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You're probably familiar with sauerkraut. But how about choucroute? Same difference. Well, almost. Choucroute is just the French name for it -- so much sexier than sauerkraut, which sounds like a disgruntled German person.
The name choucroute (I'm wedded to its French nomenclature, living as I do in Alsace) indicates not only the raw material -- smooth white cabbage finely shredded and salted -- but also to the famous dish, a mountain of steaming cabbage which comes tottering under the weight of sundry sausages, smoked pork meats, potatoes and the occasional liver dumpling.
Choucroute is one of those classic, seasonal preserves that was traditionally put up in the fall to last the whole winter. To make it, a special variety of tightly packed white cabbage known as quintal d'Alsace is finely shredded and layered with coarse salt in large containers. The action of the salt on the sugars in the cabbage produces liberal quantities of lactic acid, which rise up and completely cover the cabbage, excluding the air and enabling the choucroute to be stored for several months without spoilage.
DIY or purchased choucroute
Though a few households in Alsace still make their own in special barrels or crocks stored in the cellar, most people nowadays buy it readymade -- fermented, but still raw. I get it from my local butcher, who sells it in a little green bucket. It's a neat idea, because at the same time he sells me a selection of his homemade knacks (think frankfurters), Montbéliards (smoked pork sausages), lard salé or fumé (salted or smoked bacon) and schiffala or collet (smoked pork shoulder or neck) to go with it.
I have to confess to a special relationship with choucroute. Some 20 years ago, when I was researching my book "A Taste of Alsace," I went to visit chef Roger Fischer of the Restaurant Studerhof in the small village of Bettlach, and shared with him my particular interest in this most emblematic of Alsatian foods. He generously bestowed on me two recipes: one for a classic choucroute garnie, another for a fabulous quiche à la choucroute (see below).
Society for pickled cabbage
Soon I discovered that Monsieur Fischer was a founding member of the Confrérie de la Choucroute, a sort of society for the preservation of pickled cabbage. The French have Confréries or Brotherhoods for just about any food or drink featured in the Larousse Gastronomique, and a few that are not. These societies provide a wonderful opportunity for the members to commission and wear some splendid robes and swear undying loyalty to the food or drink in question.
Imagine my delight and honor when I later received an invitation to join the august ranks of the Confrérie de la Choucroute as a Choucroutier d'Honneur (honorary choucroutier). The date of the next intronisation (enthronement) was set, and along I went, together with other aspiring choucroutiers. We were greeted by members of the Confrérie, clad in floor-length emerald green robes and black three-cornered hats, each one wearing a magnificent chain of office with an ornate metal badge showing a steaming plate of choucroute surmounted by an Alsatian headdress.
The ceremony began, and one by one we filed up to the front. Chef Roger raised his polished wooden pole (which looked remarkably like a baseball bat) and touched each one of us on both shoulders, rather as the Queen does to aspiring knights (only she uses a sword). We all had to swear undying loyalty to the choucroute cause, promising to eat it at least once a year and to lose no opportunity to vaunt its considerable virtues.
Which is what I'm doing now, with this recipe from Roger Fischer of the Restaurant Studerhof. It's great for using up any choucroute garnie leftovers -- a reliable feature in Alsatian households, small portions being uncommon in this hospitable region of France.
Quiche à la Choucroute
Sauerkraut Quiche
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
200g / 7 ounces puff pastry
100g / 4 ounces smoked fatty bacon, diced small
100g / 4 ounces salted side pork, diced small
4 eggs
300ml / a generous cup of milk
200ml / a scant cup of heavy cream
salt and pepper
800g / 1¾ pounds cooked choucroute (left over from a choucroute garnie, or vacuum-packed, or canned)
Directions
- Roll out the pastry and line a 12 inch-diameter quiche pan.
- Fry the diced bacon and side pork gently in a heavy pan without extra fat till the fat runs.
- Lift bacon and pork out of pan and drain on paper towels.
- Mix together the eggs, milk, cream, salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt: the choucroute is heavily salted).
- Stir in the fried bacon and pork.
- Squeeze any excess moisture out of the choucroute and add choucroute to the eggs and bacon/pork.
- Heat the oven to 420 F.
- Pour the filling into the pastry case and bake the quiche for at least 45 minutes or until set, golden and lightly puffed.
- Serve warm.
Sue Style is the author of numerous books, including A Taste of Alsace and Alsace Gastronomique. She lives in the Sundgau, close to the borders with both Switzerland and Germany, where she feasts on choucroute and other Alsatian specialties.
Photo: Quiche a la Choucroute. Credit: Nicole Fischer
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