If you’re going to stick the tree up, you need decent scran and drinks for the compulsory breaks otherwise it can just be plain tense! I actually used the phrase ‘do you hate me?’ when he put two identical baubles next to each other- one less present for me I think! 

 Of all people, my culinary nightmare of a father cooked this ‘choucroute garnie’ for me when we were freezing to death in France one time and it was pretty great. He called it ‘Petit Salé’ which actually just means salted pork but my family have called it that for about a decade! Whoopsies. I’ve tweaked the recipes over the years and made it more like a stew just to simplify the cooking. I love anything Alsace and this bad boy doesn’t disappoint!

It’s quite simply a pork and sauerkraut stew and it is absolute child’s play to make. Getting the ingredients is a pain in the bum because you have to go to a few supermarkets to do it the way I’ve finally perfected. This stew is perfect for autumn into winter and it’s a lovely change from all the heavy things you’ll eat during the festive season. Everyone I make it for goes absolutely nuts for it. 

I promised myself, if I ever create life, that I would make my creation this dish if it was sick. But, for now, we just make it when we put the tree up. Eat with a big cob of crusty bread (I prefer sourdough because it compliments the fermented cabbage).

Choucroute garnie

• 1 pre-cooked bacon joint (with bone)
• 3 large or 6 small polish kabanos sausages 
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 500ml of vegetable or chicken stock
• 250ml white wine
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 medium butternut squash
•  1 large jar of sauerkraut

1. Chop the onion, sweet potatoes and squash roughly and sauté in a heavy bottomed pan for a couple of minutes. Add crushed garlic about half way through. Pour in the white wine and let it burn off a bit. 
2. Chop the kabanos and add to the vegetables.
3. Place the cooked bacon joint in the middle of the veggies and make sure they’re surrounding it. Tip: take the skin off the bacon joint, if there is any, and roast in the oven if you want a nice crackling snack while you wait (apparently I am what I eat).
4. Pour the sauerkraut over the meat and vegetables to make a sort of lid (I think this looks pretty and keeps all the moisture in).
5. Pour the stock over the whole thing and cook on a low heat for two hours. After this time, the meat on the bacon joint should fall off the bone.
6. Once cooked, pull the two bones out of the joint and add a handful of chopped parsley to the stew to lighten the whole thing up.
7. Admire my tree: