CABBAGE AND POTATOES, A DELICIOOUS CATALAN DISH, FROM THE COUNTRY OF FERRAN ADRIÀ

MASHED CABBAGE AND POTATO WITH BACON

(Trinxat)
This simply but extremely tasty dish from Catalonia, quite similar to the irish colcannon, has become famous in recent times under the name of trinxat (“mashed”) by which is known in catalan Pyrinees.
Some great chefs have popularized trinxat as a base or accompaniment for creative dishes.
Is an excellent and nutritious dish for bears!

Ingredients
1 winter cabbage (green)
1 k potatoes
4 rashers of streaky bacon
Olive oil (or lard)
Salt

Elaboration
Wash the cabbage, cut out the stalk and cut it into pieces.
Boil in a large pan of salted water.
Pell the potatoes and cut them into pieces.
When the cabbage has boiled for 15 minutes, until everything is well cooked.
add the potatoes and boil about another 20 minutes.
Strain well and set aside.
Cut the rashers of bacon (not smoked) into thin stripes. Heat some oil or lard in a skillet and brown the bacon well, the set in aside. In the same pan, place the cabbage and potato mixture, mashing it for several minutes with a wooden fork until you have a homogeneous light green purée and all the flavours have combined.
Now flatten it into an round omelette shape (like a Italians frittata or spanish tortilla), about 1 or two cm thick: brown it well onone side, turn it over, tot it with the bacon, cook for a few more minutes and serve.

Notes
You can scald or parboil the cabbage first.
Some cooks like to add whole garlics in the skillet, to perfume it.
Trinxat can be served as a first course or accompaning a main course, and can be accompanied wits allioli (aïoli) sauce.
This delicious dish is even liked by people who can’t stand cabbage, and is particularly wonderful when made with highlands potatoes and, especially, a good green cabbage which as been affected by the cold and even by frost, since this is when it reveals is true, splendid flavours.
Trinxat can be kept from one day to the next: in fact, in farming areas it use to be eaten for breakfast, with the vegetable boiled the night before- like I use to do in my childhood in the country-, and now, sometimes.