Happy Easter Monday everyone! Hope you have enjoyed a lovely long weekend filled with chocolate and not doing any work. Personally, the problem of being unemployed a freelance writer is that you have no idea what day it is anymore and bank holidays don’t feel the same; your work never ends and you have less money to get drunk for four days straight.
But I’m not a Debbie Downer this weekend because I come bearing gifts. For St Patrick’s Day my friend Emma hosted a potato potluck - she is Irish, so it’s technically not a hate crime. It was perhaps the best dinner party I have attended on the sheer quality of everything cooked, and I have managed to obtain almost all the recipes to share with all of you who may be hungover and in need of carbs these holy Monday.
But first, all the other, non-potato based food I ate this month.
Eat Natural Blueberry and Cashew Yogurt bars
The problem with becoming someone who exercises on a regular basis and is definitely iron deficient, is that I have to start considering my nutrition a bit more. Doing evening classes means I have to delay dinner (don’t try going upside down on a full stomach), so I’ve started looking for healthy(ish) snacks that will allow me to keep doing what I love without my body crumpling like a wet paper bag. I’m not a protein bar girlie but my mum introduced me to the Eat Natural bars during a long drive, and unfortunately the best flavour, the yogurt, blueberry and cashew, is the hardest to find. I still recommend it though because if enough of us band together, maybe we can get all the supermarkets to stock it.
The Bulleid Buffet, Okehampton station
As part of a writing project I’m working on, I got to spend a lovely week at a writing retreat in Devon; I had a great time with no phone signal and lovely organic vegetarian meals cooked every day. While I can’t really recommend these dishes to everyone due to lack of access to rural houses in Devon etc. I would like to shout out Bee who was the lovely chef who helped us throughout the week - I know who’s getting the shout out in my next book acknowledgement.
However, if you do ever find yourself at Okehampton Train Station, which you may if you are taking the train to Dartmoor, I can highly recommend their station cafe. Not only did I get an insane hot chocolate, but I got a hot veggie sausage butty made quickly so I could take it on the train, along with a little gourmet ketchup sachet. It was just the nourishment I needed for a 6 hour+ train journey.
crispy gnocchi, mushroom and squash from the Green Roasting Tin
Recently I have found myself bored with all my usual recipes, so I decided to try to cook something new. I knew I wanted something easy with lots of vegetables; when I came across The Green Roasting Tin, which has been sitting on my shelves sadly unused for the last two or three years, I figured I’d give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this recipe, especially with it’s cheese-free pesto - turns out it’s entirely vegan! I also tossed the cooked gnocchi in a little flour and salt a la Josh’s roast potatoes (see underneath for ref) for extra crispness which worked well.
I also baked polenta using one of the recipes from the book which was a low-effort gamechanger, so if anyone has got any good polenta recipes, hit me up.
Cherelle’s chilli, tiramisu and frozen strawberry mojitos
After one of my classes I had a group dinner with my friend Cherelle, who had won an industrial sized blender in an Instagram giveaway. Not one to look a gift blender in the mouth, we decided to have a frozen margarita night; however it turns out that triple sec is harder to source than planned however, so we pivoted to mojitos instead. (luckily I don’t have a strong preference for either). Beforehand, we had a lovely chilli which had dark chocolate in it, and while I am often ambivalent about chilli, this one was phenomenal and I am awaiting the recipe any day now.
Following that, I had two servings of her classic tiramisu, because it had to be done, and then we finally used the blender to make the mojitos what turned out to be a delicious palate cleanser. To be honest, it was closer to a slightly boozy sorbet than an actual drink, but I’m not complaining. If you’ve got a good blender and a bag of ice, I would recommend giving a go if you’re hosting an intimate shindig - the main tip is that you can add more booze than you think!
Joe’s Birthday Tart
While our friend Joe was away for his actual birthday, there was no way it could go uncelebrated, so I decided to make him The Barbary’s hashcake (no, it doesn’t have that sort of hash in it) upon his return because he is renowned for being a man of sophisticated tastes. This was the first time I had made it solo but was glad to make use of my egg yolk/white separator gifted to me by Mandy, Emma’s mum, around eight or nine months ago. I was very concerned but it turns out there was no need; as described by my friend Will, it was ‘scrum-diddly-umptious’. High praise indeed. For those who want to try it themselves, you can find the recipe right at the bottom of this article here.
