A quick supper

Since I’ve already told you guys I’m not an Italian mama, not, for that matter, an American mama, I figured this blog post might be dedicated to the fact the I am not an Indian mama.

I figured I could maybe start a series on the things I am not.

Ya know, I’m not mexican but here is my version of guacamole.

Or, I’m not that funny, so I made these whoopie pies because I figured the name would amuse my guests.

But then, I saw the light and realised you WOULD ALL DIE OF TERMINAL BOREDOM.

So I wised up and ate a doughnut.

And realised I am someone with a full-time job who sometimes just needs to come home and use up whatever is languishing in the fridge.

Its not authentic, but this curry used up what was in my fridge during one of those moments last week. It tasted really flipping amazing as well, so its a winner by me.

Its lovely by itself with naan bread, but would also be lovely as part of a wider curry feast, I reckon.

Enjoy!

I started with all my ingredients: potatoes, half a cauliflower, mustard seeds, turmeric, chickpeas, garam masala, coconut cream, ginger, garlic, chilli, oil, vegetable stock, spinach, onion, crikey, these Indian-inspired dishes take quite the ingredients list. I’m going to have to get me a wide-angle lens if I keep this up.

Anyways, no wide-angle lens required for a picture of ginger peeling, and that is how you start.

Peel the garlic, as well.

And hack the stalk off the chilli. If spice isn’t your thing, you could remove the seeds, too.

Then put all three in some kind of electrified chopping device *sings Grease songs about ELECTRIFYING*

Or, you could just use a knife.

Heat some oil in a pan. I used groundnut, but any kind of mild oil works. Promise.

Add your ELECTRIFIED bits and pieces.

Must talk sense. I’ll stop it with the ELECTRIFIED talk now.

ELECTRIFIED.

Clearly I can’t help myself. Sorry.

Add the mustard seeds…

And some turmeric.

Turn down the heat and let that all fry away, while you cut the onion into chunks. Add this to the pan.

Then break the cauliflower into small florets.

And peel and chop the potatoes into smallish dice.

Add both of these to the saucepan, along with some spinach.

I keep frozen spinach because I am actually Popeye, and love the stuff. If you want to use fresh, go right ahead.

Give the whole lot a good big stir….

Before adding some coconut cream…

And some vegetable stock.

Allow the pot to simmer away uncovered untill the vegetables are cooked.

Forget to take a picture.

Oops. Clearly I was not ELECTRIFIED.

Add the chickpeas and garam masala, and cook until the chickpeas are warmed through.

Serve.

Potato, cauliflower and chickpea curry
Serves 4. Cooking time 30 minutes.

5cm piece ginger
3-5 cloves garlic
1 green chilli
2 tbsp oil
1 onion
1/2 cauliflower
500g potatoes
300g frozen spinach
1 carton coconut cream
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
250ml vegetable stock

1. Peel the garlic and ginger and de-stalk the chilli. Chop finely.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic, ginger and chilli.
3. Add the mustard seeds and turmeric and turn down the heat.
4. Peel and chop the onion and add to the pan.
5. Break the cauliflower into florets and peel and chop the potatoes.
6. Add to the pan, along with the spinach, coconut cream and vegetable stock.
7. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
8. Add the garam masala and drained chickpeas, and cook for a few minutes to warm through.
9. Serve.

Spiced Sarah Fries

Eagle-eyed, and elephant minded, readers will remember my woes at not being an Italian mama. My ragu sauce isn’t authentic, my table isn’t scrubbed pine, and I don’t playfully rap knuckles with a wooden spoon when they try to sample my sauce. I sort of make puppy eyes and plead for acceptance and noises of appreciation.

Sometimes I have to wait a Very Long Time.

Well, this week, I have discovered new issues. I have been reading The Pioneer Woman, and basically I now want to be an American mama, in a ranch about Oklahoma somewhere.

I don’t think I’m going to be an American ranch mama, either, if this experiment is anything to go by. I was aiming for simple home fries, to go with an eggy frittata. There is something lovely about egg and potatoes, don’t you think?

Well, I got as far as scrubbing the potatoes, when the maverick cook inside me FORCED me to spice the whole affair up a bit. The results were delicious, so I thought I would share here.

I’m sorry America, for messing with your potatoes. But I’m Irish, so it’s allowed.

First up, we have the ingredients: potatoes, onions, garlic, cumin, paprika, oil, salt, pepper. Butter, too, but I forgot that in the picture. My bad.

Scrub the potatoes, and cut them into evenly sized pieces. Put them on to steam.

While the potatoes are cooking, slice the onion thickly…

And give the garlic a good bash before peeling.

Heat the oil and butter together in a pan…

And add the onions and garlic to soften for a little while.

Avert your eyes, American mammas, because this is where we add the spice: paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.

While that is all frying up, cut the potatoes into chunks…

And add to the pan.

Cook over the low heat for about 20 minutes, but don’t stir toooo much, otherwise you’ll have a mushed up potato mess, and even my unorthodox methods won’t allow for that kind of game playing.

Which really is saying something.

Serve, with whatever takes your fancy. Eggs are really, really good, though.

Spiced Sarah Fries
Serves 2-3. cooking time 45 minutes.

600g potatoes
50g butter
2 tbsp light olive oil
1 onion
5 garlic cloves
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp salt
Few grinds of black pepper

1. Scrub the potatoes, cut into evenly sized pieces, and steam.
2. Slice the onions thickly. Peel and bash the garlic gloves.
3. Heat the oil and butter together in a pan over a low heat., and add the onion and garlic.
4. Add the paprika and cumin, as well as the salt and some pepper.
5. Once the potatoes are cooked, cut into chunks and add to the pan.
6. Cook over the low heat until brown and crispy, stirring occasionally. This should take about 20 minutes.
7. Serve.

