Sauerkraut bake
Winter comfort food in an oven dish. The mince layer is what sets this one apart. Not dry and crumbly, but saucy and deep in flavour with curry powder, cloves and ketjap. Use good fresh sauerkraut from the chilled aisle. The vacuum-packed kind or the one from a jar is often too sour and mushy.
- 800 g floury potatoes
- 1 tsp salt
1 Peel the potatoes and cut into even pieces. Boil in salted water until tender, about 18 to 20 minutes. Drain and let them steam dry for 2 minutes.
- 50 g butter
- 100 ml warm milk
- 1 egg yolk
- salt, pepper and nutmeg
2 Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk, egg yolk and seasoning into a firm mash. The egg yolk gives a nice golden crust in the oven.
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 onions
- 3 garlic cloves
3 Finely chop the onion and garlic. Melt the butter in the Dutch oven and soften them over low heat for 8 minutes until soft and lightly golden.
- 500 g mixed beef and pork mince
4 Add the mince and fry over higher heat until crumbly. Keep frying until the liquid has evaporated and the meat starts to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- freshly ground pepper
5 Add the spices and fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
6 Sprinkle the flour and tomato purée over the mince and stir well. Fry for 2 minutes so the flour loses its raw taste.
- 350 ml beef stock (or 1 tsp gravy powder + 350 ml water)
- 1 tbsp ketjap manis
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 bay leaf
7 Pour in the stock a little at a time while stirring all the time, so you don't get lumps. Add the ketjap, mustard and bay leaf. Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes until you have a thick, glossy gravy that coats the back of a spoon. Remove the bay leaf and season with salt.
- 500 g fresh sauerkraut
- freshly ground pepper
8 Drain the sauerkraut well and squeeze out the extra liquid.
- 2 sweet-sour apples (Elstar or Jonagold)
9 Peel and core the apples and cut into thin 3 mm slices.
10 Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease the Dutch oven.
11 Spoon the mince gravy into the Dutch oven first and smooth it out. Spread the sauerkraut on top. Lay the apple slices in an even layer over the sauerkraut.
- 75 g aged Gouda (grated)
12 Spread the mash over the apple layer and smooth with a fork. The ridges turn nicely golden later. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.
13 Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden and crusty and the gravy bubbles at the edges. Leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
Step 1
- 800 g floury potatoes
- 1 tsp salt
Step 2
- 50 g butter
- 100 ml warm milk
- 1 egg yolk
- salt, pepper and nutmeg
Step 3
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 onions
- 3 garlic cloves
Step 4
- 500 g mixed beef and pork mince
Step 5
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- freshly ground pepper
Step 6
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
Step 7
- 350 ml beef stock (or 1 tsp gravy powder + 350 ml water)
- 1 tbsp ketjap manis
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 bay leaf
Step 8
- 500 g fresh sauerkraut
- freshly ground pepper
Step 9
- 2 sweet-sour apples (Elstar or Jonagold)
Step 12
- 75 g aged Gouda (grated)
Method
- 1 Peel the potatoes and cut into even pieces. Boil in salted water until tender, about 18 to 20 minutes. Drain and let them steam dry for 2 minutes.
- 2 Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk, egg yolk and seasoning into a firm mash. The egg yolk gives a nice golden crust in the oven.
- 3 Finely chop the onion and garlic. Melt the butter in the Dutch oven and soften them over low heat for 8 minutes until soft and lightly golden.
- 4 Add the mince and fry over higher heat until crumbly. Keep frying until the liquid has evaporated and the meat starts to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
- 5 Add the spices and fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
- 6 Sprinkle the flour and tomato purée over the mince and stir well. Fry for 2 minutes so the flour loses its raw taste.
- 7 Pour in the stock a little at a time while stirring all the time, so you don't get lumps. Add the ketjap, mustard and bay leaf. Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes until you have a thick, glossy gravy that coats the back of a spoon. Remove the bay leaf and season with salt.
- 8 Drain the sauerkraut well and squeeze out the extra liquid.
- 9 Peel and core the apples and cut into thin 3 mm slices.
- 10 Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease the Dutch oven.
- 11 Spoon the mince gravy into the Dutch oven first and smooth it out. Spread the sauerkraut on top. Lay the apple slices in an even layer over the sauerkraut.
- 12 Spread the mash over the apple layer and smooth with a fork. The ridges turn nicely golden later. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.
- 13 Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden and crusty and the gravy bubbles at the edges. Leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
