Swabian-style cabbage fritters

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 6 eggs
• 600 g flour
• 1 ½ tbsp oil
• 1 ½ tbsp water
• 1,500 g sauerkraut
• 750 g bacon cubes
• 2 onions
• 2 bay leaves
• n. B. Caraway
• some water
• some flour for rolling out the dough
• some clarified butter
• some vegetable broth

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 45 minutes

For the pasta dough, knead the eggs, flour, oil, and water using a dough hook or by hand until firm and fairly dry. Cover and let rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. Meanwhile, for the filling, cook the sauerkraut on low heat for at least half an hour until soft. Add a little water if you like, so there’s enough liquid for later. Fry the bacon cubes in a pan with a little clarified butter. Dice the onions and sauté with the bacon until translucent. Add the bay leaves and sauerkraut, mix, and let simmer for another half hour on low heat. This will soften the cabbage, and the flavor of the bacon and onion mixture will infuse the cabbage nicely. If desired, you can add a little caraway. Let the filling cool slightly and drain in a sieve to remove any excess liquid. This will prevent the pasta dough from becoming soggy later. Collect the liquid. Divide the pasta dough into two pieces and, using a little flour, roll each piece out fairly thinly into a large rectangle, but not too thin, as it might tear later. Place the rolled-out pasta dough on a tea towel and spread half of the filling evenly on each piece. Leave the top edge free and brush it with a little water. Roll the dough up from the bottom to form a long log and cut each piece into pieces about 4 cm wide. Melt some clarified butter in two pans and place the pieces in the lukewarm pans, cut edge down. Don’t place the pieces too close together, or the cabbage fritters will stick together during cooking. Fill both pans with the liquid from the cabbage and, if desired, a little vegetable stock, until the cabbage fritters are two-thirds submerged in liquid. Put the lid on and let the cabbage fritters simmer gently until the liquid has been absorbed or evaporated. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Finally, fry the individual cabbage fritters on all sides in clarified butter. It’s best to fry the cut sides first, as this makes the pieces more stable. Serve with salad. Tip: If you like, you can also serve them with some brown gravy.