Pink fir apple, Charlotte, Marfona, Jersey Royal, Estima, Maris piper they all sound like exotic dancers...maybe not Charlotte.
Anyway they are our favourite potatoes and we buy them not knowing why they have these names when we do what we want to them.
For the small:
Charlotte, Jersey Royal and Pink Fir Apple’s best to steam them, and have in salads.
For the good old Maris piper you can mash, roast, bake and make chips.
Estima and Marfona are best for delicious jackets.
I’m all about sweet potato; you can do whatever you want to this!
My experiences and future tips on how to handle this staple.
If you choose to mash to have on side or topping for pie try some of these:
Add tiny bit of butter and milk.
Season with black pepper
Use chilli oil and chilli flakes
Add dollop of mustard
Add spoon of mayonnaise
Fry some onions until soft and stir in mash
Crush some nuts
Stir in some spinach
Sprinkle some coriander
Use chilli oil and chilli flakes
Add dollop of mustard
Add spoon of mayonnaise
Fry some onions until soft and stir in mash
Crush some nuts
Stir in some spinach
Sprinkle some coriander
For roasting or frying use good olive oil or organic butter. Get some herbs involved, rosemary, thyme, basil or coriander. Use some of these to rub on potatoes before they get cooked.
Make it spicy with curry figh paste.
Make it spicy with curry figh paste.
For healthy jackets the toppings are endless. It takes about one hour for a big jacket potato to be thoroughly cooked.
You can rub some coarse salt on the skin to make it crispy.
Keep skin on potatoes when cooking them, your missing out on some good vitamins if you peel this. Kids can be fussy about this, don’t give in! Remember if it’s in front of them and they are starving you shouldn’t hear a word. It’s a good habit to get into.
Bread Honestly I couldn’t live without it. And I’ve started to bake it too. It’s my favourite staple.
Some of my tips about buying/ making bread:
You can buy ready mix bread packets and all you have to do is add water, knead, rest and bake.
Buy wholemeal bread flour if you’re baking it and fast action yeast sachets.
Baking it yourself is time consuming but worth it, there is nothing like the smell and taste of fresh bread, and at least you know what’s going in.
Choose wholemeal or seeded bread and buy it from a baker or the part of the supermarket you run past because you want a doughnut.
Bread contains energy, fibre, protein, calcium, iron and is low in sugar and fat. You have to read and calm down on what you spread on it. Don’t get me wrong I love nutella on toast with banana but as a treat not part of my routine!
I know the ready wrapped variety stays fresh for longer and is useful for sandwiches and toast but so much other crap goes in there. So for a change try buying a fresh loaf from the bakers, and cut up yourself.
My favourites:
Home made garlic bread
Ciabatta with sundried tomatoes and olives
Baguette with houmous and rocket
Naan bread with mustard seeds
Good luck and let me know how your baking goes.
