Pan-cooked cabbage with potatoes, speck and sausage (Verza e patate in tecia)

Potatoes and cabbage were staples of winter meals in Istria; plentiful, filling and affordable. This dish tastes even better a day or more after it is made – though it is so delicious it probably won't last that long.

Pan-cooked cabbage with potatoes, speck & sausage (Verza e patate in tecia) Credit: Paola Bacchia

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  55 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

"Speck or pancetta add fat and flavour to this simple dish, based on one Alice, my friend Tamara's mother, would make, using savoy cabbage and potatoes from her husband Erminio's garden. I also add sauerkraut for acidity, and caraway seeds for complexity, as I love their fragrant anise-like taste. To make this a complete wintery meal, I like to include a few good-quality pork sausages or partially cured chorizo."

Ingredients

• ½ savoy cabbage
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 large desiree or other all-purpose potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled
• 2–3 good-quality pork or chorizo sausages
• 100 g speck or pancetta, diced
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 250 g sauerkraut, drained
• ¾ tsp caraway seeds, crushed

Instructions

1. Roughly chop the cabbage into strips and remove the central spine. Place in a large saucepan of boiling salted water and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Place the whole potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, season with salt, then reduce the heat and simmer rapidly for 25–30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender, but still whole.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, pierce the sausages a few times with a fork and place in a small saucepan filled with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through. (You can pan-fry the sausages instead, if you like.) Chop into chunks and set aside.
4. Place the speck, onion and olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium–low heat. Sauté for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders and the onion has softened, but not browned. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the cabbage and the drained sauerkraut. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Stir in the caraway seeds and cook for 5 minutes or so, until all the flavours have combined, then add the sausages. When your potatoes are fork-tender, drain them and drop them whole into the pan. Crush the potatoes with the back of a fork; you want them to be partially mashed, but still have a few chunky pieces. Cook for about 5 minutes, then season to taste with salt.

  

Istria: Recipes and stories from the hidden heart of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia by Paola Bacchia, published by Smith Street Books (RRP $55.00). Photography by Paola Bacchia.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

"Speck or pancetta add fat and flavour to this simple dish, based on one Alice, my friend Tamara's mother, would make, using savoy cabbage and potatoes from her husband Erminio's garden. I also add sauerkraut for acidity, and caraway seeds for complexity, as I love their fragrant anise-like taste. To make this a complete wintery meal, I like to include a few good-quality pork sausages or partially cured chorizo."