Poppy O'Toole's posh potatoes!
Who better to show us how to pimp up our own spuds at home than the potato Queen herself, Poppy O’Toole! She’s giving three classics a makeover with her twist on roast potatoes, baked potatoes and chips.
Lemon roasties with feta dressing
Serves: 2
Ingredients
For the potatoes: 3 tbsp vegetable oil 3 Maris Piper potatoes, skin on and sliced into 2cm rounds1 tbsp salt, for the cooking water, plus extra to seasonJuice of 1 lemon100ml chicken stock 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp fine semolina 2 garlic cloves, crushed Pinch of black pepper
For the feta dressing: 100g feta, broken into piecesSqueeze of lemon Pinch of flakey salt Pinch of cracked black pepper 100ml olive oil
To garnish: A little extra feta, crumbledLemon zest
Method
1. To make the potatoes, preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan.
2. Spoon the vegetable oil into a baking tray large enough to fit the potato slices in a single layer and put this in the oven to get hot.
3. Place the potatoes in a pan and just cover with water. Add the salt and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender.
4. Drain the potatoes in a colander, suspend the colander in the potato pan, and cover with a clean tea towel for 10 minutes, until the potatoes have steamed off and dried out a bit. Then give the potatoes a toss in the colander, so that they break down a little on the sides.
5. Remove the hot baking tray from the oven and tip in the tatties. Give them a stir to coat them in the oil, then roast for 30 minutes, until part-cooked
6. While the potatoes roast, mix the lemon juice, chicken stock, oregano, semolina and garlic in a small bowl.
7. Remove the potatoes from the oven and turn the heat up to 220C/200C fan.
8. Pour the lemony liquid over the potatoes and give them a mix, then return them to the oven for a further 30 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.
9. To make the feta dressing, put the feta, lemon, salt and pepper in a mini-processor if you have one. Otherwise, put them in a small bowl and use a whisk. Blend or whisk until just getting smooth. Trickle in the olive oil, mixing continuously as you go, until you’re left with a creamy, thick dressing. (You are looking for a hummus-like consistency, and you may not need all the oil. Add a little cream cheese or yoghurt to bind if needed.)
10. Spread a layer of the feta mix onto your dish, place the potatoes on top, and garnish with extra crumbled feta and lemon zest.
Star crossed garlic jackets
Serves: 2
Ingredients
2 Maris Pipers 8 cloves of garlic, confit or roasted100g cream cheeseSplash of confit garlic oil (or a splash of olive oil) 50g melted butterSmall handful of parsley leavesSalt and pepper to season
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan.
2. Cover the potatoes in oil and salt, and place on a rack in the centre of the oven. Cook for around 45 minutes, dependent on the size of the spud.
3. Squeeze out 3 cloves of confit garlic and mix with the cream cheese and seasoning, and use enough of the garlic oil to bind the mix into a thick creamy consistency.
4. Melt your butter, squeeze out the rest of the confit garlic, and add to the butter along with the parsley.
5. Remove the potatoes and slice each into a six point star, taking care not to cut all the way through. Fill the slits with the cheese mixture.
6. Douse the potatoes in garlic butter and parsley, and add an extra sprinkle of salt. Put them back into the oven for 10 minutes to get extra crispy.
Beef fat fried chunky chips
Serves: 2
Ingredients
4 large red skinned potatoes Enough beef fat to fry in, covering the base of your pan, about an inch deepTable salt, for salting the waterRock salt
Method
1. Top and tail the potatoes and then cut down each side of the potato until it is reasonably square. Peel off any skin that is left. Cut into rectangular chips, 2cm wide.
2. Put the potatoes into a pan and cover with cold water. Season heavily with table salt, and bring to the boil. Cook for 7 minutes.
3. Drain the spuds and leave them to cool/steam dry on a rack over a tray for 5-10 minutes. Then place a tea towel over them, and leave them until they are cool to the touch.
4. Add the fat into a saucepan, and heat to 130C (check the temperature with a thermometer). Fry the chips in batches, until they have a solid outside, without colouring. Remove from the pan carefully and place them back on the rack to cool.
5. Once they are completely cooled down (use a fridge if necessary), heat the fat to 180C, and re-fry the chips until they are completely golden. Sprinkle with plenty of salt and serve.