Kohl mit Würstchen - Cabbage with Frankfurter Sausages

This is such a tasty dish that I have been enjoying for years as it was one of my mum's favourites. It is a classic German dish. Germans love their sausages and cabbage. This is my take on the dish. Very easy to prepare with few ingredients you will have a dish that you can serve as a main course, side or a snack. We served the cabbage and sausages with mashed potatoes and had it as a meal. Give it a go and you will surely do it again...

• 1 Savoy cabbage or normal cabbage
• 3 slices unsmoked back bacon
• 5 Frankfurter sausages
• Vegetable oil
• Salt & pepper

Method

1. Wash the cabbage and cut it in quarters. Remove the core and boil until cooked and soft. Drain and set aside.
2. Cut the bacon into strips. Heat the oil and fry the bacon until browned and crispy.
3. Add the sausages to the cooked bacon and cook for a few minutes. Add the cabbage to the pan and cook on high heat mixing well. Season with salt & pepper. Serve!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Bigilla - Maltese Bean Dip

Bigilla is one Malta's favourite dips. It is very easy to prepare. I remember the Bigilla vendor in Malta with his tiny van running around the villages I grew up in...he always had his voice shouting ''Tajba u tgħali'' (Warm & delicious) on repeat on his cassette player! :) The most time consuming bit of the whole process boiling the beans. This dip is prepared with Ful Medames which hail from North Africa, originally Egypt although the beans used in the original old recipe where called Ful Ta' Ġirba [Djerba beans] which were very similar to Ful Medames but smaller and darker. They basically taste the same. This recipe is to make about half a kilo of Bigilla. You can freeze any extra Bigilla for future use...or, I use it as a spread to make one of my favourite sandwiches which is tomato paste, olive oil, bigilla & Maltese peppered cheeselets. Here is what you will need...

• 500g Ful Medames, soaked in water overnight
• 8 garlic cloves, each cut in 4 pieces
• Extra virgin olive oil, abundant
• Small bunch of fresh parsley
• 1 red chilli, chopped (optional)
• Chilli sauce, to taste (optional)

How to...

1. Put the soaked beans in a pan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil on high heat, lower the heat and simmer partially covered for an hour or until the beans are fairly soft. Drain and set aside to cool down.
2. Put the beans, parsley, garlic and chilli sauce (if using) in a food processor and blend well until smooth. While the processor is on add the olive oil until you get a smooth consistency. You can put as much olive oil as you want.
3. Serve in bowls with extra chilli sauce and olive oil. Serve with crackers, grissini (breadsticks) or spread on crusty bread.

Enjoy!!

R&A