potato breakfast curry

This will probably be my last post until I’m home from Sweden at the end of August. We’re away for 5 weeks travelling all over Sverige, with a few days on either side in Tokyo and Bangkok.

I wanted to leave you with a recipe I really love and which takes the humble potato to new heights while also turning breakfast into an exciting meal.

A lot of people (obviously not Indians) will baulk at the idea of curry for breakfast, but Rick Stein’s potato curry served with poached eggs is so gently spiced that anyone would adore it.

I love eating interesting things at breakfast (Breakfast Crumble, Çılbır, Fatteh, Khabeesa, Moringa Omelette, Quinoa Porridge etc) whereas Jonas is an absolute traditionalist. Nonetheless this potato curry won him over entirely and is a recipe that will make repeat appearances in our home.

Who could have thought breakfasts and potatoes could be so exciting!

Potato Breakfast Curry w Poached Eggs

Recipe by Rick Stein, Delicious Magazine April 2008. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
500g waxy potatoes (eg nicola or kipfler)
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1½ teaspoons black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 green cardamom pods
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1½ tablespoons roughly chopped fresh coriander
4 very fresh, free-range eggs
Pinch of chilli flakes
Splash of white wine vinegar
Coriander sprigs, to garnish

Method:
1. Peel potatoes and cut into 1cm cubes.

2. Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for 5-6 minutes until almost tender, then drain and set aside.

3. Heat oil in a deep frypan over medium heat. Add mustard and cumin seeds. Cover with a lid until the popping subsides (about 2 minutes).

4. Meanwhile cut the cardamom pods in half and shake out the seeds into a mortar and pestle. Throw the husks away and lightly crush the seeds.

5. Uncover the pot and add onion, ginger and dried chilli and fry until soft but not brown (6-7 minutes).

6. Stir in ground spices then cook, stirring, for 1 minute until fragrant.

7. Stir in potatoes, 200ml water and 1 teaspoon salt. Simmer over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potato is tender.

8. Stir in tomatoes and lemon juice and cook for another 2 minutes.

9. Stir in coriander, cover and keep warm over a very low heat.

10. To poach eggs, measure enough water so it reaches 5cm in a wide, shallow pan.

11. Bring to the boil then add 1 ½ teaspoons vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt for every 1.2 litres of water.

12. Reduce heat to medium-low and break eggs into simmering water. Poach for 3-5 minutes until white is cooked but yolk is still soft.

13. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.

14. Lightly salt the eggs and serve on top of the curry with coriander garnish.

This is my last Weekend Herb Blogging entry for a while, until I’m back.

My feature ingredient this week is the humble spud.

And what a veggie it is! The root of the Solanum tuberosum is the world's most widely grown tuber and is in fourth place as the most produced food crop, after rice, wheat, and corn. Today China and then India are the largest potato producers.

The United Nations have decreed 2008 as the International Year of the Potato and many organisations see it as part of the solution for world food production since it is cheap to cultivates, generates good harvests and grows in diverse climates.

Research seems to put the potato’s origin in the Andes from Colombia/Venezuela to northern Argentina and the first evidence of cultivated took place in Peru 7,000 years ago. Some 99% of the world’s cultivated potato varieties descend from a subspecies indigenous to South-Central Chile, probably due to the trading routes that carried the first plant exports.

Potatoes made the journey to Europe in the mid 1500s and quickly became a staple food crop, particularly for the poor.

Lack of genetic varieties in Europe left potato crops vulnerable to diseases, such as Phytophthora infestans, which resulted in the infamous Irish famine and a reduction of Irelands population by 25% from starvation, disease and emigration to the New World.

The English word potato comes directly from the Spanish patata, which itself is a compound of two Native American words for potato and sweet potato: papa (Quechua) and batata (Taino)

Many Slavic, Baltic, Germanic, Scandinavian and Balkan languages derive their word for potato from an ancient word for potato which also meant “truffle”. French, Dutch, Hebrew, Finnish all have names meaning “earth fruit/apple/pear”, whereas Slovak and Polish use words that mean simply “ground”. Different Chinese languages have meanings such as “foreign taro”, “horse yam” or “earth bean”. Although the Hindi and Nepali word for potato is aloo and in Indonesian it is kentang, I don’t know what the base meaning of these words are.

Potatoes have excellent carbohydrate content but also good levels of Vitamin C, potassium, Vitamin B6 and traces of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and zinc.

The glycemic index (GI) of potatoes can vary considerably depending on the type, location grown, cooking methods and with what it is consumed.

