Potatoes, sliced and baked with cream have to be one of the best things ever. At least in my opinion. Maybe a little bit of garlic, or some sliced onion, even some smoked bacon added for extra deliciousness. Although undeniably tasty they always feel more suited to the colder months than in the middle of summer. Don’t worry though, I’ve found a way round this; and I had a swanky new baking dish to try out. By adding some summer greens and using a lighter sauce my summer green, smoked bacon and potato bake fills that dauphinoise hole perfectly.
Summer Vegetable Minestrone
Ingredients
You will need (for two big bowls or four smaller ones):
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 small courgette, diced
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1 handful summer greens, shredded
- 1 handful broad beans, podded
- 1 handful fresh peas, podded
- 1 litre hot vegetable stock
- 90g small pasta
- Salt and pepper
Method
Prepare the broad beans by adding the beans to a pan of lightly salted boiling water. Cook for 3-4 minutes before removing, running under cold water and then squeezing the beans out of their grey skins. Set aside.
Put a large pan on a low heat and add the olive oil, garlic, carrot, onion and courgette. Put a lid on and leave to soften for around 10 minutes.
Remove the lid and add the tomato, summer greens and peas then pour in the hot stock.
Bring to the boil then add the pasta and a little salt and pepper.
Jerusalem Artichoke Gratin, Buttered Spring Greens and Sausages
The sausages I had for this were some lovely, local chipolatas from a fantastic butcher. My butcher not only knows everything there is to know about meat, he knows a fair few things about vegetables. I heeded his advice about cooking the spring greens and they turned out brilliantly – see below.
Jerusalem artichokes aren’t very big and to make the most of them I needed a helping hand from the potato. In total you need 450g finely sliced and peeled artichokes and potatoes. You don’t have to peel the artichokes if you give them a good scrub but I did. They have a tendency to go brown very quickly once peeled so speed is of the essence here.
Layer the finely sliced potatoes and artichokes in a baking dish, seasoning between each layer. Mix together 120ml cream and 180ml milk and pour this over. Place in an oven at 170C for an hour and twenty minutes.
Spring Green and Bacon Potato Cakes with Cheddar and Chive Sauce
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For the potato cakes:
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600g potatoes (Maris Piper are ideal)
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£0.54
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Milk and butter (for the mash)
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£0.20
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6 rashers smoked, streaky bacon
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£1.50
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4-5 big leaves savoy cabbage (or Spring greens)
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£0.20
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Salt and pepper
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£0.02
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For the cheese sauce:
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25g butter
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£0.15
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25g plain flour
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£0.02
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300ml milk
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£0.10
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75g strong cheddar cheese
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£0.85
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Small handful fresh chopped chives
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£0.40
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Total
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£3.98
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First and foremost make some mashed potato. Maris Pipers I found to be particularly good; they are fluffy enough to make mash like a cloud and yet waxy enough to hold the greens and bacon in. Mash your potatoes as you see fit; add milk, butter, cream and anything you fancy but don’t forget the salt and pepper. While the potatoes are boiling away, slice some bacon and fry in a pan. Snap the leaves of the spring greens off and shred it finely. Add to the bacon and carry on frying until lovely and golden. For two people I used four rashers of bacon and five large spring green leaves.
Mini Bubble and Squeak
Ingredients
You will need (for 6-8 small potato cakes):- 500g potatoes
- Small bunch spring onions
- Handful spring cabbage
- Small handful chives
- Salt and pepper
- Butter for frying
Method
Start by peeling and then boiling the potatoes until soft. Drain the potatoes and leave them to cool. While they cool, chop the spring onions, cabbage (as much or as little as you like) and chives. I like to put the chive flowers in too if not just for the colour. Mash the potato, mix in all the other ingredients and season. Take small handfuls of the mixture, form into balls and then squash to make them flatter.Heat some butter in a pan until foaming. If you want the outside golden and with the slight saltiness you must use butter, it’s just not the same with oil. I do add a little oil to stop the butter burning but not much. These little cakes like to soak the butter up so have some spare to dot around the pan. Place the cakes in the pan, you may have to do more than one batch, and wait until they are golden until you turn them over. Turn them too early and you might end up with a right mess.
They are done when they are golden brown enough for you. Keep the heat low/medium as you don’t want any burning before browning. A treat for a BBQ but great with anything else too.All That I’m Eating
