Serve with brown rice and poached white North Sea cod – available from all large supermarkets, though sometimes hard to find in amongst the curry sauces, baby crisps, chocolate fountains and discount clothing.

Ingredients:  

• 1 medium-sized green cabbage
• 2 shallots
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 1 red chilli
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Coconut milk (150ml) / desiccated coconut (a generous handful)
• Squeeze of lime juice

Method: 

Bring 2 inches of water to the boil in a large shallow pan with a lid. Whilst the water is heating, discard the outer leaves of the cabbage. Chop into quarters using a large sharp knife, and then cut the chunks into strips. This should leave you with small slices of cabbage, which you can put in the now boiling water and leave with the lid on over a medium heat for five minutes. Then drain.

Whilst the cabbage is cooking, finely slice the shallots. Fry these gently in two teaspoons of coconut oil over a low heat in a large heavy bottomed frying pan. Chop (and deseed – unless you like it spicy) the red chilli and add to the pan.

After a few minutes, throw in your drained cabbage. Fry it all for another five minutes, stirring from time to time to stop the vegetables sticking. In the meantime, grate or crush your garlic cloves, ready to stir into the frying pan at the end of the five minutes.

Decide in advance whether you’d prefer a richer meal with a creamy sauce (using the coconut milk) or a lighter meal with just the desiccated coconut. Both have their merits – the rice and fish soaking up the coconut milk and the desiccated coconut version being delicious cold the next day.

Add your choice, and heat through (in the case of the coconut milk). Then remove from the heat and squeeze in the lime juice. The dish is so delicately spicy and flavoursome I don’t think it needs salt and pepper, but others may think differently – so adapt to your taste. Serve immediately.