Potatoes contain glycoalkaloids such as solanine and chaconine, which are toxic compounds found in high concentrations in wild potatoes. Light exposure and aging increases toxin levels but cooking at over 170°C (340°F) partly destroys the toxins. Affects are weakness, confusion, headaches, diarrhea and cramps and although coma or death could occur, poisoning from potatoes is very rare.

Common international varieties include Bintje; Désirée; Fianna; King Edward; Kipfler; New; Nicola; Pink Eye; Pink Fir Apple; Red Pontiac; Rooster; Russet Burbank and Spunta.

Interesting regional potato dishes:
Colcannon (Ireland, side dish)
Fish & Chips (Britain, main)
Gnocchi (Italy, pasta)
Locro de Papas (Ecuador, thick soup)
Papa a la Huancaina (Peru, salad)
Patatas Bravas (Spain, tapas)
Poutine (Canada, snack)
Stamppot (Netherlands, main)

Fun Wikipedia facts!
• Potatoes are part of the deadly nightshade family, a group of poisonous plants including tomatoes and tobacco.
• There are about five thousand potato varieties world wide. Three thousand of them are found only in the Andes, where over 100 varieties of potato can be found in one valley alone!
• A notice of 1573 shows that potatoes were being fed to the sick in a monastery of Seville, under their Quechua name papa.
• In France the potato was considered suitable only for cattle. In the mid 1700s Antoine Parmentier devised an ingenious strategy to encourage the French peasants to eat potatoes. Apparently he grew a field of potatoes and had it heavily guarded to make it look like a delicacy for the nobility. The peasants stole samples and started to enjoy them.
• The earliest reference to the potato in India is in a British journal from 1847.
• Belarus has the world’s highest consumption of potato per capita with each Belorussian consuming 338 kg in 2005.
• The fibre content of a potato with skin equals that of many whole grain breads, pastas, and cereals.
• The notion that “all of the potato’s nutrients” are found in the skin is an urban legend. While the skin does contain approximately half of the total dietary fibre, the majority (more than 50%) of the nutrients are found within the potato itself.

Weekend Herb Blogging is host by Simona from Briciole, who has the coolest blog tagline of "an idiosyncratic and opinionated dictionary of Italian words related to food, with audio accompaniment". Be sure to visit her blog for the round-up.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Irish_Famine

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes weekend herb blogging whb main course curry breakfast curry potato curry potato breakfast recipes curry recipes potato recipes indian recipes indian food indian cuisine

thon à la provençale

If I have calculated correctly, this is my 50th time joining Weekend Herb Blogging, an event founded and popularised by Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen. More recently (so Kalyn has more free time) the hosting of this event has been shared throughout the blogosphere and this week the host is another Anna (fab name) from Anna’s Cool Finds.

My recipe this weekend is a good cross-over recipe because it’s perfect for both summer and winter.
Thon à la Provençale (Provencale Tuna)
Recipe by Andy Harris in Gourmet Traveller Magazine July 2006. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
4 x 5cm thick tuna slices
60ml (¼ cup) red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 lemon, sliced and seed removed
5 fresh bay leaves
12 cherry tomatoes
125ml (½ cup) dry white wine
16 black Niçoise olives
250ml (1 cup) tomato passata
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leafed parsley, to serve
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180’C.
2, Combine tuna and vinegar in a non-reactive bowl, cover with plastic wrap and stand for at least 30 minutes, then drain and pat dry on paper towels.
3. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the base of a large baking dish.
4. Overlap tuna, with two onion wedges, a slice of lemon and a bay leaf between them.
5. Scatter cherry tomatoes and remaining bay leaves on top.
6. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly milled black pepper, then drizzle remaining olive oil and pour over wine.
7. Cook for 30 minutes or until golden and liquid has reduced.
8. Add olives and passata to dish and cook for another 15 minutes.
9. Scatter with parsley and serve.


Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes weekend herb blogging whb main course tuna seafood recipes fish recipes tuna recipes provencale recipes provencale cuisine french recipes french food french cuisine

trout from my own backyard

Well, technically the fish didn't come from my garden, but since there were fresh food markets in the square under my apartment block it kind of counts.

Last Sunday I was scanning the available selections when I spotted the Cowra Smokehouse selling various smoked delicacies such as eel, walnuts, quail, salmon and even fresh line-caught rainbow trout.

I was irresistibly drawn to the portable glass trolley filled with ice and fresh fish and after much encouragement from Jonas I decided to buy one. I’m glad I did because it turned out to be one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten at home.

