WINTER WARMER

I have to admit, this is neither about writing nor reading, in any sense...but I was searching for an idea for something really cheering to cook in this cold weather, and remembered this fabulous recipe. It is vegetarian, but really tasty and satisfying enough for non veggies to love. It is adapted from a Joanne Harris recipe, and is just the ticket for a cold, winter's night. It is also drop dead easy to cook, but I have to warn you, as you are making it, you will probably think 'This is NEVER going to work'...but it does! In fact, it is so good, I wanted to share....amounts are variable,,it isnt an exact science...but do use lots of cabbage and chillies...and garlic!

Tourte au camembert


You need...a dark green cabbage...or portion thereof
one or two HOT chillies (I use the seeds too, but then I like it HOT!)
Two or three cloves of garlic..FAT ones!
Potatoes...about 700 grams to feed four? Diced into large dice.(inch square?)
2 eggs
Veggie stock (the new gel type cubes from Knor are fab)
1 large Camembert (or Coulommiers) round cheese
Cherry tomatoes
olive oil

Soooo...get some water boiling, pop in the spuds for a few minutes til they are lightly cooked...not too soft. Drain.
Into a big oven cook pot put the diced cabbage, chillies (chopped), garlic (chopped) and in a big jug mix the eggs with the stock (just the gel cube, not water) and the oil...a good five tablespoons or more. Beat that lot up and add to the cabbage, and part cooked spuds. Mix it all up, add a lid and bung it in the oven for a good while...til it all collapses and seems kind of cooked. (probably 3 quarters of an hour to an hour)(what did I say about this NOT being an exact science?) If it is too dry, add a little more oil (OK, I never said it was low fat).
Then, remove move the lid, and place large pieces of camembert on top...best to slice the round of cheese in half to get two thinner rounds...then cut into big pieces and place on top of the cooked cabbage and spuds. Add a good handful of cherry tomatoes, and put it all back in the oven until the cheese is melting and browning a little, and the toms are blackening nicely.

ET VOILA! Please let me know if you try this? You can make it as spicy as you like...or not...but the chilli really does add a nice kick and twist...Bon appetit!