Roasted Breakfast Potatoes. Is there anything nicer than a weekend breakfast of eggs served with bacon and golden brown crispy breakfast potatoes??? I think not!
There is no doubt about it. Tthe potato is my favorite vegetable, which is a shame really because nowadays I don't need to be eating all those delicious carbs.
Never mind, once in a while I can indulge myself. When I do decide to indulge, these quick breakfast potatoes are a lovely way to go!
When it comes right down to it, and I had to choose . . . crisp golden brown potatoes would win over chocolate every time.
Potatoes are such a versatile ingredient.
They go with just about any kind of protein and are suitable for every occasion.
You can dress them up, or you can dress them down.
There is something simply splendid about a plain boiled potato, gilded with butter and a bit of salt and pepper.
When you are eating them you think to yourself, you can't get much better than that . . .
And then you remember mashed potatoes.
A nice big bowl of fluffy creamy mash . . . hot and steaming with a dip in the center, filled with melting butter . . . and you think to yourself.
You can't get much better than that!
But then you remember jacket potatoes, or baked potatoes as they are more commonly known.
A baked potato with its skin all crisp. Those gorgeous fluffy insides that burst out when you add a bit of pressure, ready to be adorned with some sour cream and chives . . .
And you think to yourself, it doesn't get much better than that!
Leftover cold potatoes, sliced and fried in butter like only a mother can do it . . .
Heavenly bliss . . . I could happily eat those three times a day every day.
Lets not forget French Fries or Chips as the British lovingly call them.
Crisp golden french fried potatoes, hand cut and steaming hot, gilded with some salt and vinegar.
Even better if they are sitting next to a lovely piece of hand battered fish . . . both cooked to perfection . . .
Sunday roasted potatoes. Oh boy . . . .
Crisp roast potatoes, rough edged . . . and golden brown . . . doused in gravy with your Sunday lunch or holiday roast turkey . . .
And then there are these . . . roasted breakfast potatoes. Simple to make and oh so easy.
The oven and a good hot skillet do all the work . . . much easier than traditional breakfast potatoes cooked in a skillet. Less fattening also, but then why quibble about a few calories.
These tasty delights are cubed and tossed with chopped onion and some seasonings and oil, poured into a skillet and roasted until they are crisp and golden brown.
No fuss, no muss . . . that's my kind of good eats!
*Roasted Breakfast Potatoes*
Serves 4
Slightly different than other hash brown recipes. The oven does most of the work. I like to roast these in a large iron skillet.
6 large potatoes, cubed (peel or not as you wish)
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tsp pimenton (smoked paprika)
1 tsp dried oregano flakes
the leaves from 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 to 3 TBS light olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
65g grated four cheese blend (1/2 cup)
1 TBS minced fresh chives
Preheat the oven to 200*C.400*F. gas mark 6. Have ready a large cast iron skillet or shallow baking dish.
Roast for half an hour,
remove them and give them a stir, then return to the oven for a further
15 to 20 minutes, until baked through, crisp and golden brown. Scatter
the cheese on top and allow to melt. Sprinkle with the chives and serve
immediately.
I can only tell you that the leftovers are even better. I just dumped them back into that same skillet and reheated over a medium flame. YUM! They also went down a real treat! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
We are really blessed to have friends who have free range hens, and lately they have been sharing with us some of their lovely eggs. They are so fresh and beautiful and more often than not we will enjoy one or two for our supper.
Eggs are one of those things that make for a lovely light supper or lunch. They're not just for breakfast! In fact we probably have them more for supper than we have them for any other meal!
The recipe I am sharing today is one that I adapted from a recipe I found on the blog Simply Delicious several months back.
It is only now that I have gotten around to making it, and I can tell you, it won't be long before I make it again, as we both really enjoyed it!
One of the things I liked most about it and which drew me to it was the creamed spinach.
Fresh crisp buttered toast is topped with a layer of creamed spinach, crisp bacon and then eggs. I adore creamed spinach.
Actually I just adore spinach full stop. Raw and in salads, in tarts, sautéed, and yes, as in this recipe . . . creamed. And the method of creaming it is very simple.
You simply sauté spinach in a bit of oil. The original recipe used 1 TBS of oil, but in reality you don't need that much. I only used 1 tsp.
The spinach as it cooks and wilts, releases a lot of juices, so really you probably wouldn't need to use any oil at all, except for the bit of flavor it adds. You also cook a bit of garlic in the oil first, just until it becomes quite fragrant.
You don't want it to brown as browned garlic can taste somewhat bitter. So you flavor the oil with some garlic and then you start wilting the spinach.
I like to remove any longish or thickish stems from the spinach and discard them. They can be a bit undesirable and stringy. Its not a bother to do that. It is the type of mindless job you can do while you are watching your soaps or whatever.
I don't mind mindless jobs like that. After you have wilted all of the spinach, you put it into a sieve to drain. It is surprising how much liquid there is in spinach.
