Rumbledethumps: hot mash, cabbage, leeks and cheese

I have always found hot mashed potato to be a superior cure for glumness, grouchiness and assorted aches of body and mind. Not any old gluey mash, mind you, but a fluffy, creamy pile of mashed fresh spuds, heaped in a volcano formation around a molten core of salty butter.

If I were on death row, perhaps for throttling an estate agent, or pushing a politician's face into the whirring blade of a food processor, I would not hesitate to choose mashed potato, pork bangers, peas and sticky onion gravy as my last meal. And if no pork sausages or peas were available, I would take the mash, straight up.

I don't often have the energy to peel a pile of spuds for real mash (my kids, annoyingly, seem to prefer crispy, healthy potato wedges) but I do find my thoughts turning to mashed potato when I am exhausted, hungry or fed up.

I'm also quite nuts about all the wonderful British traditional hashes of mashed potato. These dishes spring, in the main, from the thrifty use of leftover roast dinners, and although they have subtle regional differences, they draw from a common pool of ingredients: spuds, cabbage, onion, leeks, butter, chives, turnips, and, of course, butter. Ireland has colcannon and champ, England has bubble and squeak, and Scotland leads with three potato-based hashes: clapshot, stovies and rumbledethumps.

Rumbledethumps is, as far as I can ascertain, the only one of these flavoured hashes that is commonly (although not always) tipped into a dish, topped with cheese, and set in the oven to bake. It's a dish from the Scottish Borders, and usually features mashed potato, cabbage and onion, although I've found variations that include turnip. The delightful name of this dish (pronounced rumble-dee-thumps) is said to come from the bumpy burbling sound that the mixture makes as you turn it over in a hot pan. In my opinion, the name is more likely to be derived from gaseous, cabbagy pressure-leaks that make duvets float ceilingwards at night.

My version of rumbledethumps includes leeks, and I made it, rather prissily, in individual ramekins. Feel free to thump the whole mass into a big dish, and slap it in the centre of the table.

This dish can be made many hours - or even a day - in advance, and popped into the oven half an hour before serving.

Rumbledethumps

8 large, floury potatoes, peeled
enough boiling water to cover the potatoes
2 tsp (10 ml) salt
4 leeks, white parts only, peeled and finely sliced
half a medium cabbage, core removed and finely shredded
3 T (45 ml) butter
1 T (15 ml) vegetable oil
about 1/2 cup (125 ml) milk or cream (or a little more, see recipe)
a little extra butter
2/3 cup grated sharp Cheddar
2/3 cup finely grated Parmesan, Grana Padano or Pecorino cheese
a little nutmeg [optional]

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

Cut the peeled potatoes into quarters. Put them in a large, deep pan and add enough water just to cover them. Add the salt, place on the heat and bring rapidly to the boil. Boil for 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, and fall apart, when poked with a sharp knife.

While the potatoes are boiling, prepare the leeks and cabbage. Heat a pan, add the butter and oil, and stir-fry the sliced leeks for a few minutes until they soften (but do not allow them to brown). Now add all the cabbage, toss well so that every shred is coated with fat, cover and allow to steam gently for 3-4 minutes, or until the cabbage has wilted. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside, leaving the lid on.

Drain the potatoes in a colander. Leave the hot plate on. Allow the spuds to drain and dry out for a minute or so. Return the spuds to their cooking pan and place over the heat. Add the milk and another generous knob of butter, wait for a moment for the milk and butter to bubble, and, using a potato masher, bash and mash the spuds to a smooth, fluffy consistency, adding more milk if necessary.

Now tip the leeks and cabbage into the mashed potatoes, and stir well to combine. Remove from the heat and tip in half the grated Cheddar and Parmesan. Stir again, and season with salt and pepper. Tip the mixture into a big, greased baking dish (or individual ramekins) and smooth the surface, using the side of a knife. Grate a little nutmeg - just a whisper - over the surface. Sprinkle with the remaining Cheddar and Parmesan, and place in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese topping is bubbling and golden.

Serves 8, as a side dish, or 4, as a main course.

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Potato-topped Celery, Leek and Cheese Pie

It doesn't sound very tempting, does it? Who wants to eat leeks and celery, apart from rabbits and rabid vegetarians? How tempting is a recipe that contains nine vowels of the E variety? But this dish is just delicious, and I urge you to give it a try.

I have frothing fountains of celery growing in the narrow strip I call my vegetable garden, and I've been scratching my head trying to think what to do with all the celery, before it goes to seed. I'm really not mad about the texture and taste of celery, although I do understand the logic of adding a few pared toenails of the stuff to stews, stocks and soups, especially when a few nuggets of crispy bacon are involved. I have about 95 litres of celery soup in the freezer, cunningly frozen in 500-ml zip-lock bags (that's what I did with last year's crop; I even labelled and dated them, Martha-Stewart style), but frankly all they've been useful for is ice-packery when someone's sprained an ankle or walked into a door.

Anyway, this recipe came about because my husband mentioned, out of the blue, that his late mum (a wonderful cook) used to cook whole stalks of celery in a cheesy white sauce.

I had a jugful of the same in the fridge, plus a big bowl of left-over mash, and here is the result. It was so tasty, and even better the next day, when the leeky and celeryish flavours delivered a smart punch to my tastebuds.

