Crispy bacon and cabbage cakes with gribiche

Crispy bacon and cabbage cakes with gribiche sauce. Photograph: Harry Weir
Crispy bacon and cabbage cakes with gribiche sauce. Photograph: Harry Weir
Serves: 4
Course: Dinner
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Prep Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

  • ½ savoy cabbage
  • 1tbs vegetable oil
  • 25g butter
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 cooked ham hock
  • 4tbs sauerkraut
  • 1tbs wholegrain mustard
  • 50g butter
  • 50g plain flour
  • 250ml milk
  • 40g grated parmesan
  • Sea salt and pepper
  • 1tbs wholegrain mustard
  • 100g plain flour
  • 2 eggs, mixed with 50ml milk for egg wash
  • 100g Paxo golden breadcrumbs
  • For the gribiche:
  • 3 eggs
  • 2tbs white wine vinegar
  • 1tbs wholegrain mustard
  • Sea salt and pepper
  • 150ml vegetable oil
  • 2tbs diced gherkins
  • 1tbs capers
  • Fresh parsley, diced (approx 1 tbsp)
  • 2-3 dill sprigs, picked
  • For the salad:
  • Handful fresh parsley leaves
  • Handful picked dill fronds
  • Olive oil
  • Juice of half a lemon
  1. Cut the savoy cabbage in half, then remove the core and any loose or wilted outer leaves. Thinly slice the savoy cabbage leaves, then heat a large nonstick pan and add the butter and oil. Add the sliced cabbage to the pan and fry for three to four minutes on a medium heat, stirring regularly, then remove from the pan, season with salt and pepper, and place in a large bowl.
  2. Pick the meat off the ham hock, cut into small strips, then add to the bowl of cooked cabbage. Add the sauerkraut and wholegrain mustard and stir to combine, then set aside.
  3. Heat a small saucepan and add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the flour and cook out for three minutes. Add the milk and start whisking to keep the mix smooth. Allow the mix to slowly come to the boil while whisking regularly, then lower the heat and keep stirring it until it thickens (it needs to be quite thick).
  4. Remove from the heat, then stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Pour the mix into the bowl with the cabbage and ham and stir well to combine evenly. Spray or brush a small casserole dish with some oil, then line with a large sheet of clingfilm. Spoon the bacon and cabbage mix into the dish and smooth out and compress with a spatula (you want the mix to be 3-4cm deep), then place in the fridge for at least three hours.
  5. Remove bacon and cabbage dish from the fridge and turn out on to a chopping board. Remove the cling film, then cut the mix neatly into squares of about 6-7cm. Set up three bowls: one with flour in it, one with egg wash, and one with Paxo golden breadcrumbs in it. Dip the cakes to coat in the flour, then the egg wash, then the breadcrumbs. Repeat the process a second time to make sure they are fully coated, then place on a plate and set aside.
  6. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place a small pot of boiling water on the heat and carefully lower the eggs in with a spoon. Simmer for eight minutes, then remove the eggs and place in a bowl of iced water.
  7. Heat a nonstick frying pan and add three tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the breaded cakes and carefully fry on a low to medium heat for three to four minutes on each side, until brown, then place them on a baking tray to finish in the oven for 10 minutes at 180 degrees.
  8. While the cakes are in the oven, make the gribiche. Remove the shells from the boiled eggs. Slice the eggs in half and scoop the yolks out and into a bowl. Dice the cooked egg white and set aside. Add the white wine vinegar, mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper to the egg yolks and whisk until quite smooth. Then slowly start adding the oil, whisking continuously (the sauce should emulsify). After the oil has been added, finish by stirring in the diced egg whites, gherkins, capers and herbs.
  9. Dress the picked parsley and dill in some olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt. Remove the cakes from the oven and serve with a spoon of the gribiche, some dressed greens and a wedge of lemon.
Mark Moriarty

Mark Moriarty

Mark Moriarty is an award winning chef, TV host, author and Irish Times columnist.