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Savoy cabbage with smoked bacon
Salteado de Col con Panceta
Type of Dish:
Hot Tapas
Approx. Preparation Time:
About 60 minutes
Difficulty:
Student's Play
Serves:
6 people
"Where can i buy proper bacon?" is a question I am often asked by British people holidaying in Spain. It is undeniably the case that to buy the bacon people living in northern Europe are used to; in Spain, is not easy.
Too often rashers of bacon in Spain are comprised of ninety per cent fat and ten per cent meat. In a land where pork is so popular and where almost all of the pig is used in cooking, it takes some getting used to that thick cut bacon is almost nowhere to be seen.
Visitors often pick up Panceta believing it to be bacon as they know it. But it is not. But is as close as you will get in most supermarkets.
Here is the first of two lovely recipes using panceta. This time with caramelised onions, paprika and pan fried savoy cabbage.
List of Ingredients:
8 rashers of panceta or smoked back bacon
1 savoy cabbage
Half a teaspoon of smoked and sweet paprika
Olive Oil
25 grams of unsalted butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped
Olive oil
Preparation Instructions:
Pour 3 dashes of olive oil into a cup and add the paprika. Stir well until blended, then leave to one side to infuse.
Pull the leaves off the cabbage keeping as many of the outer, dark green leaves as possible.
Discard any that are too far gone, along with the core. Coarsley tear the leaves you have selected. Wash them well and put them in a pan of boiling water with a generous pinch of salt.
Cook until the cabbage is tender but still with a bit of bite. This should take less than two minutes but keep checking it. Drain and put to one side.
Place a large, heavy based, non stick frying pan on a low to medium heat with 7 dashes of olive oil. When it is smoking hot, add the butter, onion, 1 pinch of salt and pepper and then fry. Stir often and until the onion is golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in a dish to one side. Return the pan to a medium heat and gently fry the bacon or panceta until it just begins to turn brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place with the onions.
If your pan is big enough to hold the cabbage and the other ingredients then use that. If not, then place a large roasting tray on the hob instead. Heat the paprika oil over a medium to high heat and then add the cabbage. Cook for two minutes, stirring all the time, to allow the flavoured oil to infuse the cabbage.
Add the onions, bacon/panceta and two pinches of pepper and cook for a further three minutes, or until everything is hot. Serve without delay.
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