Bubble and squeak - with red cabbage leftovers?

"As kitchen recycling goes, this is probably the most useful of all, neatly dispensing with those most difficult of leftovers."

Nigel Slater

And we know I have leftovers - that red cabbage plus two disparate lots of potato, one more or less mashed and the other a leftover gratin. So first of all I turned to thoughts of hash - which is American and seems to really need meat, and then I suddenly remembered bubble and squeak. A frugal leftover standby from my youth. Ours was made with the leftover potato and cabbage from the Sunday roast and just scraped and turned and fried together in the frying pan, then served with a fried egg on top. I tried to find a photo of such a thing but the world has obviously moved on from the days of my youth. I read somewhere that it's coming back in fashion with the trendy gourmets - who have rather more exotic versions. In the photos I found the egg was either poached - the vast majority of the pictures I found had a poached egg on top, or the bubble and squeak had more exotic ingredients, was in delicate small versions or a frittata looking bigger version. The picture below is the closest to what I remember - but it's a poached egg. And we wouldn't have had the decorative bit of rocket.

The classic version, as I said, is made with leftover potatoes and cabbage, or brussels sprouts. I shall, of course, be straying from this by using red cabbage. But, as they all say, you can add just about anything - although if you add meat or fish it's then a hash not a bubble and squeak, I reckon it's alright to make with with red cabbage, though I probably need to drain it first. And I might fry some onions to mix in with it all first.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall who dedicates a double page spread to hashes and squeaks in his wonderful leftover book, sums up the vagueness of it all:

"Bubble and squeak, for instance, needn't be made with the classic potato and greens alone. Fry some sliced apple or grated parsnip along with the onion to start it off. Add a few scraps of salty ham or smoky fish. Fling in a spoonful of curry powder or paste." Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

His versions either have you making small cakes that you form beforehand or one big one that you fry on one side and then flip over. If you're looking for elegant - then one of Delia's versions (she has three) - a kind of rösti - looks the part.

I guess it's easier to do this - difficult to flip over a big thing, but I think my mum just made a kind of hash of it all with no shape at all and then spooned it out. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a cake kind of thing.

Anyway I'm going to go with Jamie's version as a guide. His is shown at the top of the page. Method described below. The ingredients, as you will find if you look anywhere, just depend on what you have leftover.

"Put a medium non-stick frying pan (roughly 26-28cm) over a medium heat and add a lug of olive oil and a couple of knobs of butter (we probably made ours with dripping or lard). Season well with salt and pepper, then mash everything up in the pan. Pat everything into a flat layer and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, until a lovely golden crust starts forming underneath. Fold those crispy bits back into the mash, then pat and flatten down and repeat the process for about 15 or 20 minutes. Concentrate on building up flavours, character and crispness.

Halfway through the cooking, flip it over using a fish slice, or like a a pancake if you're brave. If it breaks don't worry, just push it back together. Let it crisp up on the underside then nick a bit and taste it. This is the time to correct the seasoning. Once you're happy serve it with a smear of HP sauce and whatever else you fancy.

PS: What do you do with leftover bubble and squeak? Well, it's a rare occasion that you'll need to worry about that, but you can always push it back into the pan, grate over some cheese and pop it under the grill, or even use it as a topping for a shepherd's pie." Jamie Oliver

Yes it's old but not that old - late 18th early 19th century I think. And made to use up the leftovers from the Sunday roast. It was a Monday meal. Although it is often served for breakfast. And yes the name is the sound of the potatoes and cabbage cooking. The cabbage squeaks and the potato bubbles.

There are variations in other countries, like the aforesaid hash, but they really deserve a separate post.