Everyone loves a good old spud. Spuds are versatile, delicious, and an easy vegetable to use, they can provide a warm comforting meal that will feed the whole family. Before iso, I was always avoiding carbs, potatoes especially!  But now, I LOVE Them! Since the lock down, and with winter creeping in, it got me thinking – what is easy to grow and cook with?
How can I create the perfect mix of nutrition, comfort food and taste. Herbs and Vegetables have proven to be the best answer to this question for me. Out of all of the vegetables available to me, the Potato has become my absolute favorite by far, first of all for its versatility and most importantly for taste. Spuds are delish by themselves, they can be used for every meal of the day including snacks, and just think about all the yummy toppings you can add to the old faithful spud.

The Humble Spud

After being pleasantly surprised at the large array of recipe and cookbooks at the Andamooka Observatory Bookshop – I came across this pick of the bunch

Potato Favourites

The Australian Women’s Weekly – Book (reprinted by popular demand Version)

I had a quick flick through and decided – I have to have this book! and today I am going to share with you two super easy, super yummy and nutritious recipes from Potato Favourites.

The good ‘ol spud is easy to grow, and if you google the health benefits of potatoes, you’ll easily see what makes it so nutritious.

When creating potato recipes, don’t be scared to experiment with different types of potatoes. For example, when making things like potato bake and potato salads, I usually put two to three different types of potatoes in. The main ones I use, alongside the usual white potato, is sweet potato and potatoes with red skin. The different colours in the potatoes make the dishes visually appealing, provide extra nutrients and taste delicious together.

The two recipes below, I followed step by step. All of the ingredients I bought locally. Delicious Premium Mince from Andamooka Cellarbrations Bottle Shop, Fresh produce from George and his family who make the journey every week to Andamooka from the Riverland. George is here for the whole day every Thursday providing the town with a much needed resource of fresh fruit and veg.

Thank you to the Andamooka Progress and Opal Miners Association for this initiative.

Just to be extra indulgent, I added puff pastry on the base of the Cottage pie, which I picked up from the Andamooka Friendly Grocer, along the cheese, herbs and the beautiful smoked Cod used in the Smoked Fish Pot Pies recipe.

So as you can tell, the major reason I’m sharing these recipies with you is because I know you can get all of the ingredients here, so you could make it straight away! 🙂 highly recommend doing this! Healthier option, leave the pastry out 🙂

If you love Spuds and recipe books just as much as we do, we would love you to share your favourite cook book and photos of your favourite potato dishes with us!

#Andamookabookshop #Andamookaobservatory

Cottage Pie

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, Crushed – or two teaspoons minced garlic from the jar
1 Large Brown Onion, Chopped Finely
1kg Beef Mince
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
2 x 425g Crushed Tomatoes
1 teaspoon Dried Mixed Herbs
200g Button Mushrooms, Quartered
1 Cup Frozen Peas
1kg Sebago Potatoes, peeled, Roughly Chopped
3/4 Cup (180ml) Hot Milk
40g Butter, Softened
1/2 Cup Coarsely Grated pizza Cheese

  • Heat oil in large saucepan: cook garlic, onion and carrot, stirring until onion softens
  • Add beef, cook for around 10 minutes or until the beef has changed colour
  • Add sauce, paste,undrained tomatoes and herbs to pan, bring to the boil
  • Reduce heat, simmer uncovered about 30 minutes, or until the mixture thickens up
  • Stir in mushrooms and peas
  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 160 degrees Celsius for Fan Forced oven
  • Meanwhile, boil, steam or microwave potato until tender, then drain
  • Mash potato with milk and butter
  • Pour beef mixture into deep 3- Litre (12 Cup) ovenproof dish, top with potato mixture and sprinkle with cheese
  • Bake, uncovered, in the oven for about 35 minutes or until pie is heated through and top is browned lightly
  • Preparation and cooking time: 2 hours
  • Serves 8

Tips

  • You can make the cottage pie upto two days in advance, keep covered in the refrigerator
  • Reheat, covered in 160/140(fan-forced oven) degrees celsius for about 40 Minutes
  • The pie can also be frozen for upto three months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating as above

Smoked Fish Pot Pies

750g Smoked Cod Fillets
2 Cups (500ml) Milk
1 Bayleaf
6 Black peppercorns
1kg Coliban Potatoes, peeled, chopped coarsley
50g Butter, Softened
20g Butter, extra
1 Large Brown Onion, Chopped Finely
1 Clove Garlic Crushed
1/4 Cup (35g) Plain Flour
2 & 1/2 (625ml) Cups Milk, Extra
1 Cup (120G) Frozen Peas
1 Teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Hard Boiled eggs, quartered

  • Place fish, milk, bayleaf and peppercorns in medium saucepan; bring to the boil
  • Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered 10 minutes
  • Drain, discard liquid and spices
  • Remove and discard skin from fish; flake fish into large chunks in medium bowl
  • Meanwhile, boil, steam or microwave potato until tender; drain
  • Mash potato with softened butter in large bowl, cover to keep warm
  • Melt extra butter in medium saucepan, cook onion and garlic, stirring until onion softens
  • Add flour, cook, stirring until mixture thickens and bubbles
  • Gradually add extra milk, stirring until mixture boils and thickens
  • Add peas, rind and juice; remove from heat. Stir in fish
  • Divide egg, fish mixture and mash potato among four 2 cups (500ml) flame proof dishes
  • Place dishes on an oven tray under a very hot grill until tops are browned lightly
  • Preparation and cooking time: 1 hours
  • Serves 4