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Posts Tagged ‘Potatoes’

The Easiest Beef Stew Ever

Posted in Beef, Food, Potato, tagged , , , , , on 8 January 2013| Leave a Comment »

This really is the easiest beef stew ever and can be made successfully by anyone. It’s also very tasty and great for feeding a crowd. Just fling everything together and chuck it in the oven.

The Easiest Ever Beef Stew – to serve 6

  • 1.5g stewing steak, cut into chunks
  • 60g plain flour
  • 2 tsp good-quality paprika
  • 400g tin of tomatoes
  • 1 glass of wine (red or white will do)
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 stick celery, finely sliced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 3 potatoes, cut into chunks

Heat the oven to 180ºC.

Put the flour and paprika into a large plastic bag. Add the beef and shake to coat.

Put the beef into a cast-iron casserole.

Whizz the tomatoes and their juice in a food processor, or roughly crush with a wooden spoon, and add to the meat.

Add all of the other ingredients and stir.

Press a piece of baking paper over the stew and cover the casserole with a lid.

Cook in the oven for 2 hours. Taste for seasoning. Check if the meet is tender and cook for a bit longer if necessary.

Wine Suggestion: A rustic red is all that’s needed here and you may as well finish the bottle you opened for this recipe. Something from the Languedoc should fit the bill.

(Original recipe from The Cook’s Companion by Stephanie Alexander, Penguin Books, 2004.)

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Roast Pork with Fabulous Potatoes

Posted in Food, Pork, tagged , , , , , , on 13 September 2012| 1 Comment »

Totally worth the effort and time, this just melted in the mouth. The roast potatoes done under the roasting pork belly worked a real treat and had that heavenly combination of meltingly fluffy and soft centres and a chewy-crunchy crust.

Roast pork – to feed 4-6

  • 1.8kg belly pork, skin on
  • about 8 dried bay leaves
  • 3-4 fat cloves of garlic
  • olive oil
  • 1kg potatoes
  • glass of white wine

Use a very sharp knife to score the skin. You need to go through the fat under the skin but don’t cut into the meat. This will give you delicious strips of crackling.

Crumble the bay leaves into tiny pieces, squash the garlic with the back of a knife, then mash to two together with a pestle and mortar. Add plenty of salt and black pepper. Add enough oil to make a spreadable paste. Place the pork skin side down and massage the paste into it, pushing it into every crevice. Leave the meat in a cool place for an hour or so to soak up the flavours.

Peel the potatoes, cut them into large chunks and drop them into salted boiling water. Cook until they are just tender, then drain and tip into a roasting tin. Shake them about to rough up the edges.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas 6. You need to cook the pork directly on the bars above the potatoes. Pour a bit of oil on the potatoes to prevent them from sticking, add a wine glass of water and toss, then put the roasting tin on the lower shelf. Put the pork directly on the top shelf, skin side down. Cook for an hour, turning the potatoes once. Check the pork for any pinkness and if necessary cook a little longer (it will probably take an hour and a half in total).

Turn the oven up to 250ºC/Gas 9. Turn the pork skin side up and continue to cook until the skin is puffed up and crispy. Take the meat from the oven and leave to rest. Take the potatoes out when they are really brown and sticky. Remove the potatoes form the roasting tin and pour in a glass of white wine. Bring to the boil on the hob, stirring well to get all the tasty bits from the bottom of the tin.

Cut the meat into thick chunks and serve with the potatoes, gravy and green salad or apple sauce.

Wine Suggestion: Go for a good-quality, full-bodied Chardonnay. We tried the Atarangi Craighall Chardonnay from New Zealand.

(Original recipe from Nigel Slater’s Appetite, Fourth Estate, 2000.)

We had leftovers the next day in a crusty bread roll … yum 🙂

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New Potatoes with Rosemary

Posted in Food, Italian, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 20 June 2012| 3 Comments »

Rosemary flavoured potatoes are available everywhere in Tuscany and we love them!

