Grünkohl

Brassicas (“kohl” in German) are known to be some of the healthiest foods we can eat and what makes this even better in a climate such as ours, is that they can be grown into November. This gives us powerhouse energy and nutrition just when we start to lose daylight and become susceptible to seasonal contagions.

Grünkohl is a traditional dish and because Germans eat so much kale, it’s also seen as a national dish. In fact, kale should probably be that country's flower. It’s so well-loved that there are dozens of brands sold in cans, jars and frozen bricks.

You’re likely to find this kale dish in every brewhouse throughout that country and there's a good reason for that too: it’s exceptionally delicious with beer.

Feel free to make this as a vegan/vegetarian version by leaving out the meat and using either avocado oil or butter to fry the onions. You may miss the umami effect that meat provides, so use a vegetarian broth that has a higher percentage of tomato in the base.

Although many different styles and cuts of pork can be used simultaneously, mettwurst is most commonly used and its flavours meld beautifully with the cooked kale.

Mettwurst can be hard to find, but luckily, Dutch Groceries on Clyde Avenue carries a good example and the price is very reasonable: just $7.50 for one large sausage ring.

Once done the kale will have taken on the savoury flavours of the slightly smoked mettwurst, and the sausage will have become plump, exploding with salty goodness.

Ingredients 

For 4 people

• Two bunches of regular kale washed and destemmed (discard stems) then chopped.

• Two medium red onions finely chopped

• Four large white potatoes, peeled and cubed to medium-sized pieces

• Two mettwurst sausage rings (string removed)

• One litre of vegetable stock

• Two bay leaves

• ½ whole nutmeg (freshly grated)

• Salt and pepper

• Three tablespoons duck/chicken fat or butter or avocado oil

Preparation

• Add fat/oil to a large preheated pot

• Once melted, add the chopped onions and saute until lightly browned

• Add the chopped kale and allow to wilt by a third, stirring periodically. Do not allow kale to brown

• Add the vegetable broth and bay leaves and simmer on low for 45 minutes

• After 45 minutes, remove the bay leaves and puncture the skin of the mettwurst(s) with a fork on both sides and add them to the pot

• Add the cubed potatoes

• Let simmer for 90 minutes, turning the sausages every 30 minutes or so

• After two+ hours your kale should be soft and the liquid almost entirely evaporated. If longer cooking is required, add small amounts of water and cover the pot with the lid

• Once all the liquid has cooked off, taste the kale and season with freshly grated nutmeg and pepper. The sausage gives off a fair amount of salt so it may not be required but you’ll want to test this for yourself

• After seasoning, remove the mettwurst and give the pot a stir to incorporate the elements

• Plate the kale potato stew into shallow bowls and top with sliced rounds of sausage

• This is a complete meal that feeds four