Garden Alchemy :: Basa Potato Cakes with Sweet Pepper Sauce

Maybe it's because I was born and raised in the city, that I get stupidly excited when a shrivelled old potato that started to sprout angry purple roots in the vegetable rack can give me back a whole colander full; if I just dig a little hole, bury the potato and water it every so often...Don't you think it's amazing. Or is it just me?

Or that a green vine with cute curling tendrils and golden flowers would emerge when I planted the seeds, saved from a butternut squash that we'd eaten.  Even when the flowers dropped off and I had to take off some of the leaves and prop it up on Bababozorgs old walking stick and the sunflower stalk and follow wise advice from the lovely Jane, to give it a good talking to...Gently but firmly...And guess what...It produced more flowers and they are still in tact. There's even a cute little bulbous protrusion on one of them. MY FIRST SQUASH...Can you see it?

Yesterday the wind blew most of the leaves off the plum tree and wafted the scent of the sweet peas and the honeysuckle around the garden. It was mild and balmy and smelt like spring all over again. A robin landed on the fork handle and I heard what I thought was someone cutting branches with an electric saw to fill up their woodpile. The buzzing got louder and an enormous bumble bee buzzed by my ear. The robin lingered to keep me company. Or probably just waiting for fresh worms, whilst I weeded the vegetable plot and dug up the potatoes and found the squirrels treasure trove of cobnuts. I even sneaked a peek at the baby carrots...They are growing with the fruit bushes in another bed but I'll leave them in the nursery to get a little bigger. 

While digging I remembered the piece of garden that was mine when I was seven. How I planted a potato and maize seeds, watering them with a can that was almost as big as I was. I checked them every single day until I couldn't wait any longer and impatiently dug up those minuscule pearls. Washed them and put them into my tiny silver toy saucepan with the shiny red lid and begged granddad to let me cook them on the stove... It's still just as magical to me today...

This is how I used some of my lovley homegrown potatoes... 

Basa potato cakes with sweet pepper sauce

Ingredients to make two small or one large cake each for two people: 
( I made two small and one large)

• One basa or any other fish fillet. I like basa because it's creamy and milky in flavour, melts in your mouth and has few bones. Also because it's a not too fishy, fish that I feed Ahmad, who likes fish in theory, but not in practice.(About 120g for the two)
• Two large potato (about 360-400g) Basically about three times as much potato as fish.You will need a floury not waxy potato that mashes well. A good all rounder is Morris Piper.
• A little milk of any kind to poach the fish and then add to the potatoes
• Sea salt and black pepper
• A small piece of horseradish root
• A bay leaf
• Fresh herbs or leaves if you have any. I used chives, parsley, or spinach would be good too.
• A little flour of choice, I used chick pea (gram/garbanzo bean) flour

Optional for a crumb coating:

• Bread crumbs
• An egg

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes,and cut into small pieces. The smaller the better as they will cook quicker.
2. Place them in a saucepan. Cover them with cold water. Not too much, just enough to cover. Season and put them on the hob. 
3. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until tender enough to mash. 
4. Whilst the potatoes are cooking place the fish into a shallow pan if you have one. A small frying pan is perfect for this. Cover with a little milk, season and then poach the fish until tender. 
5. Alternatively, as I've done may like to cook the fish on a plate on top of the pan whilst the potatoes are cooking.
6. Drain the potatoes when cooked and place them into a bowl. 
7. Remove the cooked fish and reserve to cool down a little for later.
8. Mash the potatoes adding some of the milk (remembering to remove the bay leaf)and beat it really well so that there aren't any lumps. Don't make the mash too runny as it will be difficult to form the fish cakes. If it is too soft you can add a little of the flour to the mixture. 
9. Flake in the fish and roughly mix. Don't mash it up too much it's good to keep a little texture. Grate in a little of the horseradish root for heat.
10. Chop any herbs or chives and then add to the mixture. As all the ingredients are cooked you may like to check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. 
11. Divide the mixture into as many cakes as you want. I am sometimes a bit overgenerous with sizes. Form each one into a flat cake. Dust with a little flour then place on a plate lined with baking parchment. If making lots I would layer them up with paper in between each layer. Put in the fridge to chill for a little while before cooking.
12. If using crumbs. Prepare your crumbs. Beat the egg and pour onto a plate. Then dip the floured cakes into egg and then crumb mixture. Then chill
13. Finally pour a little oil into a frying pan and cook the cakes for a few minutes on each side until golden brown and crunchy. Leave on each side at least two minutes before turning as they will break up.

Sweet Pepper sauce. 

Ingredients:

• Four small or two medium sized peppers. About 200-220g. Choose red, yellow or orange peppers for a sweet sauce. Green ones are not as ripe and consequently not as sweet. They have a slightly bitter taste.
• Tomato puree
• One banana shallot
• Two cloves of garlic
• Sea salt and fresh black pepper
• A little oil of choice. I used olive oil

Method:

1. Peel the shallot and slice finely. Pour a little oil into a frying pan and cook until tender.
2. Peel and crush or finely chop the garlic, add to the pan and cook.
3. Wash, deseed and finely chop the peppers and add to the pan. Spoon in some tomato puree and cook until tender. You make like to add a little hot water or stock. If making to serve with the fish cakes, you could use a little of the potato water.
4. The sauce is ready when all the ingredients are soft and unctuous. You can blend it to a smooth sauce or keep it rustic as I did. 

This is a sweet sauce but you can soon pep it up with by adding either fresh or dried chillies when cooking. It works well with the crunchy fish cakes and other seasonal vegetables, and would be just as good with pasta. 

... I must look for that little pan...sure I saw it when we were unpacking...
dx

Days like these...Indian Summer, Oak smoked Peppered Mackerel Salad with Blackcurrant Syrup and Toasted Pumkin Seed Oil Dressing...

The weather is weird. Spring was awesome, summer nothing to write home about, but now that autumn's here it feels like spring again. Chilly mornings but bright dry days.  We had a funky super moon. I came down at 2am one night this week and thought someone had left an outdoor light on. It was as though magical fairy lanterns were illuminating the garden. I hung around a bit, then Ahmad came down and we stayed to watch a lunar eclipse. It gradually darkened until we could just see a baby finger nail moon...Amazing. 

So we've been making hay, trying to catch up on outdoor jobs. Painting the windows and shed. Sorting out overgrown weedy beds and generally getting the outside ready for winter. 

I started making pies so that I could use my little vintage pie funnel. I made a chicken and mushroom one and the pastry was truly crispy and delicious...No soggy bottom. So the funnel did work, but it does make it harder to cut nicely shaped slices of pie. I want to make some more of these pasties next.

And I want to show you some my other vintage kitchen finds too. On a rainy summer weekend we went with Hannah to the Aardvark Bookery. It's a bookshop, cafe and shop in an old barn. It's an unusual place, the antithesis of my favourite organised comfy Booth's. It's very higgeldy piggedly and disorganised. (You can see in the photos.) There are piles of books everywhere and it's almost impossible to find what you're looking for. It has a cosy cafe wrapped around a wood burning stove and like Booths there are old chairs and sofas to sit on although they do look a little bit more like ones that someone left out in the rain. But they do the job, and it has a nice busy atmosphere. There was a brocante...French flea market and a band playing on the day that we went. The French market was amazing and very cheap I picked up two more old ladles to go with the ones one in the kitchen for just a few pounds each. Perfect for soup. 

Did you see my blender on the window sill. I'm so pleased with it. It only cost  £6 for an old glass and stainless steel Cordon Bleu liquidiser in the local village charity shop. It's P.A.T tested and in good working order. Think how quickly I'll be able to make all those blended smooth soups like Borscht or butternut squash now. Oh and breakfast smoothies...I can't wait. 

Since Hannah first requested the espresso coffee cake I made another. It's very good but as the icing is made purely from butter, icing sugar and cocoa, I can't make it too often. But my baking mojo is definitely coming back. 

I've almost finished Ahmad's sweater. I just got a bit stuck at the wrap and turns and had to watch the video linked to here to help remind me how to do them. (please ignore any adverts that come up first)

Learning how to do it I got a bit side tracked. I found the lovely Staci Perry's videos. They are so clear and easy to understand  and I swear I must have spent at least two hours Sunday evening watching them. Probably even four. She seems such a nice fun person and has that cute little accent like Drew Barrymore. 

Oh and did you see the quilt. I found that on The Purl Bee after browsing at the pinterest page over here. I think it would look cool made from old vintage shirts. 

I even managed to do a bit of reading. Another Louise Penney, Inspector Gamache novel. A bit of comfort reading. I do still get annoyed at her use of triple or quadruple metaphors to explain one thing. But I love reading about Quebec and the snow and her descriptions of tasty food eaten by blazing fires in homely delis or friendly bookshops. Despite the murder and mayhem it all seems so cosy. 

Well best get on with my knitting. It's Ahmad's birthday tomorrow and if I manage to finish his sweater it would make a cool extra gift...

Oak smoked Peppered Mackerel Salad with Blackcurrant Syrup and Toasted Pumpkin Seed Oil Dressing

Ingredients for two people:

• Two fillets of smoke mackerel
• One medium sized plum tomato
• Half a medium sized red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• Ten or so radishes, topped, tailed and sliced finely.
• A similar number of green olives
• A handful of pomegranate seeds (about half a cup)
• Two boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
• Half a yellow bell pepper, deseeded and finely sliced
• A small red chilli sliced finely

Dressing:

• Blackcurrant or any other sweet/sour/fruity syrup. Blackberry, pomegranate or cranberry would be good examples. I make my syrup with the blackcurrants plus a sweetener usually either honey or maple syrup. Adjust to your taste. I like it quite sour. Once cleaned and de-stalked I cook them in a saucepan until the liquid reduces. I then strain the liquid to make a clear syrup. I love this for salad dressings or with pancakes, breakfast cereal, ice cream etc.
• Toasted pumpkin seed oil.

Method:

1. Wash and prepare all the fruit and vegetables.
2. Break the leaves off the lettuce and place in a serving dish.
3. Add the sliced tomatoes,bell pepper, radish and olives.
4. Toss and then top with the sliced onions. Scatter over the pomegranate seeds and chopped chilli. 
5. Finally remove the skin from the fish, break it up into largish chunks and place on top of the salad along with the egg quarters. 
6. Serve the salad and then trickle with the dressing. 

I love the combination of the salty/peppery fish with the cool crunchy radish and lettuce, the heat of chilli and sweet/sour nutty flavoured dressing. This works perfectly for me in the same way that sweet sour plum sauce works with unctuous duck but you may like to use and alternative dressing. 

n.b. COOKS NOTE...I had a mini blackcurrant syrup eruption after a bottle that I stored in a slightly warm cupboard exploded! I think it must have fermented. It's best kept in the fridge...

Bye for now,
debx