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This is an extremely simple dish which can be served alone for lunch or in smaller quantities as a main meal accompaniment. It is comprised of only the most natural, freshest produce, is quick to prepare and cook, and crucially for me, like all top quality recipes, does not have a list of ingredients half the length of your arm!

The concept of marrying cabbage with bacon is hardly a new one, but the precise recipe I have devised gives, I believe, a truly unique, extra special flavour. The quantity described below will provide a satisfying lunch for two people.

You will need:

1/2 a small, white cabbage (chopped)
4 lean rashers of unsmoked bacon
1 large onion (sliced)
4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
Handful of fresh coriander, or cilantro in US (roughly chopped)
Freshly grated nutmeg
Olive oil

Grill your bacon until it is cooked but not crisped. Put it on a plate and set it aside for now. Cut the remaining core out of your half cabbage by making a v-shaped insertion with a large chopping knife. Chop the cabbage across ways to leave you with long, thin slices. Cut the onion in half, downwards through the central core, then lay each half flat and slice finely. Take a large pan and put in about a tablespoonful of olive oil. Heat it up then add first of all the garlic to sweat off for a minute, though not colour. Add the cabbage and the onion and keep on a medium heat, stirring frequently and thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Using a small hand-grater, you should go back and forward eight to ten times with your nutmeg kernel to give just the right hint of flavour, though this can be varied as desired. After about ten minutes, the cabbage and the onion should be starting to soften through. Roughly chop your bacon rashers and add to the pan along with your coriander (cilantro) to heat through for a few minutes. Plate up and serve.

Note the absence of salt/pepper in this recipe. It is my belief that enough salt comes from the bacon to sufficiently season the dish along with the nutmeg. That, naturally, is also something that can be varied according to taste.

Learn more about this author, Gordon Hamilton.
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