Colcannon

Since it's St Patrick's Day tomorrow, I thought I'd share one of my favourite Irish recipes. It's a very simple recipe and it centres, of course, around the simple potato.

Colcannon (or caulcannon) is essentially mashed potato with stuff added into it. What "stuff" you wish to use is up to you - the most traditional addition was cabbage, but over time people started using kale, silverbeet and even spinach. I say use whatever you like or have in the kitchen.



Colcannon
Serves 4

5-6 medium sized Ruby Lou potatoes, peeled and diced
100g butter
2 tbsp milk (use cream if you have any)
Salt and pepper
2 large handfuls of greens, finely shredded or chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 spring onions, finely sliced

Boil the potatoes in a large pot of water for 15 minutes, or until they are cooked and tender. Drain well - you don't want soggy potato! Add in the butter, milk, a decent amount of salt and a small pinch of pepper. Mash well.

Add the greens, parsley and spring onion. Stir well then serve.

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie (or cottage pie if you're using beef - cows don't have shepherds hence the change in name) is a traditional way of using leftovers from a roast dinner. The meat would be shredded, the roast potatoes mashed up and the veggies incorporated into the meat sauce.

I don't often roast lamb or beef so I make my version of shepherd's pie using a pack of mince from the supermarket, however if you do have leftover roast meat then you can use that instead.



Shepherd's Pie
Serves 4

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 sticks of celery, finely diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
500g lamb or beef mince
2 tbsp plain flour
1/2 cup red wine
1 tspn thyme leaves (try and use fresh, it does make a difference in this dish)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of gravy (I use the Gravox Traditional powder)
1/4 cup Beerenberg pepper steak sauce (optional)
5 large potatoes, peeled and diced
100g butter

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, add the vegetables and garlic and very gently saute for about 10 minutes until the vegetables begin to feel tender. Add the lamb mince and saute until it had browned through. (If you're using leftover roast meat, you'll only need to heat it through.)

While the meat is browning, preheat the oven to about 200C. (If using a fan-forced oven, turn it to about 180C.)

Add the flour and stir it through well then add the red wine. Bring the mixture to a boil then stir in the thyme, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, gravy and (if using) the pepper sauce. Season with salt and let the mixture simmer gently for about 30 minutes. If it begins to look dry then add a little hot water from the kettle however you do want it to have a thick consistency.

Whilst the meat sauce is simmering, boil the potatoes until tender then drain and mash with the butter. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Remove the bay leaves, then spoon the lamb mixture into a large oven-proof dish. Dollop the mashed potato on top so it completely covers the lamb mixture. If the dish is quite full looking then place it on a baking tray as the meat sauce can bubble over the side a little and I find it's easier to clean an extra oven tray than clean the bottom of my oven.

Note: Real chefs will tell you not to put cheese on top because lamb and cheese don't "match" but if adding cheese is what it takes for your kids to eat, then add as much as you like!

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the potato has browned and gone a little crunchy looking.

Green Chicken Pie

This year I've planted my first veggie patch and much to my surprise, I've had a bumper crop of silverbeet so I've had to become inventive and figure out a few recipes to use it up before the caterpillars ate it all!

So let me introduce you to my Green Chicken Pie. I took some inspiration from the traditional English shephard's pie which has a meaty-veggie base topped with mashed potato and then baked.

I know, I know - you're all remembering the boiled and grey silverbeet you were probably served up as a child, but trust me - after you've eaten my green chicken pie, you'll fall in love with this versatile and under-rated veggie.



Green Chicken Pie
(Serves 4)

3 tbsp olive oil
1 large brown onion, diced
6 large silverbeet leaves, stems finely diced and leaves shredded
4-5 large chicken thighs (skinless, boneless), cut into chunks
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tspn fennel seeds, ground
2 tbsp plain flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
5-6 royal blue potatoes, peeled and diced
100g butter


Preheat the oven to 220C. Grease a 2-3 litre casserole dish then place this on a baking pan or another type of "catcher" in case of over-spill!