The most important discovery of this was that after months of searching, it turns out you can make your own pistachio paste. Firstly buy unroasted shelled pistachios - you can get these in the world food section of the supermarket or Middle Eastern supermarkets. Then blanch the pistachios; this means putting in boiling hot water for 30 secs before putting in iced water. This softens the nuts sufficiently so they can go in the blender. I used this recipe for the paste, however you can ignore the bit where the writer says to peel all the brown skins off. My paste turned out pretty green and I gave up peeling about a fifth of the way through. This also made way more than I needed for the recipe, so stay tuned for next month’s newsletter to find out how I used it up.
And now, for my potato-loving posse out there: a comprehensive guide to all things potato.
The Potato Party
the staples
Ed - mash
What Emma calls “Ireland’s hummus” because it turns out mashed potato makes for a surprisingly versatile dip. There was no particular recipe used for this mash, except peel and boil potatoes, add lots of butter and cream if you have it and the most important tip - use a sieve! It may give you RSI but will guarantee that silky smooth texture you want.
Josh - roast potatoes
It is perhaps the most contentious debate in my household which is better, roasties or mash and I am firmly on the side of roasties (although I do love mash too). I especially appreciated Josh making both goose fat and vegetable oil roasties for us veggies. (I personally think you can make equally good ones without goose fat but that’s just me). For those of you uninitiated in the ways of the roast potato:
Peel potatoes and chop.
Heat fat in oven tray at 220 degrees.
Boil potatoes - make sure the water starts cold, until they are soft enough for a knife to go through them.
Drain and shake.
Let them sit for 10 minutes to let the steam leave.
Toss in a little flour and salt.
Add to hot oil and spin - you can add cloves of garlic and rosemary to the oil as a nice optional extra.
Put in oven and cook until golden brown and flip occasionally.
Add nice flaky sea salt.
side pieces
Will - homemade potato smileys
It turns out you can use mash and an airfryer to make your own potato smileys - just use cornflour and flour and a straw for shaping. They tasted much better than this picture indicates, but it was too funny not to include.
Connor - latkes
Sadly I have no recipe but instead have been instructed to shout out the great nation of Poland for the invention of this little deep fried snack; if you’re a fan of hash browns, you’ll probably like latkes. Also, as a Polish cuisine novice, if anyone has any good Polish vegetarian recipes they want to recommend, I’m always keen to hear them!
Jade - Aloo Tikki
In a similar vein, we also got a late addition of these little potato patties which brought spice to an otherwise very beige meal!
big boys
Emma - gruyere jackets with caramelised onions
Jacket potatoes are probably the kind of potato I eat the most on a day-to-day basis as I will often batch cook and put in the freezer. These are slightly fancier than my usual, but delicious (you will need quite a bit of time though).
Cover your potatoes in olive oil and salt and prick with a fork. Bake the potatoes for between 1 and 1.5 hours; while they are in the oven, it is a good time to start your onions. Slice and caramelise the onions in a large stock pot with balsamic vinegar and sugar on a low heat for a long time, around 2 hours, using butter and oil.
When the potatoes are done, scoop out the filling and leave the skins to the side.
Mash the potato with cream, butter, pepper, salt and grated gruyere. If you want it very smooth, you can pulse with a hand blender.
Fill the skins with the gruyere mash, topped with caramelised onion, grill and serve.
Ali - mini veggie cottage pies
Cottage pie is great comfort food, especially while waiting for spring to arrive, and this cute miniature veggie alternatives were delightful.
Dice 3 red onions and fry in olive oil until softened. Add half a bulb of garlic, diced veggies of choice and quorn mince. Once these are cooked, add veggie stock and mush with a food processor. Leave the filling to cool overnight.
Mash the potatoes, using the same method as Ed and Will but add some mashed garlic. Leave to the side.
