One of my favourite Scottish dishes, Cullen Skink is a rich fish soup with leek and potatoes. The name originates from Cullen a small fishing village on the Northeast coast of Scotland. And the term ‘Skink is derived from the Gaelic for ‘essence’ a good description of the aroma of fishy peat smoke coming from the haddock.
Potato and Roast Garlic Soup is a simple recipe, yet quite refined. Ideal as a starter for a dinner party or served in expresso cups as a pre-starter. Its rich, smooth consistency, offset by serving the soup with parsley pesto is always a winner!
How to make Perfect Mashed Potatoes. One of life’s guilty pleasures has to be a bowl of hot mashed potato. And it is one of the most versatile products that we can use to create a great plate of food. They can be used to form a foundation for the presentation, provide a contrasting texture on the plate, and become ‘a vehicle of flavour’. That is, they become a method of adding a complimentary flavour to a plate. Such as horseradish mash with beef, or saffron mash with fish. In a similar way, they can absorb flavour on a plate such as the gravy of a stew or braise.
Best of all they are simple to make. All you need for Perfect mashed Potato is the right potatoes and the right technique. This comes down to an understanding of the potatoes themselves and how to control the cooking.
Potato varieties can be broken down according to their starch content. The easiest way to think of this is.
For a good mash we need a potato that is not waxy but won’t fall apart in the pan and produce a wet sloppy mash.
Rich, creamy and sweet, these potatoes taste like they’ve already been buttered. Perfect for mash, Vivaldi also make great jacket potatoes and are particularly good at absorbing flavours when dressed in sauces or oils.
Red-skinned potatoes with a fairly waxy texture that work well as an all-rounder. Their creamy yellow flesh makes a good mash.
One of the best potatoes for mashing thanks to its incredibly creamy texture and rich, sweet flavour.
One of the most versatile varieties around, suitable for most uses. Mostly oval shaped making them ideal for my recommendation on cutting the potato.
The most widely grown potatoes in the UK as they’re great roasted, mashed, boiled, chipped, or baked, despite being dry and floury.
King Edward potatoes are renowned for its light fluffy texture, making a great mash. Again, mostly oval shaped.
Waxy potatoes are totally unsuitable for mashing. So, ones to avoid are Charlottes, Rattes, Jersey Royals, and Desiree.
These varieties don’t break down, and when you start to work the potato, it will be become sticky and waxy, more like wallpaper paste.
We need to cook the potatoes evenly without have ether uncooked potato or the potatoes dissolving into the cooking water. To achieve this, we need to control both the distance the heat needs to travel in the potato and the speed of cooking.
Choosing even sized and shaped potatoes makes this a breeze. Don’t worry if that’s not possible just keep the following in mind when cutting the potatoes for the pot. The heat will penetrate the potato by the shortest route. If you have simply cut lumps of potato the heat will have further to travel, and the potato may become waterlogged, or the corners will break off into the water.
Once you have chosen your potatoes, it’s time to get to work. Wash and peel them using a peeler, a knife is far to wasteful. Cut the potatoes in half longways, not across the width as you would do for roasting. This will give you a larger piece that you might be used to but look closely at it and you will see the potato is much thinner cut this way.
Some people advocate cutting the potato into cubes to cook quickly. But I think that produces to many vulnerable corners to fall off during cooking.
Cover the potatoes with cold water and two generous pinches of salt and bring to the simmer. I prefer to do this with the lid off so I can keep and eye on the pan.
The important thing is not to rapidly boil the potatoes. It’s a common idea that turning up the heat on food will make it cook quicker. Well, NO. It will make the food cook blacker as it burns, or in our case as make potato soup, instead of mash.
We need the heat to cook the potato through, but a simmer is plenty of heat to do that. The difference between boiling and simmering is only 3-4˚c. But boiling the pan will throw the potatoes against each other and the sides of the pan. That will simply break off the soft, cooked corners, which will dissolve into the cooking water.
Pop a lid on the pan by all means but keep a close eye on how fast the water is moving.
Check if the potatoes are cooked with the tip of a knife and if ready drain off the water. The best way of doing this is with the lid but take great care not to burn yourself with the hot water or steam. If that’s not possible use a colander. But check that the potato has not blocked up all the holes and is still sitting in hot water.
Return the potatoes to the pan and place the pan back over a very low heat and let any remaining moisture evaporate away for a couple of minutes.
My favourite tool for mashing the cooked potatoes is a moulin. This tool has been around for decades and guarantees lump free purees. On the flip side its also great for soups, leaving just a little texture in the finished soup.
