Tuesday 22 September 2015

Mash up

Having dug all those potatoes up at the weekend, there was the odd casualty that I put the fork through, so I knew that I had to begin to use them up as soon as I could.  I had a vague idea for a dinner of cheese and potato pie, an old school dinner recipe which the FH used to rave about from his school teaching days.  But I had no idea what it actually looked like, so I had to have a search about on the web in a hurry this afternoon to find a recipe.

I found one on a forum attached to the Nigella website, and it worked a treat - the girls really loved it! It did make too much for the three of them for one dinner though, so they are happy to have it again tomorrow....

I cooked 2 lbs of potatoes, grated about 3/4 of a pound of cheese [it suggested a whole pound!] and beat 2 eggs with a splash of milk.  I fried one onion in large rings, using a little oil. When the potatoes were cooked, I mashed them with a big knob of butter, and then beat in the egg/milk mixture, with a quarter of a teaspoon each of mustard powder and cayenne pepper.  The onion and most of the cheese went in at this stage, although I kept a little to go on the top. It had about 20 minutes in the oven on 180C and then I popped it under the grill to brown up a bit for the last 5 minutes.  

The onion was not in the original recipe, but who has cheese and potatoes without an onion? 

I served it with lots of green veg and some carrots, and they soon cleaned their plates and had seconds.  The serving suggestion was to accompany it with bacon, mushroom, tomatoes and baked beans, which sounded more like brunch to me.  Maybe we'll try it that way another time.  However, this was was thrifty, vegetarian and filling, and made with ingredients I had to hand - a winner all round.

7 comments:

Ali said...

I have spuds, cheese, milk, my own onions, eggs and veggie friends coming for a weekend of jobs ... that's one meal sorted. Fancy that right now!

Mimi said...

Morgan, that sounds yum! When we were kids we used to have a baked sort of bubble and squeak that was similar, but had shredded cabbage, leftover roast, and a squeeze of tomato sauce in it. It was surprisingly delicious too! Mimi xxx

Unknown said...

This was a family favourite in our house, known as 'Ei's Cheese Pie' named after my mum's college friend and teaching colleague, Eileen, who often made it

SusanM said...

That sounds like a lovely meal. Another idea for using up potatoes is Spanish Omelette and I also suggested the French dish Tartiflette to another blogger. What about bubble and squeak too or some Scottish potato (tattie) scones? I love tattie scones fried with some egg and bacon x

Gary said...

Must admit, I've yet to work out how to harvest potatoes without forking the odd one or two. Unless I can develop x-ray vision, I think it's just something we'll have to live with!

Morgan said...

@Ali - hope you have a lovely weekend and get lots done, but have fun too!
@Simon - I think it is an old favourite - I'm just late to the party....
@SusanM - thanks for those ideas. Tattie scones I was introduced to at uni, and will definitely have another go at those. Tartiflette I am not so sure about so I'll have a wee Google and find a recipe. A Spanish omelette-type thing already went down well with the girls when the EFG made it so I can definitely do that one again. Thanks!
@Gary - yep, I have a little box of these tatties to use up first - but this recipe used quite a few. Just hope that the others which are whole, last a while in the dark storage!

rabbitquilter said...

I love Cheese and Potato Pie!!! Has been on our menu for years!!! We have ours with Baked Beans. Oh! my mouth is watering now!!! Pity No.2 son has gone off it now!! X