Shortly after I emigrated to England, the family I was lodging with hosted Sunday lunch for me a few of their friends. It was a traditional British roast dinner, with all the trimmings including roasted potatoes. I had observed that Britons were fond of roasted potatoes, but because I never had them growing up in Canada, I failed to appreciate good ‘roasties’.
Everyone around the table had just finished serving themselves and conversation was flowing nicely. Quietly, I grabbed something from the fridge and was just adding that to my food when I heard the a woman’s voice cry,’What are you doing to my roast potatoes!?!’ To be clear, I hadn’t done anything to her potatoes. What I had done, was use my fork to smash my roasted potatoes - I can hear a collective gasp of the British readers - and added some butter. And if that wasn’t bad enough, in true Canadian style, I added a good dollop of soured cream on top.
I appreciate that by this point in my story, I have sent many Britons running to put the kettle on to settle their nerves. I know, because the horror on my host’s face as she assessed all her hard work to make the perfect roastie was unmistakable. I’m pretty sure that if she could have, she would have been reaching for something stronger than a cuppa.
Gratefully, after a very uncomfortable silence another guest came to my rescue by proclaiming ‘What a brilliant idea!’ and reached for the soured cream. The rest of lunch passed without a hitch, but I have never made the mistake of messing with roasted potatoes again.
Thankfully, another, more humble potato dish can be found in Northumberland. Pan haggerty was recently brought to my attention by a friend who shares the surname ‘Haggerty’. I have not come across pan haggerty before and information about it’s origins is limited. The traditional recipe appears to consist of potato, onion and cheese layers, cooked slowly on the hob and finished under the grill to make the cheese golden. Yum!
However, here’s a potato dish that can handle being ‘enhanced’ a little. The Hairy Biker’s modern twist of adding layers of bacon and cooking in chicken stock sounded particularly delicious. And for me, it was served up with a good dollop of soured cream!
Recipe
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 250g/9oz streaky bacon
- 6 potatoes, thinly sliced into rounds
- 2 onions, peeled, sliced
- 500ml/17½fl oz chicken stock
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 150g/5oz cheddar cheese, grated
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep ovenproof pan. Fry the bacon for 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown and slightly crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.
In the same pan used to cook the bacon, arrange a layer of the sliced potatoes in the bottom of the pan. Cover the potatoes with a layer of sliced onions, then a layer some of the crisp bacon, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Repeat the process with the remaining potatoes, onions, carrots and bacon, finishing with a layer of potatoes on top. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Pour in the chicken stock so that all of the ingredients are covered, then bring to the boil. Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15-25 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
Preheat the grill to high.
Uncover the pan and sprinkle over the grated cheese. Grill for 5-6 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and golden-brown.
To serve:
It struck me that as delicious as a pan haggerty sounds, it wasn’t the most healthy or balanced of meals. For lunch, I served it with a generous helping of fresh baby spinach and buttered lentils (that had been cooked in vegetable broth).