Tag: potatoes

Kale, pork and potatoes

An excellent, very simple meal, with bonus stock at the end for adding to soups and stews. I have a lot of kale this year, so look out for a series of kale recipes. This recipe serves 6 to 8 people. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Around 800g bacon joint or pre-soaked salted ham
  • 1 bayleaf
  • 1 tsp peppercorns
  • 1 tsp cloves
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1 tbsp date syrup or brown sugar
  • 1 level tsp salt (if not using salted ham)
  • around 500g shredded kale
  • 1kg peeled new potatoes cut into chunks.

METHOD:

  • Put the ham or bacon joint into a large saucepan, and just about cover with water. Add the bayleaf, peppercorns, cloves, all-spice, date syrup, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook over a low heat for 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Add the potatoes and cabbage, and simmer until the potatoes are just cooked
  • Strain off and reserve the stock
  • Slice the bacon and serve on a bed of potatoes and kale. You can pour melted butter over the latter. 

Lamb rib stew

When buying locally slaughtered lamb or mutton, there are inevitably cuts of meat that may be less familiar, or harder to find recipes for. Ribs are one of these, not featured in posh recipe books. I made this last night, it was delicious. There is curry powder in there, but it is subtle, not a dominant flavour, just balancing the sweetness of the lamb. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil, such as rapeseed oil
  • 600g lamb ribs (if you have more, increase the curry powder and lemon juice to taste)
  • 1 heaped teaspoonful of Madras curry powder
  • salt and pepper
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 100g leeks, sliced
  • 100g carrots, in large chunks
  • 1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
  • a handful of parsley, roughly chopped
  • 500ml stock, (lamb stock or vegetable stock)
  • 30ml dry sherry
  • 4 potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced. Use a waxy potato such as Charlotte. 

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole dish, and fry the lamb ribs over a high heat until browned. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice, and spoon into a bowl. 
  • In the same pan, saute the leeks and garlic for a few minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cook on a medium heat for a minute or two, until really fragrant. 
  • Add the meat back into the pan, along with the sherry, stock and parsley. Bring to a simmer and check the seasoning. 
  • Simmer at a low heat for around an hour and a half. Check that it is not boiling dry, and add water if necessary. This could be on the stove top or in the oven. 
  • Add the potatoes and carrots over the top, check for water, and simmer over a low heat for another hour. The longer and lower the cooking time, the more tender the meat will be. 

Clapshot (posh version)

Clapshot is a traditional dish of boiled and mashed potatoes and turnips, and it is very fine. It could be regarded as Orkney’s national dish, although there are many versions from all over the British isles. It is best made with winter turnip (known in England as Swede) and with dry, floury potatoes.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 700g potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 700g turnips, peeled and diced
  • 50g butter
  • 1 tbsp double cream
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Cook the potatoes and turnips together in boiling salted water until tender (about 15 minutes) then drain well.
  • Mash together wtih butter and cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. If you have chives, chop them finely and sprinkle over the top.

All done.

South Indian Potato and Coconut Curry

I made this using some lovely potatoes from my garden. I have a lot of Charlotte potatoes that are ideal for this sort of curry, they taste very good, and they hold together during the cooking. 

This is a Madhur Jaffrey recipe from Curry Easy, super delicious, one of my most used and reliable recipe books. I made a tweak, I have a thing about not putting olive oil in curries, I don’t think it heats well enough for cooking the spices. I served it with braised kale and dal. It goes well with rice.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp yellow split peas
  • 2 birds eye chillies
  • 15-20 fresh basil leaves, torn (should be fresh curry leaves, but these are not available locally)
  • 1/2 medium red onoin, chopped
  • 1 medium tomato, or a tablespoonful of tinned chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 450g potatoes (I used Charlotte potatoes)
  • 1 level tsp salt
  • 120ml coconut milk
  • 4 tbsp chopped coriander

METHOD:

  • Pour the oil into a medium saucepan over a medium to high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, yellow split peas and the chillies. As soon as the seeds begin to pop, add the basil leaves and the onion, lower the heat a bit and fry for around three minutes. Don’t let the onion start to brown.
  • Add the tomato, ground coriander, cayenne pepper and garam masala, stir them in until the tomato is hot, and then add the potatoes and 250ml water and the salt. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. 
  • Add the coconut milk and fresh coriander, stir and heat through. 

Organic Lamb Casserole with Ras el Hanout, Mint and Chickpeas

Here is another recipe for organic shoulder of lamb. These local lambs have a lot of shoulders! We have just finished eating this, and it was tender and delicious. We adapted it from Two Fat Ladies: Full Throttle and I used herbs and spices from seasoned pioneers.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 shoulder of lamb, about 2kg
  • 2 cans of chickpeas, drained
  • 100ml olive oil
  • 2 onions, finely sliced
  • 1 pint of water or stock
  • 1 tsp dried mint
  • 2 tsp Ras el Hanout
  • Salt and pepper
  • 450g local potatoes peeled and chopped into large dice (e.g. Charlotte potatoes)
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon, or more to taste.

METHOD:

  • Heat the oven to 140C
  • Trim the joint of any superfluous fat
  • Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the lamb. Set the lamb aside. 
  • Add the onions and cook until they are soft but not brown.
  • Add the chickpeas and water, bring to the boil and then stir in the herbs, spices, salt and pepper, and the lamb. 
  • Put the casserole in the oven for 3 hours
  • Add the potatoes and lemon juice, cover again and cook for a further 45 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. 

