Tag: potato

Paul Farag’s Potato Rosti with Cultured Cream and Bottarga

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

Wow.

This as starter or a side. Just brilliant.

By Paul Farag, the genius behind Sydney Turkish 2-hater Aalia, this recipe has a little technique behind it, though it’s otherwise simple and elegant.

What we loved about it was the drama of serving two large Rostis so that everyone can get in on the fun.

The shaved bottarga is just lux. Add caviar if you really want to impress.

I say it every time, though when I find a new potato dish that is a home run, I’m so excited.

(Nat found it, cooked it and I can no credit other than to be typing this up.)

We’re BBQing lobster on Christmas Eve – an annual tradition with Nat’s parents – and this rosti is going to make Nat’s mother so happy: just need to someone cook all that ghee without her seeing!

(If you don’t have a mandoline fitted with a julienne attachment, now might be the time.)

Ingredients

1gm sebago potatoes, peeled*
200gm ghee, melted
200gm crème fraîche
10gm bottarga or roe, caviar
1 bunch chives, finely chopped

Method

  1. Using your mandolin fitted with a julienne attachment, cut your potatoes into fine matchsticks.
  2. I rarely interrupt a recipe other than to suggest a wine or to keep stirring, however I say this as someone that made four cauliflower pizza bases one Friday night, not realising I would need to food-process, steam something like 20 cauliflowers and then suffer through the purgatory of squeezing the hot wet rice of 20 cauliflowers: do not julienne 1kg of potato with a knife. Just don’t.)
  3. Using your hands, squeeze out all the excess liquid, then place potato in a large bowl. Toss the potato with half the ghee and season well with salt flakes and freshly ground pepper.
  4. Place a non-stick pan with a 23cm base (use a sheet of baking paper to line the pan if your pan isn’t non-stick) over medium-low heat. Add half the potato mix, spreading it evenly to cover the base of the pan, lightly shaping it to a neat circle, but trying not to push down too much.
  5. Cook for 15 minutes or until deep golden brown. When ready to flip, place a chopping board over the pan and flip onto the board. Place half the remaining ghee (50gm) in the pan and transfer the rosti back to the pan, uncooked side down and cook for another 10 – 15 minutes until deep golden colour. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel. Repeat the remaining process with the remaining potato mixture and ghee.
  6. To serve, place a good dollop of crème fraîche on top of each warm rosti, finely shave bottarga over the top and sprinkle with chives.

* Yes, you can buy them in Australia.

Jamie Oliver’s Bombay Potato Salad

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 8

For all the traditional curries and dosa we cook, we love our roadside and contemporary Indian.

Hankering for a mid-week BBQ, I nominated a leg of lamb though Nat insisted we do this remarkable Khan leg of lamb, a dish we picked up in India a few years ago.

So in keeping with the BBQ theme, we of course needed a salad and so enter this moorish Bombay Potato Salad from Jamie Oliver.

Another potato salad to rival this recent classic that has become a bit of our “everyone bring a salad” whenever we are invited over for a BBQ.

My only adjustment was the addition of a 1/4 cup of crème fraîche which in my opinion, added a lovely touch of creaminess.

Your call.

Either way, this is an excellent and equally simple salad and one that would jazz up any BBQ.

Ingredients

1.5kg salad potatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp turmeric
1 red onion
1/4 c crème fraîche
1 lemon
2 tbsp mixed seeds (poppy, pumpkin, sesame etc)
1 bunch mixed herbs: parsley, mint and coriander
1 c, baby peas

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190c. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
  2. Leaving the skins on, halve any larger potatoes, then place in the water for 8 – 10 minutes to parboil.
  3. Drain, steam dry, then transfer to a roasting tray. Crush slightly with a fork, drizzle with oil, then sprinkle over the cumin seeds and turmeric. Season, toss to coat, and roast in the oven for at least 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
  4. Peel, finely slice and place the onion in a shallow bowl, squeeze over the lemon juice and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Stir through the crème fraîche.
  5. Toast the seeds in a dry pan and set aside. Pick and finely chop the herb leaves.
  6. When the potatoes are ready, leave to cool a little, then transfer to a serving bowl. Add the onions, herbs, peas and a drizzle of oil. Toss to coat, then serve sprinkled with the toasted seeds.

Jamie Oliver’s 12-hour (overnight) Roasted Pork Shoulder

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Serves: 12

I don’t cook a lot of Jamie Oliver recipes.

His stuff is always great though a little mass-market for what we are often aiming for on a Saturday night. (Please, don’t get me wrong here: he is amazing! We just try to stretch a bit further when given the opportunity.)

Though lordy, when it comes to a roast – which I rarely do, grumbles Nat – Jamie Oliver and his Italian roasts are in an incredible league. This Arrosto Misto I typed up years ago is a testament to the point.

This particular roast was even more outstanding.

