In our house these are called Childhood Potatoes for no other reason than I first had them when I was a child (and loved them – they weren’t exactly typical of food in the south west of the UK in the 1980s after all) and hadn’t had them for decades. My children wanted to know what they were called and the name stuck.
This is such an easy dish even if it looks fancy and is a fantastic side or great lunch with a salad. The asafoetida or hing is a common Indian spice and well worth searching out as it has a flavour all of its own. It comes from the giant fennel plant and is perfect for people who don’t like or cannot digest onions or garlic as it gives a similar tang. It’s also handy to have in your store cupboard in emergency if you run out of garlic! As a powder it doesn’t effect the smooth texture of the cream in this dish, which almost forms a soft cheese like consistency when cooked.
This dish really elevates the humble potato and can be served with a meal or on it’s own with salad. It’s quicker to make than and dauphinoise and actually really reasonable at around 25p a portion. I make at least a double batch which can be portioned into smaller oven-proof dishes or a couple of big dishes for the freezer. It’s great reheated next day if you have any leftovers too.
Childhood Potatoes
Ingredients
- 10 medium potatoes peeled and slices into disks around 3cm wide
- 1 tablespoon of oil or butter
- 1 tsp asafoetida (or garlic if you prefer)
- 1 tsp ground dried rosemary
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 750ml sour cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 120ml water
- paprika to sprinkle, I prefer smoked
Directions
- Step 1 Boil the potato slices in water until cooked but firm. They shouldn’t be falling apart at the sides.
- Step 2 Heat the oil/butter in a large separate pan and sauté the asafoetida/garlic for a few seconds before adding the rosemary, black pepper and turmeric.
- Step 3 Add the cream, salt and water and stir well until it’s all well mixed. Remove from the heat.
- Step 4 Add the potato slices and gently combine with the cream mix.
- Step 5 Pour into a large flat casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with paprika and bake for 30mins in a 200c oven. The top should be golden brown and sauce bubbling.
