Savoy Spaghetti (aka waistline rescue)

Not one for adventure, but for when you suddenly find that your power-to-weight ratio is plummeting. Say for example, you've replaced after work indoor climbing sessions with German classes. Or the ski touring season just hasn't happened yet, despite it being March already. Or both. 

And it's delicious too! (Assuming you like cabbage). So no reason really to wait until you're feeling both fat and hungry.

Ingredients:

Savoy (or other tasty) cabbage leaves: enough to heapingly fill a pasta bowl when shredded but still raw

0.5 - 1 tsp butter

Finely grated parmesan: about 20g

Black pepper

Cut any thick stems out of the cabbage leaves then shred very finely - I'm talking strands not much more than 1mm wide. You're trying to make something that when cooked you can twirl around a fork like pale green spaghetti.

Put just enough water in a saucepan to cover the bottom and add a pinch of salt and the cabbage. Cook with a lid on until cabbage is soft. Give it a stir once or twice during cooking, bringing the bottom layer to the top, to make sure the strands cook evenly.

Warm your pasta bowl or plate (this cools down strangely quickly).

Once cooked strain out excess water, transfer to warmed bowl and stir in the butter. Use enough that the cabbage is slightly lubricated and doesn't totally stick together. Fold in the grated parmesan, season very lightly with a grind of black pepper and eat. 

Alternatives: use truffle oil in place of the butter. Or after straining cabbage return to the pan with the butter and a few chili flakes and heat gently, stirring to distribute the spice throughout.

Less conducive to weight loss, but also good: sauté a few finely sliced mushrooms in the butter before adding to the cabbage.