Tag: potato
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Potatoes
I have never grown potatoes before so I am very excited to be trying to do so now :).
I can’t wait to make PK’s Baked Mashed Potato, Bacon and Cheese Balls with my own ‘taters.
Taste/Aroma:
The tubers taste of “earthy, starchy, happy goodness” and can be prepared many ways :).
Warning: the green leaves and any potatoes that have green skins are highly toxic.
Flower:
Source:
Fruit:
There are many varieties and everyone has a favourite.
Plant:
Fruiting Months:
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
Planting/Care:
I am a potato growing novice. I have chosen to grow them in hessian bags as I have a lack of space in my Working Garden.
I will add to the photos and information as we go. I hope to have a bunch of potatoes to show you and only a few with green skins.
These are the products I am using (not being paid to):
Growth Album 2017:
Storage:
Store your potatoes in a cool, dark and dry location. A box or hessian bag is best.
Never ever use a potato that has a green skin (it is caused by the plant making chemicals to ward of insect attack) and you should throw them into your compost bin immediately so they don’t ruin the others.
Related Links:
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PK’s Creamy Cauliflower And Parmesan Soup With Pork Belly
I was day dreaming about a new dish for dinner and thought it would be cool to try pork belly with this soup instead of bacon.
Hope you like it.
You will be:
- Making the pork belly.
- Making the cauliflower soup.
- Serving.
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- a slice of pork belly for each serving (ingredients are here)
- a good slug of olive oil
- 1 celery stalk, rough chopped
- 1/2 onion, rough chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 potato, rough chopped
- 3 cups PK’s Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 500g cauliflower florets
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- water to taste, add in small portions if soup is too thick
- Equipment:
- a long sharp knife
- a chopping board
- kitchen shears
- a deep pan
- stick mixer
- wooden spoon
Making the pork belly
Make and then chill a strip of pork belly for each serve. Please see the recipe here.
Making the cauliflower soup
- Chuck a slug of olive oil into the pan and bring it to a medium low heat.
- Add and sweat the chopped:
- 1 celery stalk
- 1/2 brown onion
- 1 garlic clove
- Add the bay leaf.
- Add the 500g cauliflower florets and 1 potato and sweat for another minute or so.
- Add the three cups of chicken stock and bring to the boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or the potato is cooked.
- Allow to cool and add the 1/2 cup of milk and blend with a stick mixer.
- Add small amounts of water if the soup is too thick for your liking (remember that we are about to add cheese which will thicken it further),
- Add the 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and mix with a wooden spoon or the like.
Serving
My original idea was to serve the soup with a piece of pork belly. I ended up doing so but chilled the soup and unlike the picture, chopped the pork belly into cubes. The pork belly’s skin was crisp enough to not be chewy but not be all about the crackling and the meat really complimented the soup’s gentle flavours.
Enjoy,
PK
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PK’s Creamy Cauliflower And Parmesan Soup With Soft Pork Belly
I was day dreaming about a new dish for dinner and thought it would be cool to try pork belly with this soup instead of bacon.
Hope you like it.
Pork belly aside, the soup only takes about 30 minutes to cook and the hands on bit only takes 10 of them.
You will be:
- Making the pork belly
- Making the cauliflower soup
- Serving
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- A slice of pork belly for each serving (ingredients are here)
- A good slug of olive oil
- 1 celery stalk, rough chopped
- 1/2 onion, rough chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 potato, rough chopped
- 3 cups PK’s Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 500g cauliflower florets
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Water, add in small portions if soup is too thick
- Equipment:
- 1 chef’s knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 soup pan
- 1 stick mixer
- 1 wooden spoon
Making the pork belly
Make and then chill a strip of pork belly for each serve. Please see the recipe here.
Making the cauliflower soup
- Chuck a slug of olive oil into the pan and bring it to a medium low heat.
- Add and sweat the chopped:
- 1 celery stalk
- 1/2 brown onion
- 1 garlic clove
- Add the bay leaf.
