There was once a magazine here in the UK called Country Kitchen. As the title hints, it was about good old rustic and unpretentious British food. I know we have Clarissa Dickson Wright, Hugh Fearnley Whittngstall and Nigel Slater doing a great job bringing it down to a more realistic level - such as adapting cooking to busy lifestyles - But I don't often find Jo Public sharing their family classics. There seems to be a heavy reliance on either ready meals or TV chefs ( I might be wrong and would love to hear otherwise!). Sites like Marmiton.com (France ) or cosina casera (Spain) offer some tried-and-tested dishes that are often quick and easy to make. Does anyone know a British equivalent?
I left France 18 years ago and I am sure that the ready-meal /takeaway trends have also contaminated our Gallic friends, hopefully to a lesser extend that we see here in the UK.
Ratty read in the property section of a well-known broadsheet paper that houses without kitchens were going to be the thing in the near future. Now that really scares me.
We really need to save our home cooking!
My parents used to juggle work with family but there was always food ready to be reheated for when my brother and I came home from school. Maybe because fast-food restaurants were almost non-existent and takeaways were unheard of. No ready meals at our table either: they were not only tasteless but also very expensive...
Back to the actual subject of chips, the method I am about to share was from that Country Kitchen magazine. It was a revelation ....
First and foremost, the type of spud : Maris Piper or Cyprus. Sweet potatoes work well too, if you like these.
Pre-heat the deep-fat fryer to 130 degrees Celsius.
Cut the potatoes into chips. Rinse well in cold water and dry thoroughly in a tea-towel.
Sprinkle a generous amount of flour over the chips and mix with your hands until the potatoes are evenly coated.
Cook the chips for 15 minutes. Take them off the heat and leave to cool down. This can be repeated a few more times (it will improve the texture).
Heat the deep- fat fryer to 190 degrees Celsius (if you only have one setting just keep cooking them in stages until brown).
Dip the chips one last time until brown and crispy.
Drain and season.
Enjoy!
I left France 18 years ago and I am sure that the ready-meal /takeaway trends have also contaminated our Gallic friends, hopefully to a lesser extend that we see here in the UK.
Ratty read in the property section of a well-known broadsheet paper that houses without kitchens were going to be the thing in the near future. Now that really scares me.
We really need to save our home cooking!
My parents used to juggle work with family but there was always food ready to be reheated for when my brother and I came home from school. Maybe because fast-food restaurants were almost non-existent and takeaways were unheard of. No ready meals at our table either: they were not only tasteless but also very expensive...
Back to the actual subject of chips, the method I am about to share was from that Country Kitchen magazine. It was a revelation ....
First and foremost, the type of spud : Maris Piper or Cyprus. Sweet potatoes work well too, if you like these.
Pre-heat the deep-fat fryer to 130 degrees Celsius.
Cut the potatoes into chips. Rinse well in cold water and dry thoroughly in a tea-towel.
Sprinkle a generous amount of flour over the chips and mix with your hands until the potatoes are evenly coated.
Cook the chips for 15 minutes. Take them off the heat and leave to cool down. This can be repeated a few more times (it will improve the texture).
Heat the deep- fat fryer to 190 degrees Celsius (if you only have one setting just keep cooking them in stages until brown).
Dip the chips one last time until brown and crispy.
Drain and season.
Enjoy!
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