Ingredients
| FOR THE PINK PICKLED ONIONS | |
| 2 cups cider vinegar | |
| 1 cup water | |
| 1 cup caster sugar | |
| 1 teaspoon fennel seeds | |
| 4 large red onions, peeled (reserve the skins for the onion butter), finely sliced | |
| FOR THE BURNT-ONION BUTTER | |
| skins from 4 large red onions, reserved from making the pickled onions | |
| 500g unsalted butter, at room temperature | |
| BAKED POTATO MASH | |
| 500g table salt | |
| 1.5kg large Agria potatoes, pricked all over with a fork | |
| canola oil, enough to brush over potatoes | |
| 100ml milk | |
| 200g unsalted butter | |
| 1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped |
Though this serves a couple as a side dish, I would probably not share! The humble jacket potato is a staple in the Johnston family home (for the non-Brits that’s a baked potato). Mum and Dad would have this for lunch with cheese and beans, or as one of the two veg on the old meat-and-two-veg plate. Way back when – when I was a budding young chef with zero culinary knowledge – I’d hear my peers tell these over-the-top stories of how their parents and grandparents inspired them to cook by making all these fancy dishes I’d never heard of. I’m not going to lie; I felt a bit jealous and thought that I was hard done by in not having cooking memories with my folks.
Instructions
| 1. | PINK PICKLED ONIONS |
| 2. | Put the first four ingredients into a saucepan and stir, over a low heat, until the sugar dissolves. |
| 3. | Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. |
| 4. | Place the onions in a large bowl. |
| 5. | Pour over the pickling liquid and let stand overnight for maximum pink colour. |
| 6. | These pickles can be kept in a jar in the fridge for at least a year. |
| 7. | BURNT-ONION BUTTER |
| 8. | Heat an oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper. |
| 9. | Put the onion skins on the baking tray and bake until the onions are dark and crisp, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool. |
| 10. | Once the skins are cool, put into a food processor and blitz to a fine powder. |
| 11. | Add the butter and a pinch of sea salt to the food processor and blitz until fully blended. |
| 12. | Scrape all the butter into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator until needed. |
| 13. | Half an hour before using, let it stand at room temperature to soften. |
| 14. | This will last for about 2 weeks in the fridge. |
| 15. | BAKED POTATO MASH |
| 16. | Heat the oven to 180°C. |
| 17. | Take a deep roasting pan and fill with the salt. |
| 18. | Liberally brush each potato with canola oil. |
| 19. | Sit the potatoes one by one onto the bed of salt, with a little space between each one. |
| 20. | Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until they are fork tender. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. |
| 21. | While the hot spuds cool down, gently heat the milk, butter, some salt and ground white pepper in a saucepan. Once piping hot, set aside. |
| 22. | Arm yourself with an oven glove or a folded tea towel in one hand and a sharp, serrated knife in the other. |
| 23. | Pick up each potato and cut it in half. Working quickly but being careful not to rip a hole in the skins, scoop the flesh of the potato into the saucepan of hot milk – it needs to stay warm as it makes for a smoother mash. |
| 24. | Once all the potatoes have been scooped into the milk, put the potato skins back into the oven for about 10 minutes to crisp up fully. |
| 25. | Use a potato masher or a whisk to mash the potatoes, in the pan, until smooth. |
| 26. | Then put the pan onto a low heat and using either a whisk or a spatula, whip the potatoes until glossy and smooth. Set aside. |
| 27. | Remove the skins from the oven and when cool enough to handle break up the skins into bite-sized pieces. |
| 28. | Spoon the mash into a medium-sized serving bowl then top with chopped chives, pink pickled onions, burnt-onion butter and crumble over the potato-skin crisps. |
Recipes & food styling Jamie Robert Johnston / Photography Josh Griggs
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