A bit late for my own challenge, but I have been creating some cheering #ConfinedSpring content with my first English asparagus of the year, hurrah.
But mainly, for the first night of veganish week in my Confined Kitchen, I am making Clair Thomson's Whacked and Drunken Potatoes, because why, why wouldn't you make a dish called that? It's very simple, but pleasing. Really just a side, but if you've also got a panful of asparagus, why not?
Take some small potatoes. For some reason all I could get was knobbly red potatoes (I presume all the new pots had sold out, and ordinary Charlottes have been temporarily displaced, sigh). But take what you have, and whack it.
Yep. Rolling pin, heavy pan, whatever you have. Just whack all the potatoes till they're all at least cracked. I pulverised quite a lot, which wasn't ideal. It may be that I've got a bit of tension to work out. Anyway, take the ruins, and put them into an oven dish. Whack some garlic cloves and add them too. Add a tablespoon or so of coriander seed (also crushed, though not in my case with a rolling pin), couple of bay leaves. Season generously.
Then add liquids. The recipe (for half as many spuds again, about 800g), says 120ml red wine, 100ml boiling water and 100ml olive oil.
... SIDEBAR
I am a big fan of fat in cooking. I cannot be doing with those btl recipe comments that say "it said 100g of butter but I used a quick spritz of lite n crispi and it worked just as well! I found the recipe dry and flavourless overall." But 100ml of oil is a lot, in a number of regards, especially when you're lugging all your shopping on foot. Also, yoga notwithstanding, I'm not exercising near as much as usual, so... I probably put less than 50ml in, and another time I'd put less. You want to be able to pour the wine dregs over the spuds, and I found doing that a bit greasy. Probably 4 parts wine to 3 parts water 1 part oil for me, tops....
But still, into the oven. 170deg fan, 40 minutes or so.
It looked pretty much the same before and after going into the oven tbh, but it tasted very cheerful, especially around the cracked bits and where I'd poured the wine dregs on.
And I'd got rhubarb and (admittedly dull) English strawberries in the same shop, so I stewed up some of those too.
In a perfect world it would be with lovely rich custard. But this isn't a perfect world, so it's Yeo Valley 0% fat vanilla yoghurt. And it's pretty nice.
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| Asparagus braising with wild garlic. I love spring cooking (at least, when I've just been shopping I do) |
But mainly, for the first night of veganish week in my Confined Kitchen, I am making Clair Thomson's Whacked and Drunken Potatoes, because why, why wouldn't you make a dish called that? It's very simple, but pleasing. Really just a side, but if you've also got a panful of asparagus, why not?
Take some small potatoes. For some reason all I could get was knobbly red potatoes (I presume all the new pots had sold out, and ordinary Charlottes have been temporarily displaced, sigh). But take what you have, and whack it.
Yep. Rolling pin, heavy pan, whatever you have. Just whack all the potatoes till they're all at least cracked. I pulverised quite a lot, which wasn't ideal. It may be that I've got a bit of tension to work out. Anyway, take the ruins, and put them into an oven dish. Whack some garlic cloves and add them too. Add a tablespoon or so of coriander seed (also crushed, though not in my case with a rolling pin), couple of bay leaves. Season generously.
Then add liquids. The recipe (for half as many spuds again, about 800g), says 120ml red wine, 100ml boiling water and 100ml olive oil.
... SIDEBAR
I am a big fan of fat in cooking. I cannot be doing with those btl recipe comments that say "it said 100g of butter but I used a quick spritz of lite n crispi and it worked just as well! I found the recipe dry and flavourless overall." But 100ml of oil is a lot, in a number of regards, especially when you're lugging all your shopping on foot. Also, yoga notwithstanding, I'm not exercising near as much as usual, so... I probably put less than 50ml in, and another time I'd put less. You want to be able to pour the wine dregs over the spuds, and I found doing that a bit greasy. Probably 4 parts wine to 3 parts water 1 part oil for me, tops....
But still, into the oven. 170deg fan, 40 minutes or so.
It looked pretty much the same before and after going into the oven tbh, but it tasted very cheerful, especially around the cracked bits and where I'd poured the wine dregs on.
And I'd got rhubarb and (admittedly dull) English strawberries in the same shop, so I stewed up some of those too.
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| Poaching with orange juice, a splash of water, a little sugar. The strawbs really help the colour when rhubarb is this green |
I love dishes that allow you to work out a bit of tension. I can feel schnitzel might be in my future this week.
ReplyDeleteRhubarb and strawbs make such a lovely combination. I have neither at the moment, but as it's Sunday lunchtime, I can feel a bacon buttie coming on!
Yes, the whacking was very cheering, although also quite messy.
DeleteThat all sounds delightful!
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty darned good.
Delete"Therapeutic violence" needs to be a label, IMO. And I luffs you for this bit which made me laugh like a drain:
ReplyDelete'I cannot be doing with those btl recipe comments that say "it said 100g of butter but I used a quick spritz of lite n crispi and it worked just as well! I found the recipe dry and flavourless overall."'
It definitely is a label, we should add it.
DeleteAnd you know those comments are real. Too real. Just use the butter or pick another recipe hmph.