By Deliciously Ella.
This crunchy, juicy, sour ferment is a delicious way to look after your gut. Raw cabbage is fermented in its own brine which transforms it into a probiotic and fibre-filled sauerkraut.
Probiotics boost your gut’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals, we love adding sauerkraut to our meals to aid digestion. It’s great on toast with hummus as either a snack or light lunch and it makes a wonderful addition to salads like our sauerkraut salad bowl.
Sauerkraut is also a great source of fibre. With about 4g per serving, adding a spoonful to a meal is a quick and easy way to boost your intake.
Although it takes a few weeks to ferment, we view sauerkraut as the ultimate convenience food. Keeping a jar in your fridge means you will always have a crunchy, nutrient dense vegetable to add to any meal.
Ingredients
1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped (there is no need to peel it)
1 small clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 standard head of red cabbage, core removed and finely sliced, outer leaves reserved
1 eating apple, core removed and grated
4 teaspoons of fine sea salt
You will also need one medium sized Kilner jar.
Method
1. Put the ginger and garlic in a blender along with 3-4 tablespoons of water. Blend until you have a slurry with no large chunks remaining.
2. Put the cabbage and apple in a large bowl, pour over the ginger and garlic slurry and sprinkle over the salt. Massage the mixture, being very vigorous. Use your fists to press down and pick up handfuls to squeeze. It will release its own brine as you massage it and you want to extract as much as possible as this is the liquid it will ferment in. If you’re worried it’s not releasing enough liquid then keep going – this process usually takes between 10-15 minutes.
3. Put the sauerkraut into your jar and pour over all of the brine. You want all the solid vegetable bits to be submerged under the liquid or they may grow white mould. Top with the reserved outer cabbage leaves. (If you have forgotten to save these you can use a piece of parchment paper). If it does start to grow mould then scrape it all off – the underneath part will still be completely safe to eat.
4. Place in a dark place for 1 – 3 weeks to allow it to ferment. (The back of a kitchen cupboard is ideal). Sauerkraut is safe to eat at every stage of the fermentation process so when it’s done depends largely on personal preference. Taste it every few days and, when you’re happy with it, place the jar in the fridge to halt the fermentation process.
Once refrigerated, your sauerkraut will keep well for up to six months.
Sauerkraut Salad Bowl
Here we pair our red cabbage, apple & ginger sauerkraut with fresh veggies and rice for a healthy and satisfying meal.
Ingredients
For the maple tahini dressing:
1 tablespoon of tahini
1 teaspoon of maple syrup
Juice of ½ a lemon
Salt, to taste
For the salad:
1 portion of cooked brown rice
1 large handful of fresh spinach
1 eating apple, julienned
1 serving of sauerkraut
To serve, optional:
Sesame seeds
Pomegranate seeds
Method
1. For the dressing whisk together the tahini, maple syrup and lemon juice, with a splash of water, until smooth. Season with salt to taste.
2. Place the cooked brown rice, spinach, apple and sauerkraut in a bowl, drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with the sesame and pomegranate seeds if desired. Eat immediately.
