Funny British name. One simple dish. A combination of lightly fried cabbage and mashed potatoes, bubble and squeak is so easy peasy that you can make it completely with leftovers. If you fancy stretching your dollar and see your extra food put to use than tossed in the rubbish, this is the food for you. No leftovers? You can, of course, prepare mashed potatoes and saute up some cabbage and then assemble your bubble and squeak.
If you don’t have cabbage, many other greens can work. Spinach, kale, or bok choy are some good alternatives available now.
Whether already cooked or not, we need the cabbage in small strips to easily mix with the potatoes. Take the leaves, stack them together and roll them up. Slice into strips. If not cooked already, saute in a little oil until tender.
As for potatoes, we want them mashed. Suppose you don’t already have these ready to go, peel and cut the potatoes and boil them until tender. Mash and season as you like. If leftover, you’ll want to heat them with a little butter to soften up.
When the cabbage and potatoes are both ready to go – which, if you made this the day after a roast dinner, you could have both readily available – mix them together. Your first time making bubble and squeak, start with equal parts cabbage and potato to see how you like the ratio. You might find you’d like a greater percentage of cabbage next time.
Season with salt, pepper, butter, and nutmeg to your liking, and give it all a good mix. Add in whatever other leftovers you see fit. If you did make this with your leftover roast ingredients, chopped pieces of meat would be a nice addition. On the other hand, so would chopped cooked broccoli or carrots. Whatever you do – don’t be afraid to make it your own.
Take a serving size of the bubble and squeak mixture and flatten into the bottom of a frying pan coated with butter. A metal spatula will make the job easy. You could make your bubble and squeak into small cakes, or one large piece, depending on if you intend to serve as a main dish or side.
If you think your bubble and squeak has to look perfect, that’s bollocks. It may very well fall apart, and that’s just fine. To get a nice browning, cook slowly over low heat and listen. Do you hear it bubbling and squeaking? Yeah, that’s how this dish got its name – from the noise it makes when cooking. Flip and brown the other side when ready.
And Bob’s your uncle! Top with sour cream, yogurt, ketchup – whatever you’d like. A large piece of bubble and squeak, with or without a green salad, is a quick, filling dinner on these cold evenings. Grab a cider and dig in. Cheers!