Red Cabbage & Sausage Soup

Red cabbage is a nutritious vegetable often prepared with apples or applesauce or pears and various spices as a side dish or as part of a main dish where meat like sausages or pork are served on top of red cabbage. It is common in German cuisine; that is, German in the broad sense that includes not only in Germany, but also Austria, Switzerland and Alsace, but I'm not certain about Luxembourg or Liechtenstein), and also in German immigrant communities in the U.S. (and I "assume" Canada and perhaps Brazil).     

 

This recipe takes red cabbage in a little different direction by making it a big part of soup. By letting the sausage slices not just warm up, but actually remain in the soup for the last part of cooking, they will give give added flavor to the soup. 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

5 cups shredded red cabbage

5 cups beef broth

1 cup water 

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar

3 tablespoons tomato ketchup 

1 or 2 frankfurters, sliced (slices of about 1/3 inch)

1 or 2 cooked bratwursts, sliced (slices of about 1/3 inch)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper  

1/2 teaspoon salt (if the beef broth is salty, you can skip adding this salt)

sour cream for garnish

 

You can easily make this in a crock pot or slow cooker by putting all of the ingredients, except the sausages and sour cream, into the cooker and cooking everything on high setting for one hour, then turn the heat to low and cook it for 4 to 5 hours, or until the cabbage is tender. Add the cut up sausages for the last 45 minutes. Otherwise, in a pot or large pan over high heat, you can do the same: add all of the ingredients except the sausages and sour cream. Bring the soup to a simmer, then adjust the heat to simply maintain a steady simmer. Cook until the cabbage is just about done, then add the sausage slices and stir well to mix. Let the soup come back to a simmer and let it cook for 30 minutes more. Serve with a dollop of sour cream in the middle of each serving.

The sausage slices get dyed from the red cabbage ...

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

 Ledger-This noun, related to "lay," "lie" (not the "untruth"), "lair" and "low" (all original English words from its Germanic roots), goes back to Indo European "legh," which meant, "to lie flat, to lie down, to lay;" thus also, "to sleep or rest in a flat position." This gave its Old Germanic offspring, "lagjan(an)," with the same basic meanings. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "lecgan," meaning, "to make to lie down, to set or place." This then became "leggen," and this spawned the noun, "legger," meaning, "a book that lies in a particular place," often used in reference to religious writings centuries ago, but by the second half of the 14th Century, it was used as "ledger book," to mean, "a book of business transactions, business account book," although it was often simply used as "ledger." The word also was used in fishing for "ledger bait;" that is, "bait that was made to be kept in the same place." From what I can tell, English is the only language to use a form of the word in the account book context, which is an English invention. It has relatives in the other Germanic languages, but with other meanings, mainly "lay/lie," although some have borrowed "ledger" from English as a synonym for their own words, which often mean "main book." 

Bratwursts in Beer Sauce: Stolzer Heinrich

There are quite a lot of recipes for this dish, which certainly seems to be so German; I mean, sausages and beer, c'mon now! The dish is common in Berlin and in the state of Thüringen, usually rendered as "Thuringia" in English, which is located in the middle of Germany. Thuringia's state capital is Erfurt, but likely its best known city is Weimar, the city where Germany's constitution was put together (Berlin was in turmoil) in the aftermath of Germany's defeat in World War One and the fall of the Hohenzollern monarchy; thus, the republic was commonly referred to as the "Weimar Republic." Famous German writers and playwrights Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller lived and collaborated in Weimar for a time in the early 1800s. After World War Two, Thuringia was in East Germany. "Stolzer Heinrich" means "proud Henry," and the base form "stolz" is related to English "stilt" (stilt in German is "Stelze").

