BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

Childhood memories of Bubble, still fresh in the mind, crispy fried potatoes with leftover veg, gravy from yesterdays roast, maybe a little meat on the side if we were lucky!
Bubble and squeak is a traditional British dish, very similar to Colcannon the Irish favourite. Surprisingly this dish has a little lore to help it along with it own piece of cockney rhyming slang "BUBBLE AND SQUEAK- GREEK". The term bubble applies to the noise that the mashed potato makes when fried, and if cooked the traditional way as a giant Pattie is does indeed bubble as it cooks as for the squeak it is said that the cabbage makes it own noise, squeaking as it cooks!
Traditionally Cabbage is added or in place Brussels sprouts, in reality recipes evolve over time, i like too add some parsley and chives but this is in no way traditional. All manner of leftover veg can be added, but for now we will stick with good old Cabbage.

RECIPE;

500g floury potatoes
50g butter (unsalted)
200-400g Cabbage- shredded centre stalk removed
1 onion - sliced
20g flat parsley
10g chives
Sea salt
Black pepper
oil(olive,veg,sunflower)3-4 tbsp
Hot milk 1-3 tbsp (optional)


THE MASH

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, drain, mash in the pan with butter,parsley and chives, season to taste with salt and pepper. If the mash is too dense you can add a little hot milk, but you do not want a wall paper paste consistency!

THE SQUEAK

Add half the oil to a heavy based saute pan, fry the onion and cabbage for 3 -4 minutes until softened. Season well with salt and pepper, add the mash.

THE BUBBLE

Press the mash firmly down into the pan and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes. You will find that the mash bubbles, hence the name! You will need at this point, to continue to keep the mash in contact with the base of the pan, a good crisp base is what we are looking for.
After or when satisfied that the base is crispy enough, place a suitable sized plate over the saute pan and invert so that the Pattie is now on the plate. Place the rest of the oil into the saute pan and slide the Pattie back in, uncooked side to the base of the pan, cook for a further 5 minutes or until satisfied with crispness.

Turn out onto a plate and serve immediately!

NOTES

Alternatively form into small Patties and fry until crisp on both sides! Bubble and squeak is great eaten as supper or as a breakfast dish with fried eggs and bacon or even served alone, or with eggs. Traditionally eaten on mondays or the day after a roast.This is a dish of thrift using leftovers, fresh ingredients really shine when paired with mash and fried. Broccoli,kale and sprouts are all good, adjust cooking times accordingly. As kids all manner of veg would appear from cauliflower to carrots.

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE

Being truthful i was never a fan of cauliflower as a child. Why oh why would i want to eat something that looks cross between an albino brain and a bonsai tree on steroids?
Well there are several reasons really, Honest! Cauliflowers are nutritious, low in calories, cheap and have super food status - Unfortunately when your a child none of these reasons really amount too much! That is until you pour a good cheese sauce over the florets and bake in an oven.
Thankfully as I've matured so has my palette, so i find myself enjoying just cooked cauliflower with a sprinkle of sea salt and a turn of black pepper, with the cheese sauce as a treat occasionally. Cauliflower cheese although often relegated to veggie frozen food fodder, should be a treat. A good cauliflower cheese can stand alone or be served as a side say with roast meats, particularly roast beef!

RECIPE;
Serve 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main.

1 lge head of cauliflower(outer foliage removed)
200g mature Cheddar(grated)
1 small onion
400ml of milk(semi or whole)
75g unsalted butter
50g plain flour
5 black peppercorns(whole)
3 cloves(whole)
1 bay leaf(torn)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
5 tsp double cream(optional)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese(optional)
Pinch of chilli powder(optional)
Pinch of ground mace(optional)
Nutmeg to taste
Sea salt and ground pepper(Please remember that pepper has already been used and that you may have sufficient salt from the cheese).

METHOD;
Roughly chop the onion and place in a pan with the milk,cloves,black pepper corns and the bay leaf. Bring to the boil, take off heat and set aside to infuse for 20 minutes.
Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil(1 tsp of salt per a litre of water).Trim Cauliflower of foliage, cut into bite sized florets. Cook for 8-10 minutes,drain and reserve.
Just before the end of the milk infusion time, melt the butter in a saucepan, once melted gradually sieve plain flour into the butter, stirring to form a roux. This is the basis of the white sauce. Once a smooth paste has formed-free of lumps, strain the infused milk into the roux, whilst stirring at all times. Once incorporated gradually add the cheese. Once smooth add Dijon mustard and double cream-if using.
Adjust seasoning if required and add optional mace and/or chilli if desired.
Placed reserved Cauliflower florets into an ovenproof dish and pour on the cheese sauce, place into a preheated oven 190/375f/gas 5 for 15 minutes, remove, add a grating of nutmeg too taste and the Parmesan cheese. Return too the oven and remove when browned.

NOTES;

While not a standard cheese sauce for cauliflower, and probably not the easiest recipe around the effort is worth it, as they say the proof is in the pudding!
All manner of extra ingredients could be used crispy bacon or pancetta could be added along with breadcrumbs for the final browning. Chopped chives,horseradish sauce or English mustard could be used instead. You could add cooked pasta too the recipe for a hybrid of Macaroni cheese. Really, variations could be endless.