Boulangere Potatoes

 

This is one of my favourite ways of cooking potatoes which, judging by the name, clearly originates from France and has something to do with French bakeries. In my ignorance, I have never been entirely sure exactly where the name comes from so, before sharing this recipe I tried to find out about the origin of boulangere potatoes so I could include some interesting facts in my post.

However (not unsurprisingly) there seems to be conflicting views. Some sources claim that the name relates to how the dish is cooked in a similar way to a baguette: slowly in the oven until it is brown and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Some state that it comes from the way the baker's wife would cook her potatoes once her husband had switched off the bread ovens for the day and there seem to be lots of tales of bakers cooking dishes of potatoes, onions and chicken stock in their ovens that had been brought by local people who didn't have ovens of their own. This final version conjures up such a lovely picture that it's the one I'm inclined to believe.

Wherever the idea came from, I do know that this is a delicious way to cook potatoes. Boulangere potates are very similar to their creamy cousins, dauphinoise potatoes, but for me this method is much more interesting and, as they are cooked in chicken stock and not double cream, they have more flavour and fewer calories - which is always a bonus as far as I'm concerned!

This is not a potato dish to cook when you are in a hurry! Without the aid of a food processor with a slicing blade, or a good hand-held slicer, the preparation can take a good half to three quarters of an hour and then there is a further one and a half hours baking on top of that. When time is not an issue, though, they make a tasty side dish to have with chicken or roast meat.

Boulangere Potatoes

Ingredients:

1kg floury potatoes

2 medium onions

1tsp thyme leaves, chopped

1tsp rosemary leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper

300ml chicken stock

1tbsp butter plus extra for greasing

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes and onions and slice them very thinly. As mentioned above, a food processor or hand-held slicer can make this job easier but a knife will do the job albeit at a slower pace.

2. Use some of the butter to grease an ovenproof dish and start to layer the ingredients by placing a layer of potato in the dish, followed by a layer of onion. Sprinkle some of the herbs over and season with salt and pepper then start layering again with potato, onion and so on until all the ingredients have been used up. Finish with a layer of potato on the top.

3. Once all the layers are complete press down on the top of the dish with your flat hand to push the layers together. Pour the chicken stock over the potatoes and dot the top with the butter.

4. Cover with foil and place in a pre-heated oven at 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 for 1 hour then remove the foil and cook for a further 30 minutes. Remove from the oven when the top is golden and the potatoes are soft.

Sesame Soba Noodles

My daughter will be going back to Uni at the weekend and won't be home again until the summer. I will miss her but the house will be so much quieter - especially at lunchtimes! 

When I'm busy I'm happy to grab a quick lunch on the hoof but for my daughter, lunch has to be interesting and varied and is something to take a bit of time over. Personally I think she's got too much time on her hands but she maintains that lunch is just as important as any other meal of the day and I have to say that you can't argue with that can you? I do think that we overlook, and, dare I say, skip lunch too often, usually because of the demands of our busy lives. 

A couple of months ago, I posted about lunch for 1 week using flour tortillas but thought I'd post another favourite lunchtime recipe - Sesame Soba Noodles. It's a favourite due to the fact that it's eaten cold so can be prepared the evening before, stored in the fridge in a plastic container overnight and then popped in my bag to be eaten wherever and whenever the next day. If you do this though, don't forget to pack a fork or some chopsticks as well - this is NOT finger food! 

This recipe produces a light meat-free lunch full of Asian flavours but the recipe is really flexible (see notes below). Soba noodles are made using buckwheat flour but the brand I used also contained wheat flour so if you're on a gluten-free diet check the packet first.

Sesame Soba Noodles

Notes: I use soba noodles in this recipe for no other reason than they have a slippery texture that means they don't stick together as much as other noodles if left to chill in the fridge overnight. Other types of noodles would be just as nice but may need a bit more dressing, especially the thicker ones.

The ingredients are variable - I've included the ingredients that I used the day I took the photographs but small sticks of carrot, thinly sliced mange-tout or small sticks of leek are lovely too. For a more substantial lunch, chicken or prawns could be added - just use your imagination.

Serves 2-3 depending upon your appetite

Ingredients:

150g soba noodles

½ red chilli - deseeded

2cm piece of ginger

1tbsp coriander leaves

6 spring onions

1 stick celery

1tbsp sesame oil

1tbsp white rice vinegar

1tbsp soy sauce
1tsp sesame seeds

Method:
1.Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the noodles. Cook for 2 minutes (or according to the instructions) then drain and leave to cool.

2. Finely chop the chilli, ginger and coriander leaves, slice the spring onions and cut the celery into matchsticks. Mix into the noodles.

3. Combine the sesame oil, vinegar and soy sauce together and pour over the noodles. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Amaretti Biscuits - guilt free and moreish

I can't decide what it is that I love the most about amaretti biscuits (cookies). It could be the way they melt in my mouth or it might be the fact that they are gluten free, have no added fat and are packed with the goodness of almonds or maybe it's that they are just so easy to make and I can whip up a batch in no time at all. Whatever it is I cannot resist them!

These little almond biscuits are Italian in origin, have an intense almond flavour and are crisp and dry so they can be dipped into coffee or (even better) sweet wine. They are traditionally flavoured with amaretto which is an almond liqueur and are usually sold in delis and specialist food stores. The most famous brand in the UK is Lazzaroni, who started manufacturing their Amaretti di Saronno biscuits back in the 19th century. 

Since I discovered just how bloomin' easy it is to make these dainty little biscuits I've stopped buying them and whenever I fancy a sweet (but fairly guilt-free) treat, I reach for the ground almonds, sugar, eggs and almond extract knowing that in 45 minutes I'll be tucking into them.

Don't keep them all to yourself though! Share the love and tie some homemade amaretti biscuits up neatly in a clear cellophane bag and give them to someone special as a fabulous foodie pressie.  

Amaretti Biscuits

Notes: While amaretti biscuits are traditionally made with an alcoholic amaretto liqueur, I like to keep mine as guilt-free as possible so I use almond extract in place of amaretto which results in a milder flavour. If you would like to use amaretto, replace the almond extract with 2tbsp of amaretto.

These biscuits have a crisp exterior and a chewy centre when they are eaten soon after they have been baked. They will become crisper after a day or so. For a softer biscuit, reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes.

I use my food processor for this recipe which makes the mixing process really quick but if you don't have a food processor, a bowl, a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease will do just as well.

Makes 30 biscuits.

Ingredients:
275g ground almonds
275g caster sugar

½tsp vanilla extract

1tsp almond extract

3 egg whites

extra sugar for sprinkling

Method:

1. Put the almonds and sugar into a food processor with a chopper blade and blend for a few seconds until well mixed.

 2. Add the vanilla and almond extract and blend again to combine.

3. Add the egg whites one at a time and blend until the dough is smooth.

4. Cover a baking tray with parchment / greaseproof paper and place teaspoons of the mixture onto the tray. Sprinkle with the extra sugar.

5. Place in a preheated oven 150°C / 300°F / Gas Mark 2 for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden. Remove immediately from the parchment paper and place on a wire rack to cool.

6. Store in an airtight container.

Inspired by Simply Recipes