A quick lunch

I managed to get a day off during the week last week (shifts have some advantages, I suppose) and drew a bit of a blank about what to have for lunch. I generally start thinking about lunch approximately three nanoseconds after having breakfast, and it was coming on for 1 o’clock, so that was a LOT of blank drawing, right there.

I came up with this idea based on the fact I wanted something a bit lardy, a bit fried a bit unhealthy.

I just had mine plain with a green salad and plenty of ketchup, but I think a bit of crispy bacon and a poached egg would gild the lily perfectly.

We start with a biggish potato, and a smallish onion. Attempting an arty shot is optional at this stage, and produces interesting results…

Peel and grate the potato. Marvel at your snazzy, if slightly demonic grater lady….

Then put all the grated potato into a nice clean tea towel and wring the excess starchy water out.

Throw that into a bowl.

Its time to slice up your onions. Thinly, now. You want them kind of transparent, like this…

And put these in the bowl too, with some grated cheese. I decided to spare you yet another shot of my demonic grater this time…

We then add an egg (hand of CLAW optional, obviously)…

And a generous amount of salt and pepper (potatoes NEED it), mixing it all up with that claw hand of yours.

Shape this mixture into four little patties (I really don’t like that word. I am a loon. Officially.)

Now, heat up a good coating of oil in the bottom of a frying pan. The actual amount, obviously, depends on the frying pan, but about this much.

Fry the little cakes until nice and brown…

And serve. With whatever you fancy, really.

Potato cakes
Serves 1 as a main dish, 2 as a side. Cooking time 15 minutes.

1 large potato
1 small onion
1 egg
75g cheese
Salt and pepper
Oil

1. Peel and grate the potato. Place in a clean tea towel and squeeze excess water out.
2. Thinly slice the onion.
4. Grate the cheese.
5. Combine the potato, onion and cheese in a bowl with some seasoning and an egg.
6. Shape the mixture into about four little cakes.
7. Heat the oil.
8. Fry the cakes for 3-5 minutes each side, or until golden brown.
9. Serve immediately.

Its the Oirish in me…

To be honest, dear readers, I’m a little nervous about this one.

You see, Irish Stew is one of those things where everybody has a particular favourite method. Some favour beef over lamb, some like minced meat, others like chunks. And don’t even start me on the consistency debate.

This is how I like to do my Irish Stew, all the vegetable cooked until tender but still in chunks, pieces of lamb and a delicately spiced stock.

I start by making my stock. Warning, the following images may upset vegetarians, because I start by getting myself a hulking lamb shank.

After I have marvelled at its pink meaty-ness, I separate the bone from the meat, removing any gristle from the meat and chopping it into small chunks.

You can, of course, ask the butcher to do this for you, but where is the fun in that?

Set the chunks of meat aside, and put the bone in a large saucepan.

Its time to add some flavour to the stock, with these vegetables…

Celery, carrot and a leek or onion. I tend to get a lot of leeks in the old veg box at this time of year, so that what I used this time.

These get chopped into large pieces and added to the stock pot with lots of water and some spices; bay leaves, peppercorns and cinnamon.

Bring this pot to the boil..

The turn the heat down, cover, and simmer for as long as humanly possible. I usually aim for a couple of hours.

Now, we are going to prepare the meat. We need plain flour, salt, and freshly ground pepper…

Toss the meaty chunks in the seasoned flour…

And then fry the whole lot in some oil until browned.

Then its time to prepare the vegetables (although I usually do this while the stock is bubbling. Queen of multitasking, me.)

Peel and chop the potatoes into large chunks…

And do something similar with the carrots…

Peel and slice the onion into slices the thickness of a pound coin…

And add these to the meat.

Then, you drain the stock into this pan too. The leftovers look pretty, don’t they?

I add some Worcester sauce, then cover the pan and put into a hottish oven for at least two hours. You are more than welcome to reduce the lovely liquid down a bit on the hob afterwards if you like it a bit more ‘solid’.

Irish Stew
Serves 4. Cooking time 4 hours 30 minutes (although very little of this actually spent ‘cooking’)

1 lamb shank
2 celery sticks
1 leek
3 large carrots
2 bay leaves
1 large stick cinnamon
6 peppercorns
1l Water
600g potatoes
1 onion
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp salt
Few grinds from the pepper mill
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp Worcester sauce

1. Prepare the lamb. Separate the meat from the bone and cut the meat into medium-sized chunks, getting rid of gristle and other nasties as you go. Set these to one side.
2. Slice one of the carrots, both celery sticks and the leek into three or four large pieces.
3. Place the shank bone and the prepared veg into a large saucepan. Add the peppercorns, bay leaves and cinnamon stick.
4. Cover with the water, bring to the boil, then cover, turn the heat down and simmer for as long as you can (at least 2 hours).
5. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
6. Place the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix to combine. Toss the meat chunks in this seasoned flour.
7. Heat the oil in the bottom of a large, oven-proof saucepan and brown the floured meat. You may need to do this in batches.
8. Peel and chop the remaining carrots, the potatoes and the onion.
9. Add these to the meat with the drained stock and Worcester sauce.
10. Bring to the boil, cover, then put into the hot oven.
11. Cook for at least two hours.
12. If you like the sauce a little thicket, simply reduce on the hob for a few minutes, until it is the required consistency.
13. Serve.