Showing posts with label potatoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label potatoes. Show all posts

Wednesday, 16 January 2013

Up-cycled fish

According to a recent report, we throw away 50% of the food we buy. Not in this house, where our fridge is the modern equivalent of the old-fashioned pig bucket, containing leftovers galore. While most families sat down to a succulent roast beast on Sunday, we polished off a variety of odds and ends in the war on waste - including a pair of cod fillets a mere 24 hours past their sell-by date. Only one was eaten, so two days later I up-cycled its twin into tasty fishcakes.

Cod
Plenty more fish in the sea

Fish cakes


Mashed potato
Fish, cooked
Spring onions
Sweetcorn
Parmesan, grated
Chopped parsley
Plain flour

While the potatoes are cooking, flake the fish, chop the spring onions and parsley and put them in a bowl with plenty of seasoning and the Parmesan. Mash the potatoes with a little butter and milk (not too sloppy), let them cool for a few minutes, then add them to the bowl and stir well. Shape into rounds, dust with flour and shallow fry in a splash of olive oil heated with a knob of butter. Serve with a poached or fried egg on top.

Be inventive - use tinned tuna/salmon, capers, any leftover veg (chopped smallish), any kind of hard cheese, dill instead of parsley, even ham or cooked bacon. 

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Oh yes you can!

Roast potatoes: For some, the most important element of the feast. You can get ahead by par-boiling your potatoes and freezing them now, freeing up hob space and saving your Christmas manicure from the peeler.

Fluffy, par-boiled potatoes ready to be frozen before roasting
Ready for roasting

Perfect make-ahead roast potatoes


Bring the potatoes to the boil and let them bubble away for about 7-10 minutes until the centres are still firm but the outsides are getting soft, before draining and shaking them to rough up their edges. Then open freeze them (on baking trays, covered in plastic), before bagging them up. You can cook them straight from frozen, but allow an extra 15 minutes' cooking time. Put them into the hot fat of your choice at 200/gas 6 and cook for about 60-90 minutes depending on size and whether or not you defrosted them first. Turn them once during cooking.