Sautéed sauerkraut
The word “sauerkraut” comes from German Sauerkraut, which literally means “sour cabbage”. From sauer “sour” and kraut “vegetable, cabbage.” The origin of the dish has been disputed but it took root mostly in Central and Eastern European cuisines.
Sauerkraut is finely shredded cabbage, that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria and it has a distinctive sour flavour due to the fact, that the lactic acid is formed when the bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage. It is the lactic acid that naturally preserves sauerkraut and gives it long shelf life.
It is incredibly popular dish back home, and would appear on tables as a part of a family meal on a weekly basis, especially during colder months. Its popularity is not surprising, if we consider the fact, that the area was under Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of First World War. Almost every household would have a slightly different version of how to prepare and cook sauerkraut.
In Slovenia, you can buy sauerkraut in all supermarkets in sealed plastic bags or glass jars, but I just love getting it from farmer's market, where it is sold on food stalls by local farmers directly from big wooden barrels.
I am sharing with you my grandma and my mum's version of how it is cooked on the coastal region, simply with extra virgin olive oil, a bit of garlic and bay leaf, however, adding a pinch of sweet Hungarian paprika and few crushed caraway seeds is quite common too, in order to achieve once again that “imperial” flavour. This is a great side dish, traditionally used to accompany almost any meat based dish like sausages, cooked ham, pork roast or other meat roasts, pork chops, black sausage...
As children, my brother and I would have it just simply with fried eggs and a bit of potato mash.
Sauerkraut is quite versatile, and it can be also used in a variety of other dishes, and just to mention a few, jota (Istrian sauerkraut and bean soup), Hungarian style sauerkraut, rice and mince pork casserole, and it is great in sandwiches, made for example, with rye bread and cooked ham.
My nona Nada has vivid memories from when she was a child, of every household in the village making a big barrel of sauerkraut; cabbage would be harvested in autumn and fermented during winter month.
Sauerkraut is also very healthy, and has numerous nutritional benefits. Contains live and active probiotics, helping your body to fight off harmful bacteria or toxins, it has high level of digestive enzymes, high in vitamin C and K2. Rich in fibre and minerals like potassium, iron and magnesium.
No wonder Captain James Cook always took a store of sauerkraut on his sea voyages!
It is really not surprising, that sauerkraut has been gaining increasing popularity in the past few years, especially in the countries where it has been less known.
Back home, it has always been there...just like family.
When shopping for sauerkraut, make sure you get a good quality one, just sea salt and nothing else should be added on the ingredient list.
Ingredients
Serves 4
1kg Sauerkraut (sauerkraut is normally sold in glass jars or sealed plastic bags and will have different net weights of sauerkraut, it does not matter if you end up with slightly less or more than 1kg of sauerkraut)
1 bay leaf (fresh or dry)
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic (peeled and crashed)
sea salt
few black whole peppercorns
Method
Drain the saurekraut in a colander and give it a quick rinse with cold water if you think the sauerkraut is too acid for your taste, but do not over rinse it, as you will loose the characteristic sauerkraut taste.
Place the rinsed sauerkraut into a large, preferably non stick pan, add sea salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, garlic, extra virgin olive oil.
Add water, just enough to cover the sauerkraut, bring to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 1-1 1/2 hours.
Sauerkraut is cooked, when you have no excess liquid left in the pan, and the sauerkraut is nice and soft. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Wine suggestion
Cabernet Sauvignon IGT 2017 by Balter, Vallagarina.