FRANKFURTERS AND RADICCHIO

Precooked, reconstituted, over-processed pork. What's not to love? There's something about the oh-so-slippery frankfurter - the pop as you bite, the flop as you pick up, the salt as you chew, and the eight more after that - that rocks my boat. Once in a while (and, frankly, not often enough) they hit it. Bop.

Hell, why not wrap one up in a pancake for breakfast tomorrow?

FRANKFURTERS with CREAMY RADICCHIO and NEW POTATO HASH

eaten in utter joy with co-frank-lover Clara

serves 2

4 small new potatoes

knob butter

1 clove garlic, chopped and crushed

1 head of radicchio, shredded

100ml double cream

salt and pepper

6 frankfurters

Bring a small pan of water to the boil. When boiling, drop in the potatoes and turn to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes until softer than you'd usually cook them. Take off the heat and leave in the water.

Meanwhile, fry the butter over a medium heat in a saucepan and, simultaneously, add the garlic and shredded radicchio. Stir through and cook until the radicchio is slightly wilted. Now push the radicchio aside and add the frankfurters. Cook until the skin is browned and they are hot through.

Remove the sausages to a piece of kitchen towel. Drain the potatoes and add to the radicchio. Crush them slightly with the back of the wooden spoon.

Add the cream to the radicchio mix and bring to a simmer for 1 minute. Season and serve alongside the frankfurters. Fabulous with Annie Bell's mustardy Savoy coleslaw (as seen in photo).

Pure unadulterated - apart from the meat - heaven.

KOHLRABI

What do you know, kohlrabi is a cabbage. So just like that, I love it.

It is a sweet vegetable, fresh and cooling. It sides perfectly to spices and sour souses. It can be shaved, grated and eaten raw. It can be steamed or stir fried or souped. Sweet sweet kohlrabi, be mine.

COOL KOHLRABI SALAD
for soused mackerel and hot curries

SERVES 3-4 as a side

1 kohlrabi, peeled and de-stemmed
1 tbsp natural yoghurt
juice half a lemon
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp fennel leaves, roughly chopped
salt and pepper

Shave the kohlrabi with a vegetable peeler into a large bowl and stir the yoghurt and lemon juice.

Meanwhile, toast the coriander seeds over a medium heat until they are warm enough to let off an aroma. Roughly crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar and throw over the kohlrabi. Toss through with the fennel leaves and season.

Simple simple.

Try these kohlrabi combinations too:

Caraway and cucumber
Apple, ginger and fennel
Carrot and cumin
Beetroot and fresh coriander leaves