Some chefs favour a drum sieve. This is a flat sieve where a wire mesh is pulled taught over a rigid frame. Again, a very useful tool, but been large a bit awkward to store at home. Small amounts of potato can be pressed through a standard kitchen sieve. But its shape is not ideal and you risk overworking the potato. Our third option is a Potato Ricer, for most people this may be ideal. Its only downside is that it can only perform the one function of mashing potatoes.
If you are planning to serve the mashed potato to guests, I would recommend doing all the work up to this stage in advance. Cover the prepared potato and it will be fine kept at room temperature for an hour or two.
When you are ready to serve take a pan suitable to reheat the mash without the mix been too deep. Up to 50mm is ideal, place the pan on the heat and add the butter. My preference is to use both butter and double cream. Some people prefer to use only butter, but whatever you choose, Don’t use Milk. Milk will make the mash very wet and grainy.
As the butter begins to melt add the potato. Don’t drop it all in at once, add it to the pan in two or three batches. As the first batch comes together, then add the next.
When all the potato are in the pan, add a drop of the cream. As you mix it in you will see the potato form a smoother, more coherent mass. Add more cream until you are happy with the consistency. You may not need all the cream; you may need a little more. It all depends on the type of potato used, time of year and how well the cooking has been carried out.
Crispy bacon and leek mash
Mustard mash
Horseradish mash
Roast Garlic mash
Cheese mash
Spring onion mash – Champ
Pesto mash
Caramelised onion mash
Truffle oil mash
Well yes you can. Take the potatoes to the stage where they have been put tough the moulin or sieve, then cover and let cool completely. When you need to serve them, reheat as in the recipe, you may need a spot more cream than when freshly cooked. The flavour won’t be as good as when freshly cooked but if you are adding a flavouring, it will be difficult to tell.
You can use vegetable-based spreads of course, but some can make the mash a little oily.
Try full fat coconut milk instead. Put the can in the fridge overnight, then when opened you will find all the rich fat has floated to the top and set. Use some of this coconut fat in place of butter. The coconut water sitting below the fat can be used to loosen the mash if needed.
Enjoy life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Braised Oxtail is my idea of heaven on a cold winter’s day. So, with the frost on the ground and minus five on the thermometer I decided the time was right to get cooking.
For me Braised Oxtail is the pinnacle of meat eating. Its not difficult to cook, but it does take a little time. If the idea of having the oven on for such a long cook, use a slow cooker to do most of the cooking.
These Italian delicate almond cookies with a melt in the mouth centre are usually enjoyed during Christmas time in Tuscany. Try them out as an alternative to or in addition to mince pies when entertaining guest over the holiday.
Gratin Dauphinoise Potatoes are an absolute classic crowd pleaser, and so versatile. The lusciously rich creamy potato with a boost of garlic is a great accompaniment to both red and white meats. Its easy to make and can be made ahead and reheated if needed. I’m going to show you the correct method for making the gratin, so forget what you may have had in the past and try these out.
Try them out with the Christmas Turkey, they make a great alternative to the humble roast potato.
This is not the solid slab of potato with a hint of cream you may be familiar with but a soft, rich, flavourful potato you never tire of. Commonly grated cheese is sprinkled on top before baking, but it shouldn’t be needed.
The delicate flavour of a Dauphinoise is created by a reaction of the fat in the cream, the garlic, and the starch in the potatoes. Properly mix and cooked together the flavour will naturally develop to a luscious experience of garlic and cream . Cooking the potatoes on the hob releases the starch into the cream and starts the process off.
Restaurants often don’t cook Dauphinoise correctly (see below) and add a layer of cheese to catch up’.
Of course, if you like the cheese don’t let me stop you, just use a really good one!
When the gratin is made in a restaurant the chefs want a product that is easy to make, looks good and is easy to serve.
To that end most restaurants make the dish like this-
The garlic cream is made separately, then sliced potatoes are laid in a deep tray with a layer of cream poured between. When the tray is full a layer of cream and cheese is put on top then the whole thing is cooked in the oven.
When cooked a second tray is placed on top and weighted down. This compresses the potato which when cool provides a firm slab of potato which can be cut into shapes according to the presentation required. The shapes can then be refrigerated and re-heated as needed.
Hence the uninteresting dry, firm, block of potatoes you may have been served in the past.
Peel the garlic, remove any visible green shoot and chop. Sprinkle the salt onto the chopped garlic then use your cook’s knife to crush the garlic and salt to a paste.