- Add the 500g cauliflower florets and 1 potato and sweat for another minute or so.
- Add the three cups of chicken stock and bring to the boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or the potato is cooked.
- Pull out the bay leaf
- Allow to cool a little and add the 1/2 cup of milk and blend with a stick mixer.
- Add small amounts of water if the soup is too thick for your liking (remember that we are about to add cheese which will thicken it further),
- Add the 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and mix with a wooden spoon or the like.
Serving
My original idea was to serve the soup warm with a piece of pork belly. I ended up chilling the soup however. It was marvelous and the pork belly really complimented the soup’s gentle flavours.
Enjoy,
PK
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PORK DISHES
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FoodHacks: Microwave Mashed Potato
Here is another little trick you can use if your kitchen doesn’t have a hob or perhaps you need mashed potato in a hurry :).
Take a large potato, give it a scrub and poke a bunch of holes in it with a fork. Wrap it in a few pieces of paper towel so you have a tube shape.
Pop this in the microwave and give it about 3 minutes (adjust this time for your microwave). This will make the bottom half of the potato nice and soft. Flip the tube over and cook for another 3 minutes.
Take the paper towel off the potato (which will be very hot), pop the potato in a bowl and then cut into it with a knife.
A bit of butter, pepper and some mashing and you will have fluffy mashed potato.
Enjoy,
PK
Related Links:
- See more FoodHacks here
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How To Make Mashed Potato In The Microwave
Here is another little trick you can use if your kitchen doesn’t have a hob or perhaps you need mashed potato in a hurry :).
Take a large potato, give it a scrub and poke a bunch of holes in it with a fork. Wrap it in a few pieces of paper towel so you have a tube shape.
Pop this in the microwave and give it about 3 minutes (adjust this time for your microwave). This will make the bottom half of the potato nice and soft. Flip the tube over and cook for another 3 minutes.
Take the paper towel off the potato (which will be very hot), pop the potato in a bowl and then cut into it with a knife.
A bit of butter, pepper and some mashing and you will have fluffy mashed potato.
Enjoy,
PK
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
MORE POTATO DISHES
MORE NORECIPE GOODNESS
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PK’s Baked Mashed Potato, Bacon and Cheese Balls
I normally have enough leftovers for at least one lunch when I cook dinner for my family. So you can imagine how good these potato balls are if I had to buy lunch at work the next day :).
Really easy to make ahead of time and sort of healthy as they are baked and not shallow fried, you and your kids will love them.
Notes:
- Make more than you think you need, they are addictive
- You could work in mashed sweet potato and or pumpkin to get vegetables into picky eaters
- They will need to set in the fridge for a bit before cooking
You will be:
- Prepping the ingredients
- Making the potato balls and rolling in breadcrumbs
- Cooking the potato balls
- Serving them up hot
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooled mashed potato
- 1/2 cup finely diced vegetables (I used celery and spring onions)
- 1/4 cup of cooled finely chopped crispy bacon
- 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
- 3/4 cup of grated cheese (I used a mix of Parmigiano-Reggiano and cheddar)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- some spray olive oil
- Equipment:
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a saucepan for the mashed potatoes
- a potato masher
- a frypan for the bacon
- a fork or whisk to beat the egg
- a mixing bowl
- several plates
- an oven tray lined with baking paper
Prepping the ingredients
- Make your mashed potatoes, aiming for 2 cups worth, and pop it in the fridge to cool.
- Fine chop the bacon to end up with 1/4 cups worth, cook to your liking and then pop them in the fridge too.
- Chop the 1/2 cup of vegetables.
- Grate the 3/4 cup of cheese.
- Beat the single egg.
- Mix the above ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Put the 1/2 cup of bread crumbs on a plate.
Making the potato balls and rolling in breadcrumbs
- Roll small balls of the potato mix and then roll those in flour.
- Pop them onto an oven tray and then into the fridge to set for at least 15 minutes.
