Kale is chock full of vitamins and even grows in winter. Many Germans, expecially in the north, like to eat it with a specific smoked sausage.
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00:00Kale is said to be a superfood. It's vitamin-packed and one of the few vegetables that can be
00:08harvested in winter. Many have kale in smoothies or salads. But in northern Germany, above
00:16all, it's a favorite hearty main dish.
00:19Hi there, I'm Dirk Wolters of the Bioland Hof restaurant. Today I'll show you how to
00:25cook kale, northern German style.
00:28So what do you need to make the northern German classic kale with pinkel sausage? And what
00:33is pinkel sausage anyway? More on that later. This dish will warm you up in winter for sure.
00:40When you're a cook, it's really nice to be able to say to a farmer, bring me something
00:43fresh. And in winter, that's kale.
00:48Back in the day, kale was only eaten after the first frost, because cold weather increases
00:53the sugar content of the plant. But with today's varieties, that's not as important. The vegetable
00:59can be harvested all year round, and it's known all over the world. But perhaps it's
01:05only here in northern Germany that kale time is something of a season in its own right.
01:09Thanks, now I really have something to keep me busy.
01:16Dirk Wolters has been the head chef at the Bioland Hof restaurant since 2018. It's located
01:21in Sieke, close to the German city of Bremen. Guests here dine beneath 300-year-old oak
01:28beams. Dirk doesn't need many ingredients for his traditional kale.
01:35First we need some goose fat, then large onions. We use oatmeal as a binder, and some mustard
01:42for taste. Next, we fill it up with a good broth. And of course we need spices. Then
01:48comes the meaty part. We have a nice pork belly, some smoked pork, pork sausage, and
01:53then Bremen pinkel.
01:57Bremen pinkel isn't really a proper sausage. It's a mix of oak porridge, onion and bacon,
02:03and it gets mixed into the greens. Some find the name off-putting, because colloquially
02:07pinkel means to urinate.
02:11There's a range of ideas as to the origin of the name pinkel. The one I like best is
02:16that they used to hang the sausage over the fire in the smoke. And when the fat melted
02:22and the first hole burst in the skin, the fat squirted out and folks said, the sausage
02:27is peeing.
02:32But now it's time to cook. First Dirk removes the thick stems from the leaves. Then the
02:39vegetable is blanched briefly in salted water.
02:43The blanching is done mainly because some people don't like its bitterness, so this
02:47gets the cabbage taste out.
02:50Dirk sautes the onions in the goose fat. Then the kale and broth get added. Simmering makes
02:58the leaves easy to digest. And the seasoning is important.
03:03Using a spice egg or a bouquet garni is best. Then I can take it out afterwards and there's
03:08nothing people have to fish out.
03:14Next we add mustard and porridge oats. Now all it needs to do is simmer. And that takes
03:21almost an hour. So the greens are really tender and it's got a consistent texture.
03:30While the kale is cooking, Dirk warms the pork belly, the roast pork and the sausages.
03:34At home you can do this in the same pot with the greens.
03:38So let's see what we've made. That's just the way I wanted it. It's perfect like this.
03:47The kale still is a bit firm, not sloppy mush.
03:53Then it's arranged nicely. Traditional northern German kale and pinkel, with sausages, pork
03:58belly and roast pork. No diet version of the superfood by any means.
04:03Of course it's quite meaty. You shouldn't eat it seven days a week. But I think you
04:08should at least eat it once in kale season.
04:13For people who like their kale vegetarian style, it's best to order a fresh kale salad
04:18with apples and walnuts.
04:21And for everyone else, in winter kale with pinkel is a perfect hearty dish for cold weather.
04:27Ready to try it?