You can press it out very easily with the back of a wooden spoon. Then I chopped it coarsely with some kitchen scissors.
After that you just stir in some sour cream, and a bit of lemon juice and seasoning. Easy peasy.
Pile it on some hot buttered toast and top with some crisp streaky bacon and eggs . . . poached or fried. Both work.
The day we had this, I fried them, but I think I would like poached eggs better, personally.
I used toasted ciabatta rolls that I trimmed the crusts off and then thinly sliced. They worked beautifully and were just the right size.
I can remember my brother begging my mother to buy spinach when we were children. We used to watch the Popeye cartoons.
He thought if he ate spinach he could have muscles like Popeye. She told him she didn't think we would like it, but she bought a tin anyways . . .
And she was right . . . none of us liked it. (tinned spinach . . . YUCK!) I dare say however, if fresh spinach had been available, the story might have ended quite differently.
I think fresh spinach, lightly cooked, is a little taste of heaven on earth! It has a beautiful earthy almost mineral taste that I quite enjoy.
Especially when you mix it with a bit of cream, sour or otherwise . . . and some crisp bacon. Bacon is another bit of heaven . . . ahem . . .
And then when you top that with an egg . . . the yolk lightly torn open so that golden richness dribbles down over the creamed spinach . . . such a beautiful taste combination. A feast for the eyes and the mouth.
This made for the perfect, light supper on a night when it was too hot to cook very much of anything. It would be a beautiful breakfast or brunch dish at the weekend.
The recipe serves 2, but I think it could very easily be multiplied to serve more.
*Bacon, Egg & Creamed Spinach on Toast*
Serves 2
This makes a substantial breakfast at the weekend, or a great weeknight supper. Its a delicious combination.
For the Spinach:
1 tsp light olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 180g-bags of fresh baby spinach, washed and torn (6 cups)
2 TBS sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste
You will also need:
hot buttered toast of your choice
4 slices of crisp streaky bacon
fried or poached eggs (if they are small we have 2 each, if large we have one each)
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook
until quite fragrant. Start adding the spinach by the handful, letting
it wilt down before adding more. (I like to remove and discard any
longish or large stems prior to cooking.)
Once all of the spinach has
wilted, pour it into a fine seive. Press with the back of a wooden spoon
to extract as much water as possible. Put into a bowl and chop lightly
with a pair of kitchen scissors, stir in the sour cream and lemon
juice.
Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Keep warm while you
put together the remaining elements of the dish.
Simple ingredients put together in a beautiful way. What more could you ask for? Bon Appetit!
Bumbleberry and Almond Crumble. All of the warm weather this summer has meant that our soft fruit is ripening much quicker than it has in summer's gone by. I find myself most days with a handful of this and a handful of that, all needing to be used or frozen today, but not enough of any one this to make a whole dessert with or even jam.
That's what happens when you only have a few bushes of this or that. We have our own strawberries (only a very few left of those), raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, oh and black currants.
There really is no such thing as a bumble berry . . . it's basically a name you give to a pie or dessert which has been created using at least three different berries . . . all "bumbled" together, and so it was with this Bumbleberry & Almond Cobbler.
Today I used a mix of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. These get mixed together in a buttered baking dish along with some sugar and cornflour.
I use a mix of both white and brown sugars. You could also add a bit of lemon juice and zest if you wanted to.
You cover the dish with some foil and then bang it into a moderate to hot oven for about 45 minutes . . . stirring them once or twice during the bake time.
You could also do this in the microwave if you wanted to and didn't want to have your oven on for that long.
At the end of that time the fruit juices should be released and it should be starting to thicken a bit. Its important to remember to stir it.
If you are doing this part in the microwave, cover it with cling film and it only needs to be cooked for a fraction of the time.
The important thing is that the fruit will have softened, be hot and the juices beginning to thicken.
While that is happening you want to put together the crumble topping. This is the star really . . .
I think the topping of any crumble is the part that really brings the whole dessert to life and this one is an amazing mix of beautiful ingredients . . .
Grated Golden Marzipan . . . I just grate mine using the large holes of a box grater.
There are also ground almonds (almond meal) for a real nuttiness, wholesome oats, flour, sugar and of course some melted butter . . .
You just mix all of that together along with a pinch of salt, until crumbly.
Take the casserole of bubbling fruit out, uncover it and then sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over all.
Pop it back into the oven. You will want to use the oven for this as a microwave won't brown it golden brown like you want it.
But having the oven on for a half hour isn't really much of a problem is it? Well, it isn't in my house anyways.
At the end of that time the fruit will be nicely softened with a thick juice and that topping will be moreishly crisp and golden brown.
Let it sit for 15 minutes or so before spooning out into bowls and serving warm with your favourite toppings. My husband likes pouring cream or custard with his, whilst I rather enjoy a scoop of vanilla ice cream on mine.
