Smoked meat with pointed cabbage recipe

Ingredients

• 2 white onions
• 2 lb 10 oz (1.2 kg) cured pork meat (such as neck or knuckle; order in advance from your butcher, if necessary)
• 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
• 1 bunch soup greens
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs thyme
• salt

• 2 white onions
• 1 apple
• 1 lb 12 oz (800 g) pointed cabbage
• 3 tablespoons lard or clarified butter
• 4¼ fl oz (125 ml) white wine
• ¾ fl oz (20 ml) gin or 1 teaspoon
• juniper berries
• 1 star anis
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small potato
• freshly ground salt and pepper

1. Cut the unpeeled onions in half and place cut side down in a large pot; roast for 10 minutes, until dark brown. Pour in 2½ quarts water along with cured meat. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that forms. Crush the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle then add to the pot along with the soup greens, bay leaves, and thyme. Lightly salt and cook for 2–2.5 hours over low to medium heat just under boiling.
2. With about an hour to go, prepare the cabbage. Peel the onions, cut in half, and slice thinly. Quarter the unpeeled apples, remove the core, and slice. Quarter the pointed cabbage, remove the stalk, and chop into ½in (1 cm) thick pieces, removing any thick stems as you find them. Melt the lard in a pot and sauté the onions, apples, and cabbage over low heat for 5 minutes.
3. Deglaze the cabbage with white wine and gin. Add the star anise, bay leaf, and 2½ cups water. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and simmer over low to medium heat for 1 hour. In the meantime, peel and finely grate the potatoes. Add to the pot after 30 minutes. If it is cooking too intensely, add some water from time to time so that nothing burns.
4. Remove the cured pork from the pot and slice thinly. Season the cabbage to taste and serve with the meat. Goes well with mashed or boiled potatoes.