Pork and Kraut

Once upon a time, I looked around the kitchen, stumped about what to make for dinner. Shelves, countertops, refrigerator, and freezer held a disparate collection of ingredients: a drying corner of cheddar, a smelly crock of fermented sauerkraut, a can of peas and carrots, and a collection of pork cuts. Without knowing what I was doing, I assembled a German take on smothered pork chops.

The recipe has so many ingredients, it’ll be easy to omit those that violate your special diet.

This has what it takes to anchor your stomach after a long day farming and immediately appealed to my kids. On a cold winter’s night, it’ll make you sing “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly.”

Sauerkraut Chops

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

3-4 pork chops
2 cups undrained sauerkraut
1 tsp caraway seed
2 thin-sliced onions
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp nutmeg
3 TBSP sherry
1 c milk
1/3 c flour (choose your favorite type, replace with 2 TBSP cornstarch, or forego thickener)
about 2 cups peas and carrots, fresh, canned, frozen, or a combination
1 c shredded cheese

Brown chops.

Add kraut, caraway, onions, seasonings, sherry.

Simmer 15 minutes.

Blend and add milk and flour. Simmer, covered, until chops are cooked, about 30 minutes.

Add peas and carrots and cheese and stir until blended and heated through.