#rumbledethumps

Rumbledethumps is a traditional Scottish dish akin to the English bubble and squeak or the Irish colcannon. It's a hearty, comforting side dish combining mashed potatoes, cabbage (or sometimes kale), and onions. These ingredients are mixed, seasoned with salt, pepper, and sometimes nutmeg, and then baked in an oven until the top is golden brown. Often, it's topped with grated cheese, which melts into a deliciously crispy crust. Rumbledethumps showcases the simplicity and warmth of Scottish home cooking, making it a beloved comfort food, especially during the colder months.

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I have discovered, recently enough, a few years ago that is, that I actually like cabbage, especially Savoy Cabbage. I am quite fond of it when it’s not boiled to death into a sad soup (synonymous with a severe diet)! I quite love it when it is sautéed in butter or braised in Champagne, or just boiled to softness in a fragrant pork broth. And I’m very keen on it when it’s folded into mashed potatoes. Thus, after making Colcannon for St. Patrick’s Day; I baked Rumbledethumps for Burns Night! This hearty Scots dish’s comforting warmth and roundness is particularly delightful on a biting cold day (the temperature has dropped below zero!) It is a night to keep warm with Whisky and Scottish gratins and poetry and music! Have a good one!

Ingredients (serves 6 to 8):

6 large potatoes

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 1/2 onions

2 fluffy sprigs fresh thyme

half a small Savoy Cabbage

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

nutmeg

2 heaped tablespoons sour cream

60,grams/2 ounces Mature English Cheddar

Peel the potatoes and cut each in quarters. Add potatoes to a large pot. Sprinkle in coarse sea salt and cover with water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium, and cook until potatoes are tender.

Preheat oven to 200°C/395°F. Generously butter a large baking tin.

In a large, deep skillet, melt butter with olive oil over a medium flame.

Peel and thinly slice onions. Once the butter is just foaming, add the onions, and cook, a couple of minutes until softened. Remove thyme leaves from their sprigs, and add to the skillet as well.

Remove outer leaves of the Savoy cabbage and the hard core in the middle. Roughly chop cabbage and stir into the skillet, coating well in butter and herbs. Season with fleur de sel and black pepper. Cook, 3 to 5 minutes until just tender and still green. Remove from the heat; set aside.

Drain potatoes, and return to their pot. Mash thoroughly with a potato masher, adding the butter as you mash. Then, grate in about 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Stir in sour cream. Finally, gently stir in cabbage and onion mixture, until well-combined. Spoon into prepared baking tin.

Generously grate Cheddar on top, using the coarse side of a box grater. Place in the middle of the hot oven, and bake, at 200°C/395°F, half an hour.