Cabbage Cobbler

What's that you say?  I thought cobbler was a sweet dish?  Me too.  It was only when I was checking up the meaning of cobbler that I saw that it could be either sweet or savoury.  And why was I checking up the meaning of cobbler you may well ask?  Because I had been planning to make a cabbage galette, and was searching the Net for recipes and came across one from the NZ Women's Weekly (there seems to be a bit of an obsession going on with me re NZ recipes and food history lately).  So when I actually made this dish, I discovered that it was nothing like any French galette I had ever seen, so in honesty I thought I had to re-name it.  And the word "cobbler" jumped into my head.  I think it is much more accurate for this particular dish.  Either way, it is a comforting and filling dish on a cold winter's night.
Mr Pickings and I have been to New Zealand several times over the last few years, and always love to visit. And the food is always wonderful, and sometimes a bit different.  I think the scariest dish we saw there was possum pie.  Possums are considered a pest, and they kill them to make possum gloves etc, and they turn them into pies!  I couldn't actually bring myself to eat one so I cannot report on the flavour.  Ah well, next time!

Ingredients:

850g cabbage, finely shredded
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
250g rindless bacon, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
a good pinch of cayenne
a few good twists of freshly ground nutmeg
salt and pepper

for the batter:

2 cups self-raising flour
3 spring onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped + 2 tsp lightly dried parsley
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbs olive oil
2 cups milk


Method:

Heat the oven to 180C
Grease a lasagne-sized baking dish with some olive oil  (approx 22cm x 32cm dish)
Steam the chopped cabbage for about 5 mins till slightly softened; no need to cook it thru
Let it cool for 5-10 mins
Place the cabbage, garlic and bacon in a large mixing bowl
Add the oregano, cayenne, nutmeg, salt and pepper
Mix well
Place the mixture into the baking dish; bang it down well with your hands or the back of a large spoon
Grab a medium bowl and throw in the flour, spring onions, parsley, eggs, oil, milk
Season with lots of salt and pepper
Beat it with a whisk till the lumps are gone
Pour this thick batter over the top of the cabbage in an even layer
Bake for 35 mins till the top is golden and firm

ingredients

lots of chopping!

stirring the batter ready to become the cobbler topping

bake till golden and firm

We had this with steamed veggies; feel free to eat it with salad.  There is plenty left over for lunch the next day, which is always handy.  I think next time I will add more herbs and spices, and I might try adding 100g of sauerkraut to give it a buzz.  You could reduce the cabbage somewhat in that case, or not- whatever takes your fancy.  All the recipes for cabbage galette that I have seen suggest using Savoy cabbage, but these seem to be almost impossible to find in the average supermarket or greengrocer lately, so I used what was available - sugarloaf.  Really, I think you could even use kale or cauliflower instead of or as well. Somewhat like a sweet cobbler where you use whichever fruit is in season at the time.  Anyway, it was a tasty dish, and comforting to eat.

possum trapper's camp 1908 (stock image- held in State Library QLD)