Trinxat amb Butifarra

Trinxat amb Butifarra

Recipes with Butifarra

Trinxat is the Pyrenean winter dish of boiled cabbage and potato mashed together and fried in pork fat until a crust forms. Butifarra cooked alongside provides the protein and the fat that seasons the whole pan. The dish comes from the Cerdanya and Ripollès comarcas, where winters are cold and the cooking is built to last.

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

45 min

Servings

4

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients

  • 4 butifarra blanca sausages
  • 1 small Savoy cabbage or green cabbage (about 600g), outer leaves removed, quartered
  • 600g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 100g bacon lardons or cured pork belly, cut into small pieces
  • 3 tbsp olive oil or lard
  • 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • Salt and black pepper

Steps

1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cabbage and potatoes together. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes until the potato is very soft and the cabbage is completely tender. Drain well and allow to steam-dry in the colander for 5 minutes.

2

Transfer the drained cabbage and potato to a large bowl. Mash and mix them together with a fork or potato masher, leaving some texture. Do not blend smooth. Season generously with salt and pepper.

3

Heat the oil or lard in a wide heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon lardons and the unpeeled garlic cloves. Cook for 3 minutes until the bacon starts to crisp.

4

Add the butifarra sausages to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes per side, pressing gently. Remove the garlic cloves if they are browning too fast. Set the cooked sausages aside on a warm plate.

5

Add the mashed cabbage and potato mixture to the pan, pressing it down with a spatula into a flat cake shape that covers the base of the pan. Cook undisturbed over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until a golden-brown crust forms on the bottom.

6

Flip the trinxat in sections with the spatula to expose the crust. It does not need to come out in one piece. Toss the pieces to mix the crisp bottom through the soft top. Cook for another 3 minutes.

7

Serve the trinxat on plates with the butifarra alongside.

Tips

Savoy cabbage gives a softer, sweeter trinxat than white cabbage. Either works. The key is draining thoroughly after boiling: wet mash makes a soft, steaming mass that won't crust. Give it time on the colander. The first side of the crust takes longer than expected; resist the urge to check it until 8 minutes have passed.