Sauerkraut and ‘Nifla’

What kind of good Dakota girl doesn't know how to make sauerkraut and nifla??
This one didn't until a couple months ago, but I've got it down now and am ready to share!

Just like my previous post about kekle (kuechle), our family apparently goes for the simplified spellings of these words........so we spell it 'nifla'....others spell it 'knoephla' or 'knipfla'.....potayto potahto.....the point is that it is carb heaven.

I don't think its possible to have lived in North Dakota and never eaten sauerkraut and nifla or had a soothing cup of nifla soup...so good. Ya, you betcha. There's probably something wrong with your prairie genes if you don't like it......just saying.

However, at their age, the kids love the nifla, not so much the sauerkraut. So for now, I make them a 'nifla and bacon' version to go alongside my 'nifla and sauerkraut' version. I usually don't cater to their dislikes but more sauerkraut for me so I'm ok with it. Bacon solves everything.

So here's the recipe - if you've never tried it, give it a whirl.........it tastes even better as it gets colder outside!

Sauerkraut and Nifla

Ingredients:

8 eggs
1/2 c water
1 tsp salt
4 c flour
(additional flour for mixing dough)

 

Beat the eggs and then add in salt, flour, and water. Mix the dough with a spatula and then eventually your hands (as it gets less sticky), adding flour until the dough is stiff and you can handle it without it sticking to your fingers. Let it rest for a few minutes.

 

 

Cut the dough into shortened pieces. Roll out each piece into tubes about 1/2 inch thick.

 

 

(Daniel, nifla roller extraordinaire)

 

 

 

Snip little fragments of dough with scissors into pot of boiling water. Make sure not to drop from too high or you get splashed with hot water - ouch.)

Nifla will float when it is done - I let it float for a minute or so and then retrieve and throw in a colander to drain a bit more.

 

 

 

Continue to do the same with all the rolled 'tubes' of dough. Once all the nifla is prepared, you are ready to fry it to brown it a little.

Using a large fry pan (saute pan with higher sides works best) over medium heat, fry the nifla in 1/4 c butter (or a little vegetable oil if you prefer) until a little browned.  You can add onion or even ground sausage or kielbasa.

At this point, I separate out a smaller portion of the nifla/sausage combo to combine with crumbled bacon I've made in the microwave for the 'non-sauerkraut' fans.

To the remainder, I add a can of sauerkraut (I like alot so use the 27 oz can but you can use the bags or smaller size cans - doesn't matter). Let the sauerkraut heat up and use the liquid from the sauerkraut to scrape up all of those great brown bits on the bottom of your fry pan.

Nifla and Bacon                                Nifla and Sauerkraut

 

 

 

 

Serve with salad and a good German beer!