Pommes de Terre Aligot ( Posh Mash)

The other day I made Pommes Aligot, or Posh Mashed Potatoes to you and me! It is the absolute best mashed potatoes with cheese that you have ever had. It originated in the Auvergne region of France, but is eaten a lot in the Aude. It can be heavily laced with garlic, but perfectly acceptable without! And is soooo Easy!

What you need!

  • 2.5 kilos of floury potatoes
  • 2 + cloves garlic chopped
  • 250 mls cream, preferably double cream
  • 125 grams butter, preferably unsalted
  • 500 grams grated cheese and again preferably a French cheese like Tomme, Gruyère or Emmental, but definitely not cheddar.
  • Salt and pepper to taste

And here is what you do !

  • Wash and boil the potatoes, along with the garlic.
  • When soft, strain and mash throughly, I use a potato ricer to get a very fine mash.
  • Add the cream and butter, mix really well.
  • When the butter has melted add the cheese and keep mixing until the cheese has blended and melted in.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Stupidly, as perhaps as is normal for me, I made too much. But as I say always, waste not want not and this was no different. Potato was packed into a box and refrigerated. Of course I could have just reheated it but that was too simple, especially as we had house guests and we decided to trudge up the hill in knee deep snow to our local. ( the only cafe / bar/ mini restaurant/ depôt de pain in our little French Village). I say knee deep in snow, it wasn’t knee deep when we went but it certainly was upon our return!

So, I also had a small cooked ham which also needed using. The Aligot was really thick, Croquetas sprang to mind! Perfect!

I chopped the ham finely and mixed it with the cold potatoes and actually mixed it by hand! Such a lovely squeezy feeling as it oozed through the fingers.

I made the Croquetas by scooping out about a dessert spoonful of the mixture ( I used my ice cream scoop). Roll the mixture in a little flour, so it doesn’t stick, then in beaten egg and then in breadcrumbs. Repeat until all of the mixture has been used!

Heat some oil in a pan or deep fat fryer ( I prefer to use a small wok as you get the depth of oil, without using oodles of oil.) Heat the oil, keep an eye on it, do not let it smoke ( burns) . Test for readiness by dropping in a small amount of bread, if it sizzles straight away, it is hot enough to use. Fry the Croquetas in small batches. If you have sufficiently coated in egg and breadcrumbs, the cheese will begin to ooze out. When brown, remove from the oil and drain on paper. Refrigerate until ready to use, can be used as a side dish or as munchies with a glass of bubbles or something!

Please Sir, can I have some more ? Soup that is!

So back to my Freezers, and yes I have more than one . Middle floor has a small one, part of refrigerator/ freezer, useful for ice cubes , and left overs from the kitchen. Downstairs a large chest freezer and another small one, again part of a refrigerator/ freezer combo.

The curried cauliflower cheesy thing is a wonderful way to use cauliflower ( thank you Ottolenghi) but today I didn’t want a cauliflower/cheesy dish. This was going to become SOUP !

However there was a cabbage and some bacon, so what would be better than Cabbage and bacon soup ( maybe cabbage and chestnuts but that is for another day)!

Soup is up!

When it is wet and dreary, there is no better time to make soup.

My standard soup is what we jokingly call Refrigerator Soup. And in reality it is just that. I make it when I have vegetables, cheese, ham , yoghurt, milk and cream that needs using. This is the case, especially in the summer, when we decamp to our mountain hideaway in the French Alps. The refrigerator is emptied and soup is made, packed in one person packets and frozen, ready for himself at a later date to have for lunch.

The same really applies to when we arrive in the Alps, but this time it is winter and snow is falling ( or rain) and I do an inventory of food stuffs in the freezer and make mental note that it is time to make soup.

One soup that Himself particularly likes is pea. It is simplicity itself, using frozen peas, lettuce, butter, cream and of course stock. It is extremely easy to make, quick to make, tastes wonderful and freezes well! What’s not to like ( well, maybe if you don’t like peas)!

