A very good reason to overcook your summer potatoes
A very easy recipe for sort of skordalia, plus an IRL event announcement
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I’m currently writing this with a hot lemon and honey on the go, as I’ve returned from our epic road trip to Cornwall with a stinking cold, possibly something to do with camping in the rain with an 18-month old not being totally relaxing… but it was magical nonetheless, and I’ll be sharing some of my recommendations from that trip here very soon for paid subscribers. But first, potatoes!
As madly as I love them, mashed potatoes are not something I’m inclined to make in the summer months, even though the super strong potato flavour of freshly dug potatoes does make for tasty mash. For me, summer potato action is mostly about potato salads made with earthy new and mid season potatoes (Jerseys until the very end of the season, then Cornish mids). The potatoes at this time of year just lend themselves so much more to boiling until tender and serving with a piquant dressing or perky salsa verde - as per this recipe - or cloaked in a mayo or yoghurt sauce, or simply just buttered or licked with olive oil, crunchy sea salt and a spritz of lemon juice or flurry of lemon zest and chives. Or chips. I really bloody love chips at this time of year, chips from the chippy, vinegar-soaked and salt crusted, swaddled in paper and eaten by the sea. Or crisp French fries to dip in caper butter drenched grilled fish, or Greek style chips, hand cut, fried in olive oil and dusted with oregano - as per this recipe from Anastasia Miari’s wonderful Substack Matriarch Eats, where she shares the cooking secrets of grannies all over Europe.
Recently, I was boiling some potatoes for dinner as we were having some friends around for *the chicken*, and simultaneously my daughter was having a meltdown. My attention was turned away from the delicate act of perfectly poaching my spuds for an intended potato salad, towards placating the seemingly urgent but unfathomable whims of my toddler. Reader, I overcooked the potatoes, to the point where they were breaking down. I thought, ‘oh it’s fine, I’ll just steam them off, toss them in oil and roast them until crispy and smashed’ a la this recipe - but no, no, they had gone too far for that.
I was tempted to toss them to the food bin and pop up for more potatoes, but I really hate wasting food, and actually relish these sorts of last minute menu pivots sometimes as they can often result in something new and interesting. And then I remembered skordalia, the Greek sauce/dip of very well cooked potatoes (or soaked bread), mashed until silken smooth with plenty of olive oil, and flavoured with lots of lemon, garlic and sometimes herbs and nuts. I knew I had some nice walnuts in my pantry, as well as ample amounts of lovage still growing in the garden, so I decided there and then to use the mushy potatoes to make a sort of improvised skordalia to go with the chicken, and it was so good I wanted to share it with you here in case you ever find yourself in possession of overcooked potatoes, toddler induced or not. The bonus here is that it’s usually served at room temperature, rather than hot, so I could get it made ahead, as I was planning to with the potato salad that was not meant to be.
Here’s how I did it.
Ingredients:
500g summer potatoes, scrubbed
A handful of walnuts
4 cloves of garlic
the juice and zest of one lemon
about 150-200ml extra virgin olive oil
A handful of lovage leaves (or you could use parsley or leave out the herbs)
salt and pepper
a couple of spring onions, finely sliced
Half any bigger potatoes and then cook them in plenty of boiling salted water with a sprig of mint if you have one, until breaking down and totally mashable. I couldn’t tell you how long this took, as I was distracted by a screaming toddler. But it was clearly quicker than I had anticipated!
One the potatoes are totally crushable, drain them, rinse them in cold water to get rid of excess starch, and allow them to steam off and cool in the colander. In a nutribullet or pestle and mortar, combine 150ml of the olive oil with the walnuts, garlic cloves and half the lemon juice and zest and a pinch of salt. Blitz until very well pureed.
Transfer your potatoes to a mixing bowl and use a masher to mash them until smooth. Then pour in the olive oil/herb/walnut mix and use a wooden spoon to combine it into the potatoes.
Now taste for smoothness/seasoning, and add a bit more lemon juice or olive oil, until you reach the desired texture - you want it loose, spoonable and punchy with lemon. Season to perfection and transfer into a serving bowl, then top with the sliced spring onion and extra lemon zest. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve.
Have you ever made skordalia or eaten it in Greece? Hit me up in the comments and do let me know if you make this.
‘Made By Women’ live event with Samyukta Nair
It’s been a while since I did an IRL event (thank you covid and motherhood), but I’m back! And very excited indeed that on 11th September, I’ll be teaming up with the brilliant, super creative and accomplished restaurateur Samyukta Nair - the amazing entrepreneur and creative force behind many of London’s best-loved restaurants, including Jamavar, Koyn and Socca. I’ll be chatting to Samyukta about my long and winding journey into food writing, how I do what I do, my creative process and how I make recipes, which occasionally go viral - hello wild garlic scones! - as well as my journey from London to the Kent coast, and from The Sunday Times to right here on Substack. There will also be a live q and a with the audience. And there will be food, oh there will be lots of really, really good food!
The night will begin with canapés and champagne, we’re talking Bombay Bustle favourites such as aloo ka tuk, crispy new potatoes ghati spice and tulsi chilli chutney; paneer tikka; chicken seekh gilafi served with spiced yoghurt, malt vinegar, black salt and homemade chaat masala; adipoli prawns seasoned with garlic, curry leaves and fresh turmeric.
Following the conversation, there will be a choice of samosas: papdi chaat served with wheat crisp, sev and mint chutney or bohri lamb with garlic and chilli chutney. To follow, paneer butter masala; malabar lamb curry; urlai roast, dabba dal, basmati rice and assorted breads. To finish will come jalebi cheesecake finished with saffron caviar, gram flour and malai.
I’m so looking forward to getting back out there, though I must admit, I am feeling a bit nervous and I would just love so much to see your friendly faces and answer some of your questions face to face. So if you fancy it, come and support and join the fun, it would be so great to see you. Linking here for tickets.
And on the subject of community, I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all of you that entered my first recipe writing competition. The competition has now closed, which is just as well as I’ve been bowled over with the lovely entries you guys have sent in, and suffice to say my job of choosing a winner is going to be a very difficult one indeed. I think I might actually have to make these competitions semi-regular, judging from the response. So thank you, thank you, I’m so excited to cook and share the winning recipe soon!
PSA: Substack have recently introduced subscriber referrals. When you use the referral link below or the ‘share’ button on any post, you’ll get credit (i.e. free months) for any new subscribers. You can track reward progress and find out more on my Leaderboard tab.
Have a lovely weekend my friends. x
I pulled up a lovage plant at the beginning of summer, since then I have seen nothing but lovage recipes. I will plant a new one for next year but I will be doing it in a pot, the last one took over. I also planted my first earlies very little late so I am hoping for some end of summer new potatoes.
Bit of a garden brag of a comment, but this is weirdly like you could see into my veg patch... not only do I have a lot of new potatoes left to eat, but I've also managed to grow lovage for the first time so this is definitely going on the menu for the weekend – thank you! ❤️