CSA Week 5 and two good dogs
This is week five of the CSA share from Sol to Seed Farm. Here’s what’s in this week’s box:
Everything looks colorful and delicious. I am excited to see Savoy cabbage and first of the year potatoes in this week’s box. It inspires me to make Bubble and Squeak, which is usually made with leftover vegetables and pan drippings, but it’s delicious enough to make with fresh ingredients.
I first learned about this dish from watching the 1990’s cooking television series Two Fat Ladies, featuring the memorable Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson. The series was produced years before “butter y’all” at a time when the two opinionated hosts would often ignore the rationale of vegetarianism (I was a vegetarian in the 1990’s and I still thought they were wonderful), and regularly promoting the use of lard as a preferred cooking fat. Jennifer passed away in 1999 so there won’t be any more shows produced. Two Fat Ladies, in my opinion, was as entertaining and inspiring as Julia Child’s The French Chef series from the 1960s and 70’s.
Clarissa would not approve, but you can make this recipe vegan (olive or peanut oil) or vegetarian (with butter or ghee). And I will be using the savoy cabbage, purple potatoes and onions from this week’s share. No leftovers required before or remaining.
Bubble and Squeak
Serves 4
- 2 ounces olive oil, butter, bacon drippings or 2 ounces of lard
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 pound cold cooked potatoes, peeled
- 1/2 lb cold cooked Savoy or green cabbage, chopped
- Kosher or sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and ground nutmeg to taste
- Finely chop the potatoes and crush slightly with the side of your knife
In a frying pan, melt half the fat and lightly fry the onion. Mix in the potato and cabbage and season well. Add more dripping or lard. Press the potato/cabbage mixture (or bubble) into pan and fry over a medium heat until browned underneath (this is usually where you hear the squeak). Turn the potato “bubble” over, add the last of the fat and fry until the other side is golden brown. You can make this recipe as one large “bubble” or divide into individual potato cakes.
BrinyLife 