This recipe was suggested by my friend Jenni and is a fast food dish originating from Germany. I’ve never tried currywurst and was at first a little apprehensive.  I had flashbacks to a show and tell presentation whilst at primary school where I took in another common German dish, sauerkraut.  I have absolutely no idea why I was presenting this, of all things, but I do remember I did not like it one bit!  And so, when Jenni suggested currywurst, I immediately googled it to make sure it wasn’t related in any way to sauerkraut.  Thank goodness it wasn’t.  It is basically a german sausage smothered in a curried tomato sauce and it is often served with chips and/or a crunchy bread roll.

I set of in search of a suitable recipe and decided to use this one.  The recipe calls for the following ingredients:-

• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 Tbsp paprika powder
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• ½ cup (100g) sugar
• ¼ cup (60ml) red wine vinegar
• salt to taste
• 2 bratwurst sausages
• dinner rolls for serving

Those of you who have been following my posts will know that I always include a photo of the ingredients.  I started this recipe in the same way as all the others, by setting out my ingredients ready for their photo.  However, in doing this, I realised I had made a mistake with my prep!

Before I went shopping for the ingredients, I read through and mentally crossed off anything I already had in the cupboard, which included the curry powder.  However, when I went to get out my curry powder, I realised I had got it wrong! In my head I had thought of the chilli powder sat in the cupboard and mistakenly checked of one of the most vital ingredient! Face-palm moment – who thinks they can made currywurst without the curry?!  Anyway, after a quick emergency trip to the supermarket at 8.30 on a Saturday night, I was all ready to go.

I started by chopping the onions and popping them in the saucepan to soften. 

Practical tip: don’t worry about chopping the onions too small – they get taken out of the sauce before you serve up and are merely there to add flavour.

Once the onions were soft, I added the curry powder and paprika.  I let this cook for around a minute and then added the remaining ingredients.  Personally, I didn’t add any salt as I didn’t think it needed it but obviously this comes down to personal preference.

I then let the sauce simmer away for around 20 minutes and got started on the bratwurst.  I opted to cook 3 bratwursts for 2 of us and this worked out to be the perfect serving size.  I heated a little oil in my frying pan and put the sausages in.

I turned the sausages regularly trying to brown all sides.

With everything nearly done, I pushed the sauce through my sieve to remove all the lumpy bits of onions and was left with a lovely silky smooth sauce.  I popped this back in the pan and on the heat until ready to serve.

I cut up the sausages and spooned the sauce over the top.  I was a bit reserved with the sauce at first and ended up going back for more because it was just so delicious.  I served up with some slices of crunchy baguette and some yummy curly fries. 

The verdict – currywurst is absolutely delicious! Whilst we were eating it my boyfriend revealed he was really not looking forward to having this but was surprised at how nice it was.  We did however both agree it was a little sweet and if we have it again (which we will do!), I will put a little less sugar in and probably a little more curry powder. 

One of the best things about this dish was it’s simplicity.  Whilst I cooked it on a Saturday night, it would be a really good mid-week treat and is definitely one I will be doing again!

Coming up next week, Challenge No. 11 – chocolate ganache & cherry tart. 🙂 Hope to see you then.