Ingredients
- 600 grams waxy potatoes
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed and sliced
- 1 small handful of sage, finely chopped
- 1 spoonful of duck or goose fat
- 1 kilogram brussels sprouts (or whatever leftover veges you have in the fridge)
- 1.5 cups water
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
Bubble and squeak
Method
Clean the potatoes and chop them into small rectangles (about 1cm x 2cm).
Heat a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Fry the onion, garlic, sage and duck fat for a few minutes, then add the potatoes.
You may need to reserve some of the duck fat and add it to the pan gradually, to keep the potatoes from sticking. Cook them for about 10 minutes, until they are crispy on the outside but still firm in the middle.
While the potatoes are cooking, remove the outer skins from the brussels sprouts and cut the sprouts into quarters.
When the potatoes are ready, add the sprouts to the pan and stir them through. Ideally, the sprouts should go to the bottom of the pan where they’ll soak up the moist liquid, but don’t panic if they go everywhere.
Turn up the heat, pour in the water and secure the lid. Perform the ‘fry pan shuffle’, shaking the pan so that the sprouts move around a bit and cook evenly. They should take 4 or 5 minutes to cook in the steam from the water.
Take care to stir the mixture once or twice to make sure it’s cooking evenly and not sticking to the bottom. If there is excess liquid once the brussels sprouts are cooked, simply remove the lid and let the excess water evaporate.
Season with salt, pepper and a dash of olive oil.
Tips and Tricks
Potatoes do best stored in a dark cool environment. Keep them out of the fridge and out of sunlight if you can – this will help prevent sprouting and shrivelling. The back of a cupboard or the bottom of a pantry are ideal.
The shape of a potato has little affect on it’s taste or nutritional value – pick the odd-shaped ones to help send a message to our food growers that you value vegetables of all shapes and sizes and support a less-wasteful fresh food system.
Bubble and Squeak is a classic way to use up leftovers – throw in whatever cooked vegies you happen to have in the fridge!