Hassleback Potatoes with Garlic and Sour Cream

Featured in Tastespotting.com on 12th Oct 2012

I’ll admit the only reason I made this is because it looks so cool. Like an armadillo or a fat fan or an accordion. A restaurant in Stockholm invented these and hence they took on the moniker of the restaurant. (The restaurant was called Hasslebacken!). I like fancy looking food, but I don’t really have the patience to make it look fancy. That’s why I’m always envious of pastry chefs. How many hours of practice and restraint does rolling out a perfect sugared rose take?! When you look at a hassleback potato you’re thinking it involves a fair bit of work. Well, it involves some work, but nothing more than slicing and stuffing. On a day when the whole of Bangalore was cooped indoors because of the bandh – I figured I might as well give it a go. The final product is a potato that is crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. Almost like soft crisps. (Oxymoron, I know!). Also since it’s mostly served with Sour Cream, you’ll be safe no matter how it turns out!

P.S. Yes, I’m exactly like Monica Geller in this situation – I will be friends with the foreign student if it means I get to eat sour cream everyday! (The last line is for those fools who used the TV show friends as role model behavior for most of the 90’s and 00’s – that fool includes me!)

Potato and Sausage Soup with Pesto

I resisted for a whole month. I did. Honest. Everyone says I make too many dishes with pesto in it. But…. I love Pesto! And how could I not start the New Year with another way to use the glorious green?! This time I added it to a soup. And not just any soup – the quintessential soup for the manly man. The meat and potatoes soup! It’s technically a main course, but since it’s eaten out of a soup bowl (albeit a rather large one) we’ll still call it soup. As with all things creamy and filled with carbs and meat – this is a hearty one. Meditate on the word – Hearty. It dosen’t just mean ‘filling’, it means something that will make you all loving and giving once you’ve eaten it. Seriously, have you ever seen someone deprived of Carbohydrates? Bitchy bitchy. But not with this soup … all the nastiness just melts into the bowl. Don’t believe me? Try wolfing down a bowl of this and go take a look in the mirror. Did you see the contented smile plastered across your face? There. (Atleast you’ll be an epitome of goodness till dinnertime.) Saving the world darling, that’s what I do best …

Potato and Sausage Soup with Pesto

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 40 mins

Serves: 4 as main course

What you need:

4 large Sausages (I used Chicken franks)

3-4 Tbsp Pesto (click here for recipe or use store-bought Pesto)

4 large/ 450 gms Potatoes

3 Onions, chopped

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Butter

2 ½ cups Chicken Stock

2 ½ cups Milk

100 gms dried Pasta (macaroni/ conchigliette/ spirali – any small shape)

2/3 cup Cream

Parsley, chopped – to garnish

What to do:

Par Boil and keep aside – potatoes and sausages. Peel and chop the potatoes into bite sized pieces. Chop the sausages as well – I prefer franks as they hold their shape in the soup. Heat olive oil and butter in a pan and fry the chopped onions for 4 mins, till cooked but not coloured. Add the stock and milk to the pan, bring to the boil. Toss in the potatoes and sausages and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet and drain and keep aside. Blend in the cream into the simmering stock and simmer for 5 mins. Add the parsley and pesto (I like 4 Tbsp for a nice pesto hit) and combine well. Check seasoning and then adjust for taste with salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Fold in the cooked pasta and heat through for 2-3 mins.

Transfer the soup to individual serving bowls and serve with some freshly grated parmesan and garlic bread.