A labour of love – and time – it was the sort of 1-hat roast you would die for in a great Italian restaurant on a ‘Sunday roast’ afternoon. Add in the crackling and this is bravo level.

I embellished the gravy component over what Jamie called for.

I served up steamed green beans on the side.

An extra serving of those incredible potatoes and wow.

Play with the apple cider vinegar though get it right and this is just an epic meal. Sunday lunch or dinner, this is what I am talking about.

Ingredients*

* I halved the recipe successfully.

5kg shoulder of pork, bone-in, skin removed and reserved
Olive oil
4 onions
2 – 3 eating apples
3 sticks of celery
1 bulb of garlic
1 bunch fresh sage
4 fresh bay leaves
500ml bottle of cider
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 whole cloves
2 dried chillies
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
Steamed green beans to serve

Fennel and Potato Gratin

1.5kg potatoes
5 bulbs of fennel
4 cloves of garlic
4 anchovy fillets
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
100gm Parmesan cheese
400ml double cream
200ml single cream
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

For the Gravy

1 c chicken stock
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
Reserved drippings from the cooked pork

Zingy Salsa

2 eating apples
1 tbsp cider
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bunch mint
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 250c. Toss the reserved pork skin in a little oil and sea salt, lay it flat on a tray and roast until golden and crisp. Set aside. Reduce the oven to 130c.
  2. Peel the onions and cut them into wedges with the apples. Trim and roughly chop the celery and slice the garlic bulb in half horizontally. Scatter it all in your largest roasting tray with the sage and bay leaves, pour in the cider and add a good splash of water.
  3. Bash the fennel seeds, cloves, dried chillies and 1 heaped tsp salt into fine dust in a mortar and pestle, then massage all over the pork with a drizzle of oil. Sit the pork in the tray, cover tightly with a double layer of foil, place in the oven and roast for 10 – 12 hours, or until the meat pulls easily away from the bone. Drain the drippings from the tray and set the pork aside, covered in a couple of clean tea towels to keep warm. Turn the oven up to 200c.
  4. Whilst the pork is cooking, peel the potatoes and cut lengthways into wedges along with the fennel. Parboil the potatoes for 7 minutes and the fennel for 6 minutes, then drain and leave to steam dry completely. Place in a large roasting tray. Peel the garlic and blitz until fine with the anchovies, rosemary leaves and a good splash of boiling water in a blender. Finely grate in half the nutmeg and most of the Parmesan and pour in the cream. Add a pinch of pepper and salt, blitz again and pour over the vegetables. Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and bake for 45 – 50 min, or until golden and bubbling.
  5. For the gravy, in a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock, apple cider vinegar and reserved drippings. Stir in the flour, combine and season.
  6. For the salsa, chop the apples into fine matchsticks and toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Finely slice the mint leaves and toss into the bowl with salt and pepper
  7. Serve the pork with the gravy and the salsa on top, potatoes and beans at the side. If you haven’t had a wine by this point, pour a double. You have earnt it!

Pushpesh Pant’s Samosas

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Makes: 10

Nat is often asked to make samosas for family gatherings and this has become her go-to.

We serve them with this quite excellent mint sauce recipe.

I’ve included the dough that comes with this recipe, though Nat makes a shortcrust pastry which when fried, is absolutely lovely.

As with all Pushpent Pant recipes, you know this is as traditional as it gets. As an alternative, if you are looking for a meat-based samosa, this Dan Toomb’s Keema Pau Samosa is just as excellent.

(Note, I have adapted this recipe by reducing the fresh and powdered chilli. You would blow people’s heads off with the original measurement. Trust me, we know!)

Ingredients

500gm all-purpose flour plus extra for dustingz
Vegetable oil, for deep frying

For the filling

100gm (2 small) potatoes, unpeeled
1 c peas, shelled if fresh
4 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 x 5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 – 2 green chillies, de-seeded and chopped
1/2 tsp chilli powder (you can always add more)
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp pomegranate seeds
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Salt

Method

  1. Put the flour in a large bowl and mix with enough water to form a stiff dough. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions and roll into balls. Cover with a damp cloth.
  2. For the filling, cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for about 20 minutes, or until soft, then drain and allow to cool. When cool, peel of their skins, return to the pan and roughly mash. Cook the peas until soft.
  3. Heat the ghee in a deep, heavy-based pan, add the cumin seeds and fry over a medium heat for about 15 seconds. Add the ginger, chilies, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander and season with salt. Stir-fry for about 1 minute, then add the mashed potatoes and peas and stir-fry for another minute. Add the pomegranate seeds and chopped coriander and stir. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. When the filling is cool, divide it into 10 equal portions.
  4. Place the balls of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into rounds of about 12cm diameter. Moisten the edges with water, then place a portion of the filling in centre, fold over and press all around to seal the edges.
  5. Heat enough oil for deep-frying in a deep heavy-base pan to 180c or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Working in batches, add the samosas carefully to the hot oil and deep fry for about 2 – 3 minute, or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Spanish Potato Salad

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 6 as a side

This is another Bobby Flay recipe and is a great and very colourful – thanks to the saffron, tomato and red onion – addition to my repertoire of potato salads.