Whatever floats your boat! enjoy!
*Bumbleberry & Almond Crumble*
Serves 10
A
great way to use up any combination of ripe or frozen berries. I like a
mix of raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries.
For the fruit:
900g of mixed berries (7 cups)
2 TBS cornflour (corn starch)
100g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup, packed)
45g granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
Pinch fine sea salt
For the topping:
150g marzipan, grated (5 1/2 ounces)
70g plain flour (1/2 cup)
45g granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
45g ground almonds (1/2 cup)
40g rolled oats (1/2 cup)
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
75g butter, melted (1/3 cup)
To serve:
cold ice cream, warm custard or pouring cream (optional)
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter a large deep glass baking dish (At least 10 by 3 inches in size.)
For
the fruit filling, combine the sugars and cornflour with the salt.
Toss together with the berries and pour into the prepared baking dish.
Cover with foil. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes, stirring
after half an hour.
While the fruit is baking,
mix together the grated marzipan, flour, sugar, almonds, oats and salt
in a bowl. Pour the melted butter over top and combine to make a
crumble topping.
At the end of 45 minutes take
the fruit out of the oven, uncover (you won't need the foil now) and
stir again. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over top. Return to
the oven and bake for a further half hour or so, until the fruit is
bubbling away and the topping is golden. Let rest for half an hour
before serving.
I am a really naughty girl really . . . I find myself picking off bits of the crumble every time I walk past this. I chose not to have any because I wanted to be good, but then I ended up picking. I know . . . . what am I like! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
We live in a modern world where everyone is always looking for the next best thing . . . where old fashioned and traditional values are pooh poohed.
Where people often over-look the simple because they think (mistakenly) that it can't be very good because, well . . . its just too simple! It happens in our every day lives, in what we watch on the television and what we read, and unfortunately, also in what we eat.
Recipes such as this simple Old Fashioned Cup Custard are often forgotten in the flotsam of trendiness, and its a darn shame really, because this is really, really good.
Not only is it exceedingly tasty, but its also very simple to make. So simple in fact that a child could do it with a bit of supervision, maybe even a husband! lol
You don't really need any special ingredients to pull it together, or even any out of the ordinary dishes. There was a time when custard cups were a must have in every kitchen.
I don't have custard cups, but I do have single sized ramekins. In fact these ones are ramekins that I saved from some chocolate puddings I bought once upon a time from Costco.
This delicious . . . comforting . . . wholesome . . . quick and easy . . . simple dessert takes only 3 main ingredients, and a few simple add-ins.
Eggs . . . I always use free-range rspca approved large eggs . . . sugar (not a lot) . . . and milk. I use whole milk, but you can use whatever milk you want. I don't really recommend skim or fat free milk however . . .
Other than that you only need some flavourings. A pinch of salt (because believe it or not salt helps to enhance the sweetness of things) along with some vanilla and a dusting of freshly grated nutmeg on top.
That's it. Simple.
You just beat the eggs together with the sugar, vanilla and salt. The milk is scalded.
This is very easy to do in the microwave. Just pop it into a large glass beaker and heat it for about 2 minutes on high.
There should only be bubbles which appear around the edges of the milk. You don't want it to boil.
This is when you can get a bit fancy if you like.
You can infuse the scalded milk with flavours . . . orange zest, lemon rinds, whole sweet spices, ginger . . . sweet soft herbs . . . lavender . . . the world is your oyster.
Just add them to the scalded milk and let them infuse for about 15 minutes.
Some popular combinations would be . . . lavender and lemon . . . basil and lemon . . . lemon verbena . . . orange and rosemary . . . ginger and cloves . . . really whatever you have and want to create.
Or you can just keep it simple with the vanilla and nutmeg. Don't every underestimate the power of simple.
If you have infused the milk, you will need to strain it into the beaten egg and sugar mixture. The important thing is that you whisk the mixture constantly, so that the eggs don't cook or scramble.
Stain it again into your desired baking vessels . . . and that's it.
Pop them into a roasting tin, fill it up halfway up the sides of your ramekins with hot water, pop those babies into the oven and bake.
Half an hour later you will be rewarded with a beautiful dessert that is great on it's own, or with some fresh fruit/berries scattered on top . . . warm or cold.
Wobbly, comforting and quite delicious.
*Old Fashioned Cup Custard*
Serves 6 - 8
(Depending on the size of your cups)
Nursery days and comfort in a cup. Delicious.
4 large free range eggs
65g caster sugar (1/3 cup)
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
720ml of whole milk (3 cups), scalded
(I do this in the microwave, about 2 1/2 minutes
on high)
freshly grated nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Place your custard
cups into a roasting tin large enough to hold them and boil the kettle.
This was so, so, so . . . . good. So good in fact that before I knew it . . .
It was all gone . . . Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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