They look pretty yummy already:
Ready for the oven:
Cooking the potato balls
- Give the top of the balls a quick spray with spray olive oil and pop the tray into a fan-forced oven (pre-heated to 200C).
- Cook for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Perfection:
Firm on the outside with a lovely soft cheesy texture inside:
Serving them up hot
Perfect with some fresh vegetables, sauerkraut and some dipping sauces (tomato and sour cream mixed with fresh coriander) or in a bowl by themselves as finger food :).
Enjoy,
PK
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
MORE POTATO DISHES
MORE KID FRIENDLY MEALS
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PK Makes River Cottage’s Citrus Braised Lamb Shanks
Everyone has a dish that they feel slightly guilty about. Guilty because somehow it turns out exceptionally good every single time. This is mine and it has magical powers :).
It is originally from the hit Channel 4 series and books, ‘River Cottage’ and I merely adapted it to work in a slow cooker. I like dishes that are a bit different and I prefer this lighter white wine and citrus version over traditional red wine based lamb shank recipes.
River Cottage’s Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstool can’t have known its romantic power when he added this dish to his cookbook though, surely not. It was the first meal I cooked for my wife to be and she fell madly in love with me. That’s the magical bit and might contradict her version of events :).
You will be:
- Sweating the vegetables in the slow cooker.
- Browning the lamb shanks and deglazing the frypan.
- Cooking it slow.
- Serving.
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 4 lamb shanks
- 2 carrots
- 1 large brown onion
- 2 celery sticks
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme or lemon thyme
- a small handful of parsley or celery leaves, chopped
- 1 large orange
- 1 large lemon
- half a bottle of white wine (I used a Sauvignon blanc)
- 1 cup of home made stock (I used chicken stock as that was all I had) or 1 cup water
- several slugs of olive oil
- a good slug of tomato paste
- ground rock salt to taste
- cracked black peppercorns to taste
- 0.5 Tbsp whole black peppercorns (optional)
- A handful of small or chopped mushrooms (optional)
- Equipment:
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- kitchen tongs
- a wooden spoon
- a citrus zester
- a citrus juicer
- a large frypan
- a slow cooker
Steps:
Sweating the vegetables in the slow cooker
- Put a slug of olive oil into your slow cooker and turn it on high, lid on.
- Rough chop the:
- 2 carrots.
- 2 celery sticks.
- handful of parsley or celery leaves.
- Finely slice the 1 large brown onion.
- Finely chop the 2 garlic cloves.
- Add the above to your slow cooker to start them softening up, lid on (mix everything around occasionally).
- Once the onions have started to soften, throw in the 2 bay leaves and the sprigs of thyme.
- If you like a bit of peppery kick, chuck 0.5 Tbsp of black peppercorns in too.
- Juice and then zest the lemon and the orange and add to the slow cooker (retain some of the mixed juice and zest for serving time).
- Add the 1 cup of stock or 1 cup of water and mix gently.
- Add a good slug of tomato paste.
- Add a handful of small mushrooms now if you are using them.
I love seeing ingredients together like this:
Nice and soft:
Browning the lamb shanks and deglazing the frypan
- Season the 4 lamb shanks with salt and pepper.
- Chuck another slug of olive oil into the pan and bring to medium heat.
- Slightly brown every surface of the shanks. Yep, even the ends with a bit of creative meat stacking :).
- Then add them to the slow cooker.
- I now deglaze the frypan with half a bottle of white wine. When boiling I then add it to the slow cooker.
- If the slow cooker looks a bit full don’t panic. Everything will shrink down as it cooks :).
Cooking it slow
- Turn your slow cooker to medium and cook for at least 2 hours using kitchen tongs to periodically move the shanks around.
- Now you can keep the slow cooker on medium for speed or turn it down to low for a slower cook (my preference).
- When the meat is literally falling of the bone, when you are giving it a gentle mix with the kitchen tongs, it is ready.
