Potato Rösti

Also known as the “Swiss Potato Pancake”, it’s traditonally a breakfast dish – think hash brown. Good with fried eggs. Potato rösti is also a great alternative to chips or roast potatoes at any time.

The choice of potato is important – it needs to be waxy to hold its shape, but also a bit starchy to brown and crisp.

Getting the heat just right can be tricky; too high and it will burn, too low and it will be soggy. Try a medium heat to begin with and adjust accordingly.

It is also puts the Supreme into a Bad Boy Supreme.


This recipe makes enough for 4 people

Equipment

  • A frying pan
  • A grater

 

Ingredients

  • 2 medium size potatoes
  • 1 tbsp goose fat (or any kind of animal fat)
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • Salt
  • Black pepper


Method

  1. Parboil the potatoes in salted water until just tender, but not soft.
  2. Allow to cool, and chill for at least a couple of hours, ideally in the fridge.
  3. Coarsely grate the potatoes and season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
  4. Heat half the fat in a small, heavy-based frying pan until sizzling, and then add the grated potato
  5. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes and then shape it into a flat cake, pressing down as lightly as possible.
  6. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, then gently shake the pan to loosen the potato.
  7. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes until golden and crisp, then place a plate on top of the pan and invert it so the cake sits, cooked-side up, on the plate.
  8. Add the rest of the butter and goose fat to the pan and, when hot, slide the potato cake back into the pan the other way up.
  9. Cook for another 10 minutes, then serve.

Pictures

  1. Parboil the potatoes in salted water until just tender, but not soft.
  2. Allow to cool, and chill for at least a couple of hours, ideally in the fridge.
  3. Coarsely grate the potatoes and season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

  4. Heat half the fat in a small, heavy-based frying pan until sizzling, and then add the grated potato.



  5. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes and then shape it into a flat cake, pressing down as lightly as possible.
  6. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, then gently shake the pan to loosen the potato.
  7. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes until golden and crisp, then place a plate on top of the pan and invert it so the cake sits, cooked-side up, on the plate.
  8. Add the rest of the butter and goose fat to the pan and, when hot, slide the potato cake back into the pan the other way up.
  9. Cook for another 10 minutes, then serve.

 

 

Bad Boy Supreme

The Bad Boy Supreme – no introduction needed.

However, if you are not familiar with the Bad Boy Supreme, it’s a turkey, bacon, cheese burger with lettuce, onion, cucumber, tomato and a potato rösti. The later is what makes it a Bad Boy Supreme; leave it out and you’ve just got a Bad Boy.

The bread must be a white, soft roll, ideally with sesame seeds. You need to use turkey breast fillets and streaky bacon. Use which ever cheese you like – cheddar, mozzarella, etc. – my personal favourite is manchego.


Equipment

All you need is a grill for the bacon and a frying pan for the turkey.

Ingredients

  • 1 soft white roll
  • 1 turkey breast fillet
  • 2 rashers streaky bacon
  • Potato rösti
  • Thinly sliced cheese
  • Sliced tomato
  • Slice onion
  • Sliced cucumber
  • Shredded lettuce (iceberg, butterhead, romane)
  • Mayonnaise
  • Optional additional sauces (Chilli, Burger, Tomato)


Method

  1. Prepare the tomato, lettuce, onion, cucumber and cheese.
  2. Season the turkey well with salt and pepper.
  3. Make the potato rösti.
  4. Heat the oil and butter in the frying pan over a high heat until bubbling.
  5. Fry the turkey to a golden crust on each side.
  6. Meanwhile grill the bacon until its crisp.
  7. Now you can assemble your Bad Boy Supreme.
  8. First tear the roll in half and cover each side with mayonnaise. If using other sauces add them now.
  9. Then layer the lettuce, onion on to the lower half of bread.
  10. Next add the potato rösti. The slice of rösti should be the same in size as the bread.
  11. Place the turkey on top of the rösti, the cheese on top of the turkey and the bacon on top of the cheese.
  12. Next add the cucumber, followed by the tomato. Season the tomato by grinding over black pepper.
  13. Carefully position the top half of the bread roll to finish.

Pictures

  1. Prepare the tomato, lettuce, onion, cucumber and cheese.

  2. Make the potato rösti.
  3. Season the turkey well with salt and pepper.
  4. Heat the oil and butter in the frying pan over a high heat until bubbling.
  5. Fry the turkey to a golden crust on each side.

  6. Meanwhile grill the bacon until its crisp.

  7. Now you can assemble your Bad Boy Supreme.
  8. First tear the roll in half and cover each side with mayonnaise. If using other sauces add them now.

