Mustardy potato salad

A simple way to elevate an ordinary potato salad. It’s way better value and far more tasty than buying a tub too. The dressing only takes a couple of minutes to mix up and makes the salad really interesting and, dare I say, a bit special. Lovely with quiche and salad - a classic weekend lunch combo in our house.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 1kg new potatoes, halved

• 4 spring onions

• 150ml Greek yoghurt

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1-2 tbsp chives, chopped

• 1-2 tbsp parsley, chopped

• Pinch of sea salt

• A good grind of black pepper

Method

• Boil the potatoes for around 15 minutes until soft all the way through. I always check mine with a knife before draining.

• Mix the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.

• Allow the potatoes to cool completely, or at least a bit before mixing them with the dressing.

Classic leek & potato soup

A comforting classic while the weather is still a little chilly and even one the kids will eat! I haven’t messed about with the recipe too much, just a little garlic, parsley, and lemon to build flavour.

Leeks are full of antioxidants, which are molecules that prevent cellular damage from free radicals that either come from the environment, food, or those that are generated naturally in our bodies. Leeks are particularly high in the antioxidant quercetin, a flavonoid compound understood to be anti-inflammatory and may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.

Leeks are also a great source of fibre and prebiotics - undigestible compounds that feed gut microbes. These microbes produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate, acetate, and propionate, reducing gut inflammation, keeping the intestines healthy, and stimulating good gut bacteria to grow. A happy gut reduces the risk of inflammation within the body and, ultimately, the risk of developing chronic disease.

Potatoes can also improve gut health if they are cooked and then cooled before being added to the soup, so you would need to boil them the day before, cool, and refrigerate overnight. Your gut will think it’s worth the effort I promise! Let me explain…

When potatoes are cooked and left to cool, they form resistant starch, which acts as fibre in the gut and a prebiotic in the colon. Resistant starch ferments in the colon and feeds the friendly bacteria in the microbiome, improving gut health. The same goes for pasta and rice - they are much healthier if you cook, cool, and reheat. When pasta, rice, and potatoes are eaten straightaway, they are just providing starch, which is quickly broken down in your digestive system to make glucose = sugar.

(Brown rather than white rice and pasta contain more fiber, so it take a bit longer to digest and contain more nutrients).

ingredients

·      600g new potatoes, chopped

·      1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

·      20g unsalted butter

·      600g or 3 medium leeks, halved and chopped

·      1 large clove garlic, finely grated

·      1250ml chicken bone broth or veg stock

·      1 handful parsley, chopped

·      Juice ½ lemon

·      ½ tsp sea salt

Method

· Boil the potatoes in a large saucepan for around 10 minutes until cooked through, or the day before, and leave to cool in the fridge overnight if possible.

·      Add the olive oil and butter to a sauté or high-sided frying pan.

·      Add the leeks and fry gently for 10-15 minutes until soft (don’t let them brown), then add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.

·      Drain the potatoes and put back into the large saucepan, along with the leeks, pour over the stock and bring to the boil, simmering for 2-3 minutes.

·      Add the parsley and then blitz with a hand blender; I prefer to leave a rough texture, so I don’t do this for long. Also, the potatoes will get gloopy if you over-blend them as they release too much starch.

·      Add a squeeze of lemon and the salt. Stir and serve with toasted sourdough (I get mine from Leeds Bread Coop – proper sour sourdough!).

Leek, potato & white bean stew

Is it a stew, or is it a soup?! Well, I’ve gone with stew, but either way, here’s a nice hearty dish to try out now it’s getting a bit colder. I mean, cheese and potatoes - what’s not to like!? I can even get the kids to eat this with lots of cheddar or parmesan on top. It goes without saying that they pick the kale out though! Eating plenty of potatoes is a great way to feed your gut with prebiotics to encourage diversity in your microbiome. So what you waiting for? Get cooking!

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 25g butter

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1.2kg potatoes, peeled 2cm cubes

• 2 sticks celery, chopped finely

• 2 large leek, halved 1cm slices

• 2 garlic cloves, grated

• ½ stock cube (I use Kallo veggie low salt) + 1l boiling water

• 1 parmesan rind, optional

• 1 x 400g tin cannellini beans (or any you prefer)

• 2 handfuls of chopped kale (tough stalks removed)

• 1 tbsp dijon mustard

• ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 tsp sea salt

• A good grind of black pepper

• A handful of grated extra mature cheddar or parmesan and parsley to serve

Method

• Melt the butter and then add the oil, warming for a minute.

• Fry the potatoes gently for 15 minutes and then add the leeks and celery, cooking for a further 15 minutes.

• Add the garlic, stir well and cook for a further few minutes.

• Add the stock, parmesan rind and cannellini beans, simmering with the lid on for 25 minutes.

• Add the kale and cook for 5 minutes or until soft.

• Next add the mustard , vinegar, salt and black pepper, stirring well.

