Richard Arlen’s Buttered Cabbage a la Maryland (with sausages this time)

Do you live on your lonesome? Do you cook yourself something delicious every night? I’ll admit it, sometimes I can’t be bothered, and peanut butter is my closest friend on these occasions. But sometimes, it really is worth the effort and I hereby announce that my new favourite spinster’s supper is Richard’s cabbage with sausages on top.

Richard gave us this serving suggestion when his recipe was published in 1939 and he spoke absolute sense. Because with some super tasty pork and apple sausages, found in the recesses of the frozen archives, this was DIVINE.

It’s the third time I’ve done cabbage Richard’s way, and now know, that I like it best when the cabbage is a bit singed. Perhaps Ottolenghi would do the last bit of this on a griddle pan, I don’t know, but a frying pan at high heat does the job for me.

This was made a while ago and I was multi-tasking, making pumpkin soup from the leftover Halloween Jack O’Lantern as I made my dinner. 

I had The Stepford Wives on DVD on in the background, and I felt like a Stepford Wife myself, when my din dins turned out so good.

Repeat after me, wearing a frilly hostess gown: “I’ll just die if I don’t get this recipe. I’ll just die if I don’t get this recipe. I’ll just die if I don’t get this recipe.”

OK then, here it is!

“Boil the cabbage with a quantity of onions and chop them together; season with pepper and salt and fry in butter.  This is a homely dish, but savory, and is also very tasty served with fried sausages topping it.  Top with this a light dessert and Cafe Royale and you really have something.”

Thanks Richard, to you and your smoking monkey friend!