Thank you, All of you for your comments... Very helpful. I opted to add potato with the jackets to my sausage and sauerkraut and caraway sprinkled on it and make in the crockpot.
Usually in Germany you would get mashed potatoes with that. At least where I live. And also I think, Riesling is perfectly fine, they pair it in Alsace with their traditional sauerkraut (choucroute), or Gewuerztraminer, but I don't know if you can get that in the States.
Mashed potatoes is what we usually eat with brats and sauerkraut, but I need another veg, maybe carrots? Also, I love Gewurztraminer, but it is difficult to find here in the south US. I think I used to have it up north in Maryland or NJ. Peas?
I've decided to go with roasted root vegetables: carrots, parsnips, rutabagas and turnips, and a green salad with apples, green onions and thinly sliced mini sweet peppers. I wanted something lighter than potatoes or bread, that would provide a good contrast to the richness of the sausage and the tang of the sauerkraut. The root vegetables are nutritious, but still sweet and rich in flavor, and the salad adds a freshness, nutrition, and a nice contrast in flavors.
Peas. In fact, in Andre Soltner's Lutece Cookbook, he makes Sauerkraut with Peas, saying it was a traditional Alsatian comfort food he grew up with. It's an excellent combination as a side dish. (I even like the Leseur canned Petite peas I grew up with them!)
I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but in the effort to maintain some sort of culinary tradition, Spätzle don't really go with sausage--unless you make the sauerkraut very juicy. Spätzle are served with dishes that have a lot of sauce or gravy, like goulasch or Sauerbraten or even lentils. Käsespätzle are served as a main course, never as a side dish. A salad and Käsespätzle make a very substantial meal.
Fully agree with Maedl. I am originally from Germany and have never had sausage and sauerkraut paired with Käsespätzle, nor have I seen it served that way in a restaurant. We used to eat sausage and sauerkraut with "Kartoffelbrei" (mashed potatoes) or tiny new potatoes, pan sautéed in butter with a little caraway on them. Alternatively rye bread with caraway seeds.
Käsespätzle! It's incredibly easy to make, and it is a great as a side dish or a main course - (especially with wurstl and kraut). A good recipe using a semolina flour mix can be found here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/05/how-to-make-spatzle-spaetzle-pasta.html
Good mustards (ideally, a grainy one and a hot one among them) are essential. Sides are dark rye bread, green salad, and/or potatoes in any form: If your sauerkraut is cooked for a long time, until almost caramelized and rather mellow, I would go with a vinegary potato salad. Fresher sauerkraut, which still has a lot of tartness to it, goes much better with potatoes that are roasted (with marjoram, juniper, onions) or mashed (possibly with some apples or celery root). My personal favourite, however, would be traditional potato dumplings: mix half cooked and pressed potatoes with half finely grated raw ones (a waxy variety!) and a few tablespoons of potato starch, shape this dough into dumplings the size of baseballs and let them simmer in well salted water for about 15–20 mins.
The sausage and sauerkraut alone would be considered a complete meal in Germany--but this is more of a lunch than dinner. If you want to a more substantial meal, think of something sweet-sour to play with the sauerkraut. Potato salad is a natural, but you should try a German potato salad with a hot, sweet-sour dressing based on bacon fat. Or just serve a good, crusty rye bread. Beer, of course, goes without saying!
Happy to keep my beer! Although I love Riesling, Sauerkraut is too assertive for me to pair with Riesling. I am wondering what the dominant drink to accompany Sauerkraut wiuld be in the Rheinland.
Basic spaetzle with butter and parsley would be good. You could up the ante with a kase spaetzle -- sort of a German mac and cheese that often includes caramelized onions.
This roasted potato salad from Luisa Weiss's website, with a sort of Sauce Gribiche (cornichons, capers, hard boiled eggs, Dijon, etc.) is delicious, and would go well with that meal: http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2009/03/rose-bakerys-potatoes-gribiche.html
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Sides are dark rye bread, green salad, and/or potatoes in any form: If your sauerkraut is cooked for a long time, until almost caramelized and rather mellow, I would go with a vinegary potato salad. Fresher sauerkraut, which still has a lot of tartness to it, goes much better with potatoes that are roasted (with marjoram, juniper, onions) or mashed (possibly with some apples or celery root).
My personal favourite, however, would be traditional potato dumplings: mix half cooked and pressed potatoes with half finely grated raw ones (a waxy variety!) and a few tablespoons of potato starch, shape this dough into dumplings the size of baseballs and let them simmer in well salted water for about 15–20 mins.
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German potato salad...
Peppery greens...
Mustard...
Boiled new potatoes
Lots of good grainy mustard