For the Love of Cabbage
Photo © Rob Jones
“Remorse is eating his soul like a caterpillar in a cabbage.”
Me and Cabbage go back a long way.
I would say that for much of my life it has been a hate/hate relationship. It was always served up for lunch (or dinner where I came from, what is now universally known as lunchtime. We had Tea in place of what is now Dinner.) I stick to the old ways.
I think it was served up at 1pm because my mum probably knew that no way was she ever going to get it past my dad. She liked it. So she cooked it when he was out at work and the smell of it cooking would have been long gone by the time he got home.
My dad liked dishes to have a name, or at least an epithet.
So, eggs had to be devilled, as did kidneys. Leeks had to be au gratin. Roast lamb wasn’t complete without mint sauce and redcurrant jelly. The only problem was that there was a high risk that the dish wouldn’t live up to the expectations.
Where we kids were concerned, it was ‘you’ll get what you’re given.’ And actually most of the time that was fine. There were just some days when the ‘thing’ in the pan couldn’t be identified by sight or smell. Coming from a farming background in North Wales, it was inevitably going to be offal and, (to my youthful tastes), awful.
So cabbage occasionally happened. Boiled to within an inch of existence and served without seasoning.
Which is why these days, I find myself on an eternal quest to make the vegetables I detested most in my youth, into something that was a joy to eat. There must be a way to make everything palatable, I insist.
Normally, I’m happy with cutting cabbage into shreds, steaming it and then tossing it in butter, ground pepper and a pinch of salt, and that does me fine.
Only tonight I was faced with a dilemma. It was hake, steamed in the oven, with nothing added or taken away. A nice meaty chunk.
Accompanied with sweet potatoes, diced, softened in the microwave, tossed in butter and baked in the oven.
But … there had to be a third … but what? Staring deep into the larder, I found a cabbage staring back, deeply into my soul.
So … steamed it.
In a separate pan I fried up some garlic, spring onions, and grated parsnip. Sprinkled a spoonful of flour to make a roux. In with a cup of milk, a cup of cream and a handful of strong cheese. When nice and thick I tipped in the wilted cabbage and made sure every last surface was covered with the sauce. Put a lid on the pan and allowed to infuse, off the heat.
Result - the star of the show!
For my next trick….
RJ