  9. Then layer the lettuce and onion on the bread.

  10. Next add the potato rösti. The slice of rösti should be the same in size as the bread.
  11. Place the turkey on top of the rösti, the cheese on top of the turkey and the bacon on top of the cheese.

  12. Next add the cucumber, followed by the tomato. Season the tomato by grinding over black pepper.

  13. Carefully position the top half of the bread roll to finish.

Lamb chops with houmous and tomatoes

Not so much a recipe, but a easy, quick and delicious meal.

Good with warm pitta bread.

You can make your own houmous if you really want to, but shop bought is just as good and much easier.


This recipe makes enough for 2 people.


Equipment

  • Oven proof dish for roasting tomatoes.

Ingredients

  • 4 Lamb chops (2 per person)
  • 2 Tomatoes (1 per person)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Tub of houmous
  • 2 Pitta bread
  • (Optional) chilli sauce


Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Season the lamb chops well with salt and freshly ground pepper
  3. Cut the tomatoes in half, put in the oven dish and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  4. Put the tomatoes in the oven and leave for 20 minutes
  5. Put the grill on to a high heat.
  6. The lamb chops will take no more than 10 minutes
  7. Put the lamb chops under the grill.
  8. After 5 minutes, turn the lamb chops
  9. After another 5 minutes, remove the lamb chops from the grill and the tomatoes from the oven.
  10. Put two pitta bread under the grill. After 1 minute, turn them over. Then after another minute remove from the grill.
  11. Put the lamb chops, tomatoes, houmous on to a plate.
  12. Serve immediately with the grilled pitta and optionally chilli sauce.

Pictures

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Season the lamb chops well with salt and freshly ground pepper.
  3. Cut the tomatoes in half, put in the oven dish and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  4. Put the tomatoes in the oven and leave for 20 minutes
  5. Put the grill on to a high heat.
  6. The lamb chops will take no more than 10 minutes
  7. Put the lamb chops under the grill.
  8. After 5 minutes, turn the lamb chops.
  9. After another 5 minutes, remove the lamb chops from the grill and the tomatoes from the oven.
  10. Put two pitta bread under the grill. After 1 minute, turn them over. Then after another minute remove from the grill.
  11. Put the lamb chops, tomatoes, houmous on to a plate.
  12. Serve immediately with the grilled pitta and optionally chilli sauce.

Braised Vegetables

Almost a meal in itself. You can vary the vegetables you use. The classic combination (as below) is leeks, carrots and peas. Lettuce, fennel, mange tout and green beans also work well in this dish.


This recipe will make enough for four people.

Equipment

  • Pan with a lid (a sautee pan is ideal).

Ingredients

  • 15g of butter
  • 1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup of cubed pancetta
  • 4 spring onions, sliced. Separate the green parts from the white parts
  • 4 carrots, diced
  • 4 leeks, sliced  into pices about 15mm thick
  • bowl of frozen peas
  • 1/2 chicken stock cube
  • Salt and pepper


Method

  1. Finely slice the garlic, dice the carrots and slice the leeks.
  2. Slice the sping onions dividing into white and green parts. They will be added at different times so need to be separated.
  3. Melt the butter in the pan on a medium heat
  4. When the butter has melted and is bubbling add the pancetta, white parts of the spring onions and carrots. Fry for 5 minutes stirring regularly.
  5. Add the gralic and fry for a minute.
  6. Add the leeks and fry until soft, stirring regularly.
  7. Make the stock and add 125ml to the pan.
  8. Season with black pepper.
  9. When the stock starts to simmer, put the lid on the pan and move on to the lowest possible heat. Stir after 5 minutes.
  10. After 10 minutes, remove the lid, stir and then add the peas and green parts of the sping onions.
  11. If there is no liquid, add more stock.
  12. Turn the heat up to medium, bring the liquid to a simmer.
  13. When the peas are cooked, its ready.
  14. Serve immeadiately.

Pictures

  1. Finely slice the garlic, dice the carrots and slice the leeks.
  2. Slice the sping onions dividing into white and green parts. They will be added at different times so need to be separated.
  3. Melt the butter in the pan on a medium heat.
  4. When the butter has melted and is bubbling add the pancetta, white parts of the spring onions and carrots. Fry for 5 minutes stirring regularly.
  5. Add the gralic and fry for a minute.
  6. Add the leeks and fry until soft, stirring regularly.
  7. Make the stock and add 125ml to the pan.
  8. Season with black pepper.
  9. When the stock starts to simmer, put the lid on the pan and move on to the lowest possible heat. Stir after 5 minutes.
  10. After 10 minutes, remove the lid, stir and then add the peas and green parts of the sping onions.
  11. If there is no liquid, add more stock
  12. Turn the heat up to medium, bring the liquid to a simmer.
  13. When the peas are cooked, its ready.
  14. Serve immeadiately.