Line a cupcake tray with parchment paper and put a teaspoon of mince in each case, topped with the mash.
Cook in the oven until the edges are golden brown.
Joe - tortilla
I actually had this on my second go as my first plate was full by the time I got to it, so I had this in a separate turn with some of Josh’s homemade slaw, which made for a lighter, refreshing second round. I don’t have the tortilla recipe, but like me if you are keen for a slaw that does not involve mayo, here you go:
Mix together bit of orange zest, a splash of orange juice (squeezed fresh), apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lil squeeze of honey, salt and pepper.
Julienne bramley apples and add to the liquids right away to stop it browning. Julienne some cabbage, add some pomegranate seeds and mix.
Lucie - dauphinoise
This was one of two gratins we had that evening, and the more traditional style - it’s basically potatoes cream and cheese, what’s not to love?
To make the sauce, add together slice shallot, garlic, fresh thyme, a pinch of nutmeg and a 1:2 mix of whole milk and double cream and strain.
Use a mandolin to slice the potatoes- do not parboiling.
Layer half in your tin of choice, add the sauce then add the other half of the potatoes.
Top with parmesan and thyme and cook until the potatoes are cooked through.
Ruby (me) - Sandbar Inspired Gratin
I ummed and ahhed for a long time what I was going to make and then, walking home from town I remembered Sandbar’s best and most unreliable pizza, which is topped with potato, taleggio (or some other kind of italian cheese) and sundried tomatoes. It has been on and off the menu so often I have (almost) learned to live without it.
I didn’t want to bank on my pizza making skills however, and I wanted to experiment a little, so I wondered: could I make a sundried tomato and cheese potato gratin. IT turns out yes, yes I can.
Important notes:
I sourced some 12 month old comte and gruyere from Petit Paris Deli to use for my sauce and topping, which is a great French shop in the middle of Manchester that sells a good selection of cheese.
If you go through a jar of sundried tomatoes, keep the leftover oil! You can cook with this, for that extra tomato-y flavour.
Method
Peel and chop potatoes of your choosing. Unlike me, try to roughly cut them all the same size. Put in a bowl to rinse off starch and then boil until soft, where a knife can go easily through. Put to the side.
Chop onions - if you are lazy like me, I use the food processor, which gets them as fine as possible. I fried in a mix of butter and the leftover sundried tomato oil.
When they are almost done, add in garlic and a crushed stock cube. You can use a splash of water or even white wine to deglaze.
Add in double cream, cream cheese, and your cheeses of choice - for the sauce, I used the comte and some grana padano. Season to taste - I used salt, pepper and MSG.
Add in the cooked potatoes and chopped sundried tomatoes (how much you add tomato wise is your preference) and stir until they are all covered. You can also add fresh basil at this stage but I forgot.
Pour into your dish of choosing - I cooked this in an old Le Creuset dupe dish we found in my grandma’s basement, but any big dish will do.
Grate cheese on top - I used gruyere and more grana padano for this - and pop in the oven, bake for 20 mins or so, then grill the top until golden brown. If it is a little oily, you can pat down with a piece of kitchen roll.
For dessert, we had three options. Cherelle made sweet potato pie, Alienor made fifteens and I decided to combine Nigella’s Guinness cake and Easy Chocolate Mousse recipes, simply replacing the water for Guinness and putting the cream cheese icing on top of the mousse.
If any of you recreate any of these recipes, please send me pics, I’d love to see it! Thanks again to all my lovely friends for their excellent cooking and their generosity with their time, their effort and their recipes. This newsletter wouldn’t be the same without you!
And on that soppy note, that is all for March. It is my birthday this weekend, so I’ve got some very exciting food content coming in April, including perhaps some very delicious buttery paid content 👀
As always, please comment, share if you enjoyed and send me any requests - I’m always looking for new stuff to try! If you’ve used any recommendations or recipes from this newsletter and want to show me some financial appreciation in time for my birthday you can do so here.
Otherwise you can subscribe if you haven’t already.
That’s all for now, but I will see you all very soon!