German Cabbage Roll, called Krautstrudel in German, is a crunchy filo dough rolled up around braised cabbage with bacon bits. Usually served with a simple horseradish-dill sauce!
When you think of strudel, you probably automatically picture a sweet apple strudel. Am I right? Well, they make some great savoury ones in Central Europe, too! You can find some pumpkin, spinach, sauerkraut and more strudel types here and there. This German Cabbage Roll is a braised cabbage with bacon bits and a delicious homemade horseradish-dill sauce.
The Dough
The original dough to cover the strudel is usually a thin and elastic puffy dough. However, for this recipe, I’ve used stacked phyllo sheets with a light spray of olive oil on each sheet. I like the flakiness of the phyllo, plus it contains way less butter than the flaky puff dough. The only thing with phyllo is to make sure you overlap the sheets so the liquid doesn’t escape from the strudel. Also, when in the oven, adding the strudel on the bottom level is better to prevent the top from burning.
The Filling
The filling is a braised mix of cabbage, onion, and bacon bits. Some German aromatics, such as sweet paprika and caraway seeds, are used as spices. The type of cabbage is up to you, although Savoy or White cabbage are popular.
The Spices
Surprisingly, German cuisine uses a large amount of sweet paprika. As for the caraway seeds, if you don’t know them yet, they look like cumin seeds, although they taste nothing like it. They taste a bit bitter-sweet. They are also well known to help with digestive problems like heartburn, gas, bloating, etc. Often used in meals like sauerkraut for its counter effect. Caraway seeds should be essential to any cabbage meal.
The Sauce
To go with the KrautStrudel is a great and healthy dip: a horseradish-dill sauce. The original sauce uses sour cream, which is difficult to find where I live. So, I’ve exchanged it for natural Greek yogurt, but it could also be Crème fraiche. The resulting sauce is lovely and fits to perfection this KrautStrudel. The horseradish gives a welcomed spicy kick to the whole meal.
Other German recipes
So let’s roll this strudel up!
German Cabbage Roll (Krautstrudel)
Ingredients
- 1/2 White or Savoy cabbage (finely chopped)
- 1 pack filo/phyllo pastry (frozen) (or pate brise)
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 150 g smoked bacon bits
- 150 ml chicken broth
- 30 g butter
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- salt and pepper
The horseradish-dill sauce
- 150 g plain greek yogurt (or creme fraiche, sour cream)
- 2 tbsp horseradish (grated)
- 1/2 lime or lemon
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt and pepper
Topping
- caraway seeds
Instructions
- Mix the horseradish sauce ingredients and leave it in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Add the onion, butter and salt to a big pan at medium-low heat and soften for 5 minutes.
- Bring up the heat to medium-high, and add the bacon bits.
- When the bacon bits are well cooked, add the white cabbage, the broth, and the paprika.
- Let the cabbage cook through; broth reduces until almost gone, for about 10 minutes.
- When the volume is down by half, add the cornstarch mix (mixed with 3 tbsp of cold water) and mix until barely any liquid is left.
- Take off the fire, check the seasoning and reserve.
- On a big piece of baking paper, stack the filo sheets one over the other to make a big rectangle the size of the oven metal baking sheet while having a layer of olive oil (spray or brush) between each sheet.
- Add the cabbage mixture to the lower center of the sheet, then fold the sides over the mixture and roll up the strudel. Transfer the strudel to the baking sheet with the help of the parchment paper.
- Add an extra layer of olive oil (I use a spray, and then it’s just a fine layer) on top of the Krautstrudel, some extra paprika, caraway seeds and salt.
- Cook at 200°C (400F°) for 20 minutes in the oven, at the lowest level, until light brown.
Notes
Nutrition
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