Patatine Novelle al Rosmario – to serve 4

  • 25g butter
  • 100ml olive oil
  • 1 fresh rosemary sprig
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 750g new potatoes

Heat the butter and oil in a large pan, add the rosemary, garlic and new potatoes, then cover. Cook on a low heat until golden brown. Discard the garlic and rosemary and sprinkle with some sea salt to serve.

(Original recipe from The Silver Spoon, Phaidon Press Ltd. 2005)

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Stoved potatoes

Posted in Food, Potato, Side dish, tagged , , , , , , on 16 May 2012| Leave a Comment »

These are yummy and give a totally different texture to new potatoes. Keep turning them regularly so you get them nice and brown all over.

Stoved potatoes – to serve 6

  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 500g baby new potatoes

Melt the butter in a large frying pan with a lid. Wait until it foams before adding the potatoes. Turn the potatoes and make sure they all get coated in butter and are in a single layer. Sprinkle over some salt.

Cover and cook gently for about 30 minutes, shaking the pan regularly, until the potatoes are tender. Leave them in the hot butter until you’re ready to serve them and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

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Side Dishes to Feed a Crowd

Posted in Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 8 December 2011| Leave a Comment »

Here’s a couple of easy side dishes that will feed loads of people! For the salad you can roast the squash and tomatoes and make the dressing ahead.

Cannellini Bean and Roast Squash Salad with Basil Dressing – to feed 12

  • 1kg butternut squash, peeled and cut into small chunks
  • olive oil
  • 500g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 shallots, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • basil
  • 4 x 400g tins cannellini beans, drained (we didn’t have cannellini so used a mix of flageolet and haricot beans)

Heat the oven to 220C/fan 180C/gas 6. Put the squash on a baking tray with 2 tbsp oil and season. Roast for 20 minutes then add the tomatoes, turn up the heat to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 and roast for 15 minutes. Then cool.

Put the shallots, mustard, vinegar and basil in a processor and blend. Add 4 tbsp olive oil and 3tbsp of water and blend to make a dressing.

Put the beans on a platter. Top with the squash and tomatoes then drizzle over the dressing. Toss gently and serve.

Diced olive oil roasties with rosemary – to serve 12

  • 2.5kg potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
  • olive oil
  • a few sprigs of rosemary

Heat the oven to 220C/fan 180C/gas 6.

Par-boil the potatoes for 5 minutes then drain. Toss with 4 tbsp olive oil and spread on a baking tray. Season and cook for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the rosemary, toss then cook for another 25-30 minutes or until crispy and golden. Sprinkle with sea salt.

We served both dishes with some barbecued sausages – but you can serve them with whatever you like!

(Original recipes from BBC Olive, December 2011.)

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Irish Champ

Posted in Food, Irish Food, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 26 November 2011| 7 Comments »

We love  champ, and this recipe adds an extra layer of deliciousness. This idea is from Jamie’s latest book and we especially liked the addition of yellow celery leaves at the end.

King of mash: Irish champ

  • 1kg potatoes
  • 2 scallions
  • 1 leek
  • 150ml milk
  • 1 fresh bay leaf
  • 50g butter
  • a small handful of watercress (we omitted this as there was none in the shop)
  • a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
  • a small handful of yellow celery leaves

Peel the potatoes and bring a large pan of  salted water to the boil. Cut the potatoes into 2.5cm chunks then add to the pan and boil fast for 12-15 minutes, or until completely tender.

Meanwhile, slice the scallions and leeks as finely as you can. Put them in a saucepan with the milk, bay leaf, butter and plenty of seasoning. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about 7-8 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and let them steam dry for a few minutes in the hot pot. Mash the potatoes, adding spoonfuls of the milk as you go. Taste and season. Roughly chop the watercress (if using) and stir through the mash (discard any thick stalks).

