Savoy Cabbage.

I like cabbage. As we're trying to eat regional and seasonal food, that is a good thing, for winter in Germany means that quite a few different kinds of cabbage are available. The usual white cabbage, of course, which can also be nicely turned into Sauerkraut; brussels  sprouts, which some people just hate (I love them), and many more.

One of my favourite cabbage side dishes, typical in Franconia, is Wirsing - Savoy Cabbage. Though it's pronounced a little differently hereabouts... more like "Wähschingg". Anyway, just in case you're interested, here's how I do it:

Remove dodgy leaves from the outside of the head; cut into quarters and remove the core, then cut into stripes. (Sometimes a recipe tells you to remove the thicker stems of the leaves - I don't bother. You'll find out why in a bit.) Place into a large enough bowl, pour boiling water over, let sit for 2-3 minutes, then stir it a bit before transferring the cabbage to a clean pot. (This will allegedly make the cabbage easier to digest. I mostly do it because it's a quick and convenient way to get rid of any dirt that may have been hiding between the leaves.) Add salt and some water to the pot with the cabbage, bring to a boil and let it boil for at least half an hour - better if for an hour. The cabbage should be all soft. Make sure it does not run out of water while boiling.

Now it's time to turn it into mush. If there's a lot of liquid still in the pot, you might want to drain some. I use a stick blender to get a thick sludge. It should be firm and fairly dry, because now we add more salt if necessary, a bit of pepper, a dash of nutmeg and a generous dash of cream. If the cabbage is fairly runny after pureeing, you can let it boil a bit more on low heat to remove some of the liquid. Add more cream, water, or milk if it's too dry.



It looks like unspectacular pastel-green sludge - but oh, it's delicious!

Serve hot and enjoy - this is a wonderful side for fried sausages or roasts of all kinds, including roasted duck or goose. Dumplings or potatoes would be the typical second side dish for these.