The Cabbage Family

Among the most maligned of our winter vegetables, the cabbage family - the common or garden “sprout”, green, white and red cabbage, and the more sophisticated cauliflower - are usually served boiled, with a pat of butter or margarine, gently swimming in their own water, almost invariably overcooked, and often - because of their advanced age - a trifle bitter to the taste. On festive occasions, a few boiled chestnuts or a cream sauce are added to these sorry dishes.

Yet how different these vegetables can be when treated with a little care and discrimination. Granted they must first be boiled or steamed, but they should be cooked only until the very moment of tenderness if their delicate fresh flavour is to be preserved.