Newsletter #7 –

Continuing with the carbohydrate theme here are another couple of potato recipes plus a bonus roasted soup recipe – all very tasty.

Baked Stuffed Potatoes

4 portions

These potatoes are great as an accompaniment for a grilled steak. Alternatively you can choose tiny potatoes and use as a finger food item. You will need a small frypan, a baking sheet and a bowl for this recipe.

• 4 x Potatoes, around 200g each
• 60g Bacon, lean, rind less; small dice
• 10ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 20g Butter
• One small brown onion, around 80g, peeled, finely chopped
• 60 ml sour cream
• ¼ bunch chives, washed and chopped
• 10g Parsley, washed and chopped
• 60g Cheddar Cheese, grated
• Paprika, scant
• Salt and pepper

                                                   

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 175c
• Select even size potatoes, remove any dirt by washing and scrubbing
• Place potatoes either on a baking sheet or directly on the oven rack
• Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes until the skin is crisp but the potatoes ‘give’ a little when pressed
• While the potatoes are cooking, cut the bacon into a 3mm dice
• Heat the oil in your frypan and add the diced bacon and onion. Sauté on low heat until the bacon is brown and a little crispy and the onion is caramelising. When ready take off the heat and keep the bacon and onion warm.
• When cooked remove the potatoes from the oven

                                               

• Place the hot potatoes on your kitchen bench. Using a serrated knife slice off the top 10% of the potato, parallel to your kitchen bench
• While holding onto the potato with a clean tea towel , scoop out the inside of the potato into your bowl until leaving a potato ‘shell’ about 3mm thick
• Mash the hot potato before adding half the cheese and all of the rest of the ingredients except paprika. Check the seasoning
• Mix well
• Divide the potato mix evenly between the potato shells
• Top each potato with a little cheese and a sprinkle of paprika
• Return the finished potato to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until the potato tops are golden brown
• Serve

Notes:

• I used a nylon scourer to clean the potatoes
• These potatoes do well when prepared the day before (and refrigerated). When you go to cook them, microwave them a little before putting them in the oven

Warm Potato Salad

This salad recipe lies somewhere between a German Potato Salad with its vinaigrette dressing and the creamy mayonnaise style with which we are familiar.  It goes well with a veal or pork schnitzel. The combination of the egg yolk, vinegar and oil and the hot potato makes the dressing. You will need a small saucepan, a bowl and a wooden spoon for this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 500g small new potatoes, peeled cut into 2cm cubes or 4mm slices
• 40mlWhite wine vinegar
• One egg yolk
• 80ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 20g Dijon Mustard
• Salt and pepper
• 80g red onion, peeled, thinly sliced
• 2 x shallots, picked, cold rinsed, dried, cut in 1cm pieces
• 10g parsley, picked, cold rinsed, dried, rough chopped

                   

Method:

• Rinse the prepared potatoes in cold running water before covering them with fresh cold water in your saucepan. Add a little salt. Bring to boil. Turn down to simmer. Cook till the potatoes are tender, but not overcooked – around twenty minutes.
• Meanwhile place the vinegar, egg yolks, oil, mustard and seasoning in your bowl. Mix.
• Stir in the onion, shallots and parsley. Mix well.
• Be sure that the egg yolk has mixed in

                   

• When the potatoes are ready drain them well
• Add the hot potatoes to the bowl and quickly mix in. Ensure you have even distribution of dressing, onions and parsley.
• Serve

Notes:

• I steamed the potatoes, instead of boiling them
• As an alternative you could not peel the potatoes

 

Roasted Butternut Pumpkin Soup

This is a recipe I developed for a hotel chain that was promoting a healthy eats menu. It was a time when over consumption of fat and salt was a focus. In the meantime carbohydrates, among other nutrients have been added to the list. Never-the-less this is a tasty soup perfect for our upcoming winter. It is suitable to make it in bulk and freeze portions plus you can think up additional garnishes. Two garnishes that I have used include prawn and green onion as well as a mixture of sour cream, toasted macadamias, crispy bacon and chopped chives. Yes it is a departure from ‘healthy eats’ but it is delicious.

You’ll need a baking dish (or two), a large saucepan, a large bowl and a medium-fine sieve.

Makes 3 1/2 litres

Ingredients:

• 5 Kg Butternut Pumpkin, peeled, de-seeded, 3cm cubes
• Three medium Onions, peeled, rough chopped
• 100ml Extra Virgin olive oil
• 3 tsp chopped garlic
• 2 tsp ginger, chopped
• 1 tsp chopped chilli
• 5 litres vegetable stock
• Two bay leaf
• 50ml honey
• 10ml lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper

                                               

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 175c
• Place the pumpkin and onion in the baking dish and splash it with the oil
• Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, giving the mix an occasional stir
• Add the garlic, ginger and chilli to the pumpkin mix. Stir in
• Continue roasting for another twenty minutes. The pumpkin should be browning a little. Try and avoid browning the onion.
• The pumpkin should be soft by now. Continue cooking if not.
• When ready, take out of the oven and place the pumpkin mix in your saucepan
• Hold back 300ml of stock; put the rest of the stock in with the pumpkin
• ‘Deglaze’ the baking dish over a medium heat with the 300ml of stock. Discard any scorched pieces of onion. Add the stock deglaze to the rest of the stock and pumpkin
• Add the bay leafs, honey, lemon juice and seasoning to the stock
• Bring the saucepan to the boil. Turn down to simmer
• Simmer for 30 minutes. Take off heat. Remove the two bay leafs
• In batches strain the soup into the bowl. Push the solids through your sieve with the back of a spoon. This puree will give the soup its thickness
• When finished you should have around less than one cup of ‘solids’. Discard these.
• The finished product should be a soup consistency. Check seasoning
• Serve with toast

Notes:

• The flavour of this soup seems to improve overnight in the fridge
• It’s a little bit spicy so you can decrease the chilli if you need to