Ingredients

  • 1 Kilo frozen peas
  • 2 baby Gem Lettuce ( actually the same amount of any lettuce will do) chopped
  • 1 medium white onion chopped roughly
  • 175 grms butter
  • 2 pints vegetable stock ( cube or powder will suffice)
  • 400 mls cream
  • Pinch salt, tsp sugar.
  • What to do!
  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
  • Add the onion and cook gently until soft, do not brown
  • Add the lettuce and cook gently for a few minutes and then add the peas, the stock, and sugar.
  • Cook with lid on until the peas are really soft.
  • Using a slotted spoon , scoop out the peas and liquidise them you will need to add some of the liquid as well, but be careful as it will obviously be hot.
  • Return to the liquid, stir well, and then add the cream
  • Add some salt and taste .
  • AND THAT IS IT !
  • To be really smart swish a little cream on top before serving.

I love making soups, especially in the winter, but not just in the winter. It is a great way of experimenting in the kitchen.

Cauliflower is a good one to start with, simple, Cream of Cauliflower. Or cauliflower with a mild curry flavour. Another very simple one is using a can or two of tomatoes. The list is endless, so maybe more next time!

Shallot Tarte Tatin

I know , I know, savoury Tarte Tatin is all the rage these days and not wishing to be outdone, I made my Bubble and Squeak version a couple of weeks ago.

We were heading to North London for our family Christmas Dinner. The North Finchley Crew, after defying President Macrons sudden rule that Les Britanniques were not welcome in France after midnight on the 17 December, dashed across the Channel in the middle of the night to spend Christmas in France, are decamping to Devon with the other side of their family. So Willowy Blond had us all there. Willowy Brunette took on the dessert along with her 12 year old adorable niece and Myself the starters.

I could have made life simple by, doing smoked salmon, with its trimmings but decided to be more adventurous and make individual Shallot Tatin. Actually very easy, just a lot of shallots and lots of paper tissues or perhaps, onion defying glasses might have been better.

  • For 9/12 individual tarts
  • Allow at least 3 shallots per person and even then I needed some more
  • At least 4 oz butter, but add more if needed.
  • Some dried herbs, rosemary/ thyme or fresh parsley
  • A good splodge of Balsamic vinegar ( maybe 1/2 a cup)
  • About a teaspoon of black pepper
  • A reasonable pinch of salt.
  • How to do it !
  • Peel the shallots and keep one whole per person , the rest slice.
  • Melt the butter in a heavy pan, or if making a lot a wok or large sauce pan, and add the whole shallots and gently fry them so that they cook more or less through and caramelise nicely. Set to one side
  • Add the sliced shallots to the pan add more butter if needed and sauté, stirring from time to time so that they are again more or less cooked and are caramelised.
  • Put one whole shallot into each ramekin and fill up with the cooked slices. Put to one side and make the pastry. Of course you can always use bought pastry! No one will know !

To make my quick and easy pastry, using a food processor you will need

  • 260 grms plain flour
  • 140 grms cold unsalted butter cut into chunks
  • Pinch or two of salt
  • 1 egg, beaten with 60 mls cold water.
  • What to do
  • Put the flour, butter, salt into a food processor and process, the butter will go clunk, clunk for a few seconds and when it stops clunking, switch off, the mixture will look like bread crumbs. Switch on and pour in the water/ egg, and again it will clunk and the mixture will form roughly into a ball. Tip out onto a floured surface and knead gently until it is fully combined and get ready to roll it out.
  • The beauty of a tart Tatin, is that on serving it is tipped upside down and the juices will soak into the pastry. So roll the pastry out to about 1 centimetre ( and no you do not need a tape measure), and using a pastry cutter, cut out rounds marginally larger than your ramekins. Simply put on top of the ramekins, press down slightly and bake at 180 C for about 20 minutes long enough for pastry to brown. Obviously these can be made ahead of time, put to one side and baked just before serving, giving you a enough time to sip a few cocktails with your guests.
  • To serve, simply, put a plate of the top of the ramekin and invert. Be careful as the juices will be hot.

Willowy Brunette however was too busy working or swimming in minus temperatures outdoors so Himself took on a desert, ( more of that later) and Miss Tess made the most wonderful cheesecake ( she loves to bake and I need her recipe)!

