Stewed cabbage with sausages is an option for an easy-to-prepare, yet hearty and tasty dinner. In Germany, this dish is very popular and is served even in the most sophisticated restaurants of the national cuisine.
Features of cooking stewed cabbage with sausages
Stewed cabbage with sausages is a dish that has gained popularity not only in Germany and some other European countries, but also in Russia, due to its simplicity in preparation and availability of products. At the same time, it turns out to be unusually tasty, satisfying. Stewed cabbage contains a lot of vitamins, mineral compounds, fiber, necessary for the normal functioning of the digestive, cardiovascular and other systems of the body. If stewed cabbage can be considered as a side dish, then when sausages are added during cooking, it becomes a full-fledged dish.
To make the cabbage tasty and juicy, you need to adhere to some rules. It should be stewed in a cast iron bowl with thick walls and a bottom. Heavy stainless steel braziers are also fine. Do not cut the cabbage too finely, as it becomes very boiled during the cooking process. Particular attention should be paid to the choice of the variety. Winter cabbage varieties are denser, while summer cabbage varieties are much softer and soften greatly during the stewing process.
Stewed cabbage with sausages
The classic recipe for stewed cabbage with sausages involves cooking in a cast iron saucepan or stewpan. To make the dish tasty, you will need:
- small cabbage forks (about 1 kg);
- 4-5 sausages;
- 1 large carrot;
- 1 onion;
- 2-3 st. l tomato paste;
- vegetable oil (preferably sunflower oil);
- a little salt;
- bay leaf.
Cooking steps:
- Thoroughly peel the onion and carrots. Chop the onion and grate the carrots. Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan or large cast-iron cauldron and fry carrots and onions on it for 2-3 minutes. Vegetables should only slightly brown and soften.
- Rinse the cabbage, remove the top leaves and cut off hard areas. Chop the forks carefully with a knife or a special shredder. The size of the stripes should be slightly larger than on the borscht, so that during the stewing process they retain their shape and do not boil completely. Put the cabbage in a cauldron and mix with slightly fried vegetables. Season with salt, add a little vegetable oil and, stirring, fry for about 5 minutes more.
- Dissolve the tomato paste in a glass of water and add to the saucepan. Close the lid and simmer the cabbage over low heat for about 40 minutes. During this time, you need to mix the vegetables several times. Cabbage will greatly decrease in volume.
- Free the sausages from the shell. When using sausages in natural casings, it is enough to simply rinse them. Cut them into slices and add to stewed vegetables, put a bay leaf in a saucepan. Continue simmering under a closed lid for another 5-10 minutes.
Arrange the finished dish on portioned plates. You can complement it with fresh vegetables or a light salad.
Stewed sauerkraut with sausages
When adding sauerkraut, the dish acquires a very interesting taste. To prepare it you will need:
- 460 g fresh cabbage;
- 400 g sauerkraut;
- 4-5 sausages;
- 1 large carrot;
- 3 onions;
- 2-3 st. l thick tomato paste;
- vegetable oil (preferably sunflower oil);
- a little salt;
- spice.
Cooking steps:
- Rinse fresh cabbage, cut off tough areas from the leaves, and then chop the vegetable into not too small strips. Salt the cabbage and knead it with your hands. This is necessary for its softening and reduction in volume. Rinse the sauerkraut and squeeze it out, provided that its taste seems sour. If the cabbage has been fermented recently, you do not need to rinse it.
- Peel the onions and carrots carefully. Cut the onion into thin half rings, and grate the carrots coarsely. Free the sausages from the shell and cut into slices. Can be used for cooking and sausages, but in this case they must first be cut in half, and then across into thin slices.
- In a separate frying pan, fry the onions and carrots in vegetable oil until softened. Add sauerkraut and sausages (or sausages) to the pan, sprinkle with a little spices and fry for another 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Pour a little sunflower oil into a cast-iron cauldron, put fresh cabbage and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The cabbage should be juiced, but additional liquid is needed to stew. Dissolve tomato paste in a glass of water and pour into a cauldron, then close the lid and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
- Put the contents of the pan into a cauldron, mix everything well and cook under a closed lid for another 15 minutes. Serve the finished dish hot.
Stewed cabbage with sausages and tomatoes in the oven
To make the stewed cabbage even more delicious, you can cook it in the oven. This will require:
- small cabbage forks (about 1 kg);
- 5 sausages;
- 1 large carrot;
- 2 onions;
- 2 ripe tomatoes;
- half a small zucchini;
- 2-3 st. l tomato paste;
- 2 tbsp sour cream;
- vegetable oil (preferably sunflower oil);
- a little salt and spices;
- a bunch of greens (dill and parsley);
- bay leaf.
Cooking steps:
- Rinse the cabbage forks, cut off the tough parts of the leaves, remove damaged areas. Chop it into large enough strips. Cut the onion and peeled carrots with a knife. Young carrots are better suited for this recipe. It can be cut into circles.
- Peel the zucchini, remove the seeds and pulp, and cut it into cubes. For tomatoes in the area of the stalk, make cuts and scald with boiling water, then remove the skin and cut into cubes.
- Put the heat-resistant cauldron on the stove, pour a little vegetable oil on the bottom and fry the onion and carrots in it for 2-3 minutes. Put sausages, cut into circles, tomatoes and zucchini in a bowl, salt, add a little spice. Ground black pepper or a little caraway is perfect. Simmer the vegetables over low heat for about 5 minutes, then put the chopped cabbage, mix everything and fry, stirring regularly, for 5-7 minutes.
- Dissolve tomato paste and sour cream in a glass of water and pour into a cauldron. The liquid should reach about half the contents of the cauldron or even higher. Add chopped greens, bay leaf.
- Close the lid and place the cauldron in a preheated oven. Cook at 180 ° C for about 45 minutes.
Stewed cabbage with sausages and mushrooms
Adding mushrooms to the stew makes this homemade dish even more delicious. To prepare it you will need:
- 800 g of fresh white cabbage;
- 4-5 sausages;
- 1 large carrot;
- 200 g of champignons (can be replaced with forest mushrooms);
- 2 onions;
- 1, 5 glasses of tomato juice;
- 1 tbsp sugar;
- vegetable oil (preferably sunflower oil);
- a little salt;
- spice.
Cooking steps:
- Remove tough leaves from cabbage and chop it slightly larger than for borscht. Peel carrots and onions. Finely chop the onion and grate the carrots. Rinse the champignons, peel and cut each mushroom into 2-4 pieces. Free the sausages from the shell and cut into circles.
- Fry the carrots and onions in a cast-iron cauldron or dish with a thick bottom and walls until soft and golden brown. If you fry vegetables in unrefined sunflower oil, the taste of the dish will be more original.
- Put mushrooms, sausages in a cauldron, add a little salt, add spices. Fry for 3 minutes, and then add fresh cabbage. Cook with the lid open and add a little more oil for about 5 minutes.
- Add sugar to tomato juice, stir and pour into a cauldron. Close the lid and cook on low heat for about 45 minutes.
The sausages in this recipe can be replaced with hunting sausages. They will add spice to the dish. You can also add water or tomato juice during the preparation process, if you want to make it more juicy and increase the amount of gravy.
