AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DISHES: #6 GERMANY: BRATWURST MIT SAUERKRAUT

In honour of a recent World Cup win - I'm cooking some German cuisine this week!

And where would German cuisine be without the humble Bratwurst - so I decided it has to be the classic bratwurst & sauerkraut - served with potatoes with bacon. 

Ingredients:
1 pack of good quality Bratwursts
Butter
1 Granny Smith apple
Light brown sugar
Dark brown sugar
1 large onion
Potatoes
Bacon (not pictured below)
Sauerkraut
Salt & Pepper
Brown Beer/Ale
Balsamic Vinegar

Take a couple of cups worth of sauerkraut from the jar and rinse thoroughly and drain, then thinly slice up half the onion and apple. in a frying pan add 3 tablespoons of butter and melt - then add the onion, fry for a minute before adding the sauerkraut and apple - when these start to soften add a sprinkling of the light brown sugar & a good grind of pepper and add a glug or 2 of beer (you can enjoy the rest of the beer either whilst you cook or served with the meal itself). Turn heat down low and cover - this should cook for 30-40 mins, check and stir occasionally making sure it isn't drying out & sticking to the pan.

Slice up your potatoes about 1/4 inch thick, and dice the bacon and remainder of the onion. Cook the bacon pieces and onion in a pan, adding a few tablespoons worth of balsamic vinegar. Then add the sliced potatoes with a sprinke of salt (not too much as the bacon will be salty too) and a teaspoon of dark brown sugar - finally add a small dash of water, cover and turn to a low heat. As with the Sauerkraut this will need to be checked and stirred occasionally to ensure it isnt sticking - if it is - then add another dash more water. This will need 20-30 mins or until the potatoes are cooked through.

Last but not least - you will need to put on the Bratwursts - using a large frying pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and put in the Bratwursts - turn to coat the Brats in the butter and add a cup of water - keep at a medium temp, so they cook in the water as is evaporates, top up the water whenever it is about to run dry and turn occationally - after 20 mins, let the water evaporate and brown in the remaining butter.

Plate up your sauerkraut, potatoes & bacon, and 1 or 2 bratwursts (being a Greedy Mancunian I went for 2) - serve with a dollop of wholegrain or brown mustard & a couple of slices of sourdough bread & butter.

Wunderbar!

Countries to go: 74

Countries done:

#1 Peru

#2 Oman

#3 Malta

#4 Sweden

#5 Botswana

#6 Germany

Keep following the Greedy Mancunians to see what country I 'visit' next!  

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DISHES: #5 BOTSWANA: SESWAA WITH BOGOBE

I now take a turn in my trip towards Africa and the country of Botwana....

What culinary delights will I find here..... only a tasty beef dish called Seswaa with cornmeal porridge (Bogobe) and served with traditional carrot and cabbage side! So join me now as I lead you through how to make this exciting meal.

Ingredients:

Seswaa:
1 pack of diced beef
1 onion peeled & quartered
2 cloves of garlic halved
Salt
4 Bay leaves
water to cover

Bogobe:
Cormeal (fine)
Beef stock
Salt & Pepper

Carrot and Cabbage Botswanan Style:
1 large tomato (or several small ones)
1 Onion
2 carrots
Powdered Ginger
Thyme
Chilli flakes
White cabbage

Pop the beef, onion, garlic & bay leaves in a large casserole pot (I went for an orange one, but any coloured pot will do) - season with a good dose of salt and cover with water - put a lid on and put in the oven at about 160C for 4hrs stir occasionally and if it is drying out too much add a little more water.
about half hour before your beef is done then its time to prepare the rest of the dish.

 next up is the Bogobe - make up a pan of beef stock (500ml) slowly add the cornmeal - stirring or whisking continuously to avoid it going too lumply (mine was a little lumpy - see pic below - but was just about acceptable). Add enough of the cornmeal until it becomes the consistency of thick porridge.

Turn down the heat and let it simmer for 15-20 mins.

Slice up the carrots, cabbage and onion, and finely chop the tomato.

In a frying pan fry the onion and tomato in a little oil for 4-5 minutes then add the carrot and cabbage.

Add 2 teaspoons of the ginger, half a teaspoon of the chilli flakes and a tablespoon of thyme. Add salt to taste.

Ok - now get that beef out of the oven & remove the bay leaves - using a slotted spoon scoop out the beef and onion and then pound with a big spoon - the beef should break apart and look flaked.

Finally its time to plate up! Pop a big dollop of the Bogobe on a plate followed by a large spoonfull (or 2) of the Seswaa beef and add some of the cabbage and carrots on the side. Press play on your favourite traditional African music CD and bring your dish to the table.

Enjoy!

Countries to go: 75

Countries done:

#1 Peru

#2 Oman

#3 Malta

#4 Sweden

#5 Botswana

Keep following the Greedy Mancunians to see what country I 'visit' next!  

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DISHES: #4 SWEDEN - SWEDISH MEATBALLS (KOTTBULLAR)

Its time to put on the Abba CD and assemble some Ikea furniture - yes..... that's right I'm off to Sweden this week on my culinary adventure.

There is only 1 choice that springs to mind really for Sweden, and that's meatballs, here's what you'll need to cook traditional Swedish meatballs (or Kottbullar as they like to call them):

500g of minced pork/beef mixed (about 60% pork & 40% beef)

1/2 cup of milk

3/4 cup of white breadcrumbs

1 onion

1 egg

salt

white pepper

ground allspice

fresh dill

cranberry sauce

shredded cabbage

potatoes

butter

plain flour

500ml beef stock

Firstly to make the meatballs, peel and finely chop the onion (i used my new Kenwood mini chopper to whiz it up into finely chopped pieces) then gently fry in butter - once softened put in a mixing bowl with the beef & pork mince mixed together. Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk and when fully absorbed add to the mixing bowl, then add the egg, salt & pepper to season, and a couple of teaspoons of allspice. Finally add a good handfull of finely chopped fresh dill & mix together until all the ingredients are blended together nicely - if it is a bit too wet to make meatballs out of, then add a little more mince or dry breadcrumbs. (usefull tip - use a bigger mixing bowl than the one pictured below - I had to do a transfer as it was a tad too full!)

Meanwhile peel and put on some potatoes to boil in salted water for the mash. You can now make up your meatballs - I made 8 per person and they were about the size of pingpong balls.

Melt some butter in a large frying pan with a little oil and fry the meatballs for about 5-10 minutes until all sides are nicely browned. Remove balls from the pan and rest on a plate whilst you make the sauce. take off the heat - melt a bit more butter in the pan and add 2 tablespoons of plain flour stir until all the butter and juices in the pan have made a paste (add a little more butter or oil if needs be). A little at a time, add and stir/whisk in the beef stock until it has the consistency of a thick sauce. Add a blob or 2 of cranberry sauce and stir in. Put the meatballs back in the pan and turn down to a low heat to simmer.

Whilst the meatballs finish off, make up some creamy mash with plenty of fresh chopped dill. Shred some cabbage (i used savoy) and fry with some white pepper, salt and butter in a separate frying pan. 

to serve - dollop on a good helping of mash onto a plate, add couple of spoonfulls of the cabbage and then ladle on the meatballs and sauce.

Enjoy!

Countries to go: 76

Countries done:

#1 Peru

#2 Oman

#3 Malta

#4 Sweden

Keep following the Greedy Mancunians to see what country I 'visit' next!