I love winter food . . . comfort food, warming and filling. Indoor food. Foods like earthy root vegetables and potatoes . . . leeks and cabbage.

We just adore red cabbage, gently spiced . . . sweet and sour almost . . . it's absolutely lovely with pork and turkey . . . another favourite meal of ours is simply sauteed white cabbage stirred together with rice or noodles.
Sauteed, boiled . . . pickled, steamed . . . stewed and even raw. Cabbage is a favourite winter food in the Rayner household, full stop.

Most people make the mistake of overcooking their cabbage, and don't get me wrong . . . there is a perfect time for that . . . think stuffed cabbage here, or baked with sausage, Trou style.
This recipe is the perfect way to showcase the brilliant green and earthy, jewel-like Savoy variety.
I could eat a whole plate of nothing but this . . . but it does go particularly well with roasted chicken and potatoes.
Delicious.

*Cabbage with Pancetta and Cream*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Cabbage and bacon are a marriage made in heaven . . . add some cream and you have bliss. Perfect side dish for roast chicken and potatoes.
1 large bay leaf
1 savoy cabbage (about 3 pounds)
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
100g chopped pancetta (about 1/2 cup)
half a dozen sage leaves, thinly sliced
4 TBS creme fraiche or double cream
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the bay leaf, broken in half. Cut the cabbage into quarters and blanch it in the boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain well and set aside. Allow to cool until you can touch it with your hands. Cut out the cores and discard. Cut the remainder of the cabbage into thick slices, crosswise.
Heat the butter and olive oil together in a large skillet. Once the butter begins to foam add the pancetta and sage. Cook and stir over high heat for about a minute. Add the cabbage along with some salt and cook, stirring occasionally for several minutes, until heated through. Add the cream and heat through, stirring to combine completely. Season to taste with some more salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
Sauteed, boiled . . . pickled, steamed . . . stewed and even raw.
Most people make the mistake of overcooking their cabbage, and don't get me wrong . . . there is a perfect time for that . . . think stuffed cabbage here, or baked with sausage, Trou style.
This recipe is the perfect way to showcase the brilliant green and earthy, jewel-like Savoy variety.
I could eat a whole plate of nothing but this . . . but it does go particularly well with roasted chicken and potatoes.
Delicious.
*Cabbage with Pancetta and Cream*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Cabbage and bacon are a marriage made in heaven . . . add some cream and you have bliss. Perfect side dish for roast chicken and potatoes.
1 large bay leaf
1 savoy cabbage (about 3 pounds)
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
100g chopped pancetta (about 1/2 cup)
half a dozen sage leaves, thinly sliced
4 TBS creme fraiche or double cream
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the bay leaf, broken in half. Cut the cabbage into quarters and blanch it in the boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain well and set aside. Allow to cool until you can touch it with your hands. Cut out the cores and discard. Cut the remainder of the cabbage into thick slices, crosswise.
Heat the butter and olive oil together in a large skillet. Once the butter begins to foam add the pancetta and sage. Cook and stir over high heat for about a minute. Add the cabbage along with some salt and cook, stirring occasionally for several minutes, until heated through. Add the cream and heat through, stirring to combine completely. Season to taste with some more salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
It's a cold, wet, rainy day out there today. Not fit for man nor beast. It could always be worse however as it could be snowing.
- butter (I use regular butter in most of my cooking)
- onions (just ordinary brown skinned cooking)
- potatoes (any potato will do, peel or not as you prefer)
- cabbage (I used the everyday cabbage or white cabbage as it is known in the UK)
- salt, pepper
- water or chicken stock (note if using stock, you may not need as much salt)
Fried Cabbage and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 TBS butter (4)
- 1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced (1 medium onion)
- 2 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (4 potatoes)
- 1/2 small head of cabbage, cored and chopped (1 full head)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- water or chicken stock
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat until it starts to foam. Add the onions, cook and stir for 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the potatoes.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and onions are cooked through and beginning to brown. Remove to a bowl and keep warm.
- Add the cabbage to the skillet. Season with some salt and pepper and add 1/4 cup (60ml) water or chicken stock. Cover and cook until the cabbage is tender (about 20 minutes). Keep an eye on it and stir it every so often.
- Uncover and turn up the heat to evaporate any water/stock which may remain in the pan. Return the onions and potatoes to the pan and toss everything together to combine.
- Heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Serve hot.
