Choucroute Garni and Picky Eaters

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My mother had zero tolerance for picky eaters. 

Hers was a simple philosophy: She made it; we ate it.   Food was not wasted.  I'm sure it stems from the Depression, but we didn't waste.  (Funny, how so many people are learning that again....)

There were no alternative meals offered; no peanut butter sandwiches for the kids; no mac & cheese.

To be fair she rarely made anything unusual, and, if it was something new, there were normally familiar foods in the same meal.  We only had to try a small amount to satisfy her.

But we had to eat it. 

That is how my older brother became my hero.

We didn't have a dog, you see.

On two occasions, as a child, I was left sitting at the table well into the evening.  The rest of the family was in the living room, watching T.V.  I was in the dining room at the table.

My mother was stubborn.

So was I.

The first time the uneaten food was a buckwheat pancake.  If I didn't like it hot with melted butter and warm maple syrup you can imagine how it was tasting 4 hours later: a cold, soggy mass in the middle of my plate.

My big brother took pity on me. When our mother went outside for a minute he came over and ate it.

She was suspicious, but she couldn't prove anything so I was allowed to leave the table. 

The second time it was sauerkraut

It was on a Friday night. My father was popping popcorn for a treat.  My mother was watching my brother and I was sitting at the table with ONE forkful of cold sauerkraut on my plate.

Did I mention that I was stubborn?

Did I mention my big brother is a hero?

He laid on the floor to watch T.V.  Slowly, over the course of, say, 30 minutes, he edged into the dining room, close to my chair.  Finally the moment came: he ducked under the table and I lowered the fork with the kraut. 

Mission accomplished. 

Unfortunately my mother saw us.  I was allowed to leave the table but I didn't get any popcorn.  Neither did my brother.

She never made the buckwheat pancakes again. 

The next time she made sauerkraut I ate it, hot, and loved it.

When I started cooking on my own I had an epiphany the first time I tried to make sauerkraut:  One has to do more than just open a can and heat if one wants edible sauerkraut.

I learned another thing after moving here: In France, sauerkraut doesn't come in a can, or a bag.  It's made at the shop and you buy it either raw or cooked.

Either way, when prepared properly, with herbs and spices, a bit of meat or not, it's delicious. And incredibly good for us. 

Packed with vitamins and minerals, Sauerkraut, and it's relatives, such as Kim chi, have been eaten for centuries as a food to help stave off illness, particularly in winter and on long sea voyages.  Some recent studies have shown that  fermented cabbage actually provides more benefits than either raw or cooked cabbage.  According to this Sauerkraut site "A recent study by the American Center for Cancer Research has found that sauerkraut has a profound effect in preventing and healing breast cancer."  They also say that sauerkraut is one of a very few foods that contains a particular healthy bacterium that the gut uses to fight off the bad guys like E.coli.

Sounds like the perfect candidate for Weekend Herb Blogging, this week being hosted by Rinku of Cooking in Westchester.   Weekend Herb Blogging is the very successful brainchild of Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage.

That doesn't mean that the finished dish has to be overly salty or sour.  If you are using sauerkraut from a bag or a can (like Frank's) rinse it with cold water before using. Then taste it. It should have a light fermented taste to it.  If it's still too salty/sour, rinse it again.

Raw sauerkraut may even have to be soaked in cool water for 5 minutes if it is quite salty.

My mother always used pork ribs in her sauerkraut.  I like to use sausage.  A traditional Alsatian Choucroute Garni would have both, plus some bacon.  Use what you like.  Serve with potatoes, or dumplings, or, my preference, Pasta with Browned Butter Sauce.

Sauerkraut with Sausages

16oz (500gr) sauerkraut
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs olive oil
4 sausages
1/2 - 1 cup white wine
1/4 - 1/2 cup chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 whole cloves
10 juniper berries
10 black peppercorns

Rinse the sauerkraut and drain well.  Chop the onion and mince the garlic.  In large, deep skillet sauté the onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.  Move to the side and add the sausages.  Brown on both sides.  Remove the sausages and add the sauerkraut, 1/2 cup wine, 1/4 cup stock, the herbs and spices.  Stir to mix well.  Place the sausages on top, cover and simmer for 30 - 60 minutes, the longer the better.  Depending on the kraut you may have to add the remaining wine and stock, and possibly more.  Raw sauerkraut will absorb more liquid than cooked.

if you're wondering what the bits of pink are - I had a couple of stray slices of Prosciutto I tossed in, as well. 
My mother buried the pork ribs in the kraut, (not browned first) and baked the whole thing for a few hours.

