Tip of the Week - Mashing Swede

Swede is definitely a winter vegetable but I used to find it went all mushy and no matter how well I tried to drain it, water still remained.

It is such a simple trick but add a potato to the diced swede before boiling.   Something in the starch will soak up the water and your swede is nice and firm to eat.

Enjoy

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Potato and Leek Soup

Saturday lunchtime during the cold miserable winter will find me at home having made a pot of warming soup with some home made bread to complement it.  I have a huge repertoire of differing soups but we always come back to the family favourite; Potato (and leek).    With three fussy boys and an abhorrence of any kind of green vegetables the soup soon became just Potato; I get away with it as the veg is all puréed at the time of serving.

This is quick and simple to make, but like most good soups does benefit for leaving to simmer for an hour or so.  I like the ease of hardly chopping the vegetables and just throwing them in the pot.

Ingredients 
butter /oil
onion skinned and chopped roughly 
leeks (top and tailed) then roughly chopped
potatoes - lots peeled and chopped into large chunks
sherry 
stock 
cream to serve 
parsley to serve




Heat the butter or oil in a large saucepan
Turn the heat down and add the onions and leeks 
Fry gently

Add the potatoes and toss well 

Add the sherry (my secret ingredient that gives depth to the soup).  I add a good slug and mix the veg well so they are all coated.  

Let the veg cook very gently (low heat) in the sherry till it has all gone and appears almost caramalised.

Add your stock.  Use plenty and you can top up with water if you do not have enough.  (I use my own stock - ham water, chicken bones and veg boiled up - this makes the soup  already quite salty but a stock cube works just as well)

Bring the soup to the boil and turn the heat down again allowing the soup to simmer.   This can be served after the potatoes are soft enough to begin to break down, however the longer the soup is left the deeper the taste.


When you are ready to serve the soup, put it in the blender and liquidise it.  It should be thick and warming, rather than liquid.



Serve with a spiral of cream, a parsley garnish for the more discerning and home made bread still warm from the oven (Middle Son made these delicious cheese buns)


Enjoy.  Let me know your secret ingredient and what it brings to a simple bowl of soup

Tiggy 

Find out what I am up to in my other blog  http://tiggyhayes.wordpress.com/

Potato Pie

This came about after I had spent a couple of weeks in and out of hospital so had loads of potatoes left over that the rest of the family didn’t need having lived off pasta and takeaways.

Ingredients

Potatoes mashed with butter and milk

Bacon lardons  optional

Onion finely chopped

Mixed herbs

Marmite

Cheese – cheddar

Spinach

I boiled up the potatoes until they were very soft then mashed them really well with loads of butter and quite a lot of milk.  

In the meantime I had fried the bacon lardons and onions in a touch of butter then added the mixed herbs.

I then added a good teaspoon of marmite to the potato mix.  It needs to colour it but not overpower the potato.  Nobody should be able to realise what was added especially marmite haters such as my husband.  Mix in really well, this just adds a wonderful depth to the taste. 

I added the bacon mix at this point and mixed it all well.

Then add plenty of grated cheese -  I always use cheddar as I have plenty but you could use red Leicester which would give great colour, or a vegetarian alternative.

Then arrange in a baking dish.

A good layer of spinach makes this a meal in itself.  Add the potato mix as a complete layer.  If you have a small deep dish you could do spinach, potato, spinach, potato.  Then top it with another good covering of grated cheese.

This is now ready to pop into a hot oven 30 minutes before you are ready to serve.

A great filling warming dish, you could serve another vegetable or a salad with it.  I served with a bowl of baked beans that I had added a teaspoon of curry powder to.  I made enough for five but one child didn’t eat with us that night.  It all disappeared.

Enjoy and let me know how you try yours.

Tiggy

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