From Dublin to Dalavich: the things we bring home

We went to Dublin earlier this month to celebrate my nephew’s 21st birthday. We came home with lovely memories and a car that was rather less empty than when we set off.

There were 10kg of Queens potatoes, still wearing their Wexford soil. Clonakilty black and white pudding came too. I hope my Scottish readers will forgive me, but it is still my favourite. We found room for Cashel Blue, with its lovely balance of salt and creaminess; Irish Kerrygold butter; and a good supply of Barry’s loose leaf Gold Blend. Some people return from a trip with souvenirs. I seem to bring home breakfast, supper and the makings of many cups of tea.

A potato with a sense of place

Years ago, while I was working as a private chef in Essex, I cooked with fruit and vegetables grown by Darren, a wonderful head gardener. We tried growing Queens one year. They were perfectly respectable potatoes, but they lacked the floury magic I remembered from Ireland. The soil and growing conditions seemed to make all the difference. I have had similar moments of expectation and surprise with potatoes here in Scotland.

It is easy to talk about eating with the seasons and forget about geography. A potato can carry a place in its flavour and texture. These Queens were bought at the very end of their season, and I intend to enjoy every one: boiled gently, split while hot and dressed with butter and a little salt.

Their coating of soil takes me back to how potatoes were sold when I was young. I leave these unwashed until I need them, then keep them somewhere cool, dark, dry and well ventilated, away from onions. Check them regularly and remove any that begin to spoil. Storage life varies by variety and condition, so let your eyes and hands guide you rather than expecting every potato to behave alike. Discard green potatoes or ones that are extensively sprouted or soft.

All potatoes used to be sold in their own muddy jackets before supermarkets followed by consumers expected them to be washed and bagged in plastic. The life of Queens potato is short and if they are washed before they are ready to be cooked they will spoil so they are one of the few potatoes that you can buy that have not been washed with jets of high pressure water that can bruise and damage the potato causing the nutrients beneath the skin to break down. Next time you buy potatoes have a look at the use by date on the bag. Most will only give you three or four days or a week if you are lucky from date of purchase. Picked and stored properly potatoes should last far longer than a week…

The small ceremony of tea

Barry’s loose leaf tea was the last thing on my list. I grew up with a teapot on the go, and my 93-year-old mother and I are still devoted to leaf tea. A stray leaf in my cup has never troubled me. Simon has a different view.

Making a pot of tea rather than a quick tea bag dunked in a mug, if nothing else it gives you a few minutes of quiet in a busy day. From the warming of the pot, the time to allow the tea to draw gently in the boiling water, letting the age old alchemy work its magic as the dried tea leaves open up to infuse the water creating tea. And in this current economy loose leaf tea is often considerably cheaper, it uses less chemicals in its production. Have you ever sat back and thought about the paper used to make the bags, the glue to hold the powdered tea in each bag, the cost of electricity in the factories to produce and pack the individual bags…

After a little trial and error, we found teapots with roomy infusers, giving the leaves space to open while keeping them out of Simon’s cup. I also have ceramic pots I love to use, with a fine perforated infuser that fits inside. Warm the pot, add the leaves, pour in freshly boiled water and let them draw. It is a small pause in the day that feels especially welcome when the rain comes in across Loch Awe.

Start with roughly one teaspoon of black tea per cup, plus one for the pot if you like it strong. Brew for about three to five minutes, then lift out the infuser so the tea does not turn bitter. Loose leaf can be good value, though the cost and packaging depend on the tea and the bags you compare it with. Choose a generous infuser, and you may find you enjoy the ritual as much as the drink.

From my kitchen: buttered Queens with warm leek, mustard and herbs

Serves 4 as a light supper or generous side | About 30 minutes

If Queens are unavailable, use another floury new potato from a grower near you. Keep the skins on if they are sound and tender.

Ingredients

• 800g Queens or other floury new potatoes, scrubbed just before cooking

• 1 large leek, washed well and finely sliced

• 40g butter, divided

• 1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard

• 2 tbsp chopped parsley or chives

• 1 tsp lemon juice or cider vinegar, to taste

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Optional: 75g crumbled blue cheese, or 2–3 slices of crisp black pudding per person

Method

1. Put the potatoes in a pan of cold, lightly salted water. Bring gently to the boil, then simmer for 15–20 minutes, depending on their size, until a knife slips in easily. Drain well and leave in the warm pan for a minute to steam dry.

