Blustery nippy nights call for sauerkraut

Kitchen Korner

Marian Platt

October is the "Golden Month" in the Northwest. Nature stages her finest production. In our valley and the mountains nearby, the brilliant hues of maples, cottonwoods, mountain ash, aspens, larches and huckleberries are abundant. It is a flaming farewell to summer.

And soon a bright harvest moon will fill the sky and the air will tingle with mystery and mirth and mischief - another Halloween will have arrived. And, in keeping with all the Octoberfests around, our dinner will feature sauerkraut.

A blustery, nippy October night is a perfect time for a meal of rich, garlicky-flavored sausage mixed with the mellow bite of sauerkraut - a combination that has been warming bodies and souls in cold weather for centuries.

Sauerkraut is never a surprise - it has an unmistakable odor when cooking. It is generally considered a German invention, but history tells us that the laborers who built the Great Wall of China more than 2,000 years ago ate it as standard fare. Once Chinese sauerkraut (shredded cabbage fermented in rice wine) made its way to Europe, it was

adopted by the Germans and Alsatians and sauerkraut became their signature dish.

In Austria it was called "sour plant." No country welcomed sauerkraut more warmly than did Germany. Cabbage was the principal crop on many farms around Stuttgart and was sold mainly to large kraut factories, though some of it still goes to housewives who make their own kraut.

Immigrants from both countries brought it to America.

Bratwurst With Apples,

Onion and Sauerkraut

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 tablespoon Wondra flour

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 cups sauerkraut, drained and squeezed dry

1 large onion, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise

3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced

6 whole smoked bratwurst, pierced all over

4 bay leaves

1 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons dry vermouth

2 tablespoons ketchup

Place caraway seeds and fennel seeds in small resealable plastic bag; crush with mallet. Add flour and pepper to bag; shake to blend.

Spread sauerkraut over bottom of 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle one-third of flour mixture over. Arrange onion slices over; sprinkle with half of remaining flour mixture, then lightly with salt. Spread half of apple slices over, then sprinkle with remaining flour mixture. Place bratwurst over apples, then arrange remaining apple slices around bratwurst. Tuck in bay leaves.

Mix broth, vermouth and ketchup; pour over evenly. Cover tightly with foil

Roast 45 minutes, uncovered, in preheated 400-degree oven. Uncover; brush with 11/2 tablespoons butter. Roast uncovered until edges of apples and sausages begin to brown, about 25 minutes longer. Serves six.

Recipe from my files

Smoked Pork Chops and

Bratwurst on Braised

Sauerkraut

2 pounds sauerkraut, drained

4-6 smoked pork chops

11/2 pounds bratwurst sausage, sliced

1 tablespoon juniper berries

1 cup dark beer

In a skillet, brown pork chops and sausage. Place sauerkraut in a pot and stir in juniper berries. Bury pork chops and sausage in the kraut; add the beer, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

from Taste of Home Everyday Slow Cooker & One Dish Recipes 2010

Kielbasa Sausage

With Spiced Sauerkraut

1 large onion, diced

16 ounces sauerkraut, drained

1 cup dry white wine

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

6 peppercorns

1 pound Kielbasa sausage, sliced

Combine onions, sauerkraut, wine, bay leaves, caraway seeds and peppercorns in heavy pan. Cover and simmer mixture 30 minutes; add sausage and simmer 20 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Serves four.

Recipe from my files

Sauerkraut and Ribs

2 quarts sauerkraut

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 large onion, diced

1 large unpeeled apple, cored and diced

water (enough to cover sauerkraut)

2 pounds country pork ribs

In a large roaster, combine sauerkraut, brown sugar, onion and apple. Add enough water to cover sauerkraut mixture. Place ribs on top. Cover and cook 4 hours in preheated 350-degree oven. Check occasionally to be sure water continues to cover sauerkraut; add more water, 1 cup at a time if needed. Uncover ribs and cook for an additional hour. Serves 6-8

Recipe from my files

Marian Platt can be reached at 683-4691.