Lemon Herb Roasted Potatoes

With the number of potato dishes popping up here, you might think I am crazy about anything potatoes now yeah? But no I am not.  Back dated posts all these are and I am rushing to get them out of the drafts.

I like how potatoes fit well being the main dish (think Shepherd's Pie!), and also makes good alternative as sides to main dishes.

Gotta say that this is a super easy dish to do as no peeling of the potato skin is required! All you need to do is to scrub the potato skins clean, dap dry with kitchen towel, slice them three quarter way down like how you would do to hasselback potatoes, brush on the oil & herb mixture, and off to the oven they go!  Easy? They taste yummy too. Make these to impress your guests if you have them over to your place :) Made these for Mummy when she came to my place to accompany me when hubby was out on biz trip. Glad Mummy enjoyed it :)

Lemon Herb Roasted Potatoes
Recipe by Rasa Malaysia
Serve 3

Ingredients

1 pounds baby potatoes

Oil Mixture

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons melted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 dashes ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut slits on the potatoes, do not cut through. Mix all ingredients in the Oil Mixture together.

Place the potatoes in a roasting pan and brush with the Oil Mixture. Make sure to brush inside the slits of the potatoes. Save some for basting.

Roast the potato for 1 hour, basting the oil mixture at 30 minute interval using the remaining Oil Mixture. Serve immediately after roasting.

Duchess Potatoes

Yet another dish that was made long time back and have sat in my draft for a long long time.

I made this dish to host my sister and brother-in-law before my sister popped. And here I am posting this so late when my baby nephew is already a month plus old!

These dainty potato rosettes goes well with any grilled steaks and roast meats, and are definitely a good alternative to the usual mash potatoes.  A little effort needed before you can sink your teeth into them but I assure you, it is worth it ;)

Duchess Potatoes
Recipe by Marshall Cavendish Mini Cookbook (Potatoes series)
Serves 4

450g potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
1 tbsp butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Salt, to taste
Ground white pepper, to taste

1. Cover and cook potatoes in a pot of simmering salt water for 10minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain well and discard water in pot.

2. To evaporate excess moisture in potatoes so that a more fluffy potato mixture can be obtained, return potatoes to dry pot and shake over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Shaking pot will prevent potatoes from sticking to the bottom of pot.
3. Rub potatoes through a fine sieve, or press through a ricer. Add butter while potatoes are warm. Beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is very smooth. Mix egg gradually into potato mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly oil a baking tray. Spoon potato mixture into a piping bag fitted with 1-cm star nozzle and pipe rosettes onto baking tray.

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 190deg C for 10-15min, or until golden. Dish out immediately and serve while still hot.

Potato, Ham & Onion Buns

If you like the potato and ham buns from Four Leaves Bakery, you should like these buns. I have always been wanting to make these buns but eh erm... laziness got the better of me. I did not like peeling of the potatoes and boiling it, and then mashing it. I thought the filling alone was quite "tedious" already. Okay.... maybe just me. Haha!  Anyway I finally got myself to make them (I wasn't feeling that lazy that day hehe~), and I love it.

Buns sold outside nowadays do not come as cheap anymore. I am glad I make my own bread and can save spending that much on bread and buns!

Try making these and tell me if you like it 😉

Potato, Ham & Onion Buns

Gelatinized Basic Sweet Bread recipe by Alex Goh

Gelatinized dough
50g bread flour
35ml boiling water

1. Place flour in a mixing bowl.
2. Add hot boiling water and mix with wooden spoon to form a rough dough.
3. Cover bowl with cling film and leave dough to cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour, and up to 48 hours.


Basic sweet bread dough
200g bread flour
40g sugar
10g milk powder
1/2 tbsp instant yeast
1/4 tsp salt
87ml cold water
1/2 cold egg (about 30g) - leftover egg to be used for eggwash
30g cold butter, cubed 


Potato, Ham & Onion Fillings
280g potato, skinned, boiled and mashed
2 or 3 pcs ham, sliced into little cubes
1 onion, cut into small cubes
1/2 tsp salt
20g melted butter
A dash of black pepper


1. Combine flour, sugar, milk powder, yeast and salt together in a mixing bowl.
2. Tear the gelatinized dough into pieces and add to the bowl along with the eggs
3. Using a stand electric mixer, mix on low speed, adding cold water gradually.
4. Mix until dough is well combined and leave the side of bowl.
5. Add in the cold butter cubes and mix on medium speed until dough is smooth.
6. Shape dough into a ball, leave to proof for 40 min or until doubled.
7. To make the filling - Pan-fry the onion cubes abit till slightly softened and fragrant. Set aside to cool.  (You can skip this step if you are okay with the raw onion taste)
8. In a mixing bowl, add in mashed potato, cubed ham, onion bits followed by seasonings (except melted butter) and mix well to combine. Do a taste test and add more salt till need.

