Spicing it up…
It’s been nice to see a bit of sun in Bristol popping up now and again, and it’s even given us the opportunity to get out and start a few BBQ’s in the back garden- How very nice of Mr Sun! Although i never really thought BBQ’ing with cats would be an issue, it seems very difficult (as a team of two) to ensure the cats don’t burn their puddies or eat our food whilst we’re prepping and getting ready for a garden feast. Miko is the hunger machine of our two cats, and he will literally eat anything- as i recently discovered him dragging a roasted red pepper along the ground…
This recipe wasn’t part of our BBQ at the time but i feel would make a great accompaniment to some BBQ’d Lemon and herby fish or chicken with some corn on the cob on the side. It was made rather last minute in an attempt to spice up our regular favourite – Chicken wrapped in Parma Ham, of which my husband Rob really cannot resist taking off the weekly menu.
The lemon zest gives it a nice tang, but not so much that it overpowers but really goes well with the smokey paprika, i reckon you could mix it up further with Lime zest for a complete citrus touch. Whatever you have in to hand in your pantry really 🙂
- 450g Maris Piper, floury potatoes or 1 can of Pre-cooked Chickpeas 400g
- 50ml of Semi Skimmed Milk or a glug of Olive oil if using chickpeas
- Tiny smidgen of Butter
- 4 Garlic cloves minced
- 3-5 heaped teaspoons of Paprika (Dependent on taste and for a dash on top)
- Zest of 1/2 a Lemon (finely grated)
- Salt and Pepper
- Peel and rinse your potatoes thoroughly under cold water once or twice until some of the starch has been removed.
- Pop your potatoes/chickpeas in a saucepan with some cold salted water and bring to the boil. Cook on a medium heat until you can put a knife through them. (Cook the precooked chickpeas until they are hot.)
- Drain your potatoes/chickpeas and season with salt and pepper.
- Pop the saucepan back on the heat and add the milk/ Olive oil until it becomes hot (but not bubbling)
- Add back in your potatoes/chickpeas into the milk with the minced garlic and butter, and start mashing with a potato masher or -as John Torode does on Masterchef- use a fork!
- When you’ve got most of the lumps out, or have a smoothish consistency, add in the Paprika, Lemon Zest and more salt and pepper and give it a good mix around.
- If you fancy, dash a bit of extra paprika on top.
- Feel free to add more of anything to get it to your tastes, i personally like to add a bit more paprika than usual, and sometimes some cayenne pepper for a kick 🙂
