Potato and Kraut Cakes

If you were to search for sauerkraut on this site, you will find only that this dish reminds me of something sauerkraut-like and this soup would be good served with a side of sauerkraut. This could mean that I haven’t made anything at all with sauerkraut in about 3 and a half years. The kraut drought ends now!

 

And how! (Sorry, I’ve been watching too many Three Stooges shorts.) These potato cakes are fabulous, and all the more so because they’re not served with sauerkraut. They are sauerkraut. In fact, by volume, there’s about the same amount of sauerkraut as there is grated potato. There’s so much sauerkraut in these potato cakes that they can’t help but be highly flavorful. 

 

I was also concerned that all that sauerkraut would not allow the potatoes to hold together in patty form, that they would be soggy and fall apart when flipped in the pan. A couple of things prevented that. First, the kraut should be squeezed dry before added to the potato mixture. The less liquid there is, the stickier the mixture can be.  Second, I made the patties smaller than suggested by the original recipe, which came from Food Network Magazine. Smaller cakes have less chance of being weak in the middle and I found that the smaller I made them, the easier they were to flip over in one piece. I made 6 or 7 patties from this mixture, and I think you could make even smaller ones, or tiny cakes to serve as appetizers.

 
I was really pleasantly surprised by the good, strong, well-balanced flavor of these potato-kraut patties. The starchy potato mellows the intensity of the sauerkraut even as the sauerkraut punches up the potatoes. The mustard was a bonus addition, one that wasn’t in the original recipe, but which I loved nonetheless. I also adapted the warm sauce in the original recipe into a simple sour cream and mustard garnish. Since I used a rather spicy mustard, the whole flavor experience was quite intense.

I could eat these potato cakes as a meal all alone (and I did bring a couple of them to work for lunch one day), but they’d be great alongside ham or kielbasa. They also were great with a side of bratwurst on a bun with even more sauerkraut. Indoor tailgate heaven, I think.

 

 

Potato and Sauerkraut Cakes

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

You can leave the skins on the potatoes or remove them as you wish. I found that as I grated the partially-cooked potatoes, most of the skin slipped off in one large piece.

¾ pound waxy potatoes (I used small red potatoes)

1 pound sauerkraut
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup finely chopped scallions
1 teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon spicy whole grain mustard

canola or vegetable oil for frying

 ¼ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons spicy whole grain mustard

1. Pierce the potato skins all over with a fork. Place them in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high power for about 3 minutes to partially cook. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

2. Meanwhile, rinse and drain the sauerkraut, squeezing out as much liquid as you can. Place the drained sauerkraut in a bowl.

3. Preheat oven to 200 F. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, grate them on the large holes of a box grater (skins and all if desired, although the skins are likely to come off in one piece and can then be discarded).  Add the grated potatoes to the bowl with the sauerkraut. Add the parsley, eggs, scallions, salt, pepper, flour and 1 tablespoon mustard. Stir together to combine.

4. Heat the oil in a large, preferably nonstick, skillet over medium heat. Form the potato mixture into 6 to 8 patties and fry in batches in the hot oil until brown on each side, about 15 minutes total. Remove from the pan with a spatula and keep warm in a 200 F. Oven until ready to serve.

5. Combine the sour cream and 2 tablespoons mustard and stir until smooth. Serve the potato cakes with a dollop of the sour cream mixture.

Makes 4-6 servings.

 

Another recipe like this one: Potato Patties with Fresh Cheese and Scallions