Potato-topped Celery and Leek Pie

For the cheesy white sauce (note: these measurements are approximate; the final thickness of the sauce depends on the strength of the flour. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it down with more milk. )

3 T (45 ml) butter
3 T (45 ml) white cake or bread flour
750 ml cold milk
1 cup (250 ml) grated Cheddar or other sharp cheese
2 tsp (5-1o ml) Dijon or wholegrain mustard
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper

For the pie:

2 T (30 ml) olive oil
4 fat leeks, trimmed, rinsed and finely sliced
8-10 sticks young celery, trimmed of all green leaves and finely sliced
1/2 cup (125 ml) chicken or vegetable stock, or white wine
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
salt and milled black pepper

For the topping:
2 cups (500 ml) mashed potato, warmed

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

First make the cheesy white sauce. Put the flour and the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Using a whisk, stir briskly until the butter melts, and allow to cook for two minutes. Now tip in a cup or so of the cold milk, whisking well as you pour. When the mixture begins to thicken, add the remaining milk, turn up the heat to its fullest setting, and continue whisking until the sauce has thickened and come to the boil. Turn the heat down to its lowest setting and allow it to bubble gently for another two minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the grated cheese, the mustard and the lemon juce. Add salt and pepper.

Set aside (put a piece of clingfilm or waxed paper on the top of sauce, to prevent a skin forming, if you're making it in advance).

Heat the olive oil in a deep pan or wok and add the leeks and celery. Stir-fry, over a fierce heat, for a minute or so, but don't allow the veggies to brown. Now add the stock or wine, and allow to bubble furiously for a minute. Cover the pot with a lid or a piece of tin foil, turn the heat to its lowest setting, and allow to simmer gently for 10 minutes, or until the celery is just tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Tip the reserved cheesy white sauce into the leek and celery pan and stir well to combine. Tip the mixture into a serving dish, smooth the surface, and top with mashed potato. Brush with melted butter (or peanut-sized bits of cold butter) and bake at 180 C until the potato topping is golden brown.

Serves 6. Print Friendly

Heaven on a plate: Fillet, Mash and Rocket with Balsamic glaze

My recipe of the year - this really is heaven on a plate; the most sublime combination of flavours and textures. Actually, it's not my recipe, but my humble imitation of an exquisite plate of food served up at Al Fiume, a very good Italian country restaurant set on the banks of the lovely Hennops River, about 45 minutes' drive north of Johannesburg. In the kitchen is the inspired Giancarlo Pironi, formerly of Assaggi and arguably South Africa's best Italian chef.

This is the perfect dinner-party dish. It's easy to make and not at all fiddly, provided you move quickly, keep everything piping-hot and buy the very best matured fillet and and the pepperiest, freshest rocket and sharpest Parmesan. This recipe serves 10, but is easily halved.

I blush at the fact that this dish is vertically stacked on the plate (I detest towers of food, but in this case the piling of rocket upon steak upon mash is entirely justified).

Fillet with Mash, Rocket, Parmesan and a Balsamic Vinegar Glaze

2 whole fillet steaks
2 T (30 ml) Dijon mustard
2 T (30 ml) olive oil
3 T (45 ml) good soy sauce (Kikkoman)
salt and milled black pepper

oil and butter for frying

10 large floury potatoes, peeled and quartered
milk and butter

fresh rocket (about 3 'pillow packs', or enough to fill a medium salad bowl)
a wedge of cold Parmesan or Grana Padano
freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons
a glug of olive oil

200 ml balsamic vinegar

An hour or two before you're going to cook them, trim and prepare the fillets (click here for details). Place the fillets in a ceramic dish and, using your hands, smear with the mustard and olive oil. Pour the soy sauce over the meat, cover with clingfilm and set aside (out of the fridge, so they can come up to room temperature).

Preheat the oven to 190°C and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat.

Put the potatoes into a pan of salted water, bring to the boil and cook until quite tender. Drain in a colander, allow to dry out for 5 minutes, and then put them back in the pan. Place the pan back on the heat, add a splash of milk and a large knob of butter, and mash until fluffy and very smooth. Season with salt and pepper, cover and keep hot.

In a large frying pan, heat some olive oil and butter until very hot - just short of smoking. Remove the fillets from the ceramic dish, shake off the liquid, season well with salt and pepper and place into the hot fat. Quickly brown the fillets on all sides until nicely caramelised (this should take about 6 -7 minutes). Put the fillets on the heated baking sheet and place them in the oven for 7-12 minutes, or until done (they should be a nice rosy pink inside - cut a slit in the thickest part of the fillet to check for doneness). Leave the frying pan and its juices on the stove. Put 10 plates in the warmer drawer.

While the fillet is baking, tip the rocket leaves into a deep bowl. Using a potato peeler, shave the Parmesan or Grana Padano into large thin flakes and add to the bowl. Now add the lemon juice and olive oil, in equal quantities, season with salt and pepper and toss well to coat.

Turn the heat on under the pan you fried the fillets in. Tip the liquid left in the ceramic marinating dish into the hot pan and stir well to loosen any sediment. Pour in the balsamic vinegar. Allow to bubble over a high heat until reduced by about half, to a slightly syrupy glaze.

To serve: Take the fillets out of the oven, cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Carve into 20 1-cm-thick slices. Put a generous mound of hot mashed potato into the centre of each plate and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place 2 slices of fillet on the mash (they should lean casually against the mound). Sprinkle with a few drops of balsamic glaze. Top with a generous handful - an extravagant crowning tuft - of the rocket and Parmesan.

Now, in best cheffy style, take a teaspoon of the balsamic glaze and make a pretentious designer dribble around the edges of the plate.

Serve immediately, to rapturous applause.

Serves 10.

Note: Don't shave the Parmesan in advance - it tends to dry out and get a bit greasy. Print Friendly