Roasties with Chive Yogurt

Occasionally it’s not so much a new recipe I need, more a hint or reminder of something. After all I have many, many cook books full of recipes but sometimes lack of energy, time or ingredients mean I’m looking for an old favourite rather than a new idea.

So yes, this is a recipe for roast potatoes but how often do you think of roasties aside from Sunday?  These are an absolute winner and get eaten ridiculously quickly whenever I make them.  Not just any old roast potatoes these are canapé potatoes or something else for a mezze type lunch potatoes.   Pimp them up if you wish, a good dusting of paprika or chilli flakes would add pep and a handful of rosemary always works but I like them just like this, with salt and their tangy, chive and yogurt side.

I guess they are a little like potato skins – I know you can make these by baking potatoes and then removing the fluffy contents leaving you with the skins to roast and crisp but I never have.  I do however like the combination of crispy crunchy potatoes with a sour cream and chive style sauce.   This then is my way of doing things – you get the crispy skins but also the fluffy interior and I’ve gone for a yogurt based dip, similar but a little lighter and tangier than the original.

Sometimes I serve these alongside a main course but more often they are offered in their own right – a starter or a grazing treat to go with drinks before lunch or dinner.  A little dish of sriracha alongside offers that heavenly combination of the cold and creamy yogurt with a belt of chilli heat.  It’s not a spanking new fangled recipe, just the re working of an old favourite.

Roasties with Chive Yogurt

This is easily doubled or trebled which I would highly recommend.

500g potatoes, Maris Piper or similar

Olive oil

Salt

150g Greek yogurt

A handful of chives, finely chopped

A small clove of garlic, crushed (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200.  Cut the potatoes into chunks about the size of a large walnut.  Put into a large pan of salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Drain really well, shake briefly in the colander and then put into a large roasting pan, add enough oil to just coat, turning the potatoes well.  Sprinkle with salt and roast near the top of the oven for 40-50 minutes until deeply golden and crunchy at the edges.   Meanwhile mix the yogurt, chives and a good pinch of salt and let down with a little water if you prefer a runnier dip.  Mix in the garlic if you are using.   Serve the potatoes on a large plate with the dip and perhaps some sriracha along side.   Serves 3-4 as a snack.

 

Spring Lemon Cake

I can’t tell you how many lemons have been squeezed and cakes made here in the name of research.  Lemon drizzles, lemon curds, lemon polentas and of course there is the layered beauty that features here in Lemon Cake and the 1970’s (May 2013) and often graces our table as our Easter Cake*.

I’m happy to eat a lemon based cake any day of the year but in Spring it seems even more appropriate.  That bright yellow zip and zest works perfectly when there is still a nip in the air but green shoots are on show and the hope of sunny days feels well founded.  This then is a cake for teatime, picnics or rainy days, trips to the beach, eating outside or in front of the fire and, of course, for all those school bake sales.

This modest looking little loaf cake has been tried and tested in many incarnations and this  is my favourite.  It couldn’t be easier, is very quick and a doddle if you have children who want to make a cake.  If you don’t have any lemon curd don’t worry it will still be delicious but it’s worth having a jar of good curd in the fridge for such occasions.  You can stick with a crunchy sugar and lemon drizzle if you prefer but this lemony icing is our perfect topping.  Finally, whilst I am a huge fan of butter, it has become quite expensive and Stork or similar works brilliantly here – if its good enough for Mary Berry, its certainly good enough for me!

Spring Lemon Cake

160g butter or Stork (see introduction)

120g caster sugar

Good pinch of salt

2 large eggs

140g self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Zest of one large unwaxed lemon

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons lemon curd (see introduction)

150g icing sugar

Juice of 1/2 – 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 180 and line a loaf tin.  Cream the butter or Stork and sugar together until light and fluffy, I use a stand mixer for this but a wooden spoon and bowl work a treat too.  Add the eggs one at a time with a spoonful of flour until well incorporated and then add the remaining flour, salt, baking powder, zest and milk.  Finally swirl in the lemon curd leaving a few streaks.  Put the mix into the lined tin and bake for 40 minutes.  Check after 30 and cover with foil if its brown on top before a skewer comes out clean.  Whilst the cake is cooling, mix the icing sugar and lemon juice (add the juice slowly as you may not need it all) and then pour over the top of the cake.  Leave to set and then tuck in.