Lebkuchen is the general term for spicy gingerbread, but there are types of gingerbread like in the Nuremberg area, where it is often called "Honigkuchen;" that is, "honey cake." Remember, sugar was very expensive for centuries, and it was a product for wealthy people. The common people used honey to sweeten many dishes; thus, "honey cake." There is also "Magenbrot;" that is, literally "stomach bread," as the herbs and spices were considered good for one's digestive system. Actually, in the German parts of Switzerland it has long been known as "Kräuterbrot;" that is, "herb/herbal bread," and herbs and spices have been used as medicines throughout history. Some Kräuterbrot/Magenbrot is sliced like regular bread, while others are in sort of bite size diamond shapes, and I dare you to try to eat just one! While gingerbread is a common Christmas treat (some German areas have it year round), German cultural areas in Europe also have special gingerbread cakes for cooking (minimal sugar is used). It is used to season (typically) dark colored sauces. In this dish, some use dark beer, some use light (colored) beer, some use both, and others use Malzbier, which means "malt beer," and it is dark, but with little or no alcohol, with a 'malty' taste. It is most common in the U.S., the Caribbean and Central and South America, where it is marketed as "Malta." Juniper berries are a common seasoning in some German and other European recipes. They look like dried blueberries and it is best, at least in my opinion, to lightly crack them before adding them to a recipe. They are best known for their use in making gin. Juniper berries can be found in spice shops, and perhaps in some supermarkets in the U.S. They are not an essential ingredient in this recipe, so if you don't have them, I wouldn't worry about it, but no martinis for you!   

 

"Stolzer Heinrich" is often served with mashed potatoes. There are a number of terms for mashed potatoes in German, with "Kartoffelpüree" and "Kartoffelbrei" both being broadly common, but there are also "Stampfkartoffeln," "Erdäpfelpüree" (generally southern), "Kartoffelstock" (generally in Switzerland), and in Berlin, "Quetschkartoffeln" is pretty common). Fried potatoes, "Bratkartoffeln," are also served at times.

 

Ingredients (4 servings):

 

4 bratwursts (red or white)

2 tablespoons butter + 1 teaspoon oil 

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup beef stock

1 cup dark beer (Malzbier is used in Berlin)

3 tablespoons crushed Lebkuchen (or ginger snaps)

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons capers

(optional) 3 juniper berries

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

2/3 teaspoon ground black pepper 

salt to taste, but remember, the beef stock likely has a good bit of salt, and the capers too

Add the butter and oil to a skillet over low heat. Add the sausages and brown them, turning them often. It's okay if they don't cook through, as they will cook more shortly. When the sausages are browned, remove them to a plate, add the finely chopped onion and saute for just one minute, then add the flour to the skillet and stir it into the onion, butter and pan juices; cook for a minute or two to give it just some light brown color and to get rid of the raw flour taste. Now add the crushed/ground gingerbread and turn the heat to medium and slowly add the beef stock, stirring constantly to incorporate and to prevent lumps. Now add the beer (I often use Malzbier) and the bay leaves and the juniper berries (if using), bring to a simmer; adjust the heat downward if need be to maintain a gentle simmer for 2 minutes. Add the ground black pepper and stir, then add the bratwursts to the sauce and simmer gently for 5 minutes, turning the bratwursts to make sure they cook through completely. Add the capers and the lemon juice and cook for another minute. Serve with mashed potatoes.     

WORD HISTORY:

