BAKED POTATO, SWEET CABBAGE AND SHROPSHIRE BLUE CHEESE LAYER CAKE

These ingredients are really the bedrock of Irish food. Over the centuries there have been thousands of recipes invented using these staples. Here is a great dish, easy to prepare and very tasty.

Serves 4 -6 people
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: approximately 45 – 50 minutes

½ small Savoy cabbage (inner leaves only), very finely sliced
25g unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
200g unsmoked bacon, chopped
2 tbsp sunflower oil
600g peeled potatoes, medium sized and sliced into about ½ cm slices
salt
pepper
approximately 150g Shropshire blue cheese, finely grated

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 200°C gas 6.
2.    Heat the butter and oil together, add the finely chopped cabbage and cook for about 15 minutes until softened. Drain well in a colander.
3.    Add the vegetable oil to a separate pan, heat and cook the bacon until the fat runs. Drain in a colander with the cabbage and keep the fat.
4.    Slice the potatoes very thinly and toss in the reserved bacon fat.  Place a layer of potatoes, overlapped, in the bottom of a 28cm, lightly oiled non stick frying pan.  Season with a little salt and pepper.
5.    Spread on a little cabbage and bacon.  Top with some cheese. This helps to keep the whole cake together.
6.    Continue overlapping the potatoes, layering and seasoning.
7.    Place the pan on the stove and heat for a few seconds so the potato starts to brown and bubble.
8.    Cover lightly with foil and bake in the pre heated oven for about 50 minutes.
9.    When cooked, remove the foil.  You should be able to pierce the cake with a knife with no resistance.
10.    Place the foil back onto the cake, then press down lightly, compacting the cake.
11.    Cool slightly for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto a chopping board, cut into wedges and serve with a few salad leaves dressed with a little French dressing.