Turkey and Parsnip Stew, with Oven-roasted Chips

Leftover Turkey from a roasted leg joint, stewed in some chicken stock along with diced parsnip and carrot. Cooked for around two hours. The Rosemary and the paprika were added towards the end of the process.

Served with roasted potato chips in olive oil. The potato chips were parboiled for fifteen minutes first. Cook until a little browned. Turn once.
 

Pork Loin Steak with Spicy Chips

Pan-fried outdoor-bred pork steak, cooked in a little olive oil for eight minutes each side at a medium heat. Served with diced mushrooms and spring onion, and spicy chipped potatoes (French fries).

The spiced potatoes (first parboiled for about eight minutes) were soused in a mixture of olive oil a chilli sauce and tomato ketchup, along with the herbs oregano and basil. Then grilled for about seventeen minutes until they began to brown (watch by eye, since all grills are different).
 

Black Pudding and Bacon Breakfast

Low fat black pudding and bacon breakfast, with parboiled and grilled chipped potatoes. The black pudding slices were cooked at a lowish heat in a lidded pan along with two strips of smoked bacon, without any added cooking oil. The puddings and the bacon were turned once. The halved baby plum tomatoes wee added after seven minutes. Cooked altogether for about twelve minutes. 

The chipped potatoes were started first, parboiled for ten minutes, and then grilled until browned, with a drizzle of sunflower oil and a sprinkling of salt. Judge progress by eye! Twenty minutes or so, depending on the grill. 

 

Smoked Bacon, Baby Plum Tomato, and Spring Onion Breakfast

Great breakfast, which is simple to prepare. Baby plum tomatoes, diced into three pieces, halved button mushrooms,and spring onion, cooked slowly in a skillet for 25 minutes in some sunflower oil. Stirred frequently. 

The cured and smoked bacon was also cooked slowly, but in another smaller pan, until it was on the edge of being crispy. 

The chipped potatoes were parboiled for ten minutes, and then grilled in the oven with a little sunflower oil until browned (turn once). Watch progress by eye. Served with tomato ketchup. 

 

Ham, Egg & Chips

Sometimes only comfort food will do for lunch. Three slices of outdoor-reared breaded ham, with grilled chips, and two fried eggs. 

The chipped potatoes were first steamed for ten minutes (equivalent to parboiling), and then grilled (dressed in some sunflower oil) until browned (turned once). Served with some American (or German) mustard. Delicious!

 

Ham, Egg, and Chips

Something like a British truckstop favourite. The ham component came from an unsmoked gammon joint, thinly sliced, and was steamed for ten minutes. The chips were parboiled for seven minutes, drained, and decanted into a glass bowl, and allowed to cool. Mixed with tomato ketchup, black pepper, and the herbs oregano, coriander, and basil. Plus a little salt. Grilled in a roasting tin for ten or twelve minutes, until they begin to brown. 

At a truckstop, the chips would be plain and deep-fried, and there wouldn't be any herbs in sight. This is better, and the only oil used, cooked the fried egg (sunflower oil). 

Served with one or two fried eggs on the ham. The chips were dressed with a little ketchup. Fabulous dish!

 

Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew, with Spicy Chips

A chickpea stew with diced carrot, sweet potato and green beans. The chickpeas were soaked overnight in unsalted water until soft. Drained, and decanted into a pot of boiling water, along with the carrot, sweet potato and the green beans. Add some chicken or ham stock, and ground white pepper. Add a teaspoonful of gravy granules and stir through the stew. Cook at a low heat on the hob for an hour.

Served in this case with spicy chipped potatoes, grilled in the middle of the oven for around fifteen minutes. The chips were allowed to stand in a marinade beforehand for a couple of hours The marinade was made with sunflower oil, malt vinegar, tomato ketchup (or puree), salt, garlic, red chilli, dried coriander leaf, tarragon and oregano (the choice of herbs is up to you). When grilled the chips don't need to be turned, and they are less likely to stick to the roasting tray, compared to oven roasting.

Haggis and Chips, with Fried Turnip

This delicious dish is slightly heretical.  Normally haggis is served with boiled potatoes (sometimes mashed), and mashed turnip. However the main component of the dish has a history much older than the advent of potatoes in Europe, so the dish has already undergone changes.

