Kale Season starts tonight!

While fall continues, the temperatures sink and the sky most times is hued in grey, here in Northern Germany, many start to have an appetite for kale. Traditionally it is cooked first after the first night frosts, we had those in the last days, so I needed to stock my freezer with 3 kilograms of this jummy vegetable.

I´ll cook it today, because we invited my Mom in law over for tomorrow evening to have the 1st of this years "Gruenkohlessen" and this dish tates best warmed up again, we think.

For those of you, who´d like to know my recipe, here we go, but bear in mind, that some of the ingredients are very "German", it depends on where you live, perhaps you have a vendor nearby, who sells German specialities. If you cannot get any of the recommended suasages, any smoked sausages will do, I guess. Some people also add pork belly (pure or smoked) to their kale dish, but I don´t like this sort of meat that much, at least it´s pure fat, isn´t it?
Traditionally salt potatos are served as side dish, plus, and here comes one reason, why this dish is a good reason for family and friends to meet: a jigger of good, ice cold Korn schnaps or aquavit is the traditional degestive for the adults. Serve chilled beer or Water as drinks.


Green Cabbage Recipe
(a quite fast/easy but jummy one by my Granny)


makes 8 - 10 servings

You´ll need:

3 kg kale (fresh or deep frozen, personally I don´t like the canned one)
3-4 big onions
500 - 600 g smoked pork chop - depends on how much you like it ;)
6-8 groats sausages ( you can do without them, if you prefer)
6-8 boilded Mettwurst sausages or scalded sausages
2/3 cup of oat groats
1 l vegetable stock ( no shame to take instant)
1/4 cup vegetable oil or marge
2 table spoons mustard4 bay leafes
2 tea spoons allspice
salt, black pepper and additional allspice for seasoning

How to:1. Chop the onions in fine dices, roast them gently in heated oil in a big Dutch oven. Fresh kale of course also needs to be finely chopped. After a few minutes, just before the onions get brown, add the kale and stir while it is roasting. Put the lid on the oven and let it simmer at medium heat for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the vegetable stock, oat groats, bay leafs, allspice and the mustard, stir until everything is mixed up well and put on the lid again. Let simmer for another 10 -15 minutes.

3. You now can slice the smoked pork chop, dice it or leave it as it is, just as you like. Add the chop, all sausages (groats and Mettwurst ones) fold all in and let boil the cabbage for the next 30 mites. The groats sausages might blow out sometimes, but that´s ok ;)
4. Meanwhile you should prepare and cook enough salt potatos for your servings, cool the Schnaps and decorate the dining table. Dont forget to check your kale and stir it from time to time to prevent it from scorching.

5. After 30 minutes check if the kale is done and season the dish wit salt, pepper, additional allspice and if you like, some splashes of Worcester sauce (but thats not traditional, I guess ;) ).

6. If you had left the chop in one piece you should slice it now.

7. Serve the kale hot, either in the Dutch oven with the meat and sausages still in it, or in a bowl and the meat and sausages on a seperate plate.


"Guten Appetit"

cheers
Mone