My Mom's "Grünkohl"- slow cooked kale with cured sausage and oven roasted potatoes

Kale does not hit everyone's tastebuds, it actually is an acquired taste as kale can be quite bitter. However, I do love my Mom's slow cooked kale. It is seasoned with veggie broth, slow cooked and not at all bitter. The slow cooking actually takes away the bitterness and soften up the tough leaves. Together with the cured sausage and the oven roasted potatoes it actually is a delight and one of my favorite childhood dishes :)

Purple Kale

My Mom uses frozen kale. During my stay in the US, I had to use fresh kale as I couldn't find frozen or unseasoned cut kale. Here, I discovered purple kale. When you cook it, you actually cannot differ between green and purple kale. But its flavor is a bit stronger than the green kale and I enjoyed it a lot.

German "Bauernbratwurst"

For the cured sausage, I always used the German "Bauernbratwurst". It usually hangs out to dry and you eat it as a hard sausage similar to salami. When cooking with it, it adds a nice flavor. You can use the original Bauernbratwurst or the Paprika Bauernbratwurst which gives it a bit of spice. We also use the cured sausage for My Mom's "Kartoffelsuppe" (potato soup).

Ingredients:

• 30g lard
• 1 onion - finely diced
• 2 cured sausages - they are called "Bauernbratwurst"
• 450g kale - frozen or fresh and coarsly chopped
• 2 cubes of veggie broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper (more to taste)
• 1 liter water  
• 2 tablespoon flour and 2 tablespoon water - for thickening

• 2 tablespoon oil
• 5 potatos - cut in big cubes (ca. 2 inch)
• 2 tablespoon lard
• salt
• caraway seeds

Preparation:

Slow cook the kale

• Heat up the lard. Add the onions and fry for 2-4 minutes. Add the sausages and keep frying till the onions are translucent.
• Take the pot from the heat. Add the kale, season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the broth cubes on top. Fill up the pot with water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 1 - 1.5h. Keep adding water, so that the kale is covered.
• Season and thicken the kale. Mix the flour with the water. Add a bit at a time to the kale, stir and bring to a boil. Wait a bit. If it doesn't thicken up enough, add more flour/water mix. 

Prepare the oven roasted potatoes

• Preheat the oven at 200 degree Celsius.
• Oil the roasting pan. Add the potato cubes. Sprinkle with salt and caraway seeds. Add flocks of lard on some of the potatoes.
• Roast the potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour till soft. You do not need to flip them, you want a crispy bottom.

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