Category: potatoes

lamb keema sag with rosti topping

Post author By Gary @ BigSpud
Post date March 5, 2010
No Comments on lamb keema sag with rosti topping

This is a recipe I’ve plucked from the pages of the April delicious magazine. I seem to be drawn to each every curry-style recipe at the moment – I’ve another planned for Sunday! This one seemed utterly irresistible, with spicy, rich lamb combined with a crisp potato topping.

I decreased the chilli for my version – we prefer it a little milder – and I’ve been off sweet potatoes since the awful barefoot contessa persuaded me that combining them with orange juice would be a good idea. Those changes made, the cook was on. I begins as a pan stir-fry, then finished in the oven to cook out the potato topping. The trickiest bit is draining the potato of excess water – I need to think of a way to squeeze them out without scalding myself. That aside, this was enormously satisfying. Filling, savoury, meaty and a dense mouthful on every fork. Very tasty indeed.

Lamb keema sag with rosti topping:

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ chilli powder

2 onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

500g lamb mince

300ml lamb stock

1 tin tomatoes

300g spinach

1 teaspoon garam masala

Juice of ½ lemon

2 maris piper potatoes, grated

Fry the seeds in a dry pan for 1 – 2 minutes until fragrant. Grind to a powder and mix with the turmeric and chilli.

In the same pan fry one of the onions with the garlic and ginger for a few minutes until softened. Tip the ground spices into this.

Fry the lamb until browned. Tip away the excess fat and add the stock and tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes until the lamb is tender and the sauce has thickened. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Wilt the spinach in a colander by pouring over boiling water. Immediately run under cold water and squeeze off excess liquid. Add this to the mince with lemon and garam masala. Check for seasoning.

Back in the colander repeat the boiling water trick with the potatoes and other onion. Tip onto a tea towel and squeeze out the excess liquid. Mix with a little oil and season, then spread on top of the mince.

Put the pan into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until browned in top.

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yet more roast potatoes

Patrick's on the left, mine on the right

“Oh look, he’s punting away at potatoes again.” Yes, I am.

During my last venture into the world of perfect roast potatoes, sailing the good ship Jamie Oliver, I unwittingly created a post with a life of it’s own. It’s pulls in lots of hits and a fair few comments too. One of the comments by Patrick Zahara (great name!) boasted of his own technique for perfect roast potatoes. I was suspicious of his ideas but how can I turn down advice on a plate like that?

I was so skeptical that I dedicated two potatoes to the Zahara method, while the remainder went to one of my usual techniques. They were cooked in the same oven at the same temperature, on the same shelf, in two identical baking trays. That way I hopefully gave them both a fair deal, allowing the ideas and flavours to show through.

The Zahara Method involved boiling the whole potato from cold, skinned and chopped when tender. Then tossed in a little olive oil and salted. Meanwhile for my group I peeled and chunked them, boiled them alongside the peelings until nearly soup, then tossed in pre-heated duck fat. Halfway through I squished gently with a potato masher, tossed with sea salt and pepper, rosemary, garlic cloves and a splash of red wine vinegar. My twist on this occasion was shard of star anise – I wanted a little of it’s exotic perfume and savoury note, but not too much.

So, how were they? The Zaharans were ready much sooner, maybe 15 minutes ahead of mine, browning very quickly. I had the chance to prod and inspect them. They had a shiny, crystalline finish that had a loud tap when rapped. Mine came out their usual rag-tag selves, rippled and nobbly with a shin finish, threatening to fall apart when prodded. When they were finally both ready on the plate side-by-side, they could be properly tasted. The Zaharans had a very hard finish, like the crack of a shop-bought biscuit. The inside was floury and had some taste. Mine for today had a crisp, layered surface with fluffy, fudgy potato filling. As you bite subtle perfumes of garlic, rosemary and the faintest hit of vinegar comes through, and finishes with earthy tones. I’m sorry, but there was no contest here. The levels of flavour, crispiness and all-round satisfaction from my tried-and-tested method made it the clear winner. My criticism for today is that I got wussy on the star anise and couldn’t taste any of it, but I’m scared of it overpowering the potatoes.

One thing I can say in defence of the Zaharans is they were almost certainly healthier. Mine had to wade their way out of duck fat, not great for the ol’ ticker I’m sure. But the taste!

Patrick Zahara potatoes:

Maris piper potatoes

Olive oil

Salt

Boil the potatoes whole from cold water.

When tender, peel and chop into chunks.

Toss in a little olive oil and salt and roast in a 200°C oven until crisp, turning once.

