Potato - Retro Food For Modern Times

05
Aug
2020

Steak Frites with Bearnaise Sauce – Dining with The Dame 5

categories: Dining With The Dame, Potato, Steak

“Hello crime readers and food lovers! The Secret of Chimneys is Agatha Christie’s fifth novel and it is a standalone thriller even though in the tv version it is turned into a Miss Marple mystery. Chimneys introduces us to Superintendent Battle who will return in future novels. On the menu for tonight’s dinner is a classic Steak Frites with Bearnaise Sauce. I have chosen the French nomenclature today because it sounds so much more classy than the English alternative of steak and chips! I think the Dame would have approved!

Oh, and just so you don’t get confused like I did over the title, Chimneys refers to a country house, not actual chimneys! The tv version was filmed at Hatfield house which was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth 1. And totally gorgeous!

The Secret of Chimneys – The Plot

Oh Lord…where to start? This one is complicated!

So, let’s start it in Zimbabwe where we meet our hero Anthony Cade. A friend gives him the memoirs of a Herzoslovakian (yes really) aristocrat to take to publishers in London along with some incriminating letters written by a woman called Virginia Revel. Through a series of escapades, Anthony meets the real Virginia Revel and gets an invitation to Chimneys, but only after having disposed of the dead body in the study…

Rght about now, I usually do a bit of a summary of the novel. Well, I bought a big pile of Agatha Christie novels on eBay and the back cover of The Secret of Chimneys has done it for me. Here is what it says

“Stolen letters, a foreign envoy; a shot at one of England’s historic houses; detectives Britishm French and American; secret passages, a fabulous jewel, a mysterious rose emblem; an organisation called the Comrades of the Red Hand; an international jewel thief…”

I couldn’t have done it better myself!

Sadly, the Secret at Chimneys also contains some racial slurs and stereotypes that are definitely on the nose for the modern reader which diminished my enjoyment of this “light-hearted thriller”.

The Covers

The first three on the top row are the one I read, my favourite and I don’t even know what is happening here!!! As lovely as it is, I also feel the French cover looks like it was designed by someone who had never read the book!

The Recipe – Steak Frites with Bearnaise

“He thought longingly of such things as rump steaks, juicy chops, and large masses of fried potatoes. But he shook his head ruefully, glancing at his wristwatch”

The Mystery of Chimneys, Agatha Christie

Here’s the recipe. I used oven fries but this recipe has all the instructions to cook your “mass of fried potatoes” from scratch if you so desire! I also used dried tarragon in my bearnaise because winter!

Other Food Mentioned in The Secret of Chimneys

Have a great week! Oh and I’m so excited, my next post will be a collab with Jenny from Silver Screen Suppers! Stay tuned and stay safe!

07
Jan
2019

Use By: Oven Fries with Marinated Feta and Rosemary

categories: Potato, Simple, Use By

One of my goals for the new year, inspired by Jenny over at Silver Screen Suppers is to cut down on my food waste. To that end, I spent a day or so over the break adding every item of food and drink in my house – of which I apparently have 530+ – ranging from Agnostura Bitters to Zulu Spice Mix into a spreadsheet.

Zulu Spice Mix? WTF? I don’t even know why I have Zulu spice mix. I also don’t know why I have 3 unopened boxes of cream of tartar (or even exactly it does) or two unopened jars of Char Sui Paste… But all of that stuff could wait. In the dairy shelf of my fridge (another Jenny inspiration), there was some very delicious (and also very expensive) marinated feta that absolutely positively could not go to waste.

So, then to my “Recipe Schedule” spreadsheet to see where I can use some marinated feta. Wow..I’m giving you all my spreadsheets!

Don’t even get me started on my spreadsheets. Because this will then become a blog about where and how to use a multi embedded what if scenario and not at all about food. On the other hand, if, like me, you are all about the spready, head over to my other blog www.tarynisexcellent.com* for all your spreadsheet needs, wants and desires. (*Not a real blog. Unless you want it to be…)

Back to my marinated feta and the concept of the “Use By” post. In each post, I will use up an ingredient that would have otherwise had to be thrown out. And will try to use that ingredient in a manner that does not entail buying several more items which will then have to be logged and “used by”…..

Yotam Ottolenghi’s latest book, Simple contains a recipe for fries with feta and oregano. I had feta, I had potatoes. I didn’t have dried oregano but I had fresh rosemary and I love rosemary flavoured roast potatoes so I subbed in the rosemary for the oregano.

Let me tell you, these fries are GENIUS!

