The Cottage Smallholder

My mother used to reheat yesterday’s mashed potato with milk, in a saucepan, very gently. This wasn’t good – it had a wishy-washy taste. Up until two weeks ago we made potato cakes if we had some left-over mash knocking about in the fridge and were feeling galvanised. More often than not, the bowl would be pressed into a dark area of the fridge where food mysteriously vanishes until it is exhumed days later to make room for something fresh.

One lazy day last week, I opened the fridge and found a decent sized bowl of cold creamed mash that had been made by Danny (see Tricks and tips below). I decided to experiment and bake it. It turned out really well, with an all over golden crust holding soft, light potato. We cut it like a cake. I was amazed at how good it was but, having assured a querulous Danny that this was a Traditional English Country Recipe, couldn’t really express my surprise.

Danny is very keen on his spuds. They have to be just right or there is a danger of the meal being ruined. He peered at the dish suspiciously, querying the oven temperature,
“Anything over 180c will have killed the spuds.”
It was lucky that he was holed up in the Rat Room when I set the oven temperature to 200c (fan) and tossed the chilly lump into the dish.

He loved it and that says it all. A quick, easy, delicious alternative to potato cakes if you are in a hurry.

Giant potato croquette recipe

Pre heat the oven to 200c (180c fan)

Ingredients:

• Cold creamed (mashed potato with cream) – 2 large portions
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Method:

1. Coat a shallow ovenproof dish with a little olive oil.
2. Pop the cold mashed potato into the dish and fork over the surface.
3. Brush the top with a tablespoonful of olive oil.
4. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Tips and Tricks:

• Danny always adds cream and butter to his mashed potato. He also adds ground white pepper and a little salt. All these ingredients probably made an enormous difference to the success of this dish.