Tag: Apple

Sauerkraut Salads

When cooking was much more seasonal this salad was extremely popular in winter when many other vegetables were unavailable.

Using bottled sauerkraut you can make this salad all year around.  You can also buy vacuum packed sauerkraut in many Polish shops.

Preparing the sauerkraut

There are two ways of preparing the sauerkraut. It all depends on the actual sauerkraut which varies with the home-made or vacuum packed  being milder usually than the bottled &  how sour you like it to be.

Sour is indeed a well loved taste in Poland and sour is a description you can apply to many Polish dishes. There will be more posts on this on the future.

These salads could be considered sweet & sour.

IMG_20150711_183051570_HDR

For all the following salads I have used roughly 200g of sauerkraut which is easily enough as a side-dish for two people.

I think all the following salads benefit from being made a few hours ahead and left to allow the flavours to interact and mellow.

Preparation Method 1

Just take some of the sauerkraut and sieve of some of the liquor.

IMG_20151126_070444950
Sieve off some of the liquor

Preparation Method 2

Put the sauerkraut into a jug or bowl and add some water to rinse off the liquor.

IMG_20151126_070120128

Use Water to Rinse the Sauerkraut

IMG_20151126_070444950
Rinse off the Water

My personal preference is to use method 1 with the sauerkraut just drained and not rinsed.

Sauerkraut & Apple Salad

Ingredients

Around 200g of Sauerkraut

1 tasty eating apple such as Jazz or Braeburn

2 to 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil

1 to 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

IMG_20151126_065926122

Method

Prepare the sauerkraut and put it in a dish.

Grate the apple, skin and flesh using a coarse grater and add this to the sauerkraut. Mix the two together.

Add the sunflower oil and sugar and mix well.

Leave in a cool place for a couple of hours before serving.

IMG_20151126_071637240

Serving Dish by J & G Meakin – Topic – designed by Alan Rogers in 1967

In the restaurant in the Polish Centre in Leeds they serve a wonderful sauerkraut and carrot salad – secret recipe of course! – the following is the nearest I can get to it.

Sauerkraut & Carrot Salad 1

Ingredients

Around 200g of Sauerkraut

1 carrot

1 tasty eating apple such as Jazz or Braeburn

2 to 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil

1 to 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

IMG_20151125_173758445

IMG_20151126_065938397

 

 

 

 

Method

Prepare the sauerkraut and put it in a dish.

Peel and grate the carrot using a coarse grater.

IMG_20151126_071607024

Grate the apple, skin and flesh, using a coarse grate.

Add the grated carrot and the apple  to the sauerkraut.

Mix them all together.

Add the sunflower oil and sugar and mix well.

Leave in a cool place for a couple of hours before serving.

IMG_20151125_175325600
Mid 20th Century Pyrex Dish

IMG_20151125_180151431

IMG_20151126_072049460

Serving Dish is Carnation by Royal Doulton 1982 to 1998

 

IMG_20151125_183717288
Meat Loaf  and Sauerkraut & Carrot Salad

 

Sauerkraut & Carrot Salad 2

Ingredients (as salad 1 but less carrot)

Around 200g of Sauerkraut

Half a carrot

1 tasty eating apple such as Jazz or Braeburn

2 to 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil

1 to 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

Method

Prepare the sauerkraut and put it in a dish.

Peel and grate the carrot using a coarse grater.

Grate the apple, skin and flesh, using a coarse grate.

Add the grated carrot and the apple  to the sauerkraut.

Mix them all together.

Add the sunflower oil and sugar and mix well.

Leave in a cool place for a couple of hours before serving.

IMG_20151126_071833315

 

Tip

Once you have opened a jar of sauerkraut if you are not going to make something else with it in the next day or so you can portion it up and freeze it for later use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red Cabbage

A few years ago on one of my  visits to The Netherlands to stay with my Dutch friend, we had a super meal which included a delicious dish of red cabbage that had been cooked with apples.

I thought then that I did not remember my mother ever cooking red cabbage. When I came home I found recipes in both my Polish and English cookery books and tried out many of these.

The following recipe has been refined and altered and this one  with lots of apples and spices is the one  I now use all the time.

As it takes a long time to cook in a low oven or in a slow cooker, I tend to make a lot at once. It freezes and reheats well, so once made I divide it into small portions to freeze.

I think it goes well with roast pork loin and I usually make some before Christmas and serve it with roast pork loin during the holiday period.

