Potatoes and cabbage

Potatoes and cabbage. Just the words sound stodgy, bland, fart-inducing and lowering to the spirits. This is, however, a remarkably light and delicious dish from the same school of veg cooking that brought you this and this. You stick vegetables in tasty liquor and eat them when they are done. This features my current obsession, fennel seeds, but if you can stomach horrible caraway, that would work too. I think. Too dreadful to contemplate but some people seem to like them.

Potatoes and cabbage (serves 2 - 3 as a side dish)

Knob of butter
1 onion, sliced (clearly I used a red onion, which is pretty but not important)
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
3 large potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks and parboiled until just tender
100ml vermouth
1/2 green/savoy cabbage, sliced
3-4 artichoke hearts, cut into quarters (I used marinated ones, but regular tinned ones would be just fine)
Salt, pepper, juice of half a lemon

Melt the butter in a saute pan and add the onions and fennel seeds. Saute until the fennel is fragrant and the onion is floppy, then add the parboiled potatoes and vermouth. Cook gently for 3-4 minutes, then add the cabbage. If it is looking dry, add a splash of water. Simmer until the cabbage wilts, then add the artichoke hearts. Cook another couple of minutes until the artichokes are hot through, correct the seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon juice. There should be just enough liquid left to make a small sauce.

We had this with salmon, and a roux-based caper and parsley sauce, but it would also go well with pork. With chunks of smoked cheese tossed through at the last minute it would make a very good meal.