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Fried Cabbage with Bacon & Onions
Ingredients:
- 6 rashers of streaky bacon
- 1 large brown onion, peeled and diced
- 2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 medium head of white cabbage, trimmed, cored and sliced
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
- The following to taste:
- salt, black pepper, onion and garlic powder, paprika
- a knob of butter (optional)
Instructions:
- Heat a skillet and then cook the bacon rashers over medium heat until just crisp. remove and set aside on paper kitchen towelling to drain. Crumble and keep warm.
- Add the onion and carrot to the bacon drippings. (Over here our bacon is very lean so there wasn't many. If you find that is the case, add a small splash of olive or rapeseed oil.) Cook, stirring to soften. when it begins to caramelize somewhat add the garlic. Cook and stir until fragrant. Add the cabbage. Cook, tossing and stirring, until the cabbage begins to soften. Season to taste with the seasonings. Add 60ml (1/4 cup) of water and cover. Cook and steam over low heat until the cabbage has softened. Stir in the bacon crumbles. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. If desired stir in a nob of butter. Serve hot.
notes:
The cabbage was very good on its own and my husband enjoyed. Once I had served him his (as a side dish) I added a splash of dark soy sauce, a splash of mirin, about 1 TBS of hoisin sauce and a pack of Udon noodles, and tossed all together, heating it all through. It was fabulous. Quite simply fabulous. Nummo!
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Even though this year most people's Christmas's are going to be on a much smaller scale, a lot of us will be looking for quick and easy meals to prepare for our family bubble's in the run up to the holidays. Simple dishes like this Smoked Sausage and Cabbage fit the bill perfectly!
Dishes that go together quickly and easily and that use simple every day ingredients. Recipes that are not a lot of work for anyone! Recipes that are delicious and that the family will enjoy. Recipes without a lot of faffing about!
I might not have noticed but one of the recipes I had really wanted and had specifically purchased the book for, the roast chicken, was one of the missing pages. Shame on them.
There are some very unscrupulous people about I have to say. I am glad that I am not one of them!
This recipe really appealed to me for several reasons. One, I love smoked sausage. I also love cabbage, in any way, shape or form!
Two I loved the simplicity of it and its easy of preparation. Other than seasonings, there are really only four simple ingredients.
Whilst hotdogs (frankfurters) are always smoked, a sausage can be either smoked or plain. I enjoy them both ways. Today, for this purpose, you need the smoked.
Smoked sausage, really good smoked sausage, was one of the things I missed when I was in the UK. You could get all kinds of polish sausage, but I was never quite sure which was the best one to use for something like this.
While they are not something which should form a regular part of your diet, they are something which can be very enjoyable from time to time. Both sausages and hotdogs. And yes, I do know what goes into a hotdog.
And some sausages for that matter! I always try to buy only quality, known types of either one. You do get what you pay for in a case such as this. If you don't want to pay a bit more, you get cheap and nasty.
There are many kinds of cabbage available to us these days. I recommend using the hard white cabbage or a winter king cabbage. You want one which will hold its shape well when it is cooked, and not go to mush in the longer cook time.
A savoy or Chinese cabbage would go to mush, and be quite unpalatable. These are more suited to quick cooking methods and do not take very long to cook at all.
I cut my cabbage into 1-inch chunks which worked perfectly for this purpose. It cooked evenly and was beautiful with the smoked sausage. I did not have to add any oil to the pan as the sausage had rendered out just enough to cook the cabbage in.
When Dan got home from work, the first thing he said was, "What smells so good!" High accolade indeed! We served it with potatoes, which we had simply boiled. They were perfect together. I am thinking a nice crusty rye bread would also go well, and perhaps some mustard on the side.
This was a MOST enjoyable meal! The simple things in life really do bring us the most joy.
Smoked Sausage and Cabbage

Ingredients
- 1 pound of smokd sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 6 cups coarsely chopped white cabbage (1 small head)
- 1 large onion, peeled and cut into wedges
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp caraway seeds (optional)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add the sausage to a large skillet. Cook and stir over medium high heat for about 3 minutes, until nicely browned. Scoop out and set aside.
- Add the cabbage, onion, garlic, sugar, caraway seeds (if using), salt and black pepper to the pan drippings. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to brown. (about 5 minutes)
- Add the sausage. Cover the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let stand for five minutes. Serve hot.
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This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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