Mid week dinner, Mark One ( a savoury Tarte Tatin)

Who doesn’t LOVE a Tarte TATIN? I don’t often make desserts but Tarte Tatin has to be up there with the best. Rustic, non refined, forget the deconstructed ones, go for the real McCoy, the full bodied, full blooded, the whole kit and caboodle. The thick rich short pastry, oozing with caramel that has seeped into the pastry , the apples likewise oozing with caramel. What’s not to like? Well it really has to be served with Ice Cream ( or even more decadent thick whipped double cream, or even even better Cornish cream, rich thick and yellow) my mouth is watering just thinking about it! ( just remember it freezes well, cut into slices and a quick zapp in the microwave to reheat).

But today I’m talking about alternative Tart Tatin, in reality not Tart Tatin at all but why not ring the changes. Yes you can. Currently an “In” version is shallot Tatin. And so thinking about that and scrolling through magazines and books, I came across Cabbage Tatin, and why not I asked myself. I had in my refrigerator a lovely sweet heart cabbage, some mushrooms and onions along with garlic, of course.

I made my standard food processor rich short pastry, but there is no shame in using shop bought. I sliced the mushrooms, the onions and the cabbage, the garlic and sautéed them in butter. Actually, this could be called BUBBLE and SQUEEK Tart Tatin.

  • Ingredients
  • 1small cabbage ( I used Hispi)
  • 2 Oz unsalted butter
  • 60 grams tomato purée
  • 4 crushed cloves of garlic
  • 2 large onions sliced
  • 100 grams button mushrooms sliced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2tsp Harissa paste or powder
  • I also used some Nduja for a little extra spicy tang
  • A quantity of readymade pastry

Method, Heat the oven to 190 C

Slice the cabbage and onions and sauté them in a large pan until slightly charred.

Remove from pan, add the tomato paste along with the Harissa. Stir and add about 1/4 litre water. Place the cabbage mix back into the pan and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the liquid has evaporated

  • Cut the pastry to marginally bigger than your pan, and place on top of the cabbage mix, tuck in the edges and prick the top several times.
  • Bake in the middle shelf for about 20 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked through .
  • Cool slightly
  • Then to serve place a plate over the top of the pan and carefully flip over onto the plate.
  • Serve with salad ,crème fraiche and a sprinkling of Zatar.

Mid Week Dinner Mark Two ( seafood stew)

What springs to mind when thinking of Beetroot or Beets if you are American. Generally in the UK, we only eat the the bulbous part of the beetroot plant though there is no reason not to cook the leaves, though I have never done so. Their relative is Swiss chard and if you should wish to cook the leaves find a recipe for Swiss Chard.

Samples of Beetroot, raw, packaged and chard

Growing up, Beetroot, was something that I avoided as much as I could. Although both my mother and her sister ( my favourite Aunt, Auntie Brenda) were good cooks in the fashion of basic home cooks, whose role in life was to make sure that the children were never hungry. But Beetroot ! It was only ever served cold, pickled in vinegar with its dark red glow smothering the lettuce leaves and salad on which it was always served. And to make matters worse, salad was very boring, limp lettuce, a few tomatoes and cucumber and of course BEETROOT! My parents, along with half or more than half of the population grew their own vegetables. There were no Freezers, only bottling or salting to preserve what they grew throughout the winter months. Potatoes were dug and kept in the dark, so they wouldn’t sprout or grow green. Runner beans were cut and nestled in salt, and I don’t remember anything about peas, except shelling them on the doorstep and they were always hard. Marrow was never preserved, as it would go mushy but I remember carrots being kept in the ground. Onions must have been kept in the dark, so they wouldn’t sprout or go soggy, but other vegetables such as Brussels sprouts were harvested as needed along with cabbages. But Beetroot, it was only ever preserved in Vinegar and as such that was the way it would be bought, in glass jars and pickled.

