“I’ve made kapuska for lots of friends, and done it in cookery demos for 50 of my chefs a few weeks ago, and nobody can believe how good it is – it’s just stewed cabbage, but it sort of sums up the beauty of Mediterranean cooking,” says Rick Stein.
The celebrity chef, restaurateur and television presenter would head to Australia for cabbage and soppy songs. "I've made kapuska for lots of friends, and done it in cookery demos for 50 of my chefs a few weeks ago, and nobody can believe how good it is " it's just stewed cabbage, but it sort of sums up the beauty of Mediterranean cooking," says Rick Stein.I'd like to cook this meal for my wife, Sarah, and my kids and eat it with them, in our house near Sydney, on Bannister's Head. We'd have it outdoors, on the terrace looking out over the sea, with the rocks below and the swell crashing in over them. It's a very special place to be.We have a long sheep-shearer's pine table, with wooden decking and some fairly ordinary white plastic seats. There's a railed balcony that wraps right around the house, a California-style beach house built in the late 50s. It feels like you're at sea on an ocean liner, particularly at night, if you're inside and there's a big storm.I'd probably have this late summer, in March " it's not searingly hot, but it's still nice and warm " at night looking at the Southern Cross, and hearing the ocean, with a warm breeze gently blowing. We'd have some nice wines from western Australia.To eat, we'd have kapuska, a dish that occurs in various eastern cuisines; my version is Turkish. Many people have a bit of an aversion to cabbage in this country, probably from childhood memories of overcooked, smelly offerings. But this slow-cooked, spiced dish is fabulous. I first had it in a tradesmen's restaurant in Istanbul " the kind of place that will probably die out soon. You go in and get yourself a quick lunch from the hot display of food cooked that morning, usually about 30 dishes to choose from. I've made it for lots of friends, and done it in cookery demos for 50 of my chefs a few weeks ago, and nobody can believe how good it is " it's just stewed cabbage, but it sort of sums up the beauty of Mediterranean cooking.
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We'd also have some lamb chops grilled on the barbecue with a couple of salads alongside " a Greek salad, a freekeh salad with spring onion, pomegranate seeds, parsley, mint, pomegranate molasses and crushed pistachio, maybe some skordalia, a Greek dish of potato mashed with garlic.For dessert, I'd do my spooned fruit with yoghurt: grapes cooked down with sugar into a confit, flavoured with citrus zest and spice. My wife, Sarah, would be drinking champagne, because that's all she drinks.She would probably also be choosing the music and I'd probably be saying "Could we have a little less Neil Diamond please?"" she loves that slightly soppy 60s music. Secretly, I love it too.Rick Stein is a celebrity chef, restaurateur and television presenter. His latest book, Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul (BBC Books, "£25) is out now. Click here to buy it for "£20.
