Fried cabbage and ham
Shedding the cabbage and frying it in butter with vinegar and tart green apple reproduces a classic dish with a depth of flavour
SERVES
2
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
10
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
20
MINUTES
Ingredients
50g butter
2 medium shallots, sliced thinly
2 green apples, cored and chopped roughly
2 small spring green cabbages
250-300g of cooked ham
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1½ tsp caraway or fennel seeds
good handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
50g hard Irish farmhouse cheese
black pepper
salt
rapeseed oil or olive oil
Method
Remove the outer leaves and ends of the cabbages and shred into ribbons. Melt the butter in a large frying pan with a little rapeseed oil so it doesn’t burn. The heat should be high and the butter just starting to bubble when you add the sliced shallot. Cook the onion until it starts to turn soft and golden, around five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Next, add the diced apple and the caraway or fennel seeds (you could always add some crushed juniper berries instead). Season the ingredients with salt and black pepper, add the cider vinegar and cook for a further three minutes until the apple starts to become caramelised at the edges.
Add the cabbage, either all together if you have space, or else in two batches, waiting for the first batch to wilt down a little before adding the second. Stir all ingredients over a high heat for around 10 minutes until the cabbage is starting to get crispy and the flavours combine.
Lastly, add the shredded ham and stir for a further three to five minutes before taking the pan off the heat and stirring through the chopped parsley.
Serve immediately with a few shavings of a good hard Irish farmhouse cheese or even a nice pecorino or Parmesan.