That drizzle of garlic oil over the top takes them to next level. Add the feta and we’re talking eleven.

Being a philistine I also tried to add ketchup and vinegar to these fries Because normally, fries without them are useless.

These were fine without!

These are possibly the best home fries I have ever eaten!

And a super recipe for using up any leftover feta cheese you may have!

26
Nov
2018

Spinach and Gorgonzola Stuffed Jacket Potatoes

categories: Blue Cheese, Potato, Spinach

Doh! thought I posted this a couple of weeks ago!!!! I found it in drafts today so I guess not!

I had an idea about how to do these World Food posts. I’ll do a recipe from Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery from 1972, then I’ll do a modern recipe from the same country or somewhat related to the first post. It’s going to be a kind of retro/modern vibe. So, given that last time I featured Potato Maraska, a potato recipe from 1970’s Israel, today, I am showcasing a potato recipe from an Israeli chef, Yotam Ottolenghi. This is actually my second Ottolenghi recipe on here, the first being his Crespeou from way back in 2015. No “70’s style retro picnic bling” today but after the blandness of the Potato Maraska, these Spinach and Gorgonzola stuffed jacket potatoes bring all the flavour to the yard!

If you are one of those people who hate blue cheese, you could use cheddar or whatever cheese you like instead…but the gorgonzola, spinach and walnut combo is particularly nice.

The hardest part of this is scooping out the cooked potato flesh evenly and not putting a hole in the skin. Maximum taste for minimum effort. Vegetarian. And gluten-free for those who care about such things.

Potato skins or stuffed jacket potatoes or whatever you want to call them are fun food! And these have spinach so they’re also kind of healthy!

There’s not much more to say about these! They were simple to make and delicious! And they look just like the picture from the book!

This recipe comes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s latest book, Simple. This was our latest Tasty Reads book club selection and was, with one exception, liked by all. I love it and can see it becoming a favourite that I turn to regularly for simple, delicious food:

Highlights for me, apart from the potatoes above, have been so far:

Chicken Marbella
Bridget Jones Pan Fried Salmon with Pine Nut Salsa
Blueberry, Almond and Lemon Cake

Here’s the Spinach and Gorgonzola Stuffed Jacket Potatoes Recipe:

And here’s the book:

I love that cover. It’s so bright and cheerful and well…Simple!

Have a wonderful week!

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17
Mar
2018

REPOST Dublin Coddle – For St Patrick’s Day

categories: Bacon, Budget Recipes, Cabbage, Holidays, Ireland, Potato, Sausage, St Patrick's Day

Isn’t Dublin Coddle the most adorable name for anything ever?

It sounds like a cuddle and that is exactly what you are going to get from this hearty and warming mix of sausages, cabbage, bacon and potatoes.

I don’t seem to have the best of luck with Irish recipes (remember the corned beef potato salad?)

I had planned to make a totally safe homemade Irish Cream because hot damn do I love a little bit of Bailey’s! However what they don’t tell you in most recipes for it is that, because it contains fresh cream, homemade Irish cream has a fairly limited lifespan. As I am trying to moderate my diet and alcohol intake at the moment drinking a whole bottle of whiskey and a shit ton of cream over the space of about 5 five days did not seem like a viable option.

Fun…just not a viable diet option!

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So Dublin Coddle it was. And whilst this was nowhere near as awful as the debacle that was the potato salad, the recipe I used for Dublin Coddle (sorry I cannot remember from whence it came) was not without problems.

It asked that you layer thinly sliced potatoes into the bottom of a baking dish then piled your sauteed cabbage, onion and bacon on top and topped that with sausages. Then you added stock to the dish.

And therein lay the problem. Even though I cooked this for absolutely AGES, the potatoes at the bottom didn’t cook at that well and were totally soggy. And, as viewers of the British Bake Off know all too well, no one likes a soggy bottom!

This was good but I wonder how much better it would have been if the potatoes had gone on the top and gone all crispy and delicious?

I will actually make it that way next time and update you on how it turns out! The good thing about this recipe is that it was traditionally made from leftovers so you can play around with ingredients and cooking techniques as much as you like!

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Here’s the recipe!

