Choucroute en croûte. Sauerkraut in a crust. Hey, why not ? That’s a really nice on a chilly night, with hot spices and it’s quite light actually.
Yes, that’s this month’s Daring Cook’s challenge.
Our lovely Monkey Queen of Don’t Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys, was our May Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to dive into the world of en Croute! We were encouraged to make Beef Wellington, Stuffed Mushroom en Croute and to bring our kids into the challenge by encouraging them to create their own en Croute recipes!
I didn’t have the courage for a Welly. I didn’t even took the time to make a classic pie pastry. No, I couldn’t use some bought pastry as I am stubbornly against the principle of buying it. OK, I could make exceptions easily in France as they sell quality doughs, usually too expensive for what it is, but good in taste. The *products* they sell in Japan are really very bad. The last time I tried to buy some, I have not eaten it. So I’ve taken shortcuts :
Sauerkraut rinsed and reheated in red wine. I’ve added to it onion cooked in a little oil, pepper, nutmeg, spice mix and potato starch to absorb excess liquid. Let cool.
The dough is flour with spices (turmeric, ajowan, salt) and hot water.
To make it flaky, there are 2 layers of dough. I oiled all around with a brush.
Locked with cloves. Then baked till it sounds hollow and gets a nice color.
Serve hot. Break the piñata…