When I got back to the apartment, I stared at the fat trout and thought it was just too pretty to eat. Then I got over that.

I decided I wanted to cook it with as little embellishment as possible. It was so fresh that I thought simple was best.

Leafing through Rick Stein’s My Favourite Seafood Recipes, I found a few trout recipes but none stood out to me as a whole. Instead I took his cooking technique from one recipe and combined it with a fresh herb sauce from another recipe.

Rick says he found the recipe for this herb sauce in an old recipe book from 1820 and it was entitled “housekeeper’s recipe”. If I’d had a housekeeper that had made this for me, I would have been a happy little vegemite.

Pan-fried Rainbow Trout w Salsa Verde
Anna’s muddling of Rick Stein’s recipes. Serves 1 hungry girl.
Ingredients:
Trout
1 whole trout, scaled and cleaned
Butter, for frying
Olive oil, for frying
Flour, for dusting
Salt and pepper, for seasoning
Salsa Verde
½ tablespoon mint leaves
Small bunch of chives
1½ tablespoons flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons capers in brine, drained and rinsed
4 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons lemon juice
Method:
1. For the salsa verde, combine all ingredients on a chopping board and chop finely until a paste is formed. Scrape into a bowl and add Dijon mustard and lemon juice. Stir to combine then set aside.
2. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan large enough to hold the fish.
3. Season the fish, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Dust lightly in flour, shaking off excess flour.
4. Fry fish for 5 minutes on each side.
5. Arrange fish on plate and serve with salsa verde.

I simply adored this salsa verde and will use it again and again with anything I possibly can. This whole meal was incredible and I was a very content diner afterwards.

I made the salsa verde while Jonas fried the fish. For some reason I hate to fry fish and chicken because I never seem to cook them right. It either comes out dry or raw. Despite being a vegetarian, Jonas is a frying fiend so I left this task to the household expert. It was perfect.

So Pan-fried Rainbow Trout w Salsa Verde is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by its creator, Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen. Check out the recap if you get the chance. The pool of entries is growing by the week!

sardines en escabèche - WHB

It's time for Weekend Herb Blogging again and this time it's bay leaves (or laurel leaves).

The recap is being hosted by Cate at Sweetnicks. To view the recap and check out other Weekend Herb Bloggers, click here.

Now, back to my bay leaves.

It's amazing what a few sprigs of herbs can do to lift a dish. The below recipe uses rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Since we grow our own bay tree on our treacherously hot balcony I thought I should provide a recipe that uses it.

I am impressed that this little tree has survived since our balcony has zero protection from the sun and severe reflections from the glass ceiling of the plaza below us. We installed a bamboo fence as a shield from the glass, but this causes all our plants to grow straight upwards instead of branching out. As you can see from the photo, the poor tree is a little stressed and bean-pole like!

We like to cook with fresh bay leaves a lot of the time. They somehow add a certain fresh bay flavour that dried ones don’t produce. But you do need more of them when you use them fresh.

Bay leaves are also called laurel and were prized in ancient Greece where they were awarded as a wreath to winning athletes. Roman Emperor’s wore golden crowns of laurel and in fact the English word ‘bachelor’ comes from this herb through French from the Latin words bacca-laureus meaning laurel berry.

In Medieval times they used it to induce sweating (and even abortion) and since the leaves, oil and berries have narcotic qualities, some people smoke dried bay leaves to achieve an effect similar to marijuana!

A month or so ago I discovered this Rick Stein recipe for sardines en escabèche. According to his book "My Favourite Seafood Recipes", the dish is of Spanish origin and is also popular in France (Provençal).

The recipe calls for whole sardines, but I thought it was a lot easier and tastier to use butterflied sardines. The herbs add fragrance and the peel provides a little citrus tang. Delicious!

Sardines en Escabèche
Recipe by Rick Stein. Serves 4.
Ingredients
12 sardines, gutted, cleaned and heads removed
50g plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
150ml olive oil
85ml red wine vinegar
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
5cm strip of orange zest
Sprig of thyme
Sprig of rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 dried red chillies
Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped roughly
Method
1. Dust sardines in seasoned flour then fry them in half the olive oil for 1 minute on each side. Transfer to a shallow dish (non-reactive glass or ceramic).
2. To the frying pan add vinegar, onion, orange zest, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, garlic, chillies and salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the olive oil and parsley then pour the hot marinade over the sardines.
4. When cool, transfer to the refrigerator and leave overnight (can be kept for three days).
5. Serve with a green salad, sliced tomatoes and sliced capsicum.