Tag: tasting plate ideas

• 

  Home-made Tater Tots Or Potato Gems

  I love making tater tots almost as much as I do eating them. They make for great party food along with your favourite home-made dipping sauces. 🙂

  

  Make them at home (instead of frozen from the shops) with your choice of seasonings knowing they contain only the best of ingredients.

  This is one of those recipes where you don’t measure anything. It really depends on how many potatoes you are using. These you finely grate (we are making round potato fritters really) into a bowl.

  You then sprinkle some flour evenly over the surface of the potatoes and mix everything together. That is the base mix and if it feels too wet to form into small balls you can add a bit more flour.

  

  Now you add seasoning. I like small amounts of sweet paprika, parsley, italian herbs and garlic powder. I wonder what mix you will use.

  They freeze well by the way, so make them in batches.

  When you are happy with the seasoning and consistency, take small amounts of the mix and roll them by hand in to small balls. Pop the trays into the fridge until you are ready to cook them.

  Now is also a perfect time to freeze them for later.

  

  Bring a pan of oil to a gentle rolling boil.

  Add a few tater tots to the oil and fry until they are golden brown. Then remove them to some paper towel to drain.

  

  

  Serving

  Serve them hot with a selection of dipping sauces.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more potato recipes and easy to prepare meals.

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 25, 2020

• 

  How To Steam And Pickle Artichoke Hearts

  Artichokes have a mild earthy taste and intriguing texture that pairs well with meat, cheese and crispy vegetables. They are a common occurrence on anitpasti tasting plates and pizza.

  My preferred method of preparing and preserving artichokes is to steam them and then drowning them in white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

  Steaming the artichokes

  I take each artichoke, they are beautiful to look at aren’t they,  remove the stem and chop the top off.

  

  I then steam them with water that has a good slug of lemon juice in it for 30 – 40 minutes. The outer leaves should pull off easily at this stage. Prolong the process if not. 

  

  Looking good:

  

  I then remove the outer leaves one by one until I get to the soft tender heart. 

  The inner heart, is then sliced cross-wise.

  

  Pickling and storing the artichokes

  You can serve them now or pickle the hearts in a vinegar solution.

  Sanitise a glass jar and lid by submersing them in boiling water.  Layer the artichoke heart slices in the jar along with some black peppercorns.

  Fill the jar with your favourite vinegar. Use slices of onions if need be to bulk up the jar and to keep the artichokes down in the vinegar solution.

  

  They will last several months in the fridge but use your best judgement.

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more posts about preserving food and antipasti: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  March 10, 2020

• 

  Welchy’s Tasting Plate Inspirations

  This is a collection of my favourite tasting platters that were either made by Welchy or by others using her style.

  I hope they give you a little bit of inspiration.

  

  

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some tasting plate ideas: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 15, 2020

• 

  Cheese: Langres

  Langres is a delightfully smelly and gooey washed rind cheese from France. Eating this cheese is a must have experience. 

  

  Milk

  Cow

  Origin

  France

  Aged

  No

  Aroma

  Strong and salty.

  Taste

  Salty but it has a smooth rounding. Initially you might think the salt is too overpowering but the finish reassures you. 

  Texture

  Gooey

  Look

  I has an enticing folded skin and and a pale yellow interior. The rind is edible.

   

  Manufacturing and Salting Method

  A high acid curd is pressed into small moulds and pressed. Then the small wheels are brine washed as they mature.

  Serving

  Perfect on a cheeseboard or smeared on crusty bread or grissini.

  

  Wine

  Cheese.com suggests ‘…red Wine from Burgundy, Marc de Bourgogne or Champagne’.

  Here are some more posts about cheese: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 15, 2020

• 

  Tasting Plate Ideas: Egg Ribbons With Salami

  Here is something a bit different for your tasting platters and starters.

  You simply whisk and egg, make a thin omelette and slice it lenthways into ribbons.

  Take each ribbon and roll it around your index finger. Lay the rolled ribbons out on a plate and add some garnish. 

  Here I have used diced salami, diced carrot tops and shaved parmesan. 

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more eggs recipies and tasting plate ideas: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 6, 2020

• 

  How To Garnish With Spring Onions

  Here is a great way to use the ends of your spring onions to make a neat little flower shape for your plating. 

  

  Lay the stalk like this.

  

  Make a small downward slice all the way through the stalk.

  

  Rotate and cut again. Continue until you have made at least 4 cuts.

  

  Place the flowers into a bowl of cold water to help them unfurl.

  

  Dry on some paper towel and then get creative 🙂

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  If you liked this post you might like these too. 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  January 9, 2020

• 

  The Easiest Coriander And Garlic Sauce

  Coriander based sauces provide a real flavour boost to your dishes. I love drizzling them in everthing from salads to steaks and potato side dishes,  If you give the  ingredients below a whizz in a blender (rather than a fine chopping) you will get an amazing dipping sauce for spring rolls and the like.

  

  I used this recipe originally from http://www.tarladalal.com (this site is amazing FYI)  and I am going to experiment a bit with the amount of garlic and sugar.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1 Tbsp coriander leaves (cilantro)
    • 1 Tbsp fresh green chilis
    • 0.5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • 2 tsp white vinegar
    • 2 Tbsp water

  • Equipment
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • a medium sized bowl
    • a serving bowl
    • optional: a wet blender with a very small bowl

  Making the sauce

  

  Steps:

  1. Rough chop the 1 Tbsp of coriander leaves.
  2. Peel and finely chop the 2 garlic cloves. I use the knife to gently smash the garlic clove first to make it easier to peel.
  3. Finely chop the 1 Tbsp worth of green chilis.
  4. Pop those ingredients to a bowl.
  5. Squeeze about 0.5 Tbsp of lemon juice and add this to the bowl along with:
     • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
     • 2 tsp white vinegar
     • 2 Tbsp water

  Now you can either mix the sauce with a fork for a  a crunchier sauce or blend it in the wet mixer for a few pulses.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more sauces, condiments and dips along with other cooking staples: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  May 8, 2016