Serving
I generally serve the shanks on a bed of mashed potato with some steamed green vegetables alongside. This time though I cooked my PK’s NoRecipe Oven Baked Potatoes and served the shanks on the bone with some greens.
Remember how we set aside some mixed zest and juice? Sprinkle a bit of the zest and then drizzle some juice over each serve to freshen the citrus flavours and aromas.
On or off the bone this dish is visually appealing:
Make this dish for someone you love,
PK
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PK’s NoRecipe Potato and Bacon Soup
I love Potato and Bacon soup and make it in large batches primarily for a mid morning work snack. This saves me lots of money and I know I am eating healthily. The only salt is from the bacon and the salted margarine/butter blend.
I add a few additional fresh ingredients to suit what is growing in my kitchen garden at the time. Below I added lots of chives as I have an excess at the moment.
The basic idea though is that you sauté onion, bacon and potato in butter or olive oil until they are parboiled. You then add your liquid of choice to cover everything and bring to the boil. Then leave it simmering until the potatoes are cooked. You can leave it chunky but I generally blend it at this point and add a bit of milk to the portion I am not freezing.
Hot Tip: If you are blending it and the result is too thick, add very small amounts of boiling water, stir and then taste again. I do this until I get a balance between taste and consistency.
Below I used some of my home-made chicken stock that I made using bones from a roast chicken I did in my Weber charcoal BBQ (not my slow cooker version). This stock imparted a beautiful smokey flavour.
Sweat the vegetables:
Add liquid to cover, boil and then simmer until potatoes are cooked:
Blend and serve:
Hope you like it,
PK
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PK’s Potato and Bacon Soup
I love Potato and Bacon soup and make it in large batches primarily for a mid morning work snack. This saves me lots of money and I know I am eating healthily. The only salt is from the bacon and the salted margarine/butter blend.
I add a few additional fresh ingredients to suit what is growing in my kitchen garden at the time. Below I added lots of chives as I have an excess at the moment.
The basic idea though is that you sauté onion, bacon and potato in butter or olive oil until they are starting to soften. You then add your liquid of choice to cover everything and bring to the boil.
Then leave it simmering until the potatoes are cooked. You can keep it chunky but I generally blend everything at this point and add a bit of milk to the portion I am not freezing.
Hot Tip: If you are blending it and the result is too thick, add very small amounts of boiling water, stir and then taste again. I do this until I get a balance between taste and consistency.
Below I used some of a beautifully smokey home-made chicken stock that made use of the remains of a roast chicken I did in my Weber charcoal BBQ (not my slow cooker version).
Sweat the vegetables:
Add liquid to cover, boil and then simmer until potatoes are cooked:
Blend and serve:
Enjoy,
PK
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
MORE POTATO DISHES
MORE NORECIPE GOODNESS
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PK’s NoRecipe Thai Fish Cakes
Fish cakes taste great and are an amazing way of making a little bit of fish go further. They were a staple growing up and one of the dishes my mum cooked us that will always stay with me :).
I never use a recipe and no two batches come out the same and that is half the fun. Below I am doing a take on Thai fish cakes but I am just as likely to make them coated in breadcrumbs. Sometimes I keep the potatoes chunky, sometimes I mash everything well to give a smoother texture.
I just follow two basic rules in that I use a 1:1 ratio of fish to parboiled potatoes and I like to add colour by using finely minced fresh vegetables in the mix itself. If you find the cakes fall apart during cooking, try a bit more egg in the mix next time.
Parboil the potatoes:
Mash your fish (I am using canned John West Pink Salmon):
Prepare the vegetables (I am going for a Thai taste so I am using lime zest, shallots, coriander, garlic and some red capsicum for colour):
Whisk an egg or two and mix everything up (I did this gently as I wanted a chunky look):
Make small or large cakes, using your hands, as you please and then pop them in the fridge for a bit (just look at the colours, beautiful):
A quick shallow fry is all that is needed:
Serve with some greens and you favourite sides:
Enjoy,
PK
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