I am finally doing something that I have been working towards for the past six or seven years, I am working for myself. It's scary; I have no guaranteed steady income, I still have to pay for nursery two days a week to be able to do it, I am completely financially reliant on some one else until I have done enough admin, promotion and sales to be able to comfortably turn a profit - in the most economically trying period of the past ten years. But still, I feel exhilarated and firm in the knowledge that I've made the right decision.
This does mean that I have two days a week now that I dedicate solely to growing my business and I am excited by it. Of course, part of my brain is thinking about turning the spare room into a Pinterest style office on a budget, the other part of my brain is telling me to get in the kitchen and start testing some recipes.
I promised the Instagram community a while ago that I was going to develop a recipe a little bit further before I published it. That took longer than expected because of many things, including getting a little break away to Northern Ireland ourselves (which was great, but that's not for this blog post). But I have finally made it all up now and can I just say, I love spuds. That's all.
Turmeric potatoes. Turmeric is so good for you. SO good for you. In fact, when I was weaning Ayah, there were very few meals that I didn't include it in. I always have a decent sized jar in my cupboard and almost every baby weaning cookbook uses it in 90% of their recipes. I'm not even exaggerating. It not only gives food colour, it has a deep earthy flavour and it is a natural anti-inflammatory (which is why people always say you should mix turmeric into your honey and lemon when you have a cold).
In large amounts, it can be very overpowering, almost dusty tasting. It takes a lot of experimenting before you can comfortably and confidently add enough to get the flavour but not too much that it makes your eyes water. I still have that problem when I just chuck stuff in, particularly if I'm in a rush.
Anyway, back to my love of potatoes. Let me be clear, I don't love all potatoes. I have real issues with boiled and mashed spuds, especially if there is no butter involved. My potatoes must be crispy on the outside. Chips are a firm favourite, as are roast potatoes. I feel like these are a good halfway point of my favourite potatoes.
Turmeric Potatoes
1kg potatoes, peeled and quartered - for size reference, I used Maris Piper
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
6 cloves garlic, crushed with the skin still on
110ml good olive oil (NOT extra virgin)
A note here as to why I specify not extra virgin olive oil: You shouldn't really use it for cooking anyway because it has a low smoke point and burns much more easily. It has a lovely flavour so keep it for dressing salads or drizzling over finished foods. This recipe uses a high temperature so olive oil, not extra virgin, is preferred.
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C. Mix your spices and salt together in a little bowl or ramekin so that all the potatoes get a good even coverage. Add the potatoes and garlic in one layer to your favourite oven dish and pour over the olive oil. Sprinkle your little pot of spices over and give everything a good toss around so that it looks deliciously yellow.
Put your dish into the hottest part of your oven and roast everything for about 45 minutes. Test one potato to make sure it's good and soft. If it's still a bit firm in the middle, return the dish to the oven for 15 minutes.
And that is that! I like these with fajita style chicken or as a side for a BBQ, which you can totally do throughout the autumn and winter.