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This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.It’s amazing how finding a good book can tantalize the taste buds and inspire new recipes. I just picked up, from my local library, The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. You can look up an ingredient, read a quick overview and then scan columns of other food items that pair well with the key ingredient. At the end of each list are “Flavor Affinities,” three or four items that pair especially well with the ingredient you are trying to match flavors with.
In the back of my mind, I’m always creating new flavors of sauerkraut and looking for new flavors to mix with the cabbage base. Since I use cranberries in my Christmas Sauerkraut, I first turned to the cranberry section and quickly came up with a new pairing for my Christmas Sauerkraut using pears and cardamon instead of the current apples and star anise. I’ll test that one this week.
Since some of my favorite sauerkraut recipes feature beets – Passion Pink Sauerkraut – I then checked out the listings for beets and created the two salad recipes shown below: Passion Pink Sauerkraut Salad with Gorgonzola Cheese and Hazelnuts and Passion Pink Sauerkraut Salad with Scallops and Parmesan Cheese. It was fun and quick.
You’ll have to be patient assembling the ingredients for these salads. The featured ingredient, Passion Pink Sauerkraut, takes just 10-15 minutes to make, but you’ll have to wait at least a week for it to first ferment.
I was then off on a drive through the Cowichan Valley in drizzling Fall rain to pick up balsamic vinegar from Venturi-Schulze, blue cheese from The Creamery at Cheese Pointe Farm, scallops from Cowichan Bay Seafoods, local salt from Vancouver Island Salt Co. and lettuce from Makaria Farm.
My other recent good book find was Food Artisans of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, by Don Genova. He profiles some of the passionate food artisans, chefs and business owners in the region. Perusing the book made me hungry for exploration and sourcing local ingredients for my recipes.
Make Your Own Lacto-Fermented Sauerkraut
Making your own naturally fermented sauerkraut is a great way to connect with your local food system – on a microscopic level – and preserve some of that cabbage that is making it’s way to local farmer’s markets.
If you haven’t heard about all the wonders of including fermented foods in your diet, here are a few good reasons to eat sauerkraut:
Sauerkraut is ANCIENT.
Sauerkraut has ancient origins extending back more than 2,000 years. Legend tells us that fermented cabbage was a staple food for the workers constructing the Great Wall of China.
Sauerkraut is HEALTHY.
Sauerkraut will improve your digestion, boost your immune system and increase your energy levels.
Sauerkraut is LIVING FOOD.
Sauerkraut is filled with probiotics, a variety of tiny microbes that enhance your digestion, immune system, and energy level.
Sauerkraut is POWERFUL.
The natural fermentation process used to create sauerkraut has been shown to enhance and create nutrients in food and break food down to a more digestible form.
Sauerkraut CONTAINS:
Various strains of probiotics, vitamin C, B-vitamins, beneficial enzymes, Omega-3 fatty acids and lactic acid that fights off harmful bacteria.
Sauerkraut is BUDGET FRIENDLY.
Many artisanal brands of naturally fermented sauerkraut can now be found in the refrigerator section of your grocery store. They’re pricey! You can make your own and save money.
Here is the recipe for Passion Pink Sauerkraut, though if you have never made sauerkraut before, you may want to read through my The SureFire Sauerkraut Method… In a Jar: 7 Easy Steps first.
Once it has fermented, gather the ingredients – or substitute your local ingredients – for one of these delicious salads, mix and savor.
Passion Pink Sauerkraut Salad with Blue Cheese and Hazelnuts
INGREDIENTS
lettuce | Makaria Farm
Passion Pink Sauerkraut | Made using cabbage & beets from Makaria Farm
Sacre Bleu Cheese from goat’s milk | The Creamery at Cheese Pointe Farm
hazelnuts | Wildberry Orchards
Balsamic Vinegar | Venturi-Schulze Balsamic Vinegar
salt | Vancouver Island Salt Co.
- Toast nuts and finely chop.
- Arrange lettuce on individual plates. Add a forkful or two of Passion Pink Sauerkraut.
- Top with a generous amount of crumbled Sacre Bleu cheese.
- Sprinkle with hazelnuts.
- Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar.
- Sprinkle with salt. ENJOY!
Passion Pink Sauerkraut Salad with Scallops and Parmesan Cheese
This sauerkraut salad recipe uses scallop ceviche – fish marinated in citrus juice – that is a perfect match with the beets in the sauerkraut. Ceviche is surprisingly easy to prepare. Make sure the scallops are fresh and are kept cold. I am not a big fan of fish but thoroughly enjoy ceviche, because it doesn’t taste “fishy.” It is the high heat in cooking that changes the oil structure in fish to make it taste fishy. “Cooking” the scallops in lime juice avoids this heat.
INGREDIENTS
lettuce | Makaria Farm
Passion Pink Sauerkraut | Made with cabbage & beets from Makaria Farm
1 pound sea scallops | Island Scallops
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
Parmesan cheese | Natural Pastures Cheese
walnuts
salt | Vancouver Island Salt Co.
- Toss the scallops, onion, cilantro and lime juice together and let sit for at least 10 minutes and up to six hours.
- Toast walnuts and finely chop.
- Arrange lettuce on individual plates. Add a forkful or two of Passion Pink Sauerkraut.
- Add scallops and some of the marinade.
- Top with a generous amount of shaved Parmesan cheese.
- Sprinkle with walnuts and a dash of salt. ENJOY!
I plan on 1/4 pound of scallops per person.
Books Mentioned and Food Artisans Profiled
The Flavor Bible | Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. Great cooking goes beyond following a recipe–it’s knowing how to season ingredients to coax the greatest possible flavor from them. Drawing on dozens of leading chefs’ combined experience in top restaurants across the country, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg present the definitive guide to creating “deliciousness” in any dish. Thousands of ingredient entries, organized alphabetically and cross-referenced, provide a treasure trove of spectacular flavor combinations.
- Winner of the 2009 James Beard Book Award for Best Book: Reference and Scholarship
- Hardcover Book
- Dornenburg, Andrew (Author)
Food Artisans of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands | Don Genova. A guide of the best food producers of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Using his first-hand experience as host of CBC Radio Victoria’s weekly column “Food Matters,” and based on interviews he conducted as a food writer for various publications, Genova introduces readers to the many talented and passionate people and companies throughout the region.
- Don Genova (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 192 Pages - 04/01/2014 (Publication Date) - TouchWood Editions (Publisher)
Makaria Farm. Makaria Farm offers fresh-picked, organic vegetables and strawberries grown on their farm in the Cowichan Valley, just south of Duncan on Vancouver Island.
The Creamery at Cheese Pointe Farm. Featuring handcrafted cheeses and stocked with local artisan goodies, their farm gate Creamery is a must stop for anyone venturing through the Warmland that is the Cowichan Valley! Cheeses sold at the Duncan Farmer’s Market on Saturdays.
Island Scallops. Located on the west coast of Canada near Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Island Scallops represents Canada’s largest private marine research hatchery and first fully-integrated shellfish producer. The Company has pioneered scallop culture in BC since 1989 and has developed the premium hybrid “Pacific Scallop” for farming in local waters.
Natural Pastures Cheese. Third generation farmers on Vancouver Island that understand how healthy meadows and happy cows lead to traditional and inspired artisan cheese. Fresh ingredients — from cow and water buffalo milk to savory herbs — selected from pristine Island farms.
Venturi-Schulze. Venturi-Schulze Balsamic Vinegar made from their own juice simmered to a luscious concentration over an open fire and converted to vinegar by the slow, natural ancient process.
Last update on 2024-04-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