Pour the cream or milk/cream mix into the pan and add the garlic. Mix the garlic well into the cream then bring the pan to the simmer. When simmering remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand. This is your garlic cream mix.
Peel the potatoes and cut into 1 …mm slices using a mandolin or food processor. If that’s not going to be possible to do safely, check out our alternative ideas below. Whatever you do, DO NOT RINSE THE POTATO, you will wash off the starch we need in the cream.
Return the pan to the heat and start to add the sliced potatoes. Don’t just add then all at once, add the slices as if you were dealing cards. This will ensure each slice is covered in cream.
Cook the potatoes and cream together carefully for about 10-15 minutes. Push the potatoes down gently so they stay below the surface. Check the bottom of the pan from time to time to check the potato is not burning.
When ready the starch will be released into the cream, thickening it, and forming a sauce. While the pan is cooking butter the inside of the baking dish to avoid sticking
Add a little milled black pepper and check the seasoning adding a dash of salt if needed. Chefs often use white pepper because they think if you see black bits in your potato, you will think its been burnt. Do that if you wish but for me its black pepper every time.
Be carful not to overdo the seasoning. The dish should taste just slightly under seasoned before going into the oven. As the cream evaporates in the oven the seasoning will catch up
Lift the contents of the pan into the baking dish trying to keep the layers of potato as flat as possible. Lightly press the potato to level everything up and keep a tin layer of cream on top.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour. The top should be golden brown and the potatoes tender.
The texture of the cooked dauphinoise should be not dissimilar to a ripe Brie cheese. Slightly oozing from the edges but not running all over the place.
If serving this at home, I let my guest help themselves directly from the serving dish.
If you do want to portion out the potato, I would recommend serving it as a side dish. It’s much easier and a lot quicker! Have a look at the alternatives below for another suggestion on how to cook and serve the potatoes.
This one is great for serving with well flavoured meats like game, and one for the cheese lovers.
Substitute 200g of potato in the recipe above for peeled and very thinly sliced celeriac. Cook on the hob as above then spoon half the mix into the baking dish. Sprinkle on 30g of parmesan cheese then add the balance of the potato mix.
Dust a further 30g of parmesan on top and bake in the over as before.
Great for serving with the Sunday roast. Add 1 to 2 tbsp of freshly grated horseradish to the garlic cream as it cooks, then bake as normal.
This really copies the idea of a Tartiflette, a French potato dish of cream, bacon, and cheese.
Take 200g of dry cured bacon pieces and fry then in a little olive oil until cooked. Proceed as for the main recipe up to the point of putting the potato mixture into the baking dish. Mix 60g of grated extra mature cheddar cheese and 60g of grated parmesan. Now start to fill the baking dish with the potato. Layering it up with a sprinkling of the cheese and bacon pieces. Top off with the remaining cheese and bake.
You may have used too rich a cream mixture, or more likely it has been baking at too high a temperature. Originally the dish was baked in a water bath to avoid overheating. With today’s modern accurate ovens, it shouldn’t be needed. If you are suspect your oven runs a little hot, reduce the cooking temperature.
There is an alternative, a little like a potato crumble, which is also very easy to serve.
Make the garlic cream as in the main recipe. Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes just over 1cm across. Cook the cubes in the cream been carful they don’t start to break up. Then spoon the mixture into butter heatproof ramekins. Cover the surface with some breadcrumbs and a little parmesan cheese then bake in the oven. They should only take 30-40 minutes. Serve the dish in the ramekins as a side dish.
No problem, simply mix 300ml double/heavy cream with 100ml of milk to bring the fat content down.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
©John Webber. 2023
This Easy, Banana and Blueberry Overnight Oats breakfast is great. Fresh fruit, and oats. What’s not to like!
Syrup and Spice Overnight Oats are simply breakfast comfort food. Childhood memories of steamed sponge pudding come flooding back when tucking into these oats.
These Tropical Overnight Oats are my favourite overnight oats recipe. I love the rich, smooth texture of the oats. Combined with the background of coconut and mango. The addition of passion fruit and Greek yoghurt on top give a sharp contrast.
This is easily made directly in the storage jar. I use 330ml screw top Kilner jars and this recipe just about fills the jar.
Slice the banana and place the jar with the sugar. Mash the banana with the back of a fork, the sugar will help the banana break down.
Work the coconut milk into the banana, then stir in the oats, Chia seeds, and desiccated coconut.
