Sauerkraut with Apple and Onion

(pictured: Mashed Potato and Cauliflower with Sauerkraut, Apple and Onion)

Sauerkraut is a traditional Thanksgiving side dish where I live in Baltimore, Maryland. I think it is because there was a sizable German population. In fact both my family and my husband’s family have German heritage even though it is the Italian side of my family that relate to the most.

I adore sauerkraut, I could eat it everyday and never tire of it. My husband on the other hand is not thrilled with sauerkraut. After asking many questions I discovered that he didn’t like the saltiness. I started soaking the sauerkraut in fresh water to remove some of the salt and it worked; now my hubby likes sauerkraut. Had it not been for my hubby I wouldn’t have tried to remove the salt but now I like it better this way and feel good knowing it is better for us.

Sauerkraut with Apple and Onion
Makes 8 servings about ½ cup each

Ingredients:

4 cups sauerkraut
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon water
1 apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 cup vegetables stock (or water)
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Drain the sauerkraut in a wire colander. Drop the colander (including sauerkraut) in a big bowl of water. Allow the sauerkraut to stand in the water while you cook the onions, then drain. This removes a lot of the sodium from the sauerkraut making it more heart healthy.

Water sauté the onions in 2 tablespoons of water until soft. Add the sliced apple, vegetable stock (or water), rinsed and drained sauerkraut, and caraway stock to the pot and simmer until the apple is soft.

Before serving taste the sauerkraut for seasoning and add black pepper and salt if desired.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 29.28
Calories From Fat (6%) - 1.67

Total Fat - 0.19g
Saturated Fat - 0.03g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 220.2mg
Potassium - 148.24mg
Total Carbohydrates - 6.41g
Fiber - 2.55g
Sugar - 3.06g
Protein - 0.88g

The sodium number is overstated since I used the package numbers and didn’t reduce them. The sodium has been reduced by soaking the sauerkraut in water (it tastes less salty), but since I didn’t know by how much, I used the sodium number per the package nutritional information to be more conservative.

Comments:

I like to have sauerkraut as a snack with a small amount of baked or mashed potato. If you have it with the half potato half cauliflower mash it is even a healthier snack. What I like about this snack is that it is filling but is low calorie, low fat and has a decent amount of fiber, and I really like the taste of this sauerkraut.