Plum glazed pork with spicy cabbage

1. Preheat the grill to high. Halve the cabbage and discard the centre. Coarsely chop the leaves, rinse them well, then drain them in a colander.

2. Rinse, halve and deseed the chilli, and slice it finely. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Set them both aside.

3. Gently warm the plum jam and soy sauce in a small pan, season with the allspice and cayenne, then sieve if necessary.

4. Arrange the chops on the grill rack and cook for 5–7 minutes each side, brushing the plum glaze over them halfway through cooking each side.

5. Meanwhile, mix the cider vinegar with three tablespoons of water and some salt and pepper.

6. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the chilli and garlic and fry them for 30–40 seconds. Add the cabbage and toss it in the oil. Stir in the diluted vinegar, cover and cook for 4 minutes.

7. Uncover the pan, raise the heat and continue to cook the cabbage until all the liquid has evaporated. Serve the spicy cabbage with the plum-glazed chops.

If you don’t like eye-wateringly hot chillies, try swapping them for Szechuan (pronounced “si-chew-un”) pepper-corns in this spicy cabbage side. They’re known for having a cold, tongue-tingling spice. Simply fry the cabbage with the garlic and stir a big pinch of ground Szechuan pepper-corns through it before serving.

Schwartz and Bart brands of Szechuan peppercorns are now stocked in major supermarkets, and Jamie Oliver also includes it in his spice range—in a Szechuan pepper, chilli and ginger salt grinder.