Student - August 26, 2009

Fly the flag for zuurkool

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There are so many forgotten vegetables. Parsnips, turnip tops, Jerusalem artichokes. But I didn't expect to find zuurkool among them.

IJsbrand Velzeboer of the nutrition advice bureau Scienta Nova is sounding the alarm, because the first zuurkool (sauerkraut) of the new season is on the shelves, and nobody’s hanging the flag out. He thinks zuurkool is badly marketed: it’s seen as old-fashioned, cheap and smelly, whereas it’s incredibly healthy! Leave all those expensive health drinks on the shelves. Zuurkool contains a lot of live lactic cultures and masses of vitamin C, it’s digestible, low in calories, rich in fibres and suppresses the appetite, the Nutrition centre tells us. And between you and me, zuurkool is delicious, although the traditional Dutch stamppot (greens mixed into mashed potato) may not appeal.
Zuurkool quiches
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Ingredients for 4 people6 slices of puff pastry
1 sliced spring onion
250 g zuurkool
1 teaspoon curry powder
100 g stoned prunes
250 ml whipped cream
2 dessert spoons breadcrumbs
150 g sliced oyster mushrooms
100 g crumbled feta
3 eggs
2 dessert spoons thyme
Line 8 greased individual pie tins (about 12 cm) with puff pastry. Slice the spring onions lengthways. Heat some oil and fry the zuurkool with the curry powder for three minutes, stirring as you go. Add the prunes and mix them in. Scatter breadcrumbs over the pastry and divide the zuurkool mixture, the mushrooms, the feta and the spring onions over the pies. Beat the eggs with the cream, the thyme and pepper and salt to taste and pour it over the pies. Bake for 25 minutes at 225 degrees in a pre-warmed oven. /Arianne van Leeuwen

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