SCALLOPED POTATOES.

With the humble potato you can prepare ..Scalloped potatoes. This is a tasty dish, where the poatatoes are sliced thinly, layered in a dish with butter, salt, cracked black pepper, covered with cream, flavoured with nutmeg and topped with gruyere cheese. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Scalloped potatoes are a variation of the French dish Gratin Dauphinois. Peel 1 kg of floury potatoes, thinly slice into rounds and dry thoroughly. Spray a shallow ovenproof dish with cooking oil and smear 1 tbs of minced garlic mixed with 30 gm of butter/ marg around the base of the dish . Carefully arrange the potato slices in overlapping layers in the dish, seasoning each layer with salt and cracked pepper. Bring 1 cup of milk to the boil and add 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg. Grate 100gm of gruyere cheese and spread over the top of the potatoes . Carefully pour the milk over the potatoes and add 60 gm of butter / marg cut in small pieces on top. Bake in a moderate oven for 45 minutes or until tender and golden.

LEMONS

Thank you to everyone who has dropped off lemons for me at the front door of The Manor I have spent a lot of time over the previous 4 days grating lemon rinds and juicing lemons . The rind and juice are stored separately in ice cube trays , frozen in the freezer and once solid placed in freezer bags and stored in the freezer to be used as required . 1 x plastic cube holds the juice of 1 lemon , the ratio is the same for the grated rind ( remove the rind with a paring knife trying not to get too much pith and then finely chop in the processor .) I now have 2 drawers in the freezer , full of bags of lemon cubes and cubes of chopped rind.

THE POTATO QUESTION (3)

The humble potato makes the best chips.....use a floury potato such as a Desiree or Dutch Cream . Peel and slice 4 large potatoes into even sized chips . Preheat vegetable oil in a deep fryer to 180 deg C with enough oil to fill 1/4 of the fryer bowl . Fry the chips for about 10 minutes , until they are softened but not coloured . Now remove the chips from the oil , drain on kitchen paper and set aside for 10 minutes . Make sure the oil is still at 180 deg C and return the partially cooked chips to the oil and cook till golden brown and crispy . Drain and season with salt and lemon wedges or a squeezing over the top . You can make a healthy version of the 'best ever chips 'by cutting large potatoes into wedges , brushing them with oil and bake in your air fryer or in a preheated oven 200deg C.

THE POTATO QUESTION (2)

The humble potato makes the perfect roast potato , the best potatoes to use for roasted potatoes are a floury potatoe ,eg Desiree or Dutch Cream . Preheat your oven to 200 deg C. Peel and quarter the potatoes and cook in a large saucepan of salted boiling water over a medium heat , covered for 5 minutes . The potatoes will still be firm but remove from heat , drain and return the potatoes to the warm saucepan . Cover the saucepan with a lid and vigoursly shake the pot so that the surface of the potatoes are slightly roughened to help give them a crisper texture . Now place a roasting pan in the preheated oven and melt 6 tbs of duck fat or good old fashioned dripping . Once the fat / dripping has melted remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully place the potatoes in the fat / dripping and baste them to make sure they are all coated . roast the potatoes for 45 minutes or until browned all over and crisp. Turn the potatoes and baste only once during the roasting process, so you don't destroy the crunchy edges . Use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to a warmed serving plate and season with a little salt .. Delicious .!!

THE POTATO QUESTION (1)

The humble potato......how to make the perfect mash ? Peel 1 kg of floury potatoes such as Dutch Cream or Desiree. Cut the peeled potatoes into chunks and place them in a saucepan of salted boiling water over a medium heat , covered for for 25 minutes untl they are tender . Test with a skewer to make sure you test right to the middle to avoid lumps . Remove the saucepan from the heat and drain the potatoes . Return the potatoes to the hot saucepan and mash with a potatoe masher until smooth . Add 5 tbs of butter/marg and continue to mash until it is all mixed in. NOW here is the secret ......add 5 tbs of hot milk , potatoes absorb hot milk quickly , producing a creamier mash. See simple !!!

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C To make the pastryplace 150 gm of plain flour into a bowl ,rub in 85 gm of butter/ marg wit your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs . Now add 35 gm of icing sugar , 1/2 beaten egg yolk ,the finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon and 1 and 1/2 tbs of milk . Turn the dough out to a lightly floured work surface and knad until smooth , roll into a ball and let rest for 30 minutes. Grease a 8'/ 20cm loose bottom flan pan . Roll out your pastry to a thickness 1/4"/5 mm and line the base and sides of your flan pan . Prick the pastry all over with a fork and line with baking paper and fill with dried rice or baking beans . Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the paper and baking beans /rice. Set aside. To make the filling , mix 3 tbs of cornflour with 1 tbs of water . Put 300ml of water in a saucepan and stir in juice and rind of 2 lemons along with the cornflour paste . Bring this to the boil , stirring constantly . Then remove from heat and stir in 90gm of castor sugar and add 2 lightly beaten egg yolks , now pour the filling into the pastry case . Finally whisk the 2 egg whites in a clean dry bowl until stiff and gradually add in 85 gm of castor sugar in small increments making sure sugar is dissolved between additions . Spread the egg white mixture over the pie and bake for 40 minutes . Remove from the oven , cool and serve .

OSSO BUCO ALLA MILANESE

Milanese style osso bucco . Ossobuco , it can be the marrow bone , the knickle or shin of veal cut in steaks across the bone, sauteed on the bone and then simmered with garlic , onions and tomatoes, sprinkled with a mixture of chopped parsley , garlic and grated lemon zest and served with risotto rice .....risotto alla Milanese . The description above is all you need to prepare this time honoured dish , but if you prefer here is the recipe . You need to visit your butcher and ask for 4 slices of veal shank about 4 cm /1 and 1/2 inches thick . Wash the veal slices and pat dry with kitchen paper . Rub them all over with a mix of flour and course pepper , shaking off the excess . Melt 4 tbs of butter / marg in a large pan and brown the slices on both sides . Deglaze the pan with 125 ml of dry white wine , allow to reduce a little and then add 400gm can of diced tomatoes . Now add the sauce and bone in steaks to the bowl of your slow cooker and cook on a low heat for 90 minutes , turning the slices over in the sauce as they cook . Once the meat begins to separate from the bone , it is ready . Mix together 1 tbs of minced garlic with 2 tbs of finely chopped parsley and 1 tbs of grated lemon rind. Serve with short grain / risotto rice . Simply the best .