Consequently, I didn’t eat Beetroot until about 10/15 years ago. There it was in the supermarket in vacuum packed bags, cooked and ready to rock and roll. Hallelujah! And suddenly recipes abounded for beetroot. One of my favourites is very simply, beetroot cut into chunks and sautéed in butter and dressed with Balsamic vinegar. Beetroot Risotto is another favourite, just think of this wonderful colour, hot pink ! And what about Beetroot and horseradish cold soup, the most amazing Peptobismol pink! Ummm yes ! So going from avoiding Beetroot like the plaque, I am now a fan. ( I am still to be converted to Beet greens though, I will try hard whilst in France in January).

Freshly cooked beetroot, served with goats cheese and parsley salsa in San Miguel d’Alende, Mexico.

I made the other day, a fish stew. I love rummaging in my Fish freezer, deciding what has to be used, is it going to be Fish Pie, Fish Curry, hang on Fish stew with Beetroot ! YES !! And Yes again ! The colour is amazing as are the flavours !

  • As this is a stew, it can be adapted to suit whatever you have.
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp each of coriander seeds and fennel seeds
  • 3 celery sticks diced
  • 1-2 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 4 beetroot ( less if that is all in a packet)
  • At least 4 cloves of garlic smushed
  • An onion chopped
  • Spring onions sliced for garnish
  • 800 mls of either fish or vegetable stock, ( cube or powder will do )
  • 2 oranges, zested and juiced
  • 600 grams assorted seafood cut into chunks
  • 1 can of either baby tomatoes or chopped tomatoes.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
The beginnings of my fish stew
  • Heat the oil and add the seeds, until they sizzle, add the celery, the garlic, the carrots and the chopped onion. Add the stock, the tomatoes, the zest and the juice along with the chopped beetroot and simmer for about 10 minutes.
  • Add the fish, making sure that it is all covered by the sauce and cook for a further 5 minutes.
  • Taste and season with Salt and Pepper. Sprinkle the chopped spring onions on top.
  • Serve with crusty bread,, pasta , rice or the starch of your choice.

Pumpkin Time

I like, many at this time of year bought a pumpkin. My little granddaughters had pumpkins and I helped to carve them. But mine sat there and looked glum. The neighbourhood kids were not coming round this year ( too much building work going on) and big grandkids, had been swanning around with their mother in Louisiana. And so my pumpkin just sat, reminding me every morning that I needed to do something with it and not just let it rot!

My original thought was pumpkin and ginger soup. However flicking through my multitude of cookbooks and magazines a brainwave came to me. Near us is a restaurant which goes by the name of WULF AND LAMB. We have only been there once, when #1 daughter offered to take us and her kids out to lunch for my birthday. The sun shone and we sat outside and watched the world go by. There were two issues, one was that the restaurant was vegetarian and the other was that daughter forgot her credit card ! Ah well, the vegetarian meal was really very good, and the company of daughter and grandkids, made up for Himself having to pay !

Therefore my new thought, for my needy pumpkin was a casserole. I stole the idea, but altered it substantially, using the ingredients I had to hand.

  • To make a casserole for 6-8
  • A medium sized pumpkin
  • Some oil to sauté
  • Several cloves of garlic smushed
  • 2-3 onions peeled and sliced lengthwise
  • 200 grms soft apricots
  • 100 grams mixed pitted olives
  • 1tabsp capers
  • 100 grms mixed candied fruit ( I used papaya, and pineapple)
  • 50 mls of red wine vinegar or I used Vinaigre d’Orléans whihc is red wine vinegar made in a traditional method.
  • 100 mls of white port or sherry, ( if not use extra vinegar)
  • 1 tabsp dark brown sugar
  • 200 grms crumbled feta cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

  • Peel and slice the pumpkin and cut into wedges.
  • Heat some oil in a pan and sauté the pumpkin so that it gets a caramel colour, remove from the pan
  • Stir fry the onion and when soft add all the other ingredients except the cheese.
  • Put in the pumpkin and stir to mix. Taste, season.
  • Put into a casserole dish
  • Pringle with the feta cheese and bake at 175C for about 45 mins, until pumpkin is soft and cheese melted.

Obviously this can be made ahead and left to one side until needed. Can be made a day ahead, but then refrigerate. Can be eaten just as a vegetarian dinner, along with crusty bread or served as a side.