Boiled Bacon with Cabbage and Parsley Sauce
Granny Marshall was a huge fan of this national dish. Such hearty ingredients all brought together and served with boiled potatoes sprinkled with parsley or mashed potatoes with a puddle of butter in the middle. Accompanying was always mashed turnip – whi
SERVES
6
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
60
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
50
MINUTES
Ingredients
2kg (4 lb 7 oz) loin of bacon, soaked overnight in cold water
1 onion, cut into quarters
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stalks roughly chopped
10 peppercorns 2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
2 teaspoons mustard
2 teaspoons soft light brown sugar
Parsley Sauce
55 g (2 oz) butter
55 g (2 oz) plain flour
1 bay leaf
710 ml ( 24 fl oz) reserved cooking liquid
55 ml (2 fl oz) cream
3 tablespoons very finely chopped parsley
1 savoy cabbage, quartered, cored and sliced
Method
Lift the loin of bacon out of the cold water, rinse in fresh water, set aside, rinse out the pan and return the loin to the saucepan.
Cover with cold water and slowly bring to the boil, skim off any impurities as you go.
Once at the boil, strain off the water, cover with fresh water add the onion, carrot, celery, peppercorns, bay leaves and thyme.
Bring to the boil again, turn down the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes per 450 g (1 lb).
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Remove the joint from the pan, reserve the cooking liquid.
Remove the rind from the joint and score the fat.
Place the joint in a roasting tin and spread the fat with the mustard and sprinkle over the sugar.
Place in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile make the parsley sauce: Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and cook out for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in the cooking liquid, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 2 minutes, season, add the cream and stir in the parsley.
Set aside and keep warm.
Bring the remaining cooking liquid to the boil and add the cabbage, cook for 3 minutes, then drain and season.
Slice the bacon, lay on some cabbage and drizzle over the parsley sauce.
