
Instead of apple you can use apple juice for the liquid content, or add some chopped dried apricots or prunes.
And finally, a hit with kids features a generous addition of ketchup.
What to serve braised sauerkraut with?
It’s undoubtedly best with meats: roasts, chicken, schnitzels or sausages. But served with plenty of roast or baked potatoes, it might well stand on its own for a veggie dinner.
Leftovers keep amazingly well in the fridge and reheat easily in a microwave or on the hob, so make sure there ARE leftovers. You can also use them cold or at room temperature as a garnish in sandwiches.
More fermented foods recipes
Lightly fermented cucumbers are the healthier pickles, crunchy and delicious. Quick lacto-fermented baby cucumbers in lightly salted brine are an excellent probiotic food, good for the gut and wonderfully tasty.
Kefir cream aka cultured cream is thick, rich and tangy, like a voluptuous version of crème fraiche with added health benefits. It has a multitude of culinary uses and it’s delicious.
Fermented red cabbage with chillies and ginger is Europe’s answer to kimchi. Red cabbage sauerkraut is made exactly like the white but it’s vibrant and a bit more crunchy.
More cabbage recipes
Cabbage lasagne, a vegetarian dish of pasta layered with a filling of lightly cooked cabbage with tomatoes. Surprisingly flavourful and delicious!
Cabbage and minced pork is the perfect combo, put together in this easy recipe of spicy Asian flavours. Pork mince with cabbage make a delicious, easy and budget dish that resembles both East European peasant food and a good Chinese stir-fry.
Homemade coleslaw recipe with lightly fermented vegetables. This is Tom Kerridge's coleslaw recipe with light and healthy yoghurt and lemon dressing instead of mayonnaise.