Recipe - Potato Dumplings

Potatoes have been used in bakery for many decades. Probably even centuries. One of my strongest, and earliest, memories of such a use of the potato was back when I was about 9 years old, and we were studying the world war 2 diet. The whole class was made to try scones (which, by the way, were delicious), and then were made to guess the ingredients. And, you guessed it, they contained potatoes.

This, of course, inspired me to invent the following recipe. Of course, by invent, I do not mean to say that this idea has not been thought of by others, but merely to say that I have come up with the idea using my own experimentation in the kitchen.

These are fantastic in a stew, or as bread rolls in their own right. In fact, these may even work as a pizza base if you put enough flour in! For extra flavour, add some chopped fresh parsley. For even more, add a small pinch of thyme and a crushed juniper berry.

So, Vicky's Potato Dumplings.

2 - 3 medium sized potatoes. (alternatively, 1 large potato, or 5-6 small potatoes.) Any variety will do, but I use tesco value 'tats, which do the job perfectly well.

1 knob of butter

Roughly 1/3 of a 500g bag of self raising flour. This varies entirely on how much mashed potato you use. You may find that you need less, or more. Use your intuition.

Boil up the potatoes until they are very soft. Drain them.
Mash them with a knob of butter. Add a pinch of salt.
Scrape the mashed potato into a mixing bowl and gradually stir in the flour, until you can no longer stir it. At this point knead in more flour until you get a nice tough dough that doesn't stick to your fingers.

At this point the cooking of this dough is entirely subjective. If added to a stew, just roll them up, chuck them in and leave them there until the stew is cooked.

If you want to make your bread roll type things, roll pieces of it into balls, put them on a tray and stick them in the oven at 200 C for half an hour. If they're not ready, leave them in for 10 more minutes. If they're still not ready, see the sentence before. Any more, and you can pretty much guarantee they're done!

Serve the potato dumpling rolls hot with a small amount of butter - delicious!

Warning, these are filling, but delicous. If you find yourself polishing off too many, I would certainly advise a trip to the gym the following day! :-)

Tip of the day - Chillis!

Chillis. Love 'em or hate 'em, chilli's are very popular in many culinary styles in many cultures all over the world. Over the years, hot food has gradually become staple in British cuisine.
The chemical in chillis that make them hot is called Capsaicin. In fact, the 'hot' sensation is triggered because capsaicin is actually a nerve poison! But it's not all bad news - it just so happens that the part of the brain that processes pain is closely linked to the part that processes pleasure. It also stimulates the release of endorphines, giving the consumer of the chilli a mildly pleasurable, some would even liken it to a slight euphoric, feeling.

So, if you consider yourself one of the millions of people that like a bit of extra spice, maybe this tip is for you!

Got some medium heat chillis lying around in the fridge? Stick them on the window sill. The sun will evaporate the water in the chillis, leaving you a pepper with really concentrated heat! Just one slice of semi-dried chilli is the equivalent 1 whole fresh medium chilli...

Just don't let it get in your eye! ;-)

Welcome to my blog

I imagine you're reading this because you're after recipes and food tips - and that's exactly what you're going to get!

First off, can I say that I consider myself a cook, not a chef. I think recently the lines have been blurred, thanks to the celebrity chefs on TV. Being a chef is a profession, it is a hard graft, and very few people I have met have ever worked as one. Sadly, however, people seem to have been discouraged from cooking properly of late, and they think that you have to be a chef in order to cook well. Well, this isn't the case! This blog is taking food back from the pretension of the michelin starred chefs and back into the kitchens of good old home cooks! Now, more than ever, is the time to learn to cook acceptably, using fresh meat and veg. It's the most economical option, and also the tastiest!

I am a cook and a scientist. People often call me a foodie, and it's mainly because my knowledge of science and my passion for taste often combine quite nicely.

So here is my cook book. Enjoy it, and learn to enjoy the preparation as much as the eating!