2. Meanwhile, warm the oil and half the butter in a frying pan. Add the leek with a pinch of salt and cook over a low heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until soft and sweet without browning.

3. Stir the mustard into the leek. Halve or lightly crush the warm potatoes and fold through the remaining butter, herbs and lemon juice. Season to taste.

4. Spoon the leek over the potatoes. Add a little Cashel Blue if you have it, or serve with crisp pudding for a more substantial supper. A fried egg is lovely here too.

Cook’s note: A softer, waxier potato will still taste delicious; it will hold its shape rather than breaking into fluffy edges.

From my kitchen: tea-soaked apple and oat loaf

Makes 1 loaf, about 10 slices | 20 minutes preparation, plus soaking and baking

A slice with butter and a pot of tea is my idea of a good autumn afternoon. The fruit soaks while you get on with something else.

Ingredients

• 200g mixed dried fruit

• 250ml strong black tea, cooled

• 1 medium apple, peeled, cored and coarsely grated

• 100g soft light brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• 175g self-raising flour

• 50g rolled oats, plus 1 tbsp for the top

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp fine salt

• Butter, to serve

Method

1. Put the dried fruit in a bowl with the tea. Cover and soak for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge. Do not drain.

2. Heat the oven to 180°C conventional / 160°C fan. Grease and line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin.

3. Stir the apple, sugar and egg into the soaked fruit and tea. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, 50g oats, cinnamon and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the fruit mixture just until no dry flour remains.

4. Spoon into the tin, level the top and scatter over the remaining oats. Bake for 55–65 minutes, until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If the top colours too quickly, loosely cover it with foil for the final part of baking.

5. Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Cool fully before slicing. Serve with butter.

Cook’s note: Try chopped pear instead of apple, or add a handful of chopped walnuts if everyone eating the loaf can have nuts. Keep the cooled loaf covered in the fridge for up to three days, or freeze slices individually.

Little ways to eat the season

• Make a potato supper of it. Bake locally grown potatoes and offer bowls of grated cheese, leftover chilli, sautéed mushrooms or buttered leeks so everyone can build their own plate.

• Give one ingredient a second life. Roast extra squash for supper; blend the remainder with stock and a pinch of warm spice for lunch the next day.

• Swap by place, not by rule. Use a good Scottish blue cheese in the potato dish, or an English or Welsh apple in the loaf. What matters is finding something delicious near you.

• Set the table for an ordinary Tuesday. A jug of water, a candle and five minutes to sit together can make a simple meal feel like an occasion.

• Ask a grower a question. Which potatoes are best for boiling this week? Which apples hold their shape in a cake? The answer is often more useful than a label.

A small food note: 

If you buy potatoes directly from a grower, ask which varieties have just been lifted and which are intended for longer storage. For loose leaf tea, look for a roomy infuser and take it out after brewing. Two small conversations can improve a surprising number of meals and cups of tea.

Around your table

I brought a nasty virus home along with all those lovely things to eat, so I have had to leave the cooking to one side for a few days. It has given me the chance to finish a project I began before Heat & Eat made our kitchen so busy: Recipes Worth Sharing, a journal for the dishes we want to keep close.

My dyspraxia means my handwriting is almost unreadable, but I have always loved stationery, notebooks and journals. I have taken such pleasure in creating my own. In a world where so much lives on a screen, there is something lovely about holding a recipe in your hands, adding a note in the margin and turning back to a page dusted with memories of meals you have made.

I have always treasured recipes passed across a table, scribbled in a notebook or recreated from memory. This journal is a place to gather yours: the cake everyone asks you to make, the supper that saves a busy Tuesday, the dish that reminds you of someone you love. I hope it becomes a record of the people and meals that make your kitchen yours.

I have also finished a yearly planner. Both are available on Amazon, and I hope to bring them to the Meg’s Scottish Kitchen website soon.

If you would rather have supper taken care of this week, you can browse our Heat & Eat menu. And I would love to know: which recipe would you write in your journal first?

Pull up a chair,

Meg x