Buttery Savoy Cabbage with Bacon

This is a delicious side dish that pairs perfectly with a roast dinner like my Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb, Beef Brisket or even just a grilled chicken breast or salmon fillet.  Healthy and good for you, the cabbage is full of vitamins and the short steaming process means that it retains all of these.  Make sure to include the darker outside leaves aswell as this is where most of the goodness and anti-oxidants are.  And of course, bacon makes everything better!

Start by chopping up the bacon (I find it easiest to snip it with scissors) into small squares and fry it off in a pan until it’s cooked to your taste – Dan and I have to compromise on this …I like my bacon cremated (as he calls it) and he likes his flabby (as I call it) so we usually aim for something in the middle!

Slice the cabbage up into strips and steam it for a couple of minutes until it’s still al dente but a bit more tender.  I use a steamer basket inside a saucepan – you place the basket inside the saucepan, add a centimetre or so of boiling water to the pan, cover with the lid and the steam is contained and cooks the cabbage.  You could also use a proper steamer if you have one, or even just boil the cabbage very quickly if you don’t have access to a steamer.

Add a knob of butter to the pan and then the steamed cabbage.  Stir everything together so that the cabbage gets all lovely and buttery and the bacon is evenly distributed.  Season well with salt and pepper and it’s ready to serve.

This amount served two of us as a side dish accompaniment to my delicious Slow-Roasted Beef Brisket  It would also be great as a side dish to a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal!  Salty and crunchy and buttery, it’s a really different way to jazz up plain cabbage – and for all those people who think they don’t like cabbage, this might be one way to try it, give it a go, I bet you’ll love it!