Baked Sauerkraut
More years ago than I care to admit, I was chatting with Mom when she mentioned that my late brother had stopped in town for a visit, and while he was there he whipped up a baked sauerkraut dish that was remarkably good. This was back in the days when one could not simply go to Google with a list of ingredients and say, "Gib me recipe plz"
I pressed mom for the recipe, but sine she wasn't the one to make it, all she could remember was that it had garlic sausage, sauerkraut, canned potatoes, onion, sun-dried tomatoes and an apple. All of the ingredients sounded flavourful enough to stand up on their own, so I just cut them all up, tossed them into a casserole dish along with a good pinch of salt and some toasted caraway (because it seemed like the kind of thing that would go in a bake like this). The caraway was the only thing that salvaged the dish and kept it from being utterly bland and inedible.
I have thought about that dish a few times over the years, and recently I decided to give it another try. To that end, I bought some kubasa, spicy sauerkraut, a can of potatoes, a jar of sun-dried tomatoes and an apple.
Then I left it all in the fridge for so long that the sausage went off, and I had to buy replacement. I vowed to use the ingredients this weekend before that happened again, so this is what I made for breakfast today:
I looked up a recipe this time, and found one that included everything except the tomatoes. I figured, "They can't really hurt the dish, can they?"
The recipe called for a cup of apple juice and a quarter cup of brown sugar to help offset the sourness in the dish. We don't have apple juice, and I wasn't convinced that this fancy sauerkraut I'd picked up would be as sour as the cheap stuff that comes in the jars, so I substituted beef bouillon1 for the apple juice.
The instructions called for it to be cooked in a skillet on the stove top, but I was determined to follow in my brother's footsteps and bake it. But I started it on the range.
I cut up half a ring of kubasa (the recipe called for garlic sausage, but you use what you have) and threw it into an oven-safe skilled with some olive oil and a tiny pinch of baking soda to help with the browning. While that was doing its thing, cut a medium onion into wedges and then set the oven to 190C. Once the sausage was nicely browned, I tossed in the onions, and then poured in the oil from a small jar of sun-dried tomatoes when things looked like things were threatening to stick. At the time, I was worried that I'd added way too much oil to the dish (it was a bit too much, but not excessively so), but the oil was such a flavour bomb that it ended up being a smart move on my part.
I cubed up an apple and tossed that into the mix once the onions had started to soften a bit, then I drained the can of potatoes and halved/quartered them as needed. Once the potatoes had picked up a hint of browning, I tossed in the sun-dried tomatoes and stirred it all together while cut up two strips of bacon into another pan. The recipe didn't call for bacon, but I thought it would help make up for the fact that I was using kubasa instead of garlic sausage. When the bacon was about ready (I'd tossed some water into the pan with it to help it cook without crisping too much) I dumped the satchel of spicy sauerkraut into the skilled along with the bacon. I seasoned it with a good pinch of kosher salt, smoked paprika, and garlic powder (again, because the kubasa was not as garlic-forward as garlic sausage would have been).
I mixed together a cup of beef bouillon and a quarter cup of brown sugar before pouring that over the mix and letting it simmer until the oven was up to temperature.
Finally, I transferred the skillet to the oven and let it bake uncovered for 30 minutes. This gave a nice browning on top and reduced the liquid to an exquisitely flavourful glaze. I will never know if this was the same recipe that my brother used (I doubt it), but it doesn't really matter in the end. This was as good as advertised, and I will happily make this again.
1I've become a convert to Better Than Bouillon brand. Seriously, it's worth the extra price.
I pressed mom for the recipe, but sine she wasn't the one to make it, all she could remember was that it had garlic sausage, sauerkraut, canned potatoes, onion, sun-dried tomatoes and an apple. All of the ingredients sounded flavourful enough to stand up on their own, so I just cut them all up, tossed them into a casserole dish along with a good pinch of salt and some toasted caraway (because it seemed like the kind of thing that would go in a bake like this). The caraway was the only thing that salvaged the dish and kept it from being utterly bland and inedible.
I have thought about that dish a few times over the years, and recently I decided to give it another try. To that end, I bought some kubasa, spicy sauerkraut, a can of potatoes, a jar of sun-dried tomatoes and an apple.
Then I left it all in the fridge for so long that the sausage went off, and I had to buy replacement. I vowed to use the ingredients this weekend before that happened again, so this is what I made for breakfast today:
I looked up a recipe this time, and found one that included everything except the tomatoes. I figured, "They can't really hurt the dish, can they?"
The recipe called for a cup of apple juice and a quarter cup of brown sugar to help offset the sourness in the dish. We don't have apple juice, and I wasn't convinced that this fancy sauerkraut I'd picked up would be as sour as the cheap stuff that comes in the jars, so I substituted beef bouillon1 for the apple juice.
The instructions called for it to be cooked in a skillet on the stove top, but I was determined to follow in my brother's footsteps and bake it. But I started it on the range.
I cut up half a ring of kubasa (the recipe called for garlic sausage, but you use what you have) and threw it into an oven-safe skilled with some olive oil and a tiny pinch of baking soda to help with the browning. While that was doing its thing, cut a medium onion into wedges and then set the oven to 190C. Once the sausage was nicely browned, I tossed in the onions, and then poured in the oil from a small jar of sun-dried tomatoes when things looked like things were threatening to stick. At the time, I was worried that I'd added way too much oil to the dish (it was a bit too much, but not excessively so), but the oil was such a flavour bomb that it ended up being a smart move on my part.
I cubed up an apple and tossed that into the mix once the onions had started to soften a bit, then I drained the can of potatoes and halved/quartered them as needed. Once the potatoes had picked up a hint of browning, I tossed in the sun-dried tomatoes and stirred it all together while cut up two strips of bacon into another pan. The recipe didn't call for bacon, but I thought it would help make up for the fact that I was using kubasa instead of garlic sausage. When the bacon was about ready (I'd tossed some water into the pan with it to help it cook without crisping too much) I dumped the satchel of spicy sauerkraut into the skilled along with the bacon. I seasoned it with a good pinch of kosher salt, smoked paprika, and garlic powder (again, because the kubasa was not as garlic-forward as garlic sausage would have been).
I mixed together a cup of beef bouillon and a quarter cup of brown sugar before pouring that over the mix and letting it simmer until the oven was up to temperature.
Finally, I transferred the skillet to the oven and let it bake uncovered for 30 minutes. This gave a nice browning on top and reduced the liquid to an exquisitely flavourful glaze. I will never know if this was the same recipe that my brother used (I doubt it), but it doesn't really matter in the end. This was as good as advertised, and I will happily make this again.
1I've become a convert to Better Than Bouillon brand. Seriously, it's worth the extra price.