Any left-over chickpeas and gravy are excellent as a separate dish. I served this with couscous and a salad. 

Stovies

This is an excellent recipe for using up left-overs. The key ingredients are potatoes, meat and onion. The version here is my basic recipe, but it can be adapted to incorporate all sorts. 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 30g lard, butter or dripping 
  • 1 onion, finely chopped (I sometimes add a leek too)
  • 1/2 a turnip (or swede, if you are English), peeled and diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • (optional, shredded cabbage, diced celery, etcetera)
  • 600g potatoes, peeled and roughly sliced
  • Around 100ml stock or left-over gravy
  • Around 200g chopped cooked meat (could be varied according to what is available, both in type and quantity)
  • A grate of nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper

METHOD: 

  • Melt the fat in the bottom of a large pan, and fry the onion (and leeks, celery, if you are using this) over a low heat until soft and almost browning. 
  • Add the potatoes and stir them in. When they are hot, add the carrots and the turnip and any other extra vegetables, and stir to mix. 
  • Heat the stock and pour it in, adding the chopped meat at the same time. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and stir again. 
  • Cover the pot and simmer over a low heat for around 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are beginning to break down. Check from time to time to see how the potatoes are cooking, to stir together and to assess whether any more stock needs to be added. 

Very warm, filling and thrifty. 

Mustard Mash

I added mustard, cream and butter to mashed potatoes, to serve with some sausages and broccoli. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • about 600 to 800g potates 
  • around 20g butter
  • chopped parsley
  • 150ml double cream (you could use more, or use single cream)
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp grain mustard
  • Salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Peel, chop and boil the potatoes as usual
  • Meanwhile, in a small pan, melt the cream and mustard together
  • When the potatoes are done, drain them, return them to the pan and mash with the butter, parsley, salt and pepper  until smooth
  • Mix and mash in the cream and mustard. 

 

Mushroom and potato soup

The idea from this recipe is Italian, but there is the small issue about local ingredients. We haven’t got porcini, or even woodlands that they could grow in. I have got a lot of potatoes though, so I substituted quite a bit. The soup is delicious. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 small sweet red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 to 3 sticks of celery, finely chopped
  • 125g butter
  • 2 medium potatoes, a variety good for mashing (I used Arran Victory)
  • 1.5 litres of boiling water or light stock
  • 1 punnet of chestnut mushrooms, 200g to 300g, sliced
  • 1 40g jar of dried porcini mushrooms
  • salt and pepper
  • 250ml single cream
  • a large bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped.

METHOD:

  • Pour boiling water onto the porcini mushrooms in a small jug, and let this sit while you prepare the other ingredients.
  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and gently fry the onion and celery together until they are soft, around ten minutes
  • Peel and grate the potatoes and add to the pan, stir to mix in the butter, and then add the stock or water, and bring to a simmer, and cook for ten minutes
  • Add the finely sliced mushrooms. Strain the porcini mushrooms and add the liquor to the pot. Chop the soaked mushrooms, and add them to the pot as well. Bring to a simmer and cook for twenty minutes.
  • Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste, then blend with a soup blender. Add the cream and bring it all back to a gentle simmer. 
  • Chop the parsley very finely and stir it through the soup. 

We had this with home-made crusty bread. The soup is deliciously buttery and smooth. 

Borlotti bean and vegetable stew

I found the original recipe I was given rather sweet, so I have reduced the amount of honey in the recipe here. I’m currently trying out all sorts of recipes with potato in, if you hadn’t noticed. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 can of borlotti beans
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, finely sliced
  • 8 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2 carrots, 1cm dice
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 4 dried chillies, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp mild dried chilli flakes
  • 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1cm cubes
  • 1 tbsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • juice of half a lemon, about 2 tbsp
  • a good grind of black pepper
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to serve

METHOD: 

  • Heat the oil over a medium flame, and fry the onion, garlic and carrot for around ten minutes. Keep stirring so that the vegetables don’t catch. 
  • Add the tomato paste, chillies and chilli flakes, and cook for a minute. 
  • Add the borlotti beans, potato, dried basil and salt and cook for a few minutes to heat everything through
  • Add 500ml boiling water and the lemon juice, and simmer for around twenty minutes until the potato is cooked. 
  • Add the black pepper and honey to taste, and stir the parsley through. Leave the stew for around ten minutes before serving, to allow the flavours to mingle. 

Chinese potato stew

This is a delicious vegetarian stew, it reheats well, and is very forgiving with variations on the vegetables. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 slices of fresh ginger, peeled and crushed
  • 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 4cm cubes
  • 1 pack of green beans, sliced into 4cm lengths
  • 2 carrots, cut into 4cm batons
  • 1 punnet of mushrooms, cut into 4cm chunks (or whole if you picked the right size at the shop)
  • 4 tbsp dark soy sauce (Chinese Soy Sauce)
  • 4 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp dry sherry or shaohsing wine

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil in a large pan, medium to high heat, and when it is hot, add the ginger and garlic, fry for around 15 seconds. 
  • Add the potatoes, beans and carrots, and stir for another minute.
  • Add the mushrooms, and fry for another minute.
  • Add around 500m boiling water, the soy sauce, sugar and wine, and bring back to the boil. Cover, turn the heat down low and simmer for around twenty minutes. 
  • Remove the cover and turn the heat up, boiling the sauce down, stirring gently as you go. You are aiming to get down to a thick gravy-like sauce which coats the vegetables. 
  • If you want to prep ahead and reheat for after work, leave a little more sauce, so that this boils down as you reheat it.