Recipe: Cabbage and bacon, with noodles

Turn cabbage into something more exciting by adding a few rashers of bacon.

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

• Oil/butter
• 1 small-medium head of cabbage, shredded
• 8 or more rashers of bacon, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tsp garlic, crushed or minced
• 1-2 tsp red chilli, minced, or use dried chilli flakes (1 tsp)
• Salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Egg noodles or fettuccine-type pasta (uncooked) – 2-3 handfuls noodles or approx. 150g of fettuccine (broken in half)

Cooking it

Preparation time: 10min
Cooking time: 10-15min

Step 1: While you are cooking the bacon and cabbage, cook the noodles until al dente, then drain and set aside.

Step 2: Heat a little oil in the camp oven (or a large pan) and add the bacon. You won’t need much oil, as the bacon will release fat. Stir over a medium-high heat until the bacon has browned a little, then remove from the pan, drain on some paper towels and set aside.

Step 3: If need be, add a little more oil/butter to the pan and add the onion, garlic and chilli. Sauté over a medium heat until the onion has softened.

Step 4: Return the cooked bacon and add the cabbage to the onion. Mix well over a medium-high heat and stir occasionally until the cabbage has browned and the texture is to your liking. Lower the temperature if the cabbage is browning too much, especially if using the camp oven, which will retain heat well.

Step 5: Season well, especially with black pepper.

Step 6: When the cabbage mix is ready, add the cooked noodles (separating if need be) and stir well to combine all the ingredients.

Viv’s hints

You could turn this into a one-dish meal by adding sliced chicken or pork. You could also add some grated or thinly sliced carrot to the mix when frying the cabbage.

Cabbage is a great vegetable to carry in your veggie box when camping. Leave it whole and store it in a cool, shady spot. It will keep for quite a long time and doesn’t need refrigeration.
It’s very versatile; you can make coleslaw, add it to stir-fry, or steam, boil and fry it.

When buying a cabbage, look for one that has a solid, firm head and is hard to the touch. It should also be bright and shiny in colour, with crisp outer leaves.

Want more recipe ides? Browse our Bush Cooking collection for inspiration.