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Dublin Coddle

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A delicious hearty meal, perfect for St Patrick’s Day

Author: Taryn Fryer

Ingredients

Scale

8 sausages – the recipe said pork, I used beef
2 onions, sliced
2 rashers of bacon, sliced
2 cups of cabbage, sliced
stock or water (I used vegetable stock)
Oil
salt and pepper
parsley
Dijon mustard

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Instructions

Heat a little oil in a large pan and brown the sausages. You may have to do this in two lots.
Remove the sausages from the pan and set aside.
Add a little more oil if required and brown the bacon and onions.
Toss the cabbage through the bacon and onion mix and cook for a few minutes.
Layer the potatoes in a lightly oiled casserole or baking dish.
Top with the cabbage and bacon mix. Season well and almost cover with the stock.
Top with the sausages.
Bake at 190C until the potatoes are tender.
Sprinkle with parsley and serve with mustard.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 4

Meantime, enjoy your St Patrick’s Day!!!!

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24
Apr
2017

Bombay Potato Snacks

categories: India, Potato, Snacks, Vegetarian

Let’s talk about what makes the best snacks the best. They are crunchy, salty, crispy, fried, spicy, sweet, creamy, fresh or sour right? So, what if you could combine all of those tastes and textures into the one dish? Wouldn’t that make it THE. BEST. SNACK.EVER? Yes. It would. And the only thing that stops me from claiming this for these Bombay Potato Snacks is that there is a little bit of work involved in making them which is kind of contrary to the idea of the snack….however, persevere with me. They’re worth the effort! And also very pretty!

I probably should have cropped this photo a lot more. However, I really liked the shadows of the plants on my kitchen windowsill. And you have to take your little pleasures where you find them right? And for you pernickety people, there’s a cropped version down below.

So, Bombay Potato Snacks. First time I made this, I totally forgot to strew the Bombay mix (or Sev as it is called in Sri Lanka over the top). Doh! It was actually still pretty tasty but you know…really just a potato snack which is totally not enough for all of you delightful and snack hungry RFFMT readers. Cos you all deserve the bomb! Eh?

Okay. Even by my standard of bad puns, that last one was just a little bit too shit. So, let’s quickly forget it ever happened and talk potatoes. In this case oven roasted with a bit o’ salt and cayenne pepper but you could totally pan or deep fry them should you so desire. Once baked or fried, arrange them on a place. I chose to place mine in a circle. Then, add a dollop of Greek Yoghurt, and top that with a dollop of Indian Chutney. I chose to use a home-made Mango Salsa Chutney from Kylee Newton’s wonderful book The Modern Preserver but you could use your favourite bought chutney.

We’re then going to sprinkle a little bit of tomato salsa over the top of all of this – tomato, red onion, chilli, coriander, mint, lemon juice to add some freshness and zing and pow!

And then, if this is not already tasty enough, we’re going to top this off by just throwing a handful of Bombay Mix all over the top! That is five layers of awesome on your plate. This is not just a Yeah! dish. This is a HELL YEAH! dish!

And totes vegetarian for those who care about those things. You could also very easily make it vegan by swapping out the dairy yogurt for a soy or coconut yogurt. Actually, vegans please make this. And give it to your non-vegan friends and defy them to say that this vegan dish is not as tasty AF.

Serve this on a platter and let your guests dig in. Or…eat it all by yourself. I won’t judge you. I promise. I may have even done that myself.

We’re doing Indian in Tasty Reads in April and May…and also there was an awesome Indian inspired Shepherd’s pie made on My Kitchen Rules this week, which I am totally going to adapt to my own tastes so stay tuned for more Indian inspired dishes in future.

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Bombay Potato Snacks

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

5 large potatoes cut into 1cm slices
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
100 ml Indian Chutney of your choice – I used a home made mango chutney
125ml Greek yoghurt

Salsa:

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp mint leaves, chopped
1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
1 red chilli, chopped, seeds removed (less or more depending on your love of heat)

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 200C.
Place the potato slices, the salt, cayenne pepper and oil in a large plastic bag and toss to coat.
Place the slices in a single layer on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, flipping them over half way through.
Remove from tray to a wire rack and allow to cool.

For The Salsa:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve

Spread the potato slices around the platter.
Add a dollop of Yoghurt into the middle, top this with a dollop of chutney.
Sprinkle the salsa over the top.
Top with the Bombay mix.
Eat. Enoy!

Next up though, we’re slipping and sliding, stepping and stomping into the letter S from The A-Z of Cooking. And for once, the heading is not completely random. Leave a comment if you’d like to have a guess at what it might be!

It’s your week…make it fab!

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Category: Potato

The Secret of Chimneys – The Plot

The Covers

The Recipe – Steak Frites with Bearnaise

Other Food Mentioned in The Secret of Chimneys

Dublin Coddle

Ingredients

Instructions

Nutrition

Bombay Potato Snacks

Ingredients

Salsa:

Instructions

For The Salsa:

To Serve