I like them a lot, but not with beef. That may have been Gyp's problem. I like them with pork and poultry. I like them by themselves and served under a bunch of cheese covered broccoli and cauliflower with maybe some water chestnuts, too.

But not with beef or seafood.

Here's a veggie recipe for sweet pots:

You need to cook these things separately (but at the same time) then layer to server.

Bottom layer is a couple of leeks sweated in butter with crushed garlic and fresh tarragon.

Next layer is your sweet post cut small and roasted in olive oil until soft and starting to brown.

Then a layer of cheery toms also roasted in olive oil and well seasoned.

Finally top with a couple of poached eggs per person.

Serve with crusty French bread to mop up the juices and a chilled Pinot Grigio.  :)

One of my favourite dishes when I was a student was to peel and cube sweet potato, fry it in oil or ghee with an equal anoint of sliced onion, then when halfway cooked, add 1-2 green peppers in a 1-2 cm dice, sliced garlic, and whatever spices take your fancy (e.g. I'd always add chili, and then maybe something like garam masala or Chinese five spice, or even cinnamon and nutmeg, or maybe a little cardamom), then cook on medium high until browned and cooked through (better crispy than soggy, but there is an art to the stirring and temp control :) )

Serve with a yummy fragrant long-grain rice like basmati

Does anyone have a tried and true fried rice recipe? My local takeaway has put up their prices (again!) so I'm trying to make a decent version at home, a bit cheaper and probably a bit healthier.

Yep.

Boil the rice, rinse it and set aside.

Beat an egg and sit it aside.

Fry the stuff you want fried. Then chuck in stuff that does not need frying (peas zapped in the microwave for example). Add the rice to the wok and stir into the veg to re-heat it.  Finally add the beaten egg and stir on the heat until the egg has cooked.

Don't just set the rice aside. Unless you have left overs in the fridge, cook the rice the day before. Cold rice is better for fried rice.

Thanks for the tips Mark and Vienna :). That sounds easy enough! I had wondered about the rice and if you used it hot or cold, or had to precook it before adding other ingredients. I'm a good baker, but not that experienced in the savory department.

Mark I like that sweet potato recipe, will give it a burl  ;D

I'm on the hunt for a really great shortbread recipe if anyone has one. I've made the same recipe for a few years now and thought I try out a new one. :)

A link to a great no knead bread. I couldn't find Amie and Marks bread thread to add it to that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0t8ZAhb8lQ

Quote from: graphophobia on February 14, 2018, 07:06:39 PM
I'm on the hunt for a really great shortbread recipe if anyone has one. I've made the same recipe for a few years now and thought I try out a new one. :)

Bit late in responding, but here's the one we used at the village bakery.  We worked in pounds but you can make a small batch in ounces to try it out.  The recipe below will make about a pound of shortbread and is easily scaled up if you like it.

9 oz plain cake flour (Don't be tempted to use bread flour, it will make it tough.)

6 oz butter (or some mixture of butter and margarine to the same total weight.  All butter is best for taste obviously.

2 1/2 oz of sugar.  Caster is best, but you can get by with granulated although the shortbread has a slightly gritty look.

Method:  Cream fat and sugar together, scraping down the bowl regularly to avoid any lumps.

Add in the flour, mixing to a smooth consistency.  In the bigger quantities we'd add an egg, but you have to be careful not to make the mix too wet.

We used to bake the commercial batches in a big sheet, 18" by 30", marked up into fingers about three quarters of an inch thick (tray depth) and an inch wide. But you can roll it out, dusting the table with rice flour and cut it out into biscuit shapes with cutters and placing them on a baking sheet/tray.  In which case three eighths of an inch or less thick is more appropriate.  We also did seasonal variations such as Christmas trees, or Valentine hearts.

The first place I worked we used to press the stuff into wooden moulds, well dusted, to make Scottish Thistle shapes or other Scotty emblems.  But plain fingers sold best.  I think they were perceived as offering better value for money.

Bake at around 190 C , or 370 F.  Or whatever temperature  you use for your own shortbread recipe because all ovens are different.  (I'm still adjusting to a fan oven myself, with either lower temps or reduced baking times.)

Loose biscuits probably take around fifteen minutes, the whole sheet will take longer but watch for the colour.  Everyone talks about 'golden brown' but this colour varies according your own perceptions.  I tend towards the lighter end myself.

We used to sprinkle the whole sheet with sugar when it left the oven but before it cooled.

Let them cool thoroughly before handling.  Cut the sheet into fingers before trying to remove it from the tray.  That way you get a nice clean cut without any crumbling.  Once cold they'll slip out easily enough with a palette knife underneath.  The first row may get a little damaged, but they're the bakers 'tasters anyway ;-)

To make it even 'shorter' replace some of the cake flour with rice flour.  Up to about 10% of the weight.  So with the quantities I've given replacing one oz of cake flour with rice flour would be near enough.

To be honest I don't think the difference in texture is noticeable enough to be worth the bother.  If we were running low on rice flour and left it out none of the customers complained.  Almost a baker's superstition rather than an essential step ;-)

Hope it works for you, which is why I suggest making the small batch first.

Gyppo

Thanks, FF. Interesting vid. I'd not seen the trick with the parchment and the casserole dish before.

I use the no knead method for my baguettes. The time it takes to prove (about 14 hours) is not really an issue as I spread it over 2 days - mix day 1 bake day 2. I might try the hot water thing though, just to see what it turns out like.

I thought it would be good for us camping Mark, speed things up greatly  ;D

If it is speed you want I have a brilliant recipe for soft white rolls that take less than an hour from weighing ingredients to finished baking!

 :o :o

Yes please Mark, if you would like to part with it mate.  ;D