Salmon, cabbage and potato

Hello everyone, I had dinner during the week with my friend Jan who lives in Potts Point and therefore is never short of a new fabulous place to entice me. We went to the Sardine Room, and really just the name was enough to get me there, conjuring up images of a glamorous, 1940s style bar. It's actually a little restaurant in Challis Street in Potts Point, specialising, of course, in seafood. I was intrigued when the owner made a point of telling us that several of the dishes were cooked in stock NOT cream, which could be a selling point to some, but not me. Bring on the cream I thought to myself. In any case, we both plumped for a risotto which had fennel and something else, I've actually forgotten already but it was some sort of seafood, and really very nice. But as I was quite stressed that evening, the highlights for me were the lovely glass of red and the luscious slice of chocolate and hazelnut tort with frangelico mascarpone - I definitely needed that combination to make me feel more settled!

Now this week's recipe comes from Jill Dupleix's book Take Three. As she doesn't actually title the recipes in the book I have just named it according to the three chief ingredients, which may not sound that exciting, but it's a very nice dish. It has caraway seeds, which I always think impart a magic touch.

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xxx

Salmon, cabbage and potato

Serves four

What you need:

• 4 x 200g fillets of fresh salmon
• 1/2 medium white cabbage, cored and finely shredded
• 10 small potatoes (baby kipflers are around at the moment and very good)
• Sea salt
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 200ml white wine (or you can substitute verjuice)
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds

What you do:

1. Cook the potatoes, (either peeled or unpeeled, whatever you prefer) in simmering, salted water for about 15 minutes or until tender.
2. Cook the cabbage in simmering, salted water for about 10 minutes - you want it to remain fairly crunchy - then drain well.
3. Melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the wine and bring to the boil.
4. Add the drained cabbage and toss well.
5. Place the salmon fillets on top, cover tightly, and cook over a gentle heat for about 10 minutes until the cabbage is tender and the salmon is cooked but still pink and moist in the middle.
6. Gently remove the salmon fillets and keep warm.
7. Add the vinegar and half the caraway seeds to the cabbage and toss well for a minute.
8. Arrange a heap of cabbage on four serving plates and top each with a salmon fillet.
9. Drain the potatoes, cut in half and tuck them around the salmon.
10. Sprinkle with the remaining caraway seeds and serve.