Rumbledethumps

An excellent vegetable and cheese dish from Scotland.

Vegetarian. Hands-on time: 15 mins. Total time: 1 hour 15 mins.

Contributed by Mike Lewis (July 2011).

There's something about onions, potatoes and cabbage that makes them go wonderfully well with each other - especially when they're all mashed up and cooked together. You see it in dishes like bubble and squeak (from northern England), colcannon (Ireland) and stamppot (Netherlands).

The Scottish version is called rumbledethumps - or sometimes rumblethumps. It's a delicious dish that can provide plenty of sustenance on a cold day. It's also an excellent way of using up left-over vegetables. It's often served as an accompaniment to a main course, but it's also good enough to make as a meal on its own.

This recipe will make a filling main course for two or a side dish for four. But don't feel you have to follow it too slavishly. You can use almost any green vegetable in place of - or as well as - the cabbage, and you can vary the quantities according to what you have available.

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) potatoes, peeled and cut into quarter
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 12 oz (350 g) cabbage, cut into thin strips
• ¼ cup (2 oz, 50 g) butter
• 1 cup (2 oz, 50 g) cheddar or other hard cheese, grated

Method

Oven: Pre-heat to 400F (200C)

Start by boiling the potatoes in plenty of salted water until they're soft.

While the potatoes are boiling, find a large oven-proof dish that can also be used on the stove top. Heat the oil in it, add the onions, and fry gently for a few minutes. Then add the cabbage, and continue frying until the cabbage begins to soften.

When the potatoes are ready, drain well. Add the butter. Mash thoroughly.

Remove the onion and cabbage mixture from the heat. Add the potatoes, along with half the cheese. Mix well.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.

Place the dish in the oven. Cook uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Note on quantities and temperatures:
Quantities are given in American (cups), imperial (oz, fl oz) and metric (g, ml) units. Do not mix the units - use one or other system throughout the recipe.
See also How much does a cup weigh?
oz = ounces, fl oz = fluid ounces, g = grams, ml = milliliters, tsp = teaspoons, tbsp = tablespoons.
Oven temperatures are given in degrees F (Fahrenheit) and C (Celsius).
For fan-assisted ovens, reduce the temperature by 20F or 10C.