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A German Comfort Food
Today, I want to teach you a German word: Würstchengulasch.
The pronunciation goes something like ‘wyrst-chen-goo-lush” - it’s the German word for sausage casserole. Awesome, non? ;-)
German sausage casserole, aka Würstchengulasch, is a quick and easy yet traditional German comfort food made from hot dog (Frankfurter / Vienna) sausages in a rich sauce of tomato, bell pepper and spices. It is usually served with pasta or rice.
Growing up, this dish was a weekday lunch staple and probably one of my mother’s favourites not only because the whole family loved it, but also because of how easy and quick it was to make - it takes less than half an hour, can you imagine?
To this day, the dish is popular throughout Germany and probably most commonly prepared using convenience packages.
Equipment you will need
This dish is a one-pot-wonder, so you will only need a lovely heavy casserole dish / Dutch Oven, ideally from cast iron (if you want to know all about cast iron cookware, read this article)
I use one of these that you can get on amazon*:
*affiliate link
Traditional vs. improved recipe
However, when I moved abroad, the ready made packets weren’t available, so I had to either miss out on one of my favourite comfort foods or find out how to make my own. And I did!
Not only did I find out how to make a fresh version of the old convenience classic, I also found some ways of improving it / adapting it to my more adult palette.
These new ways / additions to the recipe I will mark as ‘optional’. You can easily make the dish with just the traditional ingredients and it’s going to taste lush (‘goo-lush’ even ;-) ).
Do you know this dish? If so, is it similar to my recipe? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. And by the way, if you are cooking the recipe now, why not take a pic and tag me in it, for instance on Instagram using @RenasTravelsAndTastes.
Ready? Let’s put our aprons on, I’ll see you in the kitchen!
Xoxo Rena
German Sausage Casserole
German sausage casserole, aka 'Würstchengulasch', is a quick and easy yet traditional German comfort food made from hot dog (Frankfurter / Vienna) sausages in a rich sauce of tomato, bell pepper and spices. It is usually served with pasta or rice.
Fact Sheet
Category: main Cuisine: German Gluten free Main Dishes European under 1 hour under 30 minutes Meat dishes Cooking Method: cooking Diet: Gluten Free Preparation Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes Servings: 4Ingredients
- 500g of hot dog sausages (Frankfurter / Vienna sausage) , sliced
- 2 bell peppers, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 5 TBSP tomato paste
- approx. 2 cups / 400ml of chicken stock
- approx. 1 cup / 200ml cream or crème fraîche
- 1 TBSP paprika powder
- 2 TBSP medium or mild curry powder
- 3 TBSP oil
- 1 TBSP sugar
- optional: 1/4 tsp cinnamon and/or 1/2 tsp dark cocoa powder
- optional: chilli pepper finely chopped for some heat
- Optional: juice of one lime
Instructions
- Heat 2 TBSP oil and sauté the onions and bell peppers (optional chilli peppers) for 5 minutes
- Add garlic and sauté for another minute
- Add curry powder, paprika, (optional cinnamon), tomato paste and sugar and caramelise for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from pot and set aside.
- Heat 1 TBSP oil and fry/sauté the sliced sausage until lightly browned.
- Add vegetables back to the casserole and pour in the chicken stock. Stir well until the tomato paste dissolves and to remove any sticky bits from the bottom of the pan
- Let simmer for about 10 minutes. (now is a good time to start cooking your pasta)
- (optional step: stir in the dark cocoa powder)
- add cream / crème fraîche
- Serve with rice or pasta