Just before serving reheat the mash with a lid on over a gentle heat. Stir in the parsley and celery leaves and serve with more butter if you like.

(Original recipe from Jamie’s Great Britain by Jamie Oliver, Penguin, 2011.)

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Really good spuds!

Posted in Barbecue, Food, tagged , , , , , , on 8 September 2011| 1 Comment »

We cooked these recently and took pics, as always, so we could post the recipe on the blog later. Only to find out that we have in fact cooked them before and blogged the recipe also. So we would like to reiterate that this is a very nice way to cook potatoes. We also recommend that you make a little note beside every recipe you do so you don’t forget that you’ve made it before and whether or not you liked it. We almost always do this but clearly forgot this time. You can get the recipe here.

A great accompaniment to potatoes and steak were these courgettes from Johnny and Vivienne’s garden which barbecued superbly, especially with the lemon halves which contribute a caramel zing.

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Superhealthy Chicken Bake

Posted in Food, Healthy, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on 29 June 2011| Leave a Comment »

Until very recently we had terrible trouble finding skinless, boneless chicken thighs but lately we’ve got them in M&S, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. They are really cheap and much tastier than chicken breasts that can dry out easily. We now have a freezer full of them (just in case they become illusive again) so expect plenty more ideas for chicken thighs here over the next while. All this dish requires is minimal chopping, bung it all in the one pan and bake – perfect for a weeknight (and it’s really healthy too!).

Chicken bake – serves 2

  • about 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 6 new or salad potatoes, halved
  • 1/2 a lemon, cut into wedges
  • 6 cloves of garlic, skins left on
  • 1 red pepper, siced
  • a few thyme sprigs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 25g pitted black olives
  • 250g cherry tomatoes

Heat the oven to 200C/180F/gas 6.

Put the chicken, potatoes, lemon, garlic, pepper and thyme onto a large baking tray. Drizzle the oil over and season. Then roast for 30 minutes.

Add the olives and tomatoes and roast for another 10 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are browned and cooked through.

We served this with a rocket salad.

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Irish Potato & Bandon Vale Vintage Cheddar Cheese Tart

Posted in Cheese, Food, Irish Food, Potato, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 5 March 2011| 2 Comments »

It’s another Irish Food Bloggers Association Cookalong and this time the theme is Irish. We were tempted to do an Irish stew but thought that was a bit obvious, we thought about beef and Guinness but that’s not all that original either and then to make things more difficult we invited a vegetarian for dinner.  It was then that we thought about using some Irish cheese as the base for a dish and after eating many variations of cheese and pastry all week we came up with this. Irish potatoes, leeks and a west Cork Cheddar all baked up in a pie. Delicious!!

Serves 4-6

  • 650g waxy potatoes
  • 750g leeks
  • 50g butter
  • 200ml creme fraiche
  • 180g Bandon Vale Vintage Cheddar, grated
  • freshly grated nutmeg
  • 500g puff pastry
  • beaten egg for glazing

Heat the oven to 200C.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices. Boil in plenty of salted water until tender (it’s ok if they go a bit mushy).

Meanwhile, throw away the very green bit of the leeks and slice the rest into rings. Wash really well in cold water to get rid of any grit.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the leeks. Cover and cook over low-medium heat until tender – about 20 minutes.

Mix the  leeks, potatoes, creme fraiche and cheddar and season well with salt, pepper and a little bit of nutmeg.

Roll the pastry into two rectangles (about the size of your baking sheet).

Pile the potato mixture into the middle  of one sheet and leave a good rim around the edge. Brush the edges with beaten egg and lay second piece of pastry over the top and press the edges down, pinching firmly to seal. Trim off any excess.

Brush all over with the egg and cut 3 or 4 slits along the width of the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden.

(Original recipe from Nigel Slater Tender Vol 1 – A tart of leeks and cheese)

Wine suggestion: A full-bodied white was nice with this. We had a Santenay Blanc followed by an oaked Semillon from the Clare Valley.

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