Cabbage: a familiar garden vegetable about as large and as wise as a man’s head.’
— Ambrose Bierce, 19th-century writer
My Life as a Dog, released quietly in 1985, is Lasse Hallström’s tender, hilarious and bittersweet coming-of-age film set in Fifties’ Sweden. It might conceivably be the most underrated movie of all time. It never appears in top 10 lists and usually results in blank expressions whenever I mention it. But anyone who has seen it agrees it’s a small masterpiece.
Likewise, Britain’s greatest composer, Edward Elgar, will always be remembered for the Enigma Variations — in particular the lip-tremblingly evocative “Nimrod” — and the “Pomp and Circumstance Marches”. But those with any musical nous at all know that his greatest work is the ’Cello Concerto in E Minor (Op 85), a largely underrated work but one of such towering emotional power, I can never listen to it with a dry eye.
The list goes on: George Harrison (most underrated Beatle); The Unconsoled (most underrated Kazuo Ishiguro novel); the Americano (most underrated cocktail); spicy tomato Wheat Crunchies (most underrated savoury snack); “Let Down” (most underrated Radiohead track); Star Bar (most underrated confectionery); and cabbage (most underrated vegetable.)
Ah, cabbage. Always the butt of jokes and typically blamed for that errant fart, but a much-maligned brassica and, I predict, about to experience something of a comeback and a return to flavour favour. It is important to differentiate between the ubiquitous and slightly insipid green cabbage — sometimes called cannonball — and the vastly superior darker varieties such as cavolo nero and savoy.
It is the latter that is so integral to this Venetian dish, known locally as castradina. A traditional stew eaten during the November celebrations for the Feast of Madonna della Salute, the unctuous lamb casserole just wouldn’t be the same without the slow-braised, shredded savoy cabbage. In fact, I’d go so far as to say the greens upstage the meat somewhat, proving that the support band can sometimes be better than the headline act.
I used to wonder, incidentally, why one of the world’s most famous hotels was named after a cabbage. Eventually, I learned the London hotel and the leafy vegetable are actually named after the ancient Italian Royal House of Savoy (1003–1946), long dissolved and — because of the shadow of the disgraced Mussolini era King Victor Emmanuel III — terminally (but quite understandably) underrated.
Venetian lamb stew with braised savoy cabbage
Serves four
• 3 litres beef stock
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 4 large onions, sliced
• 2 large waxy potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1kg lamb rump, cut into large cubes
• 50g butter
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large savoy cabbage, de-cored and sliced
• Flaky sea salt
• Black pepper
1. Bring the beef stock to the boil in a large saucepan, then reduce to a steady simmer.
2. In a large, oven-proof, cast iron saucepan with a lid, heat a few glugs of olive oil and sauté half the sliced onions over a medium heat for 5mins. Add the potato pieces, a very good pinch of salt and a twist of pepper. Stir for a further couple of minutes. Add the lamb chunks and gently turn them around the saucepan until starting to brown. Don’t worry if they catch and stick — just add a splash more olive oil.
3. Now add most of the beef stock (retaining a cupful), bring to the boil, stir, reduce to a low simmer and position the lid askew allowing for steam to escape. Preheat the oven to 140˚C. Simmer on the stove top for 10mins, then transfer to the oven for about two hours, stirring once or twice.
4. About an hour before the lamb is due out, melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low-to-medium heat and sauté the remaining onion until soft and glossy, about 20mins. Add the garlic, celery and cabbage, a good pinch of salt, a large twist of black pepper, and continue to cook for a further 10mins. Add the retained cup of stock, cover, reduce the heat to very low and stew for 30mins.
5. Put the pan with the lamb onto a heatproof tile in the middle of your table with a ladle, several warmed bowls and the pan of braised cabbage.
