Polish Sauerkraut Salad--for Health Reasons

I admit that I have never planed or imagined to post today's recipe but it came up as a kind of emergency response. A friend of mine has been on a long-term antibiotic treatment. Because of that she has been suffering from stomach problems despite high doses of probiotic supplements that she has been taking along with her medications. After many complaints, her doctor advised her recently to add sauerkraut to her daily diet as a source of natural probiotics--good bacteria that can protect her intestinal tract from being totally sterilized. So she bought the best sauerkraut from the Whole Foods and called me for suggestions on how to prepare it.

Coincidentally, I have just read an article about how American doctors have been opening up to fermented food, known in other parts of the world, as a source of good bacteria that the processed food cannot provide. Sauerkraut was on that healthy list next to the so well-known in Poland half-sour pickles (in brine), sour milk (kefir), or Asian kimchi.

There is basically only one classic recipe for raw sauerkraut salad I can think of--a simple salad that we serve with meats, mostly pork chops in bread crumbs, or fish. When I compared some Polish recipes they all looked very similar and included onion and carrot. Some also added apple, but even without them the salad is sour enough, so you can skip the apples. However, hardly any of these recipes mentioned caraway seeds which in my home have always been added to all cabbage dishes to help digest them and neutralize the rather vigorous stomach reaction that cabbage sometimes causes. I love the taste of caraway seeds, particularly in this salad, but you either love them or hate them (like fennel seeds) so it is up to you. Either way, today's sauerkraut salad is a real trove of healthy nutrients as besides the probiotics it is also rich in calcium, iron, and vitamins B and C.

Polish Sauerkraut Salad

Ingredients:
2 lb sauerkraut,
2 large carrots,
1 medium onion,
1 tsp caraway seeds,
2 tbsp sugar,
4 tbsp vegetable light oil (canola, rice bran, or grape seed),
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaved parsley, freshly ground pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1.Drain the sauerkraut on a colander and place in a large bowl.
2. Peel off and grate the carrots on a grater with large holes.
3. Peel off and chop the onion.
4. Add carrot, onion, parsley, and caraway seeds to cabbage and mix.

5. Season the salad with sugar, pepper, and oil. Mix again. Let marinate for 20 minutes and serve.

Endive Baked with Pancetta

During my recent visit to Rome, I have tried many dishes, especially local ones that until then I only had read about. Besides sight-seeing the beautiful city, on the days when it was raining most heavily, I spent hours going through all kinds of food stores looking at the shelves and products they offer. And later, I bothered my friend's mother with hundreds of questions about what I ate, saw, and should try next. I wish I could bring all the food stores with all the vegetable and cheese sections back to America.

But instead, in addition to a huge chunk of genuine Parmesan, I came home with more admiration for Italian cuisine and with many magazines and books with recipes that I now try every day. But because pastas and pizzas are my family favorites no one complained so far.

When I was in Rome, me friend's mother in law gave me an Italian cook book that I have been since studying a lot, looking for new inspirations. Last week, I prepared a dish that looked interesting to me. And I was right--easy yet delicious it became one of my favorites.

This baked endive is similar to the French dishes I ate in France but, instead of béchamel, it uses cream and pancetta, which makes this dish even simpler. It has slightly bitter taste as endive often has, but the creamy sauce flavored with pancetta balances it and makes it perfect. And a piece of fresh baguette with a glass of wine makes it simply irresistible.

Endive Baked with Pancetta

Ingredients:
(Serves four)
8 endives,
4 tbsp unsalted butter,
1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs,
4 oz sliced and finely chopped pancetta (I used the one from Trader Joe's),
4 tbsp chopped flat leaved parsley,
juice from one lemon,
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan,
1 cup heavy whipping cream,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cut a small piece of the butter and use it to grease bottom of an oven proof dish.
3. Cut endives lengthwise and place them the dish the cut side up.
4. In a medium bowl mix pancetta, parsley, breadcrumbs, half of the Parmesan, salt an pepper, and scatter on top of endives. Drizzle with lemon juice and pieces of remaining butter.

5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.
6. Remove the foil, pour the cream with Parmesan on top, and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the cream turns into a thicker sauce.
7. Serve hot with white breads.

Torta Caprese--Rich Chocolate Almond Torte

I almost forgot about this delightful cake until my recent visit to Rome. And there I found it displayed in pastry shops and on the menu of restaurants, next to such classic desserts as tiramisu or semifreddo. I also had a chance to try a wonderful home-made torta caprese at a dinner I was invited to by my friend's family.

So today, for Valentine's Day which is all about chocolate treats, I share a recipe for torta caprese, which in essence is a very simple cake but its secret is that it must be made of best quality delicious ingredients.

Most often I make a traditional, most neutral, version of it with ground almonds. However, my favorite torta caprese is made with hazelnuts, especially those from Oregon, which give the cake that special gianduja flavor. Almonds can also be replaced by walnuts. And I recently bought ground cashews to experiment with them next time.

Torta caprese is made without flour (as the ground nuts make up for it entirely) so it is a gluten-free dessert. It is quite rich and moist but I add also some liqueur which gave it an extra flavor and moisture.

Torta caprese can be served with a scoop of good gelato or topped with a dollop of crème fraîche or whipped cream. Anyway, in whatever variation it is served, there is no one, and particularly no true chocolate lover, who will resist a piece of torta caprese.

Torta Caprese

Ingredients:
6 eggs, separated, preferably organic,
6 oz bittersweet good quality (preferably, Belgian) chocolate, broken in small pieces,
1 stick ( 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, plus extra tsp for the form,
3/4 cup sugar,
1 and 1/2 cup blanched and ground almonds (hazelnuts or walnuts),
2 tbsp Amaretto Liqueur, Frangelico, or Grand Marnier,
1 tbsp vanilla,
pinch of salt,
confectioners sugar for dusting.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. prepare a baking 9.5-inch baking form with high, removable walls. Cut out a round piece of waxed paper to the size of the form and place it at the bottom of the form. Grease it with a tsp of butter.
2. Place chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Add butter cut into small pieces and melt either on top of a pot with steaming water or in a microwave oven. If you use a microwave oven, first run it for 30 seconds, then mix chocolate. Repeat again 3-4 times running the microwave oven for no longer than 15-20 seconds at a time, stirring in between with a spatula, until chocolate and butter make a smooth cream. Add vanilla and liqueur to the chocolate cream.

3. In a standing mixer, beat egg yolks with sugar until pale. Add melted chocolate and mix. Sift in ground almonds and mix gently again.
4. In a separate bowl, beat whites of eggs with salt until stiff. Fold the whites into the chocolate batter gently using a spatula. Transfer the batter to the baking form. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is set. Cool, dust the top with confectioners sugar, and serve with crème fraîche or vanilla gelato.