A 'sauerkraut martini': Sauerkraut with Gin and Caraway

“Think of it as a sauerkraut martini,” I said to my husband as he looked skeptically at the shredded fermented cabbage simmering with gin in the soup pot.
   As my husband loves martinis, this statement seemed to lighten his pessimistic outlook a bit about Sauerkraut with Gin and Caraway (click for the recipe), an unusual recipe from the November issue of Bon Appetit that I’d wanted to try from the moment I saw it.
   However, he was never completely won over: He ate his portion, but merely said it wasn’t bad.
   But I absolutely loved it – I munched away at it, pleased as punch with the very, very slight licorice taste instilled in the sauerkraut from the gin and the caraway seeds.
   If you include the consumption of sauerkraut in your life now, whether on a hot dog, or in perogies, or when you visit grandma’s house, then I think you’ll like this recipe, too. Lovers of pickles or cabbage soup will probably embrace this as well.
   Molly Wizenberg, a Bon Appetit columnist and author of the Orangette blog, created this recipe. Sauerkraut has been a traditional Thanksgiving side dish in her family as long as she can remember.
   It’s an extremely easy dish to make, because you don’t actually have to make the sauerkraut yourself.
   Purchased sauerkraut, dry gin, and caraway seeds are simmered in a large heavy saucepan (I used a soup pot) for about half an hour. Diced chilled butter is stirred in until it is melted. Serve warm.

More great cool-weather side dishes

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