Ingredients of the Week Potatoes and cabbage

This is the last week of strangely named old dishes, I promise.

This one is probably my favourite of the three. Bubble and squeak is a traditional dish made using leftover potatoes and cabbage usually from a roast dinner.

The potatoes – whether they were originally mashed, roast or boiled – are mashed together with cabbage and either made into cakes and fried in dripping or cooked together in a pan and served in slices more akin to a Spanish tortilla.

It’s one of many dishes born out of necessity in kitchens and become firm favourites, meals where absolutely everything was used so as to have no waste.

I’m thinking specifically of two Scottish dishes: stovies – potatoes cooked with leftover scraps of meat and onions; and rumbledethumps – made again with leftover potatoes and turnip fried with onions and then baked. They are both absolutely delicious and rumbledethumps is another very strange name.

Bubble and squeak got its name, apparently from the noises coming from the hot pan as the potatoes bubbled and the cabbage squeaked. I like to cook the bubble and squeak as little patties or cakes and enjoy them for a breakfast or brunch with a poached egg and mushrooms. Enjoy.