Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Comfort Food

This follows on from my previous post really. On one of the rare occasions that I do have a stonking hangover, I am unable to contemplate any food that doesn't have the consistency of puree. The thought of having to masticate meat or,worse still, swallow a slimy piece of fried egg makes me want to gag.
There is only one solution: a tried and trusted friend that has rescued me from post-alcohol starvation on many occasions. I bring you the king of potato dishes: 'Champ'.
Everyone likes mashed potato. It's ubiquitous really; you just plonk a dollop on the side of your plate and eat.
Nothing special about the stuff, just some easily digestible carbohydrate.
Champ is different, it raises the humble plate of mashed spuds onto a different plain. Like all the best comfort foods it is simplicity itself to make.You just boil some spuds, pass through a potato ricer, and mash with full cream milk, loads of butter, and chives. Season well with salt and pepper and pile the creamy mash on your plate. Finally, make a well in the mash and add a big chunk of butter. Cover over the well so that the butter melts in the centre of the mash. Finally, scoff with a big grin on your face. YUM.
It sounds a bit crude, but the french make something similar called pommes mouselline. They use nutmeg instead of chives.
n.b You need dry, floury potatoes to make this properly.

11 comments:

Herge Smith said...

I've heard of this 'champ' of which you speak - and now I know what it is. Tar.

You have it in morning? Uck.

I demand fried egg, friend bacon, friend sausage, toast, grilled tomatoes , friend mushrooms and a mug of tea when I'm hungover. Nothing else works.

garfer said...

When hungover I stay in bed until at least midday. No spuds before lunchtime. Nosiree.
The fry up is excellent but must have fried bread to be the real deal.

pissoff said...

You're Irish Garf... of course you'd eat mashed spuds (just like we Canadians eat moose). I have to say it actually sounds pretty good and I'm not a big spud fan myself.

I'm with Herge on this one. More often than not, if I have a hangover, I would require much grease, which I'd usually regret later but by then it's too late.

garfer said...

I thought that Canucks eating moose was a myth.Still, I suppose with all the roadkill over there you have to do something with the spindly legged critters that get mashed on your bull bars.

M said...

Sounds like mashed potatoes. deelish! Herge~ pass on the recipes guy!!! Grilled tomatoes, Fried mushrooms? ARe they the same as "our" fried mushrooms??? I've had fried green tomatoes, oh they are heaven, little ranch dressing on the side. Very Southern!

The Ayatollah Of RocknRolla said...

Tatties, tatties, tatties my kingdom for some tatties!
Champ will do for me.

garfer said...

Fried green tomatoes sound horrible. I understand that they are very tasty, but I would have thought that unripe tomatoes would be bitter.
Spuds are under rated. Pomme Dauphinoise is fuckin' delish.

Sniffy said...

You heard of an Irish thing called (scuse spelling) colcanon? It's got cabbage in it or something. Sounds nice.

Being teetotal, I don't suffer from hangovers anymore, but I used to get some stinkers that left me incapacitated till mid-afternoon or even teatime. Nothing would stay down, not even water. It was a sorry state of affairs. I can't imagine the thought of mashed potatoes doing my stomach much good though.

Catpee said...

Hello there. I'm rather anti-potatoes. The things annoy me. I avoid them mostly, eat chips sometimes. I have a friend from Fife who eats roast potatoes with chips and mashed potatoes. She is a potato monster. When she came over to visit me, she consumed an unhealthy amount of colcannon. Apart from the potato element, it's far too creamy for me.

When I'm hungover, I like lucozade and sausages.

garfer said...

Tina
I'm not keen on cabbage so I avoid calcannon. I avoid alcohol as much as possible. It can be difficult as the highlands of Scotland has a drinking culture. They don't really regard beer as alcohol; it has to be drams (which are larger measures than their English equivalent).
Catpee (what a charming name!)
Thanks for dropping by. Lucozade is indeed a patent hangover remedy. I like square sausage, nae skin.

M said...

Naw, not bitter, just firm and not so juicy. better for frying.