Sweet and sour(kraut)

Recently, I put together two seemingly disparate foods -- sweet potatoes and saurkraut -- and it worked! If you wonder why anyone would even think to try such a thing, read on.

My Dad was an Army officer and I spent my toddler-hood in Frankfurt, Germany. My brother and I ate a lot of bratwurst while we were there, often paired with pickled cabbage by our housekeeper and cook, Johanna. Later in life, I encountered the Reuben sandwich -- chock-full of corned beef and saurkraut -- at a Jewish deli and it became a favorite of mine for a few years.

Now, of course, I eat neither bratwurst nor corned beef, so how do I get my saurkraut fix? I eat it straight out of the jar, or combine it with non-meat foods. Here, I braised some slices of sweet potato in olive oil and added some saurkraut just before I hit the pan with a splash of white wine and put on the lid. Added a good bit of freshly ground pepper (using the pepper grinder my mother bought in Frankfurt and bequeathed to me), and it was good. The sweet of the tuber and the sour of the kraut made a very satisfying combination.

If I'd had a package of tempeh on hand, I'd have topped this dish with toasted tempeh cubes. A bit of a crunch would have made a nice texture contrast.

Saurkraut is a health food, you know. It delivers friendly bacteria to the digestive tract to keep things processing smoothly. It's a live food, like miso and yogurt, and a few bites can help settle a queasy stomach. Some brands are really salty, but this is easily remedies. Just rinse the kraut briefly and drain well before adding it to the dish.

Blessings and bon appetit!

vegetarian food cooking saurkraut sweet potato