Oh, you’ll want to hear this: Choucroute Royal
Also a fan of sauerkraut? Then we have fantastic news. Because the wonderful choucroute (in simple terms, French for sauerkraut) from Choucrouterie can now be ordered at home too!
I love choucroute. Whenever I see it on a menu, I order it straight away. Whether it’s a very fancy version, like the one I once ate at the former Restaurant Halvemaan in Amsterdam Buitenveldert, or the authentic but much more intense version in Alsace at Kammerzell Hause.
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- Choucroute easy bij Halvemaan
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- Choucroute die hard in de Elzas
A dish of mythical proportions
In Alsace (the French region very close to Germany), choucroute is truly the number-one local dish. Here, the sauerkraut isn’t served, as it is here, in a mash (also delicious!), but eaten separately with (lots of!) meat, sometimes fish (such as smoked trout), and always a boiled potato. Loosen your belt by one notch (or two) straight away when you order choucroute in Alsace, because this really is a sauerkraut dish of mythical proportions, piled high with mountains of fish, pork and goose, sausages, cured pork belly, poultry, game and potatoes.
Choucroute for home
Choucrouterie, which we’ve already written about enthusiastically, is the unique sauerkraut pop-up that pays tribute to the winter classic. Samuel Levie, co-founder of Brandt&Levie, loves choucroute just as much as I do: “As far as we’re concerned, sauerkraut is the most comforting winter food. And we need comfort! Choucrouterie serves sauerkraut the way we like to eat it ourselves: slowly braised in lard (or butter for the vegetarians) until it starts to caramelise, with delicious extras such as smoked bacon, sausage and mash just as it should be. With plenty of butter. All the meat in this menu comes from animals that have had a good life!” And delicious it is! You can now order this for home.
With and without meat
The choucroute comes with mashed potatoes as standard. Choucroute Royal (€16.50) comes with frankfurters and crispy bacon from Brandt&Levie. Prefer a vegetarian choucroute? That’s possible! The Vegetarian Choucroute Royal (€15.50) is a plate of heavenly comfort food with roasted celeriac and parsnip. You can order via Deliveroo. Have it with an Alsatian wine, preferably a Riesling or a Sylvaner. But the blonde beers from the region are also a perfect pairing!
And would you like to make an amazing choucroute yourself? Then we have a delicious choucroute recipe for you from FavorFlav’s Marcus.
Header image: Saskia van Osnabrugge
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