How to Make Chips

There are lots of different ways to make chips. This one deep fries the chips twice, once a low heat and then in oil as hot as you can get it. The first cooking makes the insides fluffy; the second cooking makes the outsides crispy.

Much of the skill in making chips come in cutting them correctly. The easiest way to do this reliably and consistently is to cut a thin slice of one slide; this creates a flat side. Put the potato flat side down and it will be stable whilst you slice it. Slice along the potato’s length for long chips. (Slicing across the length will give smaller slices and so smaller chips.) For chips, you should be aiming for 10-15 mm square crosss section, so thats how wide your slcies should be. Then take each slice, and cut into individual chips.

Choose your potatoes carefully. You want potatoes that have a high dry matter content, such as Cara or Maris Piper. Try to avoid the more waxy varieties. You also want them to be quite big, otherwise you will have small chips.


Vary the number of potatoes to make the desired amount of chips.

Equipment

  • Deep fat frier

Ingredients

  • Potatoes
  • Oil for frying

Method

  1. Heat the deep fat fryer to 140°C.
  2. Peel the potatoes.
  3. Cut the potatoes. The easiest way to do this reliably and consistently is to cut a thin slice of one slide; this creates a flat side. Put the potato flat side down and it will be stable whilst you slice it. For chips, you should be aiming for 10-15mm square crosss section, so thats how wide your slcies should be. Then take each slice, and cut into individual chips.
  4. Rinse the chips well under running cold water.
  5. Dry the chips on a tea towel.
  6. Fry the chips for 8 minutes. The aim at this stage is to cook them through, so they should be soft, but not yet golden.
  7. Take the chips out and leave to rest.
  8. Turn the fryer up to its maiximum heat (usually about 190°C).
  9. When it is up to temperature return the chips to the fryer.
  10. Cook the chips until the they are golden and crispy. This will take at least 5 minutes. You will need to look every minute or so to check on how they are doing.
  11. When they are done to your liking, tips the hips into a bowl lined with kitchen roll to soak up excess frying oil.

Pictures

    1. Heat the deep fat fryer to 140°C.
    2. Peel the potatoes.
  1. Cut the potatoes. The easiest way to do this reliably and consistently is to cut a thin slice of one slide; this creates a flat side. Put the potato flat side down and it will be stable whilst you slice it. For chips, you should be aiming for 10-15mm square crosss section, so thats how wide your slcies should be. Then take each slice, and cut into individual chips.
  2. Rinse the chips well under running cold water.
  3. Dry the chips on a tea towel.
  4. Fry the chips for 8 minutes. The aim at this stage is to cook them through, so they should be soft, but not yet golden.
  5. Take the chips out and leave to rest.
  6. Turn the fryer up to its maiximum heat (usually about 190°C).
  7. When it is up to temperature return the chips to the fryer.
  8. Cook the chips until the they are golden and crispy. This will take at least 5 minutes. You will need to look every minute or so to check on how they are doing.
  9. When they are done to your liking, tips the hips into a bowl lined with kitchen roll to soak up excess frying oil.

 

Stir-fried Noodles

Follow this method to make delicious stir-fried noodles.

A very basic version would be garlic, ginger, noodles (obviously), spring onions, beansporuts, seasamee oil, soy sauce and oyster suace.

From here you can add what you like. You can use any kind of meat (chicken, beef, pork, prawns) or leave it out entirerly. Sliced carrots, mange tout, celery, pak choi, baby sweetcorn, bamboo shoots, water chesnuts, red or green pepper are all possibilities.

As with most stir frys most of the work is in the preparation


This recipe is for chicken noodles and makes enough for 3 people

Equipment

  • Wok
  • Pan of boiling water (for cooking noodles)

Ingredients

  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 cm of ginger
  • 2 skinned, boned chicken thighs
  • 2 tsp oil for frying
  • 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
  • Noodles (3 blocks, dry)
  • 2 tsp Light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Sesamee oil
  • 2 tsp Oyster sauce
  • 3 sping onions
  • 2 carrots
  • 4 baby sweet corn
  • Handful of mange tout
  • Hnadful of bean sprouts

Method

  1. Finely slice the garlic and julienne the ginger.
  2. Slice the sping onions and the carrots.
  3. Slice the chicken.
  4. Put the pan of water on to boil; heat the oil in the wok.
  5. When the wok is hot, add the ginger and garlic, and stir while frying until golden.
  6. Add the chicken, white pepper and stir while frying for a few minutes.
  7. At the same time put the noodles into the boiling water and cook for the however long it says on the packet.
  8. Add the carrots, sweet corn and spring onions to the work and stir while frying for a few minutes.
  9. Drain the noodles when they are ready. Put them back in the pan and add soy sauce, sesamee oil and oyster sauce. Adjust the quantities of the suaces to your liking. Mix the sauces so the noodles are evenly coated.
  10. Add the bean sporuts and mange tout to the wok and stir while frying for a few minutes.
  11. Then pour the contents of the work into the noodle pan. Mix well.
  12. Serve into bowls and eat immediately.

