Le Chou Farci

This is a traditional dish of the more hilly areas of the South-West towards the Auvergne. In England we consider the cabbage as one of the more mundane vegetables – redolent of school dinners. In France le chou farci is something of a treat, combining meat and vegetables. It used to be specially prepared on Saturday night and cooked slowly on the corner of the fire next morning while the family went to Mass.