Brad’s Perfect Potatoes

  • Peel some Maris Piper potatoes
  • Cut them into roughly equal sizes, I go approximately for table tennis ball size
  • Cover them in salted water and boil until they start to look a bit soft, and just start to slightly break up – probably takes a bit longer than you think..
  • When they are done drain them and let them steam dry – probably 10 minutes or more
  • Next, shake them quite vigorously in the pan to smash the edges up, this will help them to crisp.
  • Then shake in some plain flour so they are coated all over
  • Add some cracked black pepper and sea salt, again shake around so they are evenly coated – (you can see from the pepper how well coated they are)
  • Repeat flour, salt and pepper process if it looks like most of the seasoning has shaken off and you don’t think they are quite covered enough.
  • Heat some oil in a quite hot oven – depending on what else you have in theren but something in the 180 degree Celsius area if you can.
  • The oil you use is up to you, remember goose fat and beef dripping are fine but will change the flavour of the potato. I use olive oil.
  • When the oil is piping hot – this will take at least 10 minutes – take out and place potatoes on.
  • This bit is crucial – there should be space between each potato – none of them touching each other, I put mine in neat straight lines with a gap between each
  • Back in the oven – leave for 15 minutes – then take out and turn each potato individually.
  • Repeat the turning every 10 minutes 2 or 3 times until they look like below

Enjoy!

Lizzie’s Christmas Morning breakfast waffles

Ingredients : (Makes 4-5 waffles in a 7″ waffle maker)

  • 1 1/2 cups (340g) of lukewarm milk
  • 6 tbsp (85g) melted vegan butter
  • 2 to 3 tbsp of maple syrup
  • 3/4 tsp of sea salt
  • 2 cups (240g) of all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp of instant yeast
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)

Method

  • Combine your lukewarm milk and melted butter together, and get it to a lukewarm temp before adding in the instant yeast. Mix together and let it sit for a couple of min.
  • Add in your flour, salt and vanilla extract, mix together until all combined and it has formed a nice batter (don’t worry if it’s not totally smooth!)
  • Cover with a clean tea towel and place in a warm spot in your house to let it rise for 1 hour (for us it’s in our utility cupboard! I’ve heard there’s methods to proof in your oven with just the oven light turned on or using a bowl of boiling water at the bottom of your turned off oven.. worth exploring if your kitchen is too cold!)
  • (If you’re in a super rush, you can add 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder to the batter after 30-40min. This works perfectly well, you just won’t get as much of that yeasty flavour
    If you have more time and want to prep this ahead, let it rise for an hour, then place in the fridge overnight and make the waffles in the morning!
    If not, just follow the recipe and make them after a 1 hour rise
  • Preheat your waffle iron, if needed oil it up lightly so it doesn’t stick, then follow your waffle iron’s manufacturer’s instructions. They generally take around 5 min to get golden and crispy on the outside but this will depend on your waffle maker and it’s settings!
  • Eat immediately with maple syrup, vegan butter or vegan yoghurt, fruits like bananas and berries, peanut butter or almond butter, perhaps jam, perhaps not all at the same time..!