MetaChat - I need validation

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22 April 2009

I need validation - I believe some of you may have an opinion on my method of cooking Bubble & Squeak. →[More:] I cube the raw potatoes and just cover them in the pot with water. Then I layer on the shredded cabbage and put the chopped onion on top. This way, the potatoes boil, and the cabbage and onions steam (covered pot, of course). Once cooked, I drain off the water, mash the whole thing together, and let it chill overnight in the fridge -- this is a key step, I discovered. Over the next few days, I fry patties of the mix as usual. I like them heavily peppered.

I know this doesn't have the roast juices, but I gotta keep it vegetarian. So, would this pass on a British dinner table? Also, what condiments would you normally serve?

post by: Ardiril at: 22:15 | 6 comments

You're mashing the cabbage? That's just wrong. Plus, I wouldn't cook the onion before frying. Just chop it fine and add to the mashed potatos while warm.

Also, you ideally need all ingredients to be cold before frying. Maybe cook the potatos In the morning.

posted by seanyboy 23 April | 02:00

You knew that last bit. I should learn to read.

posted by seanyboy 23 April | 02:02

Ha! That's exactly how I would have cooked it, seanyboy, if I had just followed my own cook's instincts. I was trying to go for authenticity, and although the web has many recipes, I could identify only a few as being written by non-americans. The few I thought were accurate had no respect whatsoever for the cabbage, rather than just folding it in as you describe, and they all used cooked onions.

I'm surprised vegetarians haven't latched onto this.

posted by Ardiril 23 April | 11:17

As an ex-Brit, I can vouch that you are doing it wrong, Ardiril. The whole point of Bubble & Squeak is to take left-over-from-Sunday-lunch potatoes and cabbage and to fry these up with some onion to give them a bit of flavor (and to make them edible again, after having sat in the 'frig for two days). All this healthy cooking, fresh ingredients, steaming (OMG), and why haven't vegetarians discovered this misses the point. You eat Bubble and Squeak with Bangers (fried sausages). It's British food dammit: a plateful of congealing, saturated fat. It's not supposed to be healthy, fresh, or even that appetizing ... :-)

posted by Susurration 23 April | 12:22

Sussurration: you certainly speak to my inner foodie! Iow, take my usual New England boiled dinner, drain off the liquid, smush it up in a pan, and cook it til it's almost burned.

Damn heart problems!

posted by Ardiril 23 April | 12:37

I'd always thought it was about left-over mash....

posted by pompomtom 23 April | 20:24

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