You may need to chop the dried mango into smaller pieces to fit onto a spoon. Stir the mango into the mix, and you’re done!
Put the lid on the jar, and place in the fridge overnight. There’s no dairy in this recipe so it should be fine in the fridge for three to four days.
Spoon the oats into a serving dish, drop on a dollop of Greek yoghurt on top. Add some sliced fresh mango, then scoop some passion fruit seeds and juice over the top.
Add a sprinkling of desiccated coconut and serve.
Enjoy life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
©John Webber. 2023
These, Easy and Delicious, Apple Crumble Overnight Oats make the perfect Autumn breakfast. Layers of apple compote, oats, yoghurt, and shortbread. What more could you want?
These Mocha Overnight Oats are packed with flavour. Rich peanut butter and Maple syrup are backed up with a kick of coffee to get your day started.
I like to serve the Mocha Overnight oats topped with a crunchy layer of muesli. Choose a variety with plenty interesting ingredients or add some more dried fruits if needed. We are looking for some texture and interest rather than adding more oats to our breakfast.
Easy Overnight Oats, make the perfect lazy breakfast. Packed with goodness they are one of the most versatile breakfast options around. Very little, is any cooking is required and the simplest versions can be made in minutes.
If you’re the type of person who doesn’t have time for breakfast, then these are for you! A healthy tasty, interesting breakfast can be in front of you in less time that it takes to make toast.
And if that’s not enough, take some overnight oats along with you. I sometimes take a jar with me if I’m of on an early morning photo trip been both easy to carry and eat.
I like to use screw top Kilner jars to assemble the oats and all the recipes below are made for that size of jar. Of course, you can use any container you like even old well-washed jam jars.
Essential, well you couldn’t have overnight oats without oats, could you? Ordinary rolled oats are fine for any recipe. Jumbo oats can be added into the mix to give a different texture if needed.
DON’T use quick cook oats as they are part processed already. Oatmeal is also unsuitable particularly pinhead oatmeal (known as steel cut oats in the U.S.A.)
I should say liquid, water you do, but might not be worth getting out of bed for. You can use any of the plant-based milks, coconut, almond, oat, or fruit juices. Try experimenting to impress your guests.
Loads of options here. Try honey, unrefined sugar, maple syrup, golden syrup, or artificial sweeteners. Don’t overdo the sweetener at first as some ingredients like dried fruit will add sweetness.
I like to add a little vanilla to form a background flavour, but like the sweetener don’t overdo it.
A spoonful of yoghurt mixed into the oats adds a richness of the oats and a dollop on top does no harm.
Chia seeds.
These are optional, they provide a richer texture to the oats and add bags of nutrition to the dish. High in fibre’ Omega 3 and loaded with antioxidants. You don’t need a great deal a small packet will get you going.
Flax seeds are a great addition to any cereal. Like Chia they are rich in Omega 3 and have numerous health benefits including controlling cholesterol and gut health.
Good toppings make the difference between good and brilliant overnight oats. The options are endless but as a start try, berry fruits, fruit compotes, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, spices, chocolate, muesli, or crushed biscuits.
Good quality Greek yoghurt will add a fresh creamy texture. Try adding into the soaking oats and adding a spoonful on top before serving
Basically, any way you like. For your guests dress them with some really good yoghurt and plenty of fresh fruit. If you’re in need of a quick breakfast just tuck in straight from the jar.
Don’t be afraid to try serving the oats warmed in the microwave. Great for the winter to get you going. Our Syrup and Spice overnight oats are ideal for this.
For a basic mixture try 1 part (by volume) of oats to 1 ¼ parts milk, plus 1/8thpart chia seeds. Mix the whole lot together in a jar and leave overnight in the fridge. If you wish you could then add sweeteners and toppings as you want.
As long as the milk is fresh the prepared oats will keep up to five days in the fridge. Adding items into the mix will shorten the life of the oats.
I prefer to make a dedicated recipe with all the flavours added in at the start. This makes life much easier first thing in the morning. All my recipes below will make two breakfasts and will keep up to three days in the fridge.
Enjoy Life !
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
©John Webber. 2023
This Easy Thai Salmon Burger brings all the flavours of the east and marries them with the traditional burger, and a healthy one at that. We are using salmon instead of beef to produce a lighter version of a burger that is packed with flavour.
This simple Duck Confit is both rustic and refined. The process of curing and cooking the meat in fat produces a flavour unobtainable buy any other method. And I love it! I’m serving the confit with a Lentil, Bacon, and Chestnuts Stew, a great winter warmer.