Chicken & Savoy cabbage in cider

I love a Savoy cabbage as much for its crinkled looks - deep seaweed green, to pale and purpled - as its flavour. Beautiful as they are, the wrinkly leaves can be a refuge for those little maggoty, pale grey slugs, so shred them and give them a decent soak in a sinkful of cold water. Any slugs will float up - to be skimmed off and fed to the chickens.

If I’m feeling lazy, I add the cabbage to the casserole 50 minutes into the cooking, rather than adding it to the cidery liquid at th