• Serve in bowls with a big handful of cheddar or parmesan, plus herbs if you’re using them.

• A wedge of warm sourdough and salted butter is also divine with this stew.

tip

• A note about stock - if I’m using a cube then I always increase the recommended amount of water (usually I double it), otherwise you end up tasting the stock cube rather than it being a savoury back note. In this recipe I have kept the stock ratio very low as it would dominate the delicate flavour of the leeks.

Creamy 'chicken' cottage pie

This is an absolute fail safe dinner in our house: everyone will eat it without complaint on any night of the week. If that’s not a winner, I don’t know what is. I’m not a massive fan of the days getting cooler, as I’m more of a summer person, but if there’s one thing I do like is a pie so that’s one reason to be happy about autumn. I made a Quorn fillet version last night, but you could easily switch for chicken if you prefer as the method would be exactly the same. You could also change the vegetables if there are others you like better too: mushrooms, squash, spinach, onion, swede, celeriac.

For a vegan option, use dairy free spread instead of butter and plant milk rather than milk. Oatly would work well as it is quite creamy.

Let me know if you make it!

Ingredients

Serves 4 generously, 5 decent portions, or 6 with extra roasties!

Mash

• 1.5kg potatoes, peeled, chopped & boiled

• 75g unsalted butter

• ¼ tsp table salt

• 5 tbsp milk 

Topping

• 10g parmesan, finely grated

• 50g mature cheddar, grated

Filling

• 30g butter 

• Drizzle of rapeseed oil

• 6 Quorn fillets, 1.5cm slices or/ 4 chicken breasts, diced

• 300g / 3 carrots, sliced

• 250g / 2 leeks, chopped in half and sliced

• 3 tbsp flour

• 650ml semi skimmed milk

• 1/2 vegetable stock cube

• 3/4 tsp sea salt 

• 1 tsp mustard, optional

Method

• First make the mash: drain the potatoes well and then add the butter, mash well and then loosen with the milk. Set aside with the lid on.

• Heat a good lug of rapeseed oil in a large pan and add the Quorn or chicken. Allow to sizzle and brown for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Don’t overcook as both Quorn or chicken will become very dry. Remove and set aside in a bowl.

• Then add a drizzle of rapeseed oil and half the butter to the pan, heat through and add the carrots and leeks. Cook on low for about 15 minutes until soft, but not browned.

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

• Next add the remaining butter to the vegetables, melt and then spoon in the flour. Stir well to coat the vegetables and begin to slowly add the milk about 100ml at a time. Once all the milk has been mixed in add the Quorn or chicken, stock cube and mustard if you’re using it. Cook on low for a further 15 minutes and then add the salt and a good grind of black pepper.

• When the filling is ready, assemble by pouring it into a large ceramic dish (I used 21 x 27cm, but you could probably go to 25 x 30 ish). Next top with mash and sprinkle over the two cheeses evenly.

• Place in the oven for 20 minutes until warmed right through and crispy on top.

• Serve with buttered green veggies.

  Tip

• Red potatoes make the creamiest mash if you can get hold of them, I like to use Desiree, but if you cant find them then white are fine.

• Make the mash a few hours ahead if you want to save time later. You’ll need to warm it through before putting the pie together though, as your filling will already be hot and the two elements won’t cook evenly in the oven if they’re not the same temperature. To do this I just gently warm the mash in the pan, stirring regularly, but you can transfer to a bowl and microwave if you prefer.

Cheesy baked potatoes

The humble baked potato: not usually worthy of a blog post, but these are one of our family faves so I thought I’d share as they’re a sure fire hit. If you’re stuck with what to cook and only have basic ingredients this is a super simple way of turning an ordinary baked pot into something special! (well almost)

Ingredients

• 1 baked potato per person and a couple extra for lunch tomorrow

• The same amount of butter and cheddar cheese that you would normally use for the number of potatoes you’e cooking

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.

• Bake your potatoes as usual; once they’re done, cut in half, scoop out the insides and put in a big bowl ready to mash.

• Put in a teaspoon of butter and a small handful of cheddar for each potato. I didn’t have quite enough cheddar so I used some parmesan as well, but save some cheddar for topping if you can and mash.

• Add any of the following: diced fried onion, roasted red peppers (jarred for ease), sun dried tomatoes, bacon, tuna mayo (think tuna melt), ham or mozzarella, feta - anything you like really, but make sure it’s chopped fairly small.

• Mix up the lot and put it back in the skins, top with grated cheese and put back in the oven for 5-10 mins or until browned on top. If they won’t brown then just flash under the grill for 2 mins.

• Great for lunch with salad or a simple dinner. We ate ours for lunch with a combination of veggie sausages, salad and beans (for the kids).

  Tip

  For a more ‘sophisticated’ option could also try the same method with sweet potato - it’s lovely with mozzarella, basil & roasted red peppers.