Traditional Scottish cooking is based on three basic processes, which were standard all the way back into the neolithic, and beyond: griddle cooking (oatcakes, pancakes, etc.), cauldron cooking (puddings, haggis, and meat preparation in general), and pan cooking (porridge and soups).

This version of the haggis dish involved the steaming of slices of haggis prepared as a sausage, the roasting (griddling) of the chipped potatoes, and the frying of very thin slices of turnip.

Normally the turnip is cooked in much the same way as the potato, by boiling. I find this way of preparing the turnip lacking in sweetness. A friend in London told me about the transformation of the flavour of the turnip if fried in thin slices: it is much sweeter.

So this version of the standard combination of ingredients features thinly sliced turnip. Don't do it any other way!

The haggis was steamed for fifty minutes before serving. The chips were marinaded in a salsa of oregano, sunflower oil, ketchup, vinegar, cornmeal and black pepper, and roasted on the middle shelf of the oven at 180 deg for twenty five minutes, after which the heat was turned down. Watch carefully at this point. The chips will brown nicely because of the cornmeal coating, but the potato will cook properly at a lower temperature.

The thinly sliced turnip was cooked in a lidded casserole dish at the same time as the chips, but at the bottom of the oven. The turnip slices were drizzled in a little sunflower oil, and I added some water. Cooked for the same length of time as the chips.

Smoked Haddock Poached in Milk

Poaching smoked fish in milk used to be a very common practice in Scotland. The flavour of the dish is out of this world, if you haven't tried it before.

The Fish:

An undyed block of haddock (both fillets from the same fish) was bought from Morrison's supermarket and fried in a little melted butter in an omelette pan for one minute. The heat was turned down to the lowest level, and two tablespoons of whole milk were added. Allowed to simmer in the milk for eight to nine minutes under glass, without turning. Watch the pan carefully in case the milk bubbles up to the lid. Decant the haddock fillets to the serving plate with a fish slice, and pour the mixture of milk and butter over the fish.

The French Fries:

The chipped potato pieces were boiled for fifteen minutes in a small pan of salted water. The pan was drained, and the chips were decanted to a glass roasting tray, brushed with sunflower oil. Each of the chips was brushed with a mixture of sunflower oil, tomato ketchup, white pepper, coriander, oregano, worcester sauce, and a little salt. They were turned, and brushed again on the other side. Cooked under the grill for between ten and fifteen minutes, or until they begin to crisp around the edges.

Pork Sausage wrapped in Bacon, with Spicy French Fries

I picked up a bargain pack of 'pigs in blankets' at Sainsbury's. Often served as a component of Christmas lunch, they are just as delicious as the main part of a meal.

I made the French fries first, dicing one large potato. The chipped potato was doused in a bowl containing about one dessert spoonful of a mixture of sunflower oil, tomato ketchup, vinegar, chilli powder, paprika, salt, black pepper, and coriander. Mixed together thoroughly and allowed to stand for fifteen or twenty minutes, with occasional further stir-throughs.

Coat a roasting tray with sunflower oil, and place the chips evenly across the surface. Place on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 190 deg C. Cook for between 35 and forty minutes, turning the chips halfway through.

The sausages were cooked for about sixteen or seventeen minutes in an oiled roasting tray on the middle shelf, also at 190 deg C (watch them closely and judge their readiness by eye). You can put the sausages into the oven with the chips about twenty minutes before the chips are ready, so they are both piping hot at the same time. If the shelf isn't big enough for two roasting trays, transfer the tray of chips to the base of the oven.

Served with half a can of Aldi brand baked beans, dressed in a dusting of coriander leaf and black pepper. Delicious!

Ground Beef with Leek and Green Beans

Some excellent 5% fat ground beef (400g) from the local co-op. Browned at a medium heat in some sunflower oil for twenty minutes or so, stirring frequently.

I diced a large leek, after topping and tailing, and then cutting it into four lengthwise. Easy to prepare this while the beef is browning.

Turn up the heat and add the leek,  and stir together with the beef. After five minutes turn the heat down to medium, and stir-fry together for another ten minutes, until the diced leek begins to brown.

