I know that not too long ago I posted that I would stay in China for the next 3 months (see THIS post), but some unexpected things happened and I decided to go home early. Even though I really enjoyed the Chinese food, when I was preparing to go home again, I suddenly craved typical Dutch food. The weather here has been exceptionally good (and very un-Dutch, with temperatures above 20 degrees C now in autumn), but I wanted to make something using sauerkraut, potatoes and (vegan) smoked sausage.

The vegan sausage I used for this is a new release by the Vegetarische Slager (EN: the vegetarian butcher), which is an attempt to veganise typical Dutch smoked sausage. This sausage claims to be developed over 7 years (!), and as far as I know it is the only vegan sausage that replicates the skin that is usually around meat sausages. The sausage normally is heated within the plastic package, but because I wanted to incorporate it into a casserole I sliced it; this caused the skin to fall of some of the pieces unfortunately.

The mashed potatoes I used in this recipe are instant mashed potatoes by Maggi, the kind that requires you to use milk to make them, because those don’t have any milk powder in the mix; the instant mashed potatoes that only require you to add water do. I added a little bit of soy milk to make the mash, and I would advise you to use an unsweetened soy milk if you do too, because sweetened soy milk in the Netherlands always has a slight vanilla aroma added to it.

To add some sweetness to balance out the tartness of sauerkraut, I added some sliced apples, but my parents would always add banana or canned pineapple. Which fruit you use is up to you, but make sure it is ripe and sweet; a tart green apple wouldn’t be much of a balance for the sauerkraut ;).

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 1 tbsp. of olive oil
• One shallot, diced
• 250 g of mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tbsp. of flour
• One package (250 mL) of vegan cooking cream (I used Alpro soy cuisine)
• One package (500g) of sauerkraut
• 150 grams of vegetarian sausage, sliced – I used the “rookworst” by the Vegetarische Slager
• One large sweet apple, sliced
• One package of instant mashed potatoes (138 g)
• 700 mL of water + soy milk (I used 600 + 100)
• 2 tbsp. of breadcrumbs

Additionally you will need an oven dish, mine is 26 cm in diameter and around 4 cm deep (around 2 L)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Start by making the mushroom ragout (creamy sauce); heat the olive oil and add the shallot. When this is translucent, add the mushrooms and cook until browned. Add the flower and stir to cook. Add most of the soy cuisine, leave some to make your mashed potatoes creamier if you prefer
3. Layer the following into an oven dish:
   • Your mushroom ragout
   • Your sauerkraut
   • Your apple slices
   • Your sliced sausage
4. Make the mashed potatoes according to package directions, mine requires you to bring 700 mL of fluids to the boil, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dehydrated potato flakes. Afterwards add your leftover Alpro cream
5. Add your (panko) breadcrumbs on the top and add a drizzle of olive oil or some margarine to the top if you want it to brown better
6. Put your casserole into the oven for 30-40 minutes until the top starts to brown and everything is heated through

Recipe in pictures

The mushroom ragout, sauerkraut and apples

The sausage

The mashed potatoes

The breadcrumbs

Drizzle of olive oil

After baking