Food and place. Food. And. Place. What was the most memorable meal you’ve ever eaten? What made it memorable? Ingredients? Cooking chops? Stunning visuals, smells? In my case it is far less the actual food and much, much, much more, the place, the time, the people.
I’d written an apology to her before about Mum’s cooking for 5 kids and other earlier pieces including this one highlighting her less than successful efforts with instant mash. This latest post was prompted by a Tweet from Nic Miller (which of course, I can’t now locate!) where she talked about making a potato & onion pie. I’d looked around for the recipe that is closest to how I remember Mum’s pie to be; this is the one that struck me most forcefully. The pie was a favourite of ours as kids; because it was a favourite of her’s, of course. Simple, easy to make, cheap, filling, tasty. I’m hungry just looking at this ‘photo.
We wouldn’t have had Parmesan when I was a kid and sour cream was only something that happened by mistake but, those quibbles aside, this is a great version.
Ingredients
2 lb Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced very thin
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half, and sliced very thin
salt and pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grated cheese, divided
2/3 cup sour cream, whipping cream, or milk (I use a combination of all three)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated fresh
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prep the potatoes and onions by slicing them thinly.
Scatter half of garlic on the bottom of a lightly oiled pie dish.
Put half of the sliced potatoes on top of the garlic, overlapping the slices. Add half of the onion slices
Add salt and pepper (go easy on the pepper).
Sprinkle 1/3 cup of cheese.
Repeat the layer of garlic, potatoes, onions, salt, and pepper.
Add the milk mixture evenly over the top.
Add the remaining 2/3 cup of cheese of choice, plus, the 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
Cover the pie with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes more. You may want to do a low broil to brown the top. Cut into wedges to serve.
I was also thinking of Mum when I read a line “Tupperware stained indelibly red…”, from Tice Cin’s really excellent “Keeping The House“. Cin’s — fantastically written — description of her life and the accompanying (reluctant) heroin dealing via cabbages shipped over from family Cyprus isn’t my childhood. But the memory of her Tupperware certainly is. And the book is simply excellent, so go out and buy a copy. I’m off to re-read it…
The Turkish variety are prized for their enlarged leaf bud; that’s where we put the heroin . . .
Ayla has a plan. There’s a stash of heroin; just waiting to be imported. No one seems sure what to do with it; but Ayla’s a gardener; and she knows.
From secretive men’s clubs to spotless living rooms; Keeping the House is an electrifying debut that lifts the lid on a covert world. But just as it offers a fresh take on the London drug trade and its machinery; it tells the story of three women in one house: a grandmother; a mother; and the daughter; each dealing with the intricacies and reverberations of community; migration and love.
