Rumbledethumps - Celtic Potato, Cabbage & Cheese Gratin

French Tart's Note:

A wonderful combination of mashed potatoes, Savoy cabbage, cheese & chives - baked OR grilled to give a crispy cheesy topping. This is one of my very favourite family recipes - my Mum used to make it, as did her Mum before her! This is a Scottish recipe, similar to Irish Colcannon, which is also a potato & cabbage dish. You can serve this as a vegetable accompaniment or as a light luncheon dish with crusty bread & extra vegetables. P.S. My daughter calls this baked Bubble and Squeak & always asks for it when she comes home from university!

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 1 1/2 lbs potatoes, peeled & cut into small even size pieces
• 6 -8 large savoy cabbage leaves, washed, trimmed & cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 4 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
• 2 ounces butter
• 2 -4 tablespoons milk
• salt
• pepper
• 4 ounces scottish cheddar cheese or 4 ounces local cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 225C/450F - ONLY if you wish to bake this. Otherwise, this dish can be grilled.
2. Lightly grease a heat resistant serving or baking dish.
3. Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until soft.
4. At the the same time, boil the savoy cabbage for 5 minutes maximum - take off the heat, drain & allow to cool in a colander.
5. Drain the potatoes and add the butter, milk, salt and pepper. Using a potato masher or hand held mixer - mix & mash the potatoes thoroughly until smooth & with no lumps.
6. Add the cabbage & chives to the mashed potatoes - gently mix together.
7. Pile the Rumbledethumps mixture into your serving or baking dish - scatter the grated cheddar cheese over the top and EITHER, bake for 15 - 20 minutes in the oven OR put under a hot grill for about 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.
8. Serve immediately with grilled or roast meat, casseroles, stews or roast chicken.
9. This also makes a wonderful vegetarian meal or a light luncheon dish - serve with crusty bread and extra vegetables if you wish.
10. This serves 4 people as an accompaniment and 2 people as a light luncheon dish.

Reviews

[SarasotaCook]

Perfect. I love cabbage, love potatoes and cheese. What is not to like. I had some Irish sausage, I know, not quite the same, however, I served the lightly pan sauteed sausage, lightly browned with the potato and cabbage casserole. I made this for for a friend and I ate with them and them loved it. Me too. It was excellent. I even used a traditional scottish cheddar from a small store up in Tampa FL, It was great. Plenty of chives. We were all very very happy campers at the end of the night. Thx again, as a total cabbage fan ... this will definitely be on my list. I highly admit the scottist cheddar if you can get it, it made great to excellent or excellent to fabulouso!! Thx, Kim

[micro_ang]

Fantastic simple and tasty side dish, great at any time of year. Definately worth 5 stars!

[Baby Kato]

Another winner from the fabulous French Tart. Your recipes never disappoint and this one is no exception. What an excellent comfort food. We really enjoyed this rich and savory addition to the meal. I couldn't get a savoy cabbage so used a plain ole pale green variety. I also used a mixture of grated cheese, that I had on hand. It worked well in this tasty dish. Into my keeper box this goes. Thanks for sharing. Made for May Herb of the Month - Chives :)