Plant-This word, commonly in noun and verb form, is related to "flat," a word from the Germanic roots of English, to "plaza," a word borrowed from Spanish which had it from Latin which had it from Greek ("place" is essentially the same word, but in French, and it was borrowed by English from French), to "plate," another word borrowed from French which had it from Latin which had it from Greek, and to "clan," a word borrowed from Gaelic which had it from Old Irish which had it from Latin. "Plant" goes back to Indo European "plat," which had the meanings "to spread, to broaden, to make flat, to flatten," and this gave Latin "planta" meaning, "sole of the foot" ("the flat part of the foot"), and this spawned the Latin verb "plantare" meaning, "to push into the ground with the foot," also perhaps further, "to smooth or flatten the ground with the foot;" both leading to the meaning, "to plant." This was borrowed by Old English as the verb "plantian," also meaning "to plant," and this was later shortened to "plant." The Latin verb "plantare" also brought about the noun "planta" (same spelling as the old noun, but a new word) meaning "a young plant, a sprout, a shoot," and Old English borrowed this as "plante" (the 'e' was pronounced in those times as 'ah/eh'), and as with the verb, the noun narrowed to "plant." The meaning of the noun for "place of industrial work," as in, "I work at the car plant," seems to be from the verb usage of "building;" that is, "growing" something, the process and the machinery used for the production, which then transferred to the entire building or complex used for production. The beginnings of this usage is from the late 1700s. Other Germanic relatives of English also borrowed forms from Latin: German has the verb "pflanzen" and the noun "Pflanze," Low German verb "planten" and noun "Plant," Dutch verb "planten" and noun "plant," West Frisian verb "ploantje" (also the form "plantsje?") and the noun "plant," Danish has the verb "plante" and the noun "planten(?)," Icelandic has the noun "planta," but seemingly doesn't have a related verb form (not sure about in the past, however), Norwegian seems to have "plante" as both its noun and verb form, Swedish has the verb "plantera" and the noun "planta" (antiquated?).          

Bratwurst with Onions and Paprika

I tend to like paprika a lot and this uses the smoky flavored Spanish paprika. This is my version of a similar German recipe. You can use fresh bratwursts or the precooked type commonly sold in supermarkets.

Ingredients:

4 bratwursts
2 red onions, cut into rings or chopped
1 cup chopped mild red pepper
1 heaping tablespoon mild Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon hot Spanish paprika
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons oil
(optional) salt (how much salt does the broth have?) 

Brown the bratwursts in 1 tablespoon of oil (they don't have to cook through, as they will cook more in a few minutes). Braise the onion rings and the chopped red pepper in the other tablespoon of oil over low heat, until softened, but not heavily browned. Add the mild and hot paprika, the tomato paste, the sugar and the beef broth. Mix well and cook until the tomato paste is dissolved into the mixture, then add the bratwursts and cook until the brats are cooked through. Good served with mashed potatoes.

WORD HISTORY: 
Lick-This word is somewhat distantly related to "lecher," a word borrowed by English from French, and which French got from Germanic Frankish.^ "Lick" goes back to Indo European "leygh," which meant, "to lick." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "likkon(an)," with the same meaning. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "liccian," which then became "likken/licken," before the modern form. Old English had the noun "liccung," which meant, "licking" (more precisely, "take in a small amount of food or drink"), and "licking" became the form in circa 1400, but it wasn't until the early 1600s that shortened form "lick" became more common. The modern verb and noun have a number of meanings, but the meaning, "to beat/defeat," is somewhat puzzling, although it "may" come from the notion of "beating with a whip," as the end of a whip is like a tongue, and that meaning may have then broadened into "beat or defeat," which is more or less what happened with the word "beat," meaning, "strike someone or something, usually repeatedly," but which eventually took the meaning, "to defeat in battle," then also, "defeat in competition." A famous slogan for Timex watches was when they would perform some rough treatment of a Timex watch, then show that it was still running, and then ad the slogan, "It takes a licking, but it keeps on ticking." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "lecken" (to lick, and German "lecker" means, "delicious;" that is, "that which makes one lick their lips, that which is worth licking"), Low German "licken," Dutch "likken," West Frisian once had "likja/likje," but I could not find a modern form. The Brothers Grimm note that a form of ''lick'' is "missing from the Scandinavian language area" (that is, North Germanic), but why is unclear, although these languages use what seems to be a prefixed form (with "s") of "lick," as does modern West Frisian. A form of this prefixed word is missing from English, as far as I can tell, which "may" indicate that it developed after Anglo-Saxon was established in England.  

^ Provençal, the language of Provence (southeastern France), had "liquar/lichar," and Italian has "leccare," perhaps both of which were borrowed from French (?), although the Italian form could have been borrowed directly from German.