Three root mash

Posted: March 21, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

parsnip carrot potato mash

Perfect for a winter meal or a Sunday roast….

Three root mash (adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall‘s River Cottage Every Day)

Ingredients 

  • 500g carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 500g parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 500g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 100ml milk
  • 50g butter
  • bay leaf
  • nutmeg to taste
  • salt & pepper

Method

Put the carrots and parsnips together in a pan with salted cold water and bring to boil. Cook until tender.

Put the potatoes in another pan with salted water, bring to boil and cook until tender.

Drain the vegetables leave to steam off for a couple of minutes.

Put the carrots and the parsnips on a food processor with half the butter and blend to a creamy purée. Alternatively, you can use a hand held mixer.

In the same pan you used to cook the potatoes, warm the milk and what is left of the butter. Then add the potatoes and mash until they are smooth.

Combine both mashed vegetables adding plenty of seasoning and the nutmerg. Mix until you have a creamy golden mash.

Blitz the carrots & parsnips in a food processor with a knob of butter and enough milk to give a smooth finish.

Warm the milk and remaining butter in a large saucepan and mash the potatoes using a mouli or potato ricer into the pan. Stir the potatoes into the milky butter and add the carrot and parsnip puree, season well with salt and pepper and mix well to incorporate.

Rich beef and ale casserole with leeks and potato mash

Posted: March 13, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Beef, Vegetables | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

guiness beef stew and mash potatoes ok

The calendar claims Spring will be here in a few days, but the weather man (and the knees) say otherwise.  As snow starts falling again, it seems Winter will be here forever.  It is definitely time for another comforting stew…. Believe it or not, each portion has less than 500 calories.

Rich beef and ale casserole with mash potato (adapted from Dave Myers and Si King’s The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight)

Ingredients 

Beef stew 

  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 2 medium onions chopped
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons mixed herbs
  • 1 kg lean braising beef, trimmed from hard fat and cut in 3cm chunks
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 500 mL of dark ale or stout
  • 250 mL of beef stock
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puréee
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 5 carrots (about 275g), peeled and thickly sliced
  • 2 parsnips (about 300g) peeled, halved lengthways and sliced
  • freshly ground black pepper

Leeky potato mash

  • 750g floury potato, peeled and cut in 4cm chunks
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 leeks thinly sliced
  • 100 mL low fat milk
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Beef stew 

Preheat the oven to 180oC

Put the flour and dried herbs in a large bowl. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. Fold in the beef chunks and toss in until they evenly coated.

Heat the oil in a oven- and flame- proof casserole dish.When the oil is pipping hot, drop in the onions and season then with salt and pepper. Fry them over medium heat until they are lightly browned (about 5min).

Tip in the beef and mix until coated.

Add the bay leaf, ale, stock, tomato purée and sugar. Stir well and bring to boil. Cover with the lid.

Transfer the casserole from to the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours. At the end of this time,  take the casserole out of the oven and stir in the parsnips and carrots. Put the lid again, and return to the over for about 45min until the vegetables are tender.

Leeky potato mash

Put the potato chunks in  a large sauce pan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let boil for about 20min, until the potatoes are very tender.

In the meanwhile, put the oil in a frying pan and heat. When is hot, drop in the sliced leeks and sautée until soft and tender, stirring often.

Drain the potatoes, and put them back in the sauce pan. Season with salt and pepper and mash with the milk until smooth.

Stir in the sautéeed leeks. Mix until they are well incorporated.

Mash with a twist

Posted: March 23, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: , , | Leave a comment
2010-12-25_19

A mash is a mash is a mash. That is, mashed potatoes. Boil the potatoes, add butter and milk, salt and pepper and then mash. But, a special dinner calls for a special dish. After a brief consult with Todpop, I decided to give it a go to Nigella‘s mash with a twist.

Mash with a twist

Ingredients

  • 1.2 Kg starchy potatoes
  • 0.6 Kg parsnips (also known as pastinaki)
  • 300 mL buttermilk (or diluted cream)
  • 1 root of ginger broken down in pieces.
  • olive oil
  • Asian sesame toasted oil to taste

Method

Peel the potatoes and the parsnips and put them to cook with the ginger root. When cooked, take out the ginger.

Put the potatoes in a big glass bowl, and add the sesame oil, the olive oil,  the buttermilk and salt&pepper to taste. Mash the all the ingredients. Once they are mashed, fluff them with a wooden spoon.

Nigella – also know as the Queen of porn food – explains how to do this mash in this TV appearance.

Sticky lemon chicken, green beans and mash

Posted: July 28, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Chicken | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment
Gordon_chicken

The chicken recipe are in one of the favorite books for this season, Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food. The mash is a modified version of Gordon’s champ, and the saute green beans were made on the go.

Sticky lemon chicken

Ingredients

  • 1 large chicken jointed into 8-10 pieces
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 3-4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
  • Few thyme sprigs
  • Splash of sherry vinegar
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1 lemon, finely sliced (ideally with a mandolin)
  • Bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Method

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Brown the chicken pieces (in batches if necessary) over a high heat with the garlic and thyme for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Return all the chicken to the pan, add the sherry vinegar and bubble until reduced by half. Drizzle over the soy sauce and honey and shake the pan to mix.

Pour in a good splash of hot water and add the lemon slices. Let the liquid bubble and reduce down until syrupy, which will take about 10 minutes or so. By now the chicken should be cooked through.

Mash potatoes

Ingredients

  • 1 kg floury potatoes peeled
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 30g butter
  • Milk as needed
  • Bunch of spring onions (about 6-8), trimmed and chopped
  • 200g grated Emmental cheese.

Method

Cut the potatoes into similar-sized chunks and boil in salted water for about 10 minutes until tender when pierced with a small sharp knife. Drain well. (Put the potatoes in cold water and start cooking from cold).

Mash the potatoes while still hot, using a potato ricer if you have one, then stir through the butter and chopped spring onions. Add the grated cheese. Put a bit of hot milk if needed. Season generously and serve.