I served it with Jamie Oliver’s spice crusted BBQ leg of lamb and it was fabulous.

Ingredients

¼ c red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 pinch saffron threads
1 c good cup quality egg mayonnaise
1 tbsp minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1kg new potatoes
1 large tomato
½ c finely diced Spanish onion
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
¼ c coarsely chopped flatleaf parsley

Method

  1. Combine the vinegar, honey and saffron in a small pot. Bring to a boil over a high heat and immediate remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
  2. Combine the mayonnaise and garlic with the saffron mixture in a medium mixing bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender. Drain and slice 1cm thick. Place in a large serving bowl and immediately fold in the mayonnaise mixture, tomatoes, onion, thyme and parsley. Season again and enjoy!

Pommes Dauphinoise (French Potatoes with Nutmeg and Gruyere)

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves 6 – 8

There are hundreds of interpretations of this dish.

This one is a Orlando Murrin recipe from Delicious magazine. Dauphinoise translates to a “style of cooking” and doesn’t necessarily reflect any one ingredient.

I love cooking rich, baked French potatoes – stock, onions, butter, cream, milk and cheese – and serving them with roasts and casseroles, and this recipe is certainly one of my favourites.

Life is short, eat potatoes.

Ingredients

1 large garlic clove
500ml milk (or half milk, half cream)
Good pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne
900g potatoes, sliced as thinly as possible (I used my brand new mandolin)
175g grated Cantal, Comte (Gruyere) or cheddar

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180c.
  2. Cut the garlic in half and in a baking dish (2Lt approx), rub the exposed garlic all over. After a few minutes, butter the dish well.
  3. Crush the garlic and add all the ingredients (except the cheese) to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir continuously to prevent potatoes sticking, simmer for a minute or two until the liquid thickens perceptibly, and then remove from the heat.
  4. Stir in the cheese, reserving a handful.
  5. Pile into the baking dish pushing the potatoes into the liquid so that they do not stick out. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
  6. Bake for 45 – 60 minutes until the top is dark and golden and the potatoes tender.

 

Tartiflette (French Cheese and Potato Bake)

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 8 as a side

There is a time and a place for dishes like this.

Not every night and perhaps not even every Saturday, but if you are going to cook something as utterly incredible as Orlando Murrin’s Roast Fillet of Veal in Parmesean Crust, well there sir, you have the time and place for a dish like this.

I mean, you can always go for a 15km walk in the morning right?

(If you don’t have pancetta, keep looking. You can substitute but seriously…)

Ingredients

1kg potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
50g unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp chopped thyme
200g Speck or Pancetta
1/2 cup white wine
200ml thickened cream
250g raclette or reblochon cheese grated (substitute, gruyere)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190c.
  2. Boil the potatoes for 3 or so minutes; they should be started to soften though not fully softened.
  3. Melt the butter over a medium-low heat in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the garlic, thyme and Speck (or pancetta) and cook, stirring for 5 minutes.
  5. Add the white wine, cream, most of the cheese and the potato and stir to combine. Season.
  6. Transfer the mixture to a large baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
  7. Cover with a sheet of baking paper (to prevent sticking) and then foil.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the baking paper/foil and continue cooking for another 20 minutes or until bubbling and golden.

Warm potato salad

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves 6

Growing up, potato salad meant two things to me. That fabulous, only-served-at-picnics Woolworths potato salad that you knew you shouldn’t like or eat.

Or the different variations my mother served to us; potato salads that were not bleached white, often contained mustards and wine and herbs and frequently enough, were warm. This recipe is one of many she has given me.

I still have a hidden love for the Woolworths variety, though I still know I shouldn’t eat it except for BBQs and picnics and fishing trips. This potato salad however, has no guilt attached to it and is simply fabulous served with a steak, sausages or really anything that goes with potato salad.

Better still, as with all potato salads, make enough and it is the gift that keeps on giving; head to the fridge with a teaspoon at 11pm on a Saturday night and repeat every fifteen minutes until  you wake up on Sunday and start the same trick from 11am onwards.

Long live the potato salad.

Ingredients

100gm thinly sliced bacon
1.25kg potatoes, scrubbed
½ c sour cream
1 tbsp honey
1 eschallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
1 bunch chives, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method

  1. Fry the bacon and then break it up.
  2. Cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water and then drain, peel off the skins and slice.
  3. Combine the sour cream, mustard, honey, eschallot, vinegar, olive oil and chives, season with salt and pepper and toss through the warm potato and bacon.
  4. Garnish with the parsley and look forward to the next 24 hours of slightly guilt-free snacking.