This is another recipe based on a Bulgarian one where the parcels use rice instead of bere berries. I am experimenting with bere's use in various dishes as it can be used to replace rice, as with my beremeal berries and chicken bake (https://www.stelladrez.co.uk/post/beremeal-berries-and-chicken-bake) If you decide to make the recipe, you can of course use 1 mug long grain rice with 2 mugs chicken stock instead.
To get bere berries to go Barony Mill's website to order some https://baronymill.com/
Ingredients:
A knob of lard, plus extra for later
1 onion, diced
500 g pork mince
1 mug bere berries
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 large pinches dried spearmint or mint
3 large pinches dried savoury (optional but do try to use it if you can)
1 head of sauerkraut, plus any juices that come out
2 1/2 mugs chicken stock, home made if you can
Method:
Start by frying the onion in the lard until it starts turning translucent and brown around the edges. Add the mince and cook until the meat has turned opaque. Season with salt and pepper to taste, but do go easy on the salt as the sauerkraut can be on the salty side. Add the bere berries and stir in until everything is mixed together well and the berries are covered in the fat. Add the dried herbs and stir in. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.
Heads of sauerkraut normally come in vacuum packed bags. This is the kind you are after. Open up the bag over a deep bowl large enough to hold everything so you can catch any liquid that comes out. Separate the leaves from the central core. Place a leaf on a flat chopping board and place 2 serving spoons of the berries and mince mix in the middle. Fold the edges together to make a small parcel. Place this seam side down in a baking tray or lidded clay pot like I have. Continue doing the same until all the berry and mince mixture is used up. Ensure that the the bottom of your roasting tray is full with a little space in between each parcel if you can, as they will swell as the liquid is absorbed during cooking. Add any juice that has been released by the sauerkraut at the bottom of the bowl that was holding it, to the roasting tray. Dot 5 small knobs of lard over the parcels and pour in the mugs of stock. Cover tightly with foil or a lid and bake for an hour and twenty minutes at 200 degrees C. Remove the foil or lid and bake for another 15 minutes until you get crispy bits on the sauerkraut.
Serve with some of the sauce and crusty bread if you like.
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