Add three quarters of a pint of boiling water, along with the vegetable and beef stock, and one large bay leaf.

Simmer under glass at a low heat for ninety minutes. Add more water if necessary.

Served with green beans boiled in salted water, black pepper, and with a serving of grilled french fries in a home-made spicy salsa.

Beef and Mushroom Stew

A delicious beef and mushroom stew, served with spicy french fries.

The beef was browned in a saute pan with a drizzle of sunflower oil. Started at a high heat, and then lowered, stirring regularly.

After ten to fifteen minutes I added two medium sized diced onions, and two diced carrots. Stir-fried for fifteen minutes or so until the onions became semi-transparent.

I added half a green bell pepper, cut into strips. Cooked for another five minutes before I added about half a pint of boiling water, a little tomato puree, and vegetable and beef stock. I added diced pieces of three large mushrooms.

Stirred thoroughly, and simmered under glass at a low heat for another hour and a half, until the beef is deliciously tender.

The chips were made with two medium sized potatoes, flat cut, and then divided up. The salsa they were dipped in was made with tomato ketchup, some chilli powder, oregano, salt, sunflower oil, and a little Worcester sauce. Cooked in the oven in a roasting tray at around 180 deg C for between twenty and twenty five minutes, depending on their thickness. Turn the chips once. Watch carefully!

Treacle & Ale Ham, with Egg and Chips

I gave up on deep-fried chips many years ago, in favour of oven roasting them. The result is often just as good, with a fraction of the fat content. Plus you can play around with coating them in herb and sauces.

These chips were a semi-skinned potato before I flat cut them, and then subdivided these cuts into chips.I made a salsa with a squirt of tomato ketchup, oregano, paprika, and some sunflower oil. Add the raw chips, and stir them through the salsa thoroughly. Allow to stand for a few minutes, and repeat every now and then, until the oven is hot.

I preheated the oven to 190 deg C, and greased a glass roasting tray with drizzle of sunflower oil.

When the oven was ready, I added the chips to the roasting tray, making sure all the chips were separate from each other. Cooked altogether for twenty five minutes, turning the chips once.

Served with three slices of treacle & Ale ham from the local Co-op (most other forms of ham will do instead), a fried egg, and a little black pepper. Delicious!

Roast Pork with Sage Stuffing (and Chips!)

Pork joint from Sainsbury's, rolled around a sage stuffing, made with oatmeal, breadcrumbs, and sometimes cornmeal, and of course a generous amount of sage.

Wrapped in tinfoil and cooked in the centre of the oven at 200deg C for an hour and fifteen minutes (the time varies according to the size of the joint. Check the label information). Fifteen minutes before the end, the tin foil wrap was opened.

Allowed to cool for twenty minutes, and then the joint was sliced with an electric knife.

The pork was served with a vegetable gravy made with blended onion, spinach leaves, and carrot, plus vegetable stock.

The chips were parboiled for five minutes, and then transferred to a bowl with Rosemary, tomato puree, a teaspoonful of sunflower oil, and vinegar. Stirred thoroughly together. Roasted on a flat tray in the middle of the oven for around twenty five minutes at 180 deg C. Judge if they are properly cooked by eye.

Ham, Egg, and Oven Roasted Chips

I've liked chips since I was a child, but I can't remember the last time I deep-fried them. Those days
are gone. I used semi-skinned chpped potatoes here.

The chips were marinaded in a mixture of tomato ketchup, paprika, vinegar from a jar of marinaded peppers, black pepper, a teaspoonful of sunflower oil, a pinch of dried rosemary, a pinch of salt, and stirred occasionally until they were thoroughly coated.  The were roasted in an oven preheated to around 190 deg C for twenty five minutes. Always check the progress of chips roasting in the oven, particularly in the last ten minutes or so.

You can experiment with other herbs in the mixture. Coriander is a good choice, as is oregano.

Served with two slices of breaded ham from Morrison's, and a fried egg, cooked in a small pan, sunny side up. An old favourite.

Breaded Basa Fish (Catfish) with Oven-roasted Potato Chips

Another bargain from Morrison's: two Basa fish fillets, lightly breaded with herbs. Cooked for eighteen minutes in the middle of a preheated oven at 190 deg C.