Pictures

 

How to make curry

This is more of a framework  than a recipe as there are many variations you can make to produce very different types of dishes all made according to the same underlying methodology, using a core set of ingredients.

The core ingredients for the curry are:

  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Tomatoes
  • A main ingredient such as meat, fish, vegetables or chickpeas
  • Spices (see below)
  • Optionally you can add yoghurt, coconut milk or cream

There are almost infinite possibilites when it come to spices, and I think it depends on what you have to hand. Ready made curry powder works really well and there is huge range from mild to madras. In most kitchens you will find curry powder and this is what I will use in this recipe. However, depending on the extent of you spice rack you can add varying combinations of any of the following. I have given a maximum for each spice to use in any single curry for two people (500g of main ingredient. Adding more than this amount of the spice will cause it to dominate and mask the other flavours.

  • Turmeric (1tsp)
  • Cumin (1 tbsp)
  • Corrinader (2 tbsp)
  • Garam Massala (2 tbsp)
  • Fenugreek (1/2 tsp)
  • Chilli powder (2 tsp)

There are also aromatics (‘whole condiments’) that can be used to give flavour but in general are inedible. These should be added at the start, fried in the oil before adding the onions.

  • Green cardamons (upto 15)
  • Cinnamon sticks (one or two)
  • Cloves (upto 15)
  • Curry leaves (just a couple)
  • Cumin seeds (1 tsp)
  • Mustard seeds (1 tsp)
  • Black onion seeds (1 tsp)

Chicken Curry

This recipe requires minimal spices – just mild curry powder. I give the spices I would use if I was to make it at home in the notes at the end of the recipe.

Equipment

  • A large frying pan

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp of neutral tastong oil (e.g. groundnut oil)
  • 2 onions, finely sliced
  • 5cm piece of ginger, cut into very fine sticks (Julienned)
  • 4 cloves of garlic, very finely sliced
  • 2 tbsp of mild curry powder
  • 4 tomatoes finely chopped
  • 6 boned, skinless chicken thighs cut into strips
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Salt and pepper
  • Corriander to garnsih

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat,
  2. Add the ginger and onions
  3. Cook the onions, progessively reducing the heat so they are well browned but not blackened
  4. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute
  5. Add the curry powder, half a tsp of salt and stir fry until the onions are coated in powder
  6. Turn up to high heat and add the tomatoes, bring to a vigorous boil
  7. Cook until the water has evapaourated and the oil has risen to the top – this can take some time
  8. Add the chicken, stir frying  until the chicken starts to brown
  9. Reduce to a simmer, adding a little boiling water to make more sauce as required and tomatoe puree if the tomatoe is too thin
  10. Finish with the lemon juice
  11. Service with rice and ganrinish with corriander

Notes

An alternative version would be:

  • At Step 1 add 10 cloves and 10 cardamons
  • At Step 4 use trumeric (1/2 tsp), chilli (1/2tsp), corriander (2 tbsp), cumin (1 tbsp)

 

Côte de Boeuf

Côte de boeuf is a cut of beef that contains a single rib bone, Its essentially rib eye steak on the bone. Because it is about 10cm thick and on the bone, it can’t be just fried or grilled. The method is to fry first and then finish off in the oven.

Equipment

  • Cast iron skillet or frying pan
  • Oven

Ingredients

  • Côte de boeuf
  • Salt and pepper


Method

  1. Heat the oven to 220ºC
  2. Genorously season the beef with salt and pepper on all sides, especially the fat.
  3. Put the pan/skillet on the highest possible heat
  4. When very hot, place the beef in the pan skin side down; you will need to hold it in place
  5. Cook the skin so that the fat starts to render and pools on the skillet
  6. Now cook both sides of the beef until the are well browned; it should fry in the rendered fat
  7. Transfer the beef on the skillet or roastin rack into the oven
  8. Cook for 15 minutes; this will give you rare (close to blue) beef. Cooking for 30 minutes will give you medium-rare beef. Probably. A lot depends on the thickness of the cut, and how long you fry it for. This is one where you have to use your own experience to get it right, which means you will have to experiment. If its undercooked, just put it back in. If its over cooked, then you’ll know next time to cook it for less. Â