9. Drizzle melted butter over filling mixture and mix well.
10. Portion them equally according to the for the bun fillings, use a spoon to shape them into round shapes for easier wrapping and place them on a plate. Cover with clingwrap for later use.

11. Punch down dough to rid excess air, then divide dough into 6 or 8 or 10 equal portions and  roll it round and set aside for 5 min to let it relax for easier rolling and wrapping.

8. Roll out dough into a round shape.
9. Spoon a portion of potato filling onto centre of dough and wrap up.
10. Seal bottom of dough to secure  fillings from spilling out. Set dough with sealed ends at bottom.
11. Place dough onto greased baking tin.
13. Cover with clean moist cloth and leave to proof for 40min.
14. Brush top with the leftover beaten egg (mixed with 1 tsp water) from the dough mix. 
15. Bake in preheated oven at 180deg for 25min or till bun top turn slightly golden brown. (Every oven works differently so indicated temperature might or might not work for you.)

Stir-fry Potato in Black Sauce

I am a pure Teochew and was brought up having mostly plain porridge for lunch when young. It is well known that Teochews enjoy eating plain porridge (cooked with or without sweet potatoes) along with many veggie and meat dishes.

We weren't a well-to-do family and had simple and cheap dishes with plain porridge for our lunches.  Nothing fanciful but it was good enough and we grew up healthily (and HAPPY!!! anyway :) ) Dad was the sole breadwinner of our family and slogged his life to bring back the keeps for our family. Mum stopped work when she had me and ever since then dedicated her life to my Dad and us children. I have a wonderful Dad and Mum, and I am grateful for them. Without them, no us today!

Gone were the days that my family has to live hands to mouth but old habits die hard - Till today, plain porridge are still my preferred type of lunch, especially when it's paired with dishes that I like.

I am a Teochew Ah Nia afterall. :)

This, a dish that is so simple and well paired with a bowl of plain porridge or even a bowl of plain rice.  A dish that Mum still cook for us today and we'll be like "yeah I like this dish!" when we get to the dinner table.

Stir-fry Potato in Black Sauce

5 Brastagi potatoes (peeled, rinsed & sliced)
80g to 100g chicken fillet, sliced thinly
3 pcs of garlic, minced
2 tbsp dark soy sauce sauce
Half bowl of water
1/2 tbsp chinese cooking wine
2 tbsp canola oil

1. Heat up oil in frying pan.
2. Add in minced garlic and fry till fragrant.
3. Add in sliced meat and stir fry till almost cooked. Place in sliced potatoes and stir fry well.
4. Add in dark soy sauce and chinese cooking wine and stir well to coat potatoes and meat with sauce. Add in water, enough to cover potatoes and mix well. Put on pot lid and turn to medium heat to bring to simmer. Sauce will start to thicken.
5. Stir fry the dish well, turn off heat and dish out. Serve immediately with plain rice or porridge.

Japanese Potato Salad

Okay... this is one of the few things that I have always been wanting to do but kept procrastinating. Why? Because I have got enough bottled condiments lying in my fridge and they are seriously filling up the sides of my fridge!!

So I still fell for it in the end and bought a medium bottle of japanese mayo for this. Because I craved for it. Excuses. Anyway, it was yummy. And simple. 

Japanese Potato Salad

Recipe by Noob Cook

1/2 Japanese cucumber cut to thin, semi-circle slices

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 carrot peeled and cut to thin, semi-circle slices

2 russett potatoes peeled and quartered

water (enough water to submerge the potatoes)

3 tbsp cooked corn nibblets usually tetra-pak or canned (I did not add)

1/2 small onions chopped till fine bits

3/4 cup Japanese mayonnaise

salt and black pepper to taste

1. Rub cucumber slices with salt and allow to 'sweat' for about 30 minutes. This will make the cucumbers more crunchy. Rinse, drain and squeeze dry.

2.In a pot, bring water to boil. Add carrots and potatoes. Boil for 10 minutes. Drain.

3. Transfer boiled potatoes to a bowl. Use a fork to mash the potatoes, leaving some small chunks behind.

4. Add corn, carrot, cucumber, onion, and Japanese mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill in fridge before serving.

Note: Feel free to spice up this potato salad with more flavour such as chopped ham, karashi (Japanese mustard) and chopped hard boiled egg.