The recipe
Cut three thick, meaty sausages into short fat chunks, add a little oil to a frying pan or wok and add the sausage, letting it cook until nicely browned. Chop six rashers of streaky bacon into short pieces then add to the sausage. Fry until it starts to crisp, then add a clove of crushed garlic. Wash and finely shred three large, dark Savoy cabbage leaves, then add to the pan as soon as the garlic is golden. Fry briefly, turning the cabbage over in the fat so it wilts slightly and the colour brightens. Serve immediately. Enough for two.
The trick
Use a fine-quality sausage for this. Keep the heat quite low when you are frying the sausage, so that it cooks right through to the middle. Fry the cabbage only briefly, to keep it bright and fresh.
The twist
Use black pudding instead of bacon, crumbling it in. Use cavolo nero, bok choi or chard instead of the Savoy cabbage. Add a few croutons, letting them crisp before you add the cabbage. Apple, cut into chunks, is an appropriate addition, as would be a few caraway seeds.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk
Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for the Observer
