potato

Smoked Salmon Fillets with Crushed New Potatoes and Mustard Cabbage

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Smoked Salmon Fillets with Crushed New Potatooes and Mustard Cabbage (2)

Following on from my post yesterday, when I went on and on about Spring being here and the weather being wonderful, typically today is ice cold. It started off warm, which meant I did not wear appropriate clothing for the deep freeze which came later. Being a Brit is a great burden (so much weather to talk about…)!

Anyway, I wore little shoes with no socks to work, and so by the time I got home I was very cold. Good job, then, that I had this warming Nordic inspired recipe lined up.

Whilst I like sliced smoked salmon, smoked salmon fillets are a different kettle of fish entirely. They are unctuous and luxurious and taste as though you should be eating them with a glass of champagne (hubby did not take the hint and crack a bottle open when I told him this). I bought my smoked salmon fillets, but if you smoke your own then kudos to you.

I used white cabbage in this dish too. Lots of people don’t like cabbage, mainly because it is often overcooked and thrown on the side of the dish as an after thought. But, cook it properly and season it properly (and add double cream) and it will be delicious.

This will serve 2 with leftovers, and will take around 40 minutes to make.

Smoked Salmon Fillets with Crushed New Potatooes and Mustard Cabbage (1)

Smoked Salmon Fillets with Crushed New Potatoes and Mustard Cabbage

2 smoked salmon fillets

1 white cabbage

300ml vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

50ml double cream

2 tsps wholegrain mustard

500g baby new potatoes

1 small handful chives

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Thinly slice the white cabbage and add to a large saucepan. Add the stock and bay leaf, cover and simmer on a low heat for 20-25 minutes, until softened.

3. In another pan, boil some water and add the potatoes. Cook for 15 minutes or until softened.

4. Meanwhile, put the salmon fillets in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

5. To finish the cabbage, stir in the cream and mustard and season to taste.

6. To finish the potatoes, crush gently with a potato masher (you still want big chunks of potato) and stir through the chopped chives.

7. To serve, ladle cabbage and plenty of the cooking broth into bowls, then top with the potatoes and salmon. Yum!

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Leek and Potato Soup

TheseNovelThoughts13 Comments

Everyone is cooking soup at the moment. It’s exactly what we crave when the temperature plummets. I wanted to make a veggie soup, but also wanted one which is wholesome and filling so, naturally, I went for leek and potato (brocolli and stilton would have been a close second).

I’m not going to try to sell this soup as a healthy option – it contains too much butter and cream for that sort of thing. But that’s what makes it so delicious! I think that we must use up so many calories trying to keep warm in this horrid weather that we deserve a little cream sometimes.

Leek and potato is a classic and will guarantee bowls licked clean. It’s a lovely colour and could easily be prettified for a dinner party.

This will take 30 minutes and will serve at least 4 (there will likely be leftovers which freeze beautifully!)

Leek and Potato Soup (1)

Leek and Potato Soup

50g unsalted butter

1 onion

450g potatoes

450g leeks

1 litre vegetable stock

140ml double cream

140ml milk

1. Peel your potatoes and chop them into 1 inch chunks. Trim the ends off the leeks and slice them. Chop your onion into 1 inch chunks.

2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan or casserole dish over a medium heat. When it starts to bubble, and the veg. Turn down the heat and put a lid on. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring fairly often so that the veg doesn’t stick or colour.

3. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Put the lid back on and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.

4. Whizz your soup up with a blender until smooth then put back on the heat. Add the cream and milk and bring to a simmer, then season to taste with salt and plenty of black pepper.

5. Serve large bowls or mugs with thick wedges of warm bread. Delicious!

Leek and Potato Soup (2)

Pan Fried Cod with Luxury Peas and Baby Potatoes

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It’s early January, so everyone is on a health kick. However, for many, it’s also the first day back to work after a long and wonderful festive holiday. And when you down tools at the end of what feels like the longest day ever, what do you crave? Comfort food is my guess – I certainly did today. And when I walked past the fish and chip shop on the way home, it was as though it was calling out to me.

But I resisted, because I knew I had some delicious ingredients lined up for this lovely meal at home. It’s basically got all of the ingredients of fish, chips and mushy peas, so it tastes great, and it’s just that little bit better for you, so you can eat it and feel (a little) angelic at the same time!

This will serve 2 (the peas and potatoes are enough for 4, but as usual we’ll have the leftovers for lunch as a glorified potato salad. You can easily expand it to serve 4 by increasing the amount of fish), and will take about 30 minutes to make.

This recipe is also part of my Cheap Eats project.

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Pan Fried Cod with Luxury Peas and Baby Potatoes

2 boneless cod fillets

2 tbsps olive oil

1 tbsp plain flour

160g cubed pancetta

1 onion

1 small glass of white wine (optional – only if you have the dregs of a bottle in the fridge)

75ml single cream

300g frozen peas

600g baby potatoes

10g butter

Small handful fresh chopped parsley, or 1 tsp dried parsley

1. For the potatoes, put a large pan of water on to boil. Halve any large potatoes and add them all to the pan, put a lid on and simmer over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes. When cooked, drain and add the butter and parsley. Mix well.

2. For the peas, tip the pancetta into a saucepan. Cook over a high heat until they start to crisp, then add the chopped onion and turn the heat down to medium. After 2 minutes, tip in the wine, if using, and allow to boil down. Then tip in the cream and peas and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the peas are cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

3. For the fish, heat the oil in a frying pan. Season the fish with a little salt and pepper and dust with the flour. When the oil is hot, add the fish and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, until golden and flaky.

4. Serve a portion of the fish with a mountain of potato and a mound of peas. Enjoy!

Leftover Shepherd’s Pie

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There’s nothing better than cooking  big Sunday roast and knowing there will be leftovers to make something delicious and comforting the next evening.

Shepherd’s Pie made from leftover lamb is a classic, but I decided to make the mash from the leftover dauphinoise potatoes – it was a success! And why wouldn’t it be; how could creamy, garlicky mash not be delicious?

You’re going to find this recipe difficult if you don’t make my slow-roast lamb first – but you could switch the leftover lamb with lamb mince (just brown first) and the dauphinoise mash with normal mash (but it won’t be anywhere near as naughty and lovely).

This takes approximately 45 minutes and will serve at least 4.

Leftover Shepherd’s Pie

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

250g mushrooms

Approx 300g leftover lamb, shredded

Approx 200ml leftover gravy

3 carrots

100g frozen peas

2 tbsps chopped fresh mint

Approx 400g leftover dauphinoise potatoes

Small knob of butter

30g grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Chop the onion and add to a large saucepan with the olive oil and put on a medium heat. Add the roughly sliced mushrooms.

3. Sizzle for a couple of minutes, then add the leftover lamb and sliced carrots. Pour over the leftover gravy and add about the same amount again of water. Add the frozen peas, bring to a simmer, stir in the mint and then turn off the heat.

4. Put the leftover dauphinoise potatoes in another saucepan and add the butter. Put on a low heat (so the butter will melt) and mash well until smooth, then turn off the heat.

5. Pour your lamb filling into a casserole dish, then carefully pile on the mash. Even out with a fork, then sprinkle over the grated cheese.

6. Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes, until it’s bubbling and the top is golden brown.