Heat the oil over medium heat in a deep saucepan and gently saute the onion and silverbeet stems until the onion is translucent. Add the diced chicken and cook until the chicken is almost cooked through.

Add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook for another minute. Stir in the white wine and bring the mixture to the boil then add the chicken stock. Turn the heat back down to medium, stir in plenty of freshly cracked black pepper and a bit of salt then let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Thrown in the silverbeet leaves and parsley and mix in.

Meanwhile, boil the diced potatoes until tender. Drain then mash with the butter, plenty of salt and a pinch of pepper.

Spoon the chicken and silverbeet mixture into the casserole dish then top with the mashed potatoes. Pop this into the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the potato on top begins to brown a little.

Serve this with a side of blanched veggies or just as it is.

Nicoise Salad

Nicoise salad is one of those wonderfully robust French salads that can be a complete meal, rather than just a bit of decorative greenery on the side of your plate. You know, next to the 300g slab of beef, the barbequed sausages or the chicken kebabs.

This is my take on a Nicoise salad. Traditionally, the salad contains tuna and anchovies and never contains any leaves (such as lettuce or baby spinach leaves). I prefer mine slightly untraditional.



Nicoise Salad
(Serves 4-6)

6 baby potatoes
150g fresh green beans
1 packet of washed leaves (lettuce or spinach) from the supermarket
1 punnet of cherry or grape tomatoes, halves
4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
1 cup of black olives (preferably pitted)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tspn dijon mustard

Boil the baby potatoes (whole - no need to peel them either!) until they are tender. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Briefly blanch the green beans and also rinse them under cold running water.

In a large salad bowl combine the salad leaves, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, eggs and olives.

If you have a small container with a lid, use that to make the salad dressing by tipping in the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and some fresh cracked black pepper and shaking the whole lot really well until it's combined. (If you don't have a little container with a lid, put the ingredients in a jug and whisk until emulsified.) Dress the salad then enjoy as a main meal or a side dish.

Note: If you'd like to add tuna (or even smoked salmon or chicken) to this salad, then I would suggest using approximately 500g.

Maple Sausages with Mustard Mash

This is a quick and easy snag recipe from my Delicious: 5 Nights A Week cookbook (available from http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/).

The maple sauce makes the sausages sticky sweet - but make sure you use real maple syrup, not the cheaper maple flavoured syrup. The onions caramelize and become soft as butter. And to mop up all that maple sweetness is lovely, fluffy, buttery, mashed potato given a lift by adding in seeded mustard.

This recipe is so quick and easy and guaranteed to be a winner with the kids.

Get the recipe here: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/3595/maple+snags+with+mustard+mash or consider buying the Delicious cookbook if you love leafing through recipes which are perfect for an easy mid-week meal.

Indian Potato Cakes

In India, potato cakes or patties like these are usually served as a snack or part of a light lunch or breakfast and often served with chutney. The patties can be served hot or cold but personally, I prefer them hot.

While I made these as finger food for a party, the next time I make them I'll probably make larger patties and serve them with some pan-fried fish and salad to turn this into a main meal.

Aloo Ki Tikki
(Makes 25)

500g potato
100g canned chickpeas, rinsed
150g fresh or frozen peas
Vegetable oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cm piece of ginger, grated
1 tspn chilli paste
1 tspn turmeric
1 tspn ground cumin
1 tspn ground corinader
1/2 tspn garam masala

Peal and chop 500g of potato then boil it with the chickpeas until tender (be careful not to overcook it, as potato becomes waterlogged and unpleasant quite quickly.) Mash the potato and chickpeas well.

Blanch the peas briefly in boiling water then add them to the mashed potato and stir the mixture gently (so as to not mash the peas.)

In a non-stick pan, add a little vegetable oil and saute the onion until it has softened. Add the ginger, chilli paste and ground spices and fry for a minute to release the aroma of the spices. Mix this into the potato and add salt to taste.

Get a golf ball sized portion of the potato mixture and shape into a pattie. Fry in an oiled non-stick pan for 3 minutes each side, or until golden and crispy.