This is how kale is traditionally prepared in Germany!

Kale is said to be a superfood. It's vitamin packed and one of the few vegetables that can be harvested in winter. Many have kale in smoothies or salads. But in northern Germany, above all, it's a favorite hearty main dish. Hi, I'm Dirk Wolters from the Bioland Hof Restaurant. Today, I'm going to show you how to properly cook northern German kale. So, what do you need to make the northern German classic, kale with pinkle sausage? And what is pinkle sausage anyway? More on that later. This dish will warm you up in winter for sure. Back in the day, kale was only eaten after the first frost because cold weather increases the sugar content of the plant. But with today's varieties, that's not as important. The vegetable can be harvested all year round and it's known all over the world. But perhaps it's only here in northern Germany that kale time is something of a season in its own right. Dirk Wolters has been the head chef at the Bioland Hof Restaurant since 2018. It's located in Sieke, close to the German city of Bremen. Guests here dine beneath 300-year-old oak beams. Dirk doesn't need many ingredients for his traditional kale. Bremen pinkle isn't really a proper sausage. It's a mix of oak porridge, onion and bacon, and it gets mixed into the greens. Some find the name off-putting because colloquially, pinkle means to urinate. But now it's time to cook. First, Dirk removes the thick stems from the leaves. Then the vegetable is blanched briefly in salted water. Dirk sautés the onions in the goose fat. Then the kale and broth get added. Simmering makes the leaves easy to digest. And the seasoning is important. While the kale is cooking, Dirk warms the pork belly, the roast pork and the sausages. At home, you can do this in the same pot with the greens. Then it's arranged nicely. Traditional northern German kale and pinkle, with sausages, pork belly and roast pork. No diet version of the superfood by any means. For people who like their kale vegetarian style, it's best to order a fresh kale salad with apples and walnuts. And for everyone else, in winter, kale with pinkle is a perfect hearty dish for cold weather. Ready to try it?