Roastpotato’s roast potatoes:

Maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

Duck fat

Sea salt & white pepper

Rosemary sprigs

2 garlic cloves, bashed but unpeeled

Splash of red wine vinegar

Fragment of star anise (about a quarter)

Boil the potatoes in salted water until nearly falling apart. Keep the potato peelings and put them in a J-cloth or muslin with the boiling liquor and discard when done. Drain and allow to steam-dry for a couple of minutes while you pre-heat the duck fat in a 200°C oven.

Shake the potatoes as much as you dare to chuff up the sides, then tip into the smoking fat.

After 25 minutes, gently squash the potatoes with a masher to open up the sides a little. Chuck in the rosemary, garlic, vinegar and star anise and a generous helping of salt and white pepper.

Continue roasting until browned to your liking (about another 25 minutes).

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jamie oliver roast potatoes

Post author By Gary @ BigSpud
Post date December 20, 2009
26 Comments on jamie oliver roast potatoes

Regular readers may know that I pride myself on bloody good roast potatoes, somewhat boastful but I’ve put the hours in. But I’m never complacent, always on the lookout for tips and pointers to gild the already-golden lily. Nigella gave me the idea to use polenta, Heston put forth the idea of using potato peelings in the boiling liquor, now Jamie comes forward with more ideas. Here’s Jamie Oliver Roast Potatoes.

I’ve distilled all these ideas into my perfect roast potato recipe. Check it out here!

His recent mini-series, Jamie’s Family Christmas has dealt with all manner of festive food, and it didn’t take long for him to try working up the humble roasties. He offered a formula: half way through roasting add a combo of garlic, vinegar and herb to the mix. At this point also give the half-roast pots a slight squidge with a potato masher – not mashing them you understand, but squeezing them to open them up. More exposed surface area equals more places for the potato to soak up fat. He also trialled using three different fats: olive oil, butter and goose fat. Predictably, they increased in flavour and crispiness as they decrease in healthiness. But it’s the addition of an acid that intrigues me. I went all into the method, eschewing all my usual steps I followed the Jamie technique. I used some pork fat, orange peel, red wine vinegar and rosemary.

This is the first time in a long time I haven’t used polenta; I’d almost forgotten what roasties were like without. There was certainly plenty of crunch to go around, and the pleasing licks of other flavours drifted in. The rosemary was predictably perfumed and slightly crisp, garlic was welcome, and the occasional spud that cosied up to orange peel had an interesting twist. The red wine vinegar had permeated little but I’d like to try a splash more next time. There’s lots to enjoy here.

So have I reached the perfect roast potato yet? Yes! Read it here. Have you tried Jamie Oliver Roast Potatoes? How did you get on?

Jamie Oliver’s perfect roast potatoes:

500g maris piper, peeled and chunked

4 tablespoons fat

Peel of 1 orange

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 rosemary sprig, leaves picked

6 cloves garlic, unpeeled

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Boil the potatoes for around 10 minutes, until they are very well done. After 5 minutes put the fat in the pan and whack in the oven.

Drain the potatoes and shake about to chuff up the edges. Add to the pan.

Roast for 30 minutes, then using a potato masher, lightly press each spud to encourage them to split.

Meanwhile toss the garlic, rosemary and orange together in the vinegar with a splash of olive oil.

Add this to the pan and put back in the oven. Continue to roast for another 20 – 30 minutes, until done to your desired crispiness.

Season liberally with sea salt and a dash of white pepper. Eat like gods.

Jamie’s recipe in his own words can be seen here at his website.

Like this? Check out MyKingCook’s guide to mashed potatoes!

Tags jamie oliver

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potatoes boulangere

I always grin when I remember this potato side-dish. When I’m a little bored of jackets, chips or mash, this heart-warming bowl of crisp and moist does it for me every time. The trick is, as with many of these dishes, awesome stock. I’ve recently seen James Martin do a cracking version of this, placing a roast chicken on a rack above the potatoes, dripping hot chicken grease over the potatoes… next time for sure!

(Allegedly, the name comes from provincial French towns, where the baker had the only oven in town. Once the morning’s bread was done, the villagers would trot up to use the leftover heat. Though why this is the only dish bearing the ‘baker’ name I don’t know…)

Potatoes boulangere:

2 baking potatoes, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon dried sage or small handful chopped fresh sage

2 bay leaves

Enough chicken stock to cover

Pre-heat an oven to 180°C. Grease a shallow baking dish and place bay leaves on the bottom. Layer potatoes on top thinly. Add a layer of onion and season generously.

Top with sage then repeat potatoes, onion and seasoning. When full, pour over stock – just enough to cover. Put in the oven.

After half an hour, the stock should have thickened slightly and reduced a bit. Brush the exposed potato slices with melted butter and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender.