Calvin Harris ~ I'll Be Thinking 'Bout You
LeAnn Rimes ~ Can't Fight The Moonlight
Bodyrockers ~ Round & Round
Kaiser Chiefs ~ You Can Have It All
JET ~ Black Hearts (On Fire)
Meredith Brooks ~ It Don't Get Better
Jose Carreras ~ Santa Lucia
Guns N' Roses ~ Welcome To The Jungle
Jackson Browne ~ Doctor My Eyes
UB40 ~ Singer Man
Clawfinger ~ Warfair
Meredith Brooks ~ Bitch
Cyndi Lauper ~ True Colours
QOTSA ~ In My Head
Today...today is a good day. I have just finished a phone call with one of my consultants who was able to pass along some good news for a change. I had some brutal tests recently and the results have come back...clear...wehooooooo. *doing happy dance around the desk*. Please forgive me but I am a little relieved and somewhat giddy. So please raise a glass, a bread stick or a carrot stick to my continued good health news and celebrate with me for a brief moment...*bowing* thank you.
I cannot believe it is Wednesday already and I apologise for not posting since Sunday but it's been all hospital appointments and catching up with old friends so far. But today I have managed to find some time to make something other than buckwheat pancake breakfasts and noodle soups/salads for lunch. I have had a strange craving for olives since Saturday and I wanted something a little springlike for my evening meal today. What is more spring like then the humble new potato? I don't eat a lot of white potatoes and I have recently lost my love of the sweet kind. But I do enjoy new potatoes and I am most definitely a skins on kinda gal. When I found this recipe for a crispy new potato bake that included olives in its list of ingredients...well I was sold. I had to make one adaption by using apple cyder vinegar in place of white wine vinegar but otherwise I made the recipe as it was created. And yes I did tremble at the use of 6 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil but when recipe testing I tend to use the suggested amount and then make adaptions to the recipe for the next time I make it...if I make it again. I'll have my serving as the main part of my meal and then serve it with a good portion of steamed green veggies...then maybe with a good salad the next day. I'm hoping I can freeze a serving and then I'll give a serving to my Mum to test when she visits later. The recipe makes four servings....very generous servings in my opinion.
It is easy to make as the only effort is the boiling of the potatoes for 12 minutes before adding everything together. I just brought my pan to a boil and got the potatoes going then went off and enjoyed my breakfast...no stresses here. lol. However the only problem I had was the lightly crushing of the potatoes. I used Charlotte potatoes and the recipes asks for Jersey Royals which are a little more soft when cooked. And because of this my potatoes didn't stick to each other in the baking process but I still ended up with a great dish. I would definitely used a fraction of the oil next time. The olives and capers gave the dish an edge which I liked. The thyme and wholesome new potatoes gave it an earthiness and incredible savoury hit. A crispy potato was definitely a good description for this recipe. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this recipe because I usually prefer my new potatoes steamed with no additions...well back in the vegetarian days I liked a little (ahem!) salad cream with them. I still crave that combination..lol. But this dish was good for a High Days and Holidays dish...but as I am celebrating today...it counts.
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| Crispy New Potato Bake |
Crispy New Potato Bake Serves 4 generously
1 kg Jersey Royal new potatoes
handful of capers
2 handfuls stoned black olives
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar (I used apple cyder vinegar)
Heat the oven 240'C/425'F/GM 9 and line a swiss roll type baking sheet with parchment paper being sure to leave a generous edge overlapping the sides. Set to one side.
Boil the potatoes whole for a full 12 minutes and then remove from the water and halve and put them straight into a large bowl. Add in the thyme, olives and capers and generously grate black peppercorns over. Drizzle 4 tbsp of the oil over and then stir to evenly distribute and lightly crush the potatoes as your stir.
Pour the potatoes into the prepared tin and press them down evenly. Mix the remaining two tbsps of oil and the vinegar together until emulsified and then drizzle over the potato mix. Place in the hot oven and bake for 40 minutes or until they are golden brown. (I removed mine at the 30 minute mark) Serve...
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| Hot out of the oven...so aromatic. Gratuitous foodie shot... |
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that your week has begun well....
~Red~
NB: This is not my recipe and therefore I take no credit for it whatsoever. It was posted by Anon but I would be happy to amend this posting and credit where it is due. rocketandroses@aol.com ~R~
