This is a recipe from a friend and former colleague Joe Bursell, today with a lovely cabbage and bacon recipe. It’s a stir-fry style rather than braised, so is quick but needs a good quality of prep.
The ingredients are few and easily accessible, it doesn’t use many utensils, and the techniques are simple BUT It tastes big and can be presented well without much flair…
1 Head of savoy cabbage
6 rashers of thick, unsmoked back bacon- the fattier the better
Ordinary olive oil- Grade C or lower
Medium soy sauce
Quarter the cabbage and slice out the stalk.
Shred the quarters (5mm is a good size to aim for).
Slice the rind/fat off the bacon.
Put the bacon meat to one side.
Finely dice the thin strips of bacon fat- no need to be uniform, just small.
Dr- fry the diced rind in a large wok (preferably a well used/seasoned one) on a medium heat until the fat renders from the rind, creating a bacon oil. The pieces of rind should be a dark golden brown and crisp.
Pour this through a sieve, collecting the liquid fat in a bowl, and placing the now crisp diced rind onto a kitchen towel covered plate- so that they maintain their crispness.
Cut the bacon meat into roughly 2cm squares.
Fry the meat pieces in a small amount of the bacon oil until they are just cooked- no need to colour them.
Remove the bacon pieces and lay them with the crisp diced rind.
Add the bacon oil to the wok.
Add olive oil to dilute the bacon oil 50/50 – the bacon oil gives great flavour, the low grade olive oil gives volume.
Bring to a good heat- just under smoking.
Add the shredded cabbage and allow it to stand momentarily, only long enough to give a little colour to the cabbage.
Now, move the cabbage around the wok, being careful not to let it catch or burn.
After a short while the cabbage will give off its own steam.
Once this happens keep tasting the cabbage for texture- you are looking for a texture that is right for you- a little bite is good, too soft and the whole dish becomes tainted with iron.
When you are happy with the texture of the cabbage return the cooked rind and bacon meat to the wok and stir through.
Season the mix with the soy sauce- a little at a time as the bacon has salt enough.
The soy gives a smoky depth, but needs a moderate hand.
Serve in a big bowl with traditional Sunday roast veggies, or to accompany grilled white meats.
Joe likes it on its own as a supper dish, with a nice glass of merlot.