Pasta with Browned Butter Sauce

1 1/2 cups penne
2 tbs butter
pepper - lots

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and put in serving bowl. Return pasta pan to medium heat. Add butter to pan and let it fry until it turns brown - being careful not to let it turn too dark or it will taste burnt. When brown reduce heat and add lots of black pepper and a bit of salt. Put pasta back into pan and stir to coat and reheat. Serve.
(Note: after removing the pasta it is best to add water to the pot or it is a bear to clean - or so mon mari tells me ;-) )

If you have any leftover, reheat the next day and serve over buttered potatoes.

Be sure to check with Rinku at Cooking in Westchester on Monday for the recap of all the recipes!

Comments

[Jennifer]

I'm still a bit of a picky eater when it comes to sauerkraut, much to my husband's dismay. He would be thrilled if I made it! Maybe one of these days...

[Michelle]

Heh. The only time I remember being stuck at the dinner table well after dinner was over... there was liver on my plate. ;)

[katie]

Simona, my mother was the same. Most of the foods I now love...and I didn't starve! She was a firm believer in the 'If you took it you eat it' rule.

Deb. my other favorite way is with buttered potatoes - actually ON buttered potatoes!

Stew, I want a vinagrier! I think that is going to be me next purchase...someday....
(You're also on the blog roll)

Jennifer, try the fresh, uncooked stuff - you may become a convert!

Michelle, my liver was not a big hit...;-))

[Shayne]

I have always loved sauerkraut and I like it with smoked sausages and boiled potatoes. I have tried making it but failed, maybe I should try making it again.

I remember once having what was called sweetkraut at a pot luck that was good they said that it was sauerkraut with sugar added or some strange thing like that.

Anyway I love the stuff and your recipe (like always) looks great.

Shayne

[Katie]

Give it a try Shayne...though I think I'd pass on the sugar. Just rinse first....

[Ulrike aka ostwestwind]

Bratwurst mit Sauerkraut, I love it!

[ejm]

Oh rats. I was hoping you were going to give a recipe for sauerkraut! I have only recently discovered that I quite like sauerkraut. I love it in Reuben sandwiches!

-Elizabeth

P.S. Your mother MUST be my aunt! I can't tell you the number of times I was sent out of the dining room to sit alone in the kitchen staring at a plate with a teaspoon or so of congealed vegetable until I had eaten it so that I could join the rest of the family for dessert. And no big brothers to eat it for me. I drank glass after glass of milk in my attempts to swallow what became less and less appetizing as it got colder and colder, dreading each instance of my mother's "Have you finished yet?" coming from the dining room.

I cannot believe now that I had so much trouble! I love almost every vegetable now. (Although I still draw the line at canned peas and well-cooked carrots....)

[Jann]

I love this dish.........oh so tasty on a cold winters night! Yours looks so delicious!

[núria]

Katie, your story is hilarious! It made me laught... I could see you and your brother! Great story! The dish sounds wonderful and so healthy too, I'll have to check that I've got some butifarras in my fridge and just having them a la brasa is no fun!

[Katie]

Ulrike, I think it's my German mother!

Elizabeth, I can quite picture you sitting in the kitchen, squirming on the chair, trying to get rid of the mess... But commercial kraut and try this - maybe you'll like it. It really doesn't taste at all the same once it's 'cooked'

Nurai, a la brasa in the summer, kraut in the winter!

[ejm]

Yes, indeed, I can picture dishes of choucroute in my future....

We have a good source of sauerkraut at a local deli but what happens if they leave? Initially when I searched the linked sauerkraut site, I didn't see any recipes for making the sauerkraut itself. But using their search engine with "cabbage", I am relieved to see that there are a several recipes for making homemade sauerkraut, including this one using red cabbage:
http://www.sauerkrautrecipes.com/recipe11518.shtml

-Elizabeth

[katie]

Elizabeth, thanks for the link! Making it with red cabbage sound delicious...and pretty! I'm going to try it!