Choucroute en croûte

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…

Matelotte de truite ayu

A matelotte is a French river fish stew, with a creamy wine sauce. It’s out of fashion now, which is a shame. It’s really delicious. Well you need good river fish. When I was a kid, we often had neighbors that were emptying their fish pond, and we had some more often that we wished. Now it’s a rarity.

Ayu is a type of small river trout. They are farmed, at least partially. It’s rarely if ever prepared this way.

Japanese ayu dish

I got a few that were a bit too large for Japanese style, but perfect for my purpose.

Garniture aromatique. Fresh veggies and herbs in butter. The sauce is based on white wine.

With lots of mushrooms.

You can have reasonably healthy side dishes. Pink sauerkraut.

Salade trévise (radicchio).

A good Sunday meal.

Quick and red, August borstch

That’s a simple borstch, for a day still too hot to cook much or too eat complicated. It’s totally different from this Winter soup. The fresh beet is very crunchy and fruity. The balance of sweet and sour is ideal.

With very few ingredients : beetroot and Sauerkraut.

I cut the bee-st. Stir-fried in olive oil with garlic and rosemary. Added a cup of beet juiced in dashi broth, a little nutmeg, black pepper, chili. Bring to a boil, that’s already ready :

Bloody !

It’s more reassuring with bits of green ?

Purple Sauerkraut in monk’s robe

A colorful wrap lunch.

A wheat tortilla colored with turmeric (curcuma). The South Asian monk’s robes too are traditionally dyed with this spice. I always loved the color of this powder. Now, it is thought to be very healthy.

DIY quick tortillas

The veggie mix or how to empty your fridge : sauerkraut, onion, leek, tomato paste, azuki beans and some snow peas.

Ready !

Mmmm….

a Summer choucroute

A choucroute (sauerkraut) salad for the hot days. It is so strong that it cleans beyond your sinuses, even your brain…
Yes : mustard + horseradish.

First let’s make mustard and horseradish condiment :

See this post.

Let’s make the Sauerkraut rémoulade :

Remoulade is a classic sauce made with… everything. There should be horseradish in it ? Or not. This one is yogurt based, flavored with the horse’n mustard, garnished with walnuts and raifort condiment.

A good side-dish for fleischnacka. It’s better to not input too much “fire” in the mix in the kitchen and propose to guests to add condiment or mustard at their taste.