A Delicious Dozen Recipes: How to Serve Sauerkraut

By: Nina Hoffman, RecipeLion.com

It may come as a surprise to you, but sauerkraut recipes are very popular. Not only that, but there is a wide variety of preparations of sauerkraut recipes. If you're wondering how to serve sauerkraut, think about this: There are sauerkraut recipes for soup, sauerkraut recipes for salad, and of course recipes where sauerkraut is part of the main dish. There are even sauerkraut recipes for dessert! Yes, you read that right - DESSERT. If you wanted to, you could include a recipe for sauerkraut in each portion of your meal and never duplicate.

Learn how to serve sauerkraut with a delicious dozen recipes:

Make cream of sauerkraut soup. We know, it's not something you would think of off the top of your head, but if you follow this recipe, you'll have a delicious, surprising soup to start your meal.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine (Riesling if possible)
¹/2 cup fresh sauerkraut, thoroughly rinsed and squeezed dry
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
3 juniper berries, crushed
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 to 5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
¹/4 pound bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled for garnish

Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy pot over moderate heat and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the wine and reduce until almost dry.
Add the sauerkraut, apple, juniper berries, salt, and pepper and simmer covered over low heat for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Heat the remaining butter in a large sauce pan over moderate heat.
Stir in the flour and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the stock and whisk until smooth.
Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Pour the white sauce over the sauerkraut mixture and stir to combine.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Process in an electric food processor or blender and strain through a fine sieve.
Stir in the crème fraiche or sour cream and heat over low heat — do not boil. Garnish with crumbled bacon. Serves 4 to 6.

Another tasty soup is this Reuben Soup in a Slow Cooker.

Have a cold sauerkraut salad as a side dish for your meal, or make this German homemade sauerkraut from scratch.

Make sauerkraut part of your main course, be it lunch or dinner. Try these easy sauerkraut pork chops, make grilled ham, Swiss, sauerkraut sandwiches, or try one of these other delicious sauerkraut recipes:

Now that you know how to serve sauerkraut for meal starters, sides, and main courses, it's time for some dessert sauerkraut recipes! There is the ever-popular chocolate sauerkraut cake, but for something different, try this sassy sauerkraut apple cake instead.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¹/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ¹/2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
16 ounces sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
1 apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
In a large bowl, combine oil, molasses, and sugar with an electric mixer.
Mix in eggs.
Blend in dry ingredients.
Stir in sauerkraut, apples, and nuts by hand.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13-inch pan.
Bake at 325°F (165° C) for 35 minutes.
Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.

Bonus of the day: Sauerkraut is healthy, in addition to being tasty! It's very low in calories — only 27 per serving (142 grams), has no fat and no cholesterol, and has 4 grams of fiber. Now, all you have to do is figure out how to serve sauerkraut at least once a week, and you'll be getting all sorts of nutrients (vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, folate, iron, potassium, copper and manganese), plus all that great taste!

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Joie

Mar 12, 2010

The soup I make has some browned smoked sausage in it, small carrots, green beans - made from a potato soup base. Easy, fun and surprising to anyone who tastes it for the first time.