Serves 4–6
This is one of those recipes that’s great for emptying the fridge and using up cooked vegetables and meats like chicken, ham or bacon. It’s easy to make but looks impressive with its crisp topping of filo pastry. It works great with chicken and mushroom and a little tarragon or in this case, leftover bacon and cabbage with parsley sauce. If you want to make the dish vegetarian, just replace the meat with even more cooked vegetables and use vegetable stock. Filo is available in most supermarkets as well as Middle Eastern shops. The sheets of Middle Eastern filo are larger than standard supermarket varieties and have an amazing flavour.
600g cabbage – either leftover cooked cabbage or raw
90g butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
60g plain flour
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
600g cooked bacon or ham, torn into pieces
100ml cream
a large handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the topping:
1 pack of filo pastry, thawed
100g butter, melted
To serve:
steamed baby potatoes
If you’re using raw cabbage, shred it and set aside.
Melt 30g of the butter in a large pan over a medium heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until it’s starting to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onion and garlic to a plate and set aside.
With the pan still on a medium heat, add the remaining 60g of butter and allow it to melt. When it starts to foam, add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the stock a little at a time and reduce the heat a bit.
If you’re using the raw shredded cabbage, add it now. Regardless of whether or not you add the raw cabbage at this stage, simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, stirring several times to stop it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add the cooked onion and garlic to the sauce along with the cooked bacon or ham, cream and parsley. If you’re using leftover cooked cabbage, add that now. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into a 25cm pie dish and allow to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
Put a sheet of filo pastry on a clean chopping board and brush with some of the melted butter. Gently scrunch up the pastry, then put it on top of the filling. Repeat with the remaining sheets of filo, making sure the filling is completely covered. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
To serve, simply spoon into warmed bowls with steamed baby potatoes on the side.