Tip 1

Have a lemon ready after handling the chopped red cabbage as you will find your hands become stained blue/purple. Lemon juice will clear the stains away.  Another reason to make this dish in advance.

Tip 2 – Also Excellent as a Salad

I have discovered that this dish is also delicious when it is cold!   I now also serve this with cold meats and Polish style sausage.

Ingredients

  • 1 head of red cabbage
  • 3 or 4 large cooking apples
  • 1 onion – chopped fine
  • 1 or 2 garlic cloves – chopped fine (optional)
  • 6 tablespoons of soft brown sugar
  • 1 level teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • ¼ level teaspoon of ground cloves
  • Salt & ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons of cider or wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons of water

IMG_20151206_091850279

Method

  • Pre heat the oven to GM 2 or get your slow cooker ready..
  • You need a large oven-proof dish with a lid to make this.  I either use a very large oval enamel dish or I have now started to use a slow cooker.
  • I mix the ingredients in a large bowl first  and then put them in the cooking dish.
  • Mix together the sugar, spices, salt and pepper, vinegar and water.

IMG_20151206_074532421

  • Remove the core from the cabbage head and cut the cabbage into fine shreds and add these to the spice mixture.

IMG_20151206_075201568

IMG_20151206_094337683

  • Peel, core  and then coarse grate the apples and then add these to the cabbage mixture. Mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon.

IMG_20151206_100124343

  • Put the mixture into the cooking dish (or slow cooker) and put in the oven (or switch on the slow cooker).

IMG_20151206_100200501

  • It should take about  3-4 hours  – it may take longer in the slow cooker.
IMG_20151206_165436551
Red Cabbage Ready to Serve
IMG_20151206_165429509
Serving Dish is Cadiz by Meakin from the 1970s

IMG_20151206_165348782

Carrot and Apple Salad

When cooking was more seasonal, this was a very popular salad in the late summer and autumn after the apple harvest.

Nowadays with better storage methods, this is a salad you can make all year round.

IMG_20151105_170540010
Serving Dish is Royal Doulton, Carnation 1982 – 1998

The following will make enough for 2 people as a side dish  – use the ratio of 2 to 3 carrots to 1 small or medium eating apple if you want to make more.

Organic carrots may have the edge here for taste but regular ones will still be good.

Use sweet and tasty eating apples such as: Jazz, Pink Lady or Cox’s orange pippins.

IMG_20151105_165014343

Ingredients

2 carrots

1 eating apple

1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

Juice of half a lemon

IMG_20151105_165002452

Method

Peel the carrots and grate them using a coarse grater into a bowl.

IMG_20151105_165441999

Cut the apple into quarters and remove the seed case.

Hold the apple by the skin and grate the flesh,

also using the coarse grater,  into the bowl.

Discard the apple skin.

Sprinkle the mixture with the sugar and add the lemon juice.

IMG_20151105_170519009

Mix everything together, place into a serving dish and serve.

IMG_20151105_170511663

Note

If you do not have any apples then just carrots with the sugar and lemon juice are also good.

Cabbage Salad

Fresh cabbage features in many salads in Poland, the following much loved version can be made throughout the year.

In English the word coleslaw is used for a cabbage salad – this word is from the Dutch koolsla –  kool – cabbage,  sla – salad.

IMG_20150719_092859028

Ingredients

IMG_20150719_075848353

IMG_20150826_153305083
I like to use Light or Original
  • 1 or 2 carrots
  • Hard white cabbage – around a quarter or half a medium one
  • 1 eating apple – red skinned is nice for colour
  • 1 onion – I like to use a red one for colour
  • Mayonnaise
  • Lemon juice – optional
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

I always start by grating the carrot using a large grater and then cut the cabbage into fine strands so that I have equal quantities of orange and white.  Put these into a large mixing bowl.

IMG_20150719_075813054

I find that 1 carrot is often enough for the amount I need. In the photo below 2 carrots were used to make a larger amount of salad.

IMG_20150719_081639225_HDR

  • Chop the onion into small pieces and add this to the bowl.
  • Grate the apple including the skin and add this to the bowl.
  • Add several tablespoons of mayonnaise and mix well to coat the mixture.
  • You might want to add a little lemon juice to make the mayonnaise a little thinner.
  • Add some salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve with cold smoked Polish style meats or sausage or with a hot roast or casserole as a good contrast.

IMG_20150719_092914473