Kielbasa Sausage with Potatoes and Sauerkraut

 

Kielbasa Sausage with Potatoes and Sauerkraut

 

I was home on what turned out to be just a vacation from the Navy before we had any kids, My wife decided to get a job in a Hungarian restaurant. It was a great job. The people were nice and she could walk to work (we only had one old car) and we didn’t starve as she would often bring home food because the head Hungarian Lady thought that my sexy little wife was too skinny. Anyway, she brought home this dish heated it up for us, and followed their directions by putting a big blob of sour cream right on top. Sounded so yucky but tasted wonderful. This recipe feeds like 4-6 people and is even better when you heat up the leftovers the next day. The Hungarians stuck to their kielbasa but you don’t have to. Any high-quality sausage link will work except maybe breakfast links.

Ingredients

2 Rings of high-quality Kielbasa Sausage (sliced into 3/8-1/2 inch diagonal slices)

2 lbs. bag of good sauerkraut

2-3 good-sized Idaho potatoes (check their driver’s licenses to make sure they are from Idaho, there are a lot of fakes out there)

2 tsp of Caraway seeds

1/2 yellow onion coarsely chopped

1 Tbs of butter or substitute 

Olive oil spray

1 tsp of good smoked paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a large frying pan, add butter, onion, and sausage slices over low to medium heat. Fry till the onion is clear and the sausage is browned around the edges
  2. Wash potatoes thoroughly and slice them into thin-ish slices (about 3/8 of an inch), it is important to make the slices as consistent as possible so they all cook the same.
  3. Preheat the Oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Spray a large casserole or baking dish with olive oil and position the potato sliices on the bottom and sides of the dish.
  5. In a large bowl, add sausage mix from the frying pan, the entire bag of sauerkraut with juices, and caraway seeds. Mix well and pour the entire sauerkraut sausage mix into the dish over the potatoes.
  6. Bake the dish uncovered on the center shelf of the oven for 1 hour.
  7. Remove and check potatoes for doneness. Repeat until the potatoes are done.
  8. Serve hot in bowls with a rather large dollop of fresh sour cream on top and garnish with smoked paprika.