Perfect potato wedges

This is just a quick post to show you how to make some really good wedges to go with every meal. They are  soft inside even without parboiling, and really crunchy with tons of flavour. I made some to go with chicken drumsticks the other night, mm mm (perfect with BBQ sauce too!)

Serves 1

- olive oil

- 1 baking potato

- schwartz season-all spice (salt, paprika, pepper, garlic etc.)

- mixed herbs

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Drizzle some oil in a baking tray and place in the oven to heat.

3. Meanwhile, cut the potato into wedge shapes - fairly thin. (Do this by cutting the potato in half lengthways, then in half again, and keep doing this with each part until you get a number of wedges!)

4. Take out the oiled try, and place the potato wedges on, turning over so coated in the oil.

5. Cover with a sprinkled of season-all or some salt, pepper, paprika etc. followed by some dried mixed herbs.

6. Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes, or until golden brown, crisp and soft in the middle!

Enjoy :)

Crunchy potato wedges

Everytime I make wedges I usually just slice the potato, add some oil and seasoning and bake in the oven. Don't get me wrong, they are delicious like that but I stepped it up a whole new yummy-level by adding breadcrumbs and fresh parsley. We had these delicious crunchy wedges with the beef burgers (see previous post for recipe). They were full of texture and flavour, perfect!

Serves 2
- 2-3 large baking potatoes, sliced into wedge shapes
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper
- generous amount of paprika
- 1 wholemeal crust of bread, crumbled into crumbs
- handful of fresh parsley, chopped


1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Drizzle some of the oil into a deep baking tray and place in oven to heat up.
2. Remove the tray from the oven, and lay the wedges in the oil. Drizzle with the remaining oil. Season with salt & pepper, and sprinkle with paprika.
3. Coat the wedges in the breadcrumbs and parsley. Toss the tray until all combined.
4. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through, and the breadcrumbs are crisp!

Enjoy :)

Marinated lamb with tomatoes and mozzarella

I had no idea what to do with these lamb steaks for dinner - after lots of thought I decided to just improvise and make a simple marinade and then roast in the oven with mozzarella on top. It was lovely; I served it with the bacon and rosemary potato rosti (check this post!) and savoy cabbage - it was a deliciously satisfying meal! The lamb was full of flavour and it was very simple to do.

Ingredients:
- Lamb steaks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp very lazy garlic in white wine vinegar (or just garlic granules)
- handful of fresh or dried rosemary (I used dried)
- salt & pepper
- cherry tomatoes
- mozzarella, sliced

1. Pour the olive oil and balsamic into a dish, and spoon in the garlic.
2. Rub the lamb steaks in until they are covered with the oil and vinegar.
3. Sprinkle lots of rosemary and turn the steaks over until they are covered with the herbs.
4. Seasoned and cut up cherry tomatoes, placing them around the steaks. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge until cooking.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees/gas mark 5 and bake in the oven covered with foil (not cling film!) for about 15-30 minutes depending on how rare you like your meat. Halfway through this cooking time, place the mozzarella slices on the lamb so it has time to melt.

Enjoy :)

The perfect baked potato

Why ruin a perfectly simple jacket potato by shoving it in the microwave for 10 minutes and making it soggy!? For some reason I am far better at using the hob or the oven than a microwave anyway, since every time I use the microwave for my porridge it ends up exploding all down the side of the bowl, and in the case of the famous jacket potato - no matter what I do, whenever I bake it in the microwave the skin wrinkles and goes tough. Although I like jacket potatoes when my mum bakes them in the microwave, I think it's safe to say that everyone loves a fluffy potato with a crisp, flavoursome skin. And here is how...

You will need a jacket potato, olive oil, salt and any other seasoning you like.
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees/gas mark 6. Prick the potato with a fork or knife (this is very important - my dad once caused a potato explosion in the oven for not doing this...). Place the potato on a baking tray and brush with olive oil so the whole skin is coated. Sprinkle with salt and any other seasoning (like pepper, season all or fresh or dried herbs), and turn so that the whole potato is covered with seasoning. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes - 2 hours. Turn halfway through cooking. The potato will be done when it looks brown in colour and crisp - stick a knife in the potato to check it is cooked through. Don't forget to extend the time if you are baking lots of potatoes at once or if it is particularly large!

Jacket potato toppings:
- Butter
- Any cheese
- Pesto
- Soured cream and chives
- Tuna mayo
- Egg mayo
- Sweetcorn
- Bacon and leek
- Fried onion and mushrooms
- Baked beans
- Coleslaw
- Chilli
- Cottage cheese
- Any flavoured spread like Philadelphia
- Chicken and garlic mayo

You can obviously mix and match any of these toppings to get some delicious flavours
Some of my favourites are:
- Green pesto and cheddar
- Brie and bacon
- Tuna mayo and mozzarella
- Sweetcorn, mushrooms with soured cream and chives
- The classic cheese and beans!

Enjoy :)