Braised Savoy Cabbage

I realize that savoy cabbage is not everybody's idea of a delicious meal, but cooked properly it makes for a great side dish to accompany meat (in this case I served it with Saltimbocca and sweet potato mash). The most common way to make savoy cabbage is of course to chop it up and cook it in a mixture of cream and vegetable stock. Tastes great, but let's face it, it's not a pretty sight...not even to mention all that cream :-). So instead, I have recently started cooking the cabbage in large slices, and rather than using cream I simply use broth.

Ingredients (serves 4): 

1 small savoy cabbage, outer leaves removed
300ml beef, vegetable, or chicken stock
Butter

Preparation: 

1. Cut the cabbage in half and then divide each half into 4 slices (as you would do with a melon). Remove the hard bits at the core and tie each slice with a bit of string (you need to do this to prevent the slices from falling apart). 

2. Bring water to the boil in a large saucepan, add salt, and briefly (1-2 minutes at most) place the cabbage in the water. Remove and immediately place in some ice-cold water. Blanching the cabbage this way helps to retain its color. It also serves to soften the cabbage slightly. Once it has cooled off, remove the cabbage from the water and allow to dry off on a bit of kitchen paper. 

3. Heat some butter in a large pan (I usually use clarified butter) and fry the cabbage at relatively high temperature until it starts to brown slightly. Season with salt and pepper and add the stock. Now place the pan in the oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes until soft.