Choucroute, the Alsatian specialty, is a near-perfect party dish: you can easily make it in advance and in quantity. This version, with boiled potatoes cooked right in, is also a one-pot dish. Serve it with bread— preferably good rye or pumpernickel—and you’re all set. (Well, you’ll also need some hot mustard and beer or Alsatian wine.) Feel free to vary the meats however you like. But, as is always the case, buy sauerkraut that is either sold in bulk or packed in plastic and contains no more than cabbage and salt.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 to 8 servings

　　1/4 cup lard, butter, or extra virgin olive oil

　　1 large onion, sliced

　　2 pounds sauerkraut, rinsed

　　1 ham hock, salted or smoked

　　2 cups dry white wine, preferably Riesling

　　1 pound slab bacon, in one piece

　　Salt and black pepper

　　1 tablespoon minced garlic

　　1 teaspoon juniper berries, lightly crushed with the side of a knife

　　1 teaspoon caraway seeds

　　1 pound boneless smoked pork loin

　　2 pounds smoked sausages: bratwursts, frankfurters, kielbasa, or similar

　　16 small potatoes, peeled, or 4 or 5 larger potatoes, peeled and quartered

　　

Step 1

Put the lard in a large deep skillet or flameproof casserole with a lid and place over medium heat. A minute later, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is quite soft, about 10 minutes. Add the sauerkraut, ham hock, wine, 1 cup water, and bacon. Cover and cook, adjusting the heat so the mixture simmers, until the ham hock begins to become tender, about 1 hour.

　　

Step 2

Taste the mixture and add some salt if necessary; add at least 1/2 teaspoon pepper, along with the garlic, juniper berries, caraway seeds, and pork loin. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Add the sausages and potatoes and re-cover. Adjust the heat so the mixture simmers. Taste and add more salt if necessary. At this point you can keep the mixture warm over very low heat for an hour or two, or turn it off and reheat after several hours.

　　

Step 4

To serve, slice the bacon and pork loin. Cut the sausages and ham hock into pieces. Put the sauerkraut in the middle of a large platter and surround and top it with the meats and potatoes.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.