Recipe: Paleo Irish Bacon and Cabbage

Perhaps you didn't know this, but the "traditional" corned beef and cabbage of St. Patrick's Day is not actually all that big of an Irish tradition. From what I understand, they pretty much just bring it out for the tourists. Traditionally, beef was expensive, so pork or bacon was the more commonly-used meat.

And that was convenient, since neither Lauren nor I particularly care for corned beef. We'll leave aside, for the moment, the fact that Lauren doesn't particularly care for cabbage, either.

This simple recipe isn't exactly traditional, but it's a good balance between tradition and a Paleo approach to food. I absolutely loved this, and I think Lauren would have, too, if she didn't hate cabbage.

One nice thing about this recipe is that once you get the sweet potatoes going, the other prep work of cutting and cooking all fit nicely into the time allotted. 

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
2-3 T. cooking oil (I used butter and bacon grease), melted
10 oz (or more) bacon, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 c. chicken stock (or other stock)
2 c. thinly sliced cabbage
salt and pepper, to taste

Pre-heat oven to 400. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes and melt your cooking fat. Toss the diced sweet potato in the fat and place on an aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Meanwhile, dice the bacon and cook it in a large pot, stirring regularly. When cooked, drain off excess fat and add tomatoes and chicken stock. About this time, the sweet potatoes should be done. Add them to the pot. Cook for 5-10 minutes or longer. Add the cabbage and cook for a couple minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.