Not washing up pays off in the Bacon Fat Department!

~  Menu  ~

Sweet potato cooked in bacon fat!
Crunchy topped Baked Plaice

  

Yesterday lunchtime, when I hunger struck, I prowled around the kitchen (as much as one can prowl in a 19” caravan) uninspired when suddenly I found a cooked sweet potato in the fridge.  I put it there myself so I wasn’t too startled.  

I decided to fry it till crisp on the outside and was then downhearted to realise I hadn’t washed the frying pan.  However … it had bacon fat in it.  Hurrah!  Let me tell you sweet potato fried in bacon fat and eaten with copious black pepper and some crunchy sea salt is nothing to be sad about.

Later in the day, about 5, I decided to clear out my food cupboard a bit and when I opened the door a packet with a single seeded Ryvita fell out, so I ate it.  I was left with a collection of crumbs and seeds in the packet and wondered what to do with them.  I then found some scraps of hazelnuts and flaked almonds and remembered there were some plaice fillets in the freezer so my meal became clear ...

Baked Plaice with Store-cupboard Leavings Crust

a few seeds and nuts and cracker crumbs and what have you

a handful of fresh breadcrumbs

olive oil

seasonings

fish fillets

~    Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 6.

~    Mix together all the dry ingredients and season to you liking – I, of course, added a few chilli flakes.

~    Moisten with the olive oil, stirring till the crumbs are soaked.

~    Season the fish and place on an oiled tray – skin side down if it’s got skin.

~    Smear the top of the fish with oil or butter.

~    Spread the crumb mixture on the fish and bake till cooked – only a few minutes for plaice, longer for a thicker fish.

I had a little piece of butternut squash and a small sweet potato in the fridge so I also made homefries, similar to the ones I used to do for brunch when I was cheffing in the BVI.  Not quite the same because then I used to add Red Bliss potatoes with their skin on which made the dish even prettier but the little potatoes I used are fine too.  

Pretty Homefries

an assortment of potatoes and squash

olive oil

salt & pepper

~   Peel and cut the potatoes and squash into even sized pieces.

~   Cover the potatoes only in cold water, salt the water, and bring to a boil.

~   Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.

~   Add sweet potato and cook covered another 5 minutes.

~   Add squash and cook a further 10-15 minutes till all are tender.

~   Drain thoroughly and allow to steam dry.

~   Shallow fry in olive oil, turning occasionally, till all crisp and golden.

~   Season and eat.

When frying potatoes like this it is important not to disturb them too frequently so that they have time to form crisp crusts. Let them sit a while after adding to the pan before turning them.

Actually when I served the meal it  looked a bit dry and boring, but it was so good I’d have been happy to have eaten it at Rick Stein’s or similar! 

17 more great ideas for bacon fat in my book 

mentioned below.

Speaking of Rick Stein!

Read More Here!