Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Vegetables’

Crispy Roast Potatoes with Herby Salsa Verde

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 9 November 2025| Leave a Comment »

We’re constantly roasting baby potatoes in hot olive oil with just salt and pepper and we never get tired of them. However, this salsa verde gives our go-to roasties a serious upgrade. Any leftovers are brilliant the next day, packed into lunchboxes or tossed in a salad.

Crispy Roast Potatoes with Herby Salsa Verde — Serves 4 (as a side)

FOR THE SALSA VERDE:

  • 20g flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 20g basil leaves
  • 6g mint leaves
  • ½ garlic clove, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp chopped cornichons
  • ½ tbsp capers
  • 1 anchovy
  • 1½ tsp Dijon mustard
  • 4 tbsp extrta virgin olive oil
  • 2½ tsp red wine vinegar

FOR THE ROAST POTATOES:

  • 1kb baby potatoes, halved or quartered
  • 2½ tbsp olive oil

Make the salsa verde: Whizz all of the salsa verde ingredients in a small food processor or with a stick blender until you get a coarse, spoonable sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed — a splash more vinegar or oil can help balance it.

Roast the potatoes: Heat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, a generous pinch of salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Spread them out in a single layer on a large baking tray — don’t crowd them or they won’t crisp up.

Roast for about 45–50 minutes, turning once halfway, until they’re golden, crispy, and tender. Let them cool slightly on the tray for 10 minutes.

Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and gently toss with around 60g of the salsa verde. Serve warm.

(Recipe inspiration from RecipeTin Eats Tonight by Nagi Maehashi, Pan Macmillan, 2024.)

Read Full Post »

Buttered Sprouts with Chestnuts & Bacon

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 29 December 2018| Leave a Comment »

Buttered Sprouts with Chestnuts & Bacon

Sprouts are not just for Christmas and indeed should be eaten throughout the frosty months in our opinion. We particularly like this recipe with butter, bacon bits and chestnuts – a sprout-lovers dream!

Buttered sprouts with chestnuts & bacon – serves 8 (easily halved)

  • 1.25kg Brussels sprouts, trimmed
  • 6 rashers streaky smoked bacon cut into bit-sized pieces or cubes of pancetta
  • 200g vacuum-packed chestnuts
  • 50g butter

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and tip in the sprouts. Return to the boil and cook for 5 minutes, then drain and run under the cold tap until cold, then drain again.

Heat a large frying pan, add the bacon and gently fry for 10 minutes until crispy. Scoop the bacon out of the pan with a slotted spoon and leave the fat behind, then add the chestnuts and fry over a high heat for about 5 minutes until they have darkened in places, then tip out of the pan.

Put the sprouts into the frying pan with a splash of water, then cover the pan with a lid and finish cooking over a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until just tender. Remove the cover, turn up the heat, then add most of the butter and sauté the sprouts for another 2 minutes. Tip in the bacon and chestnuts, season generously, then serve with the last bit of butter on top.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine, December 2009.)

Read Full Post »

Potato & Leek Gratin

Posted in Food, tagged , , , , , , , , on 14 December 2015| Leave a Comment »

Potato & Leek Gratin

Seasonal comfort food for dark nights and lashing rain. This gratin would work as a side for roast lamb or chicken, or like we did, add a little ham make it a weekday meal.

Potato & Leek Gratin – serves 4

  • 125ml chicken or vegetable stock
  • carton double cream
  • 150ml milk
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • a knob of butter
  • 800g potato, peeled and thinly sliced (use a mandolin if you have one)
  • 2 leeks, washed and thinly sliced
  • 175g good quality sliced ham, chopped (optional)
  • 85g cheddar, grated

Pour the stock, cream and milk into a small saucepan with the garlic and bay leaf and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse.

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/. Butter a 2 litre gratin dish well. Mix the potatoes, leeks and ham together and put into the gratin dish in an even layer. Pour over the creamy stock and tuck in the bay leaf. Season and sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Loosely cover with foil, set on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes. Test the potatoes with a knife – they should be just beginning to soften. Remove the foil and bake for another 35-45 minutes, spooning some of the stock mixture over every now and again until the potatoes are tender. Cool for 15 minutes or so before serving.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Wine suggestion: We had a bottle of Reyneke Organic Syrah from South Africa opened to try as they’ve been getting great press lately, and we love how they integrate their workers into the whole process, genuinely giving back and involving the community. We thought it might have been too big and rich for the gratin but they complimented each other really well.

Reyneke Organic Syrah

Read Full Post »