 

 

 

 

*Whilst I know a Simnel Cake is the usual Easter offering and I love it, none of my immediate family like fruit cake (also my daughter is allergic to nuts).  Besides, we all know what happens to a cake when only one person likes it……

Blackcurrant Fool

Well, here is a blast of summer.   I’ve made no secret of my feeling that a weekend lunch isn’t complete without a pudding and we’ve tucked into no end of rib sticking treats appropriate to the colder months of the year.  Golden syrup sponge, plum galette, apple crisp, raspberry larder pudding and a whole host of crumbles have made an appearance recently.  Poking around in the freezer last weekend however I found a bag of blackcurrants which I’d picked last year and had been languishing in the icy depths since then.  Whilst my surprise clearly illustrates that I am not one of those with a list detailing the exact contents of the freezer, the weight and when it was frozen etc – I was jolly pleased with my find.

Thawed and simmered briefly with sugar I mixed them with cream and yogurt and we delighted in that mouth puckering, tangy, fragrant hit that is unmistakably blackcurrant. Should you have any berries in your freezer I highly recommend making this or simply buy a bag of frozen berries – I use them all the time in the winter for various recipes.

Blackcurrant Fool

Don’t worry if you have a few less (or more) blackcurrants – a fool is pretty forgiving and 20/30g either way won’t make much difference.  Equally if you need to use a bit less cream or yogurt the end result will still be fruity and delicious.

500g blackcurrants

100g caster sugar

200g double cream

200g Greek yogurt

Simmer the blackcurrants for about 10 minutes with the sugar until the fruit has broken down and the juices have become syrupy, cool.   Whisk the cream until soft peaks hold, add the yogurt, mix again briefly and then swirl in the blackcurrants.  Combine as much as you want – I like to seem some seams of pure blackcurrant but it is up to you.  This served 4 with a bit left over for someones breakfast.

 

Quick and Easy Flatbreads

Could this be the most useful recipe ever?  These flatbreads certainly have the power to transform and are quite delicious.  I am not a huge fan of those frisbee like flatbreads or tortillas available in most shops.  Flimmy flammy in texture, always rather chewy and disappointing – definitely the single reason I never buy filled wraps.  If you are lucky enough to live near a Middle Eastern shop you will probably be able to lay your hands on top notch authentic flatbreads which are an absolute treat.  Failing that, make these – they are utterly delicious, soft and pliable, completely moreish – perfect to step in when you may need a pita, wrap or bread roll.

Fajitas in these flatbreads are sensational, try Camp Fajitas, (July 2016) or the Lamb Meatballs (October 2012).  Wrap one around a sausage with slow cooked onions or Firecracker Red Cabbage (November 2013) for a Bonfire night treat.  If I want to serve these alongside a curry, say the Prawn Curry (November 2012) I will add a scattering of nigella/black onion seeds when rolling out for that naan bread vibe.  Use them to dip into hummus or any other dips, Cannellini Bean, Parsley and Lemon dip, (April 2015) or with leftover chilli to fashion an unconventional burrito.  If serving them simply torn to go with a stew or dips then roll in whatever you like, finely chopped rosemary or thyme, a sprinkle of oregano, chilli flakes or cumin seeds…. Customise them at your will.

I have tried many, many different recipes for flatbreads and still love those made with a yeast risen dough but these are the ones to turn to in a hurry.  I always have yogurt in the fridge and flour in the cupboard – these are super quick, just the mixing of a few ingredients, rolling out and cooking in a hot pan.  Life changing.

Quick and Easy Flatbreads

As you can imagine these are at their best when just cooked – this shouldn’t be a problem as they are so good they often don’t make it to the table in our house.  If you want to make ahead I recommend you mix the dough whenever it suits and then wrap in clingfilm until you are ready to cook the flatbreads.  I often put the dough together in  the morning when I have 5 spare minutes ready to whip up the flatbreads later in the day but it will happily sit in the fridge for day if that suits you better.  I’ve used most kinds of yogurt and they all work, earlier this week I used a mix of both Greek and natural because I wanted to finish one pot before I opened the other and the flatbreads were perfect.  You may need a drop more yogurt or a sprinkle more flour sometimes as flours can behave differently but 200/200 is usually right.  I can’t recommend them highly enough!

200g self-raising flour

Large pinch of fine salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little extra for brushing the flatbreads for cooking

200g yogurt, any kind will do, I’ve used both Greek and regular natural yogurt or even a mix (see introduction).

Sea salt (optional)

Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, oil and yogurt to a dough.  Form into a ball, flatten and divide into 6 (or 4 if you want larger flatbreads).  Roll these out on a floured surface until the size of a side plate (now is the time to add any flavourings such as nigella seeds – see introduction).  Heat a frying pan over a medium heat, brush one side of the flatbread and put it oiled side down in the pan, cook for a few minutes until turning golden then brush the uppermost side with oil and turn to cook that side.  This whole process with take a matter of minutes.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Sprinkle with a little salt when warm but I warn you this makes them irresistable….  Makes 6.