Served with chipped potatoes which had been marinaded for three or four hours in a mixture of vinegar, sunflower oil, tomato puree, chilli sauce, white pepper, salt, plus some thyme and coriander.

 The chips were then roasted in the oven for about 25 minutes at 190 deg. C (watch them carefully, and remove from the oven when they look as though they are ready).

Served with two teaspoonfuls of tartare sauce, and some white pepper. A delicious dish!

Breaded Cod with Oven-roasted Potato Chips

Thursday is a good day for bargains in UK supermarkets, and I picked up a pack of two breaded cod for half-price in Sainsbury's. Baked in the middle of the preheated oven for twenty minutes at 190 deg C.

I chipped two Maris Piper potatoes, and dressed them in a spicy sauce, made with tomato puree, vinegar, sunflower oil, paprika, white pepper, salt, and some dried thyme. These can be cooked in twenty minutes in the middle of the oven at 190 deg C. Check frequently to check how they are doing, and remove from the oven when they are ready.

So. Fish and chips! Served with a little cranberry jelly. Delicious!

Chestnut Meatloaf, with Parsnip Chips and Cranberry Sauce

Made with outdoor bred pork sausage meat from Sainsbury's, one diced apple, one diced onion, three medium handfuls of porage oats, one beaten egg (actually optional, and it was skipped in this case), 100g of diced cooked chestnuts, and 40 g of salted butter, Mix together thoroughly by hand in a large glass bowl.

Herbs used were a pinch of nutmeg and a generous pinch of rosemary.

 Cooked in the oven on the previous day at around 180 deg C, for forty minutes (watched carefully). Sliced when cold, and stored in the fridge.

Because the meatloaf contained pork sausage meat it was important to make sure it was thoroughly heated. Reheated in a flat, lidded pan.

Served with brussels sprouts (6 to 9 minutes in boiling water under glass),  and with roast parsnip chips in a salsa of tomato ketchup, tomato puree, marinade from a jar of red peppers, oregano, black pepper, smoked paprika, etc. Roasted in the oven for about 35 minutes at 180 deg C. Watch carefully, and turn halfway through. Plus a dessert spoonful of cranberry sauce.

Beef Chilli with Peppers and Herbed Chips

Made with ground beef, carrot, green pepper, green chilli, onion, mushroom, and served with herbed oven roasted chips (dressed with coriander, basil, oregano, tomato ketchup, tomato puree, olive oil, bay leaf, and paprika.

Stir-fry chunks of carrot, diced mushroom and onion in olive oil in a large saute pan, until tender (about fifteen or twenty minutes). Move the vegetables to one side of the pan, and add 450g of ground beef. After the beef has begun to brown, stir the beef and the vegetables together, and cook for another twenty to twenty-five minutes at a moderately high heat, stirring every minute or so.

Add the bay leaves (I added two), the beef stock, and the paprika. Add black pepper, a diced half of a green pepper, and four green chillis, with the stems removed. Stir together. Cook for another hour, stirring every five minutes, before serving.

The chips were made from two semi-peeled potatoes, sliced into ovals, and then subdivided into chips. The chips were decanted into a bowl, and stirred through a herby salsa, made with tomato ketchup, paprika, olive oil, oregano, coriander and basil.

Cook the chips in a large glass roasting tray (greased). The oven was preheated to 200 deg C. and the tray was placed in the middle. Cooked for twenty-five to thirty  minutes, and turned once.

Served with freshly ground black pepper.

Breaded Chicken with Spicy French Fries

The breaded chicken breast came from Sainsbury's supermarket. It had been in the freezer, but was thoroughly thawed before cooking.

The French fries/chips were made from two semi-peeled potatoes, sliced into ovals, and then subdivided into chips.

The chips were decanted into a bowl, and stirred through a spicy salsa, made with tomato ketchup, worcestershire sauce, paprika, oil from a jar of grilled red peppers (sunflower oil), oregano, coriander and rosemary.

Both the chips and the breaded chicken pieces were cooked in a large glass roasting tray. The oven was preheated to 200 deg C. and the tray was placed in the middle. Cooked for twenty-five to thirty  minutes.  Served with freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of tomato ketchup.