Potato Wedges (oven baked)

These lightly flavoured potato wedges take no effort to make, are BAKED and go perfectly with a sandwich, which makes a great meal when I want a day off from cooking. 

They also make a lovely evening snack with tea or coffee when you are catching up with a friend :) 

Before I got this lovely recipe, I always had a packet of frozen wedges stocked in the freezer. Home made wedges are definitely more healthy cos they are made fresh, have no hydrogenated vegetable fat, can be made to suit your taste and are easy to make.

I got this lovely recipe from Ruchika who is an excellent cook and makes some yummy treats, just like these wedges.

I have used Rooster potatoes here as they are perfect for baking. If they are locally available to you, they are a good choice for baked wedges.

Here's what you will need to make potato wedges

Preparation time - 10 minutes

Cooking times 50 minutes to an hour

Serves 2 people

Ingredients

4 medium sized potatoes

2 tbsps olive oil

1 tsp chilli flakes        

1 tsp oregano

2 cloves of garlic - crushed

salt to taste

Method

• Pre heat oven to 200 degrees C.
• Wash and thickly slice the potatoes. Transfer them to a mixing bowl.

• Add the olive oil, chilli flakes, oregano, crushed garlic and salt to this. Mix well so all the slices are coated with the spices.

• Transfer to a baking tray and pop it into the pre heated oven.

• Let them bake for 50 minutes or until a lovely golden brown. 

Enjoy hot with ketchup or mayo

Notes

1. You can add coarsely ground black pepper instead of chilli flakes depending on your taste.
2. Check on the wedges after half an hour and turn over a few if need be.

Shabnam

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie is a British or Irish pie made with beef mince and a crust of mashed potatoes. This dish has been around since the early 1800's. In most cases then, the pie dish was lined with roasted leftover meat and topped with mashed potatoes to make the crust and then baked. 

My mom also made this pie exactly the same way. Any left over mince at home was made into a pie the next day. It was a delicious way of finishing a leftover. 

I have made the pie with fresh mince and vegetables and spiced it up a bit to cater to the Indian taste. This pie is also a  good way of finishing up any vegetables lying around in your fridge.

 All kids love shepherd's pie and it has their greens and proteins and carbohydrates all packed into one. That's a good enough reason to be making this at home.

Here's what you will need to make this healthy pie

Preparation time - 15 minutes

Cooking time - 30 minutes

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

500g beef mince

2 tbsps oil

1 onion chopped

3 tomatoes peeled and chopped

1 big cup vegetables of your choice(carrots, corn, mushrooms, peas, beans, peppers)

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

a pinch of turmeric

salt to taste

For potato crust

4 potatoes boiled

salt, pepper and oregano/mixed herbs for seasoning

7 tbsps milk

1 tsp butter

Method

• Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion to this.  Once the onions have browned lightly, add the mince, ginger garlic paste and salt to taste.
• Sauté on high flame until the mince has browned. Add the vegetables to this and mix. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.

• Add tomatoes and all the spices to this and mix well. Cover and let it cook on slow for 10-15 minutes.

• While the mince is cooking you can prepare the mash. Take the potatoes in a mixing bowl and mash with a vegetable masher/fork. Add milk and seasoning to this and mix until smooth.

• The mince will be done by this time. Transfer the mince from the pan to a pretty 'oven to table' baking dish and press down a bit.

• Add the mash on top of the mince and even it out. Make a pretty design on top with a fork and add one tsp butter.

• Pop it in a pre heated oven at 200 degrees C for 20 minutes or until the crust turns a nice golden brown. 

Serve hot with ketchup.

Notes

1. Using oregano/mixed herbs for seasoning the mash is optional.
2. You can add more butter on the mash before putting it in the oven to get a crispy golden crust. 
3. I have used tinned tomatoes here cos they give a better flavour. Normal fresh tomatoes will work just as well.

Shabnam