One thing I will freely admit and that is that the potato is my favourite vegetable. I could live without bread if I had to, and steak, but I don't think I would be happy going for very long without a potato. Its just not possible.
I love them in any way shape or form. I do have my favourite ways of course, but generally speaking if potatoes are involved I am all in.
I cannot imagine anyone not loving potatoes or even liking them, although I do know it happens. My oldest daughter for instance. She says she doesn't like potatoes.
She does however like potato chips, french fries, cheesy potato skins, hashbrowns . . . potato sticks. You get the picture. She only likes "BAD" potatoes or potatoes infused with fat. She makes me laugh. I can't say that I blame her. I am awfully fond of those things also!
I found a recipe in a cookbook of mine put out by the people at Cooking Light. Fresh Food, Fast Weeknight Meals. It was for a potato side dish. It sounded awfully good.
Unfortunately half the stuff required was not really available here in the UK, or I didn't know what it was. So I did what any good cook would do. I adapted it to what I could find, which with this recipe meant that it was pretty much a brand new recipe.
Oh well, I guess you can say it was inspired by them.
I also made it to serve only 3 people, or two hungry ones.
Their recipe called for prechopped pepper and onion mix. I didn't have any of those, but I did have onions and peppers. So I chopped my own. It also called for refrigerated sliced potatoes. I have never seen those. I have no idea if they are already cooked or what????
I used what I had, which was raw potato, that I peeled and thinly sliced. It also called for fat reduced jalapeno cheddar. We don't have that either.
Instead I added a chopped jalapeno pepper to the onion/pepper mix and sauteed them lightly, and I used a strong cheddar. Because I was using raw potatoes, I added a bit of vegetable stock. Just to make sure that the potatoes cooked.
It went together very easily and quickly. It did take a bit longer than their suggested bake time. So I strongly suspect that their potatoes were at least demi cooked.
Altogether I was very pleased with the way this turned out. It was deliciously, cheesy, almost creamy with tender pieces of potato and a nice bit of a bite from the use of the jalapeno pepper. I call this a win!
Jalapeno & Cheese Potato Bake
Yield: 3
No doubt about it, this delicious potato casserole is destined to become a favourite.
ingredients:
- 1/2TBS butter
- 1/2 pound thinly sliced bell peppers (green, yellow, red)
- 1 small jalapeno pepper, trimmed, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 3 medium red potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
- 120g grated strong cheddar cheese
- 120ml hot vegetable broth/stock (1/2 cup)
- chopped parsley or coriander to sprinkle (optional)
instructions:
How to cook Jalapeno & Cheese Potato Bake
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/gas mark 6. Lightly grease a shallow 5 by 8 inch baking dish. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the peppers, jalapeno pepper and onion. Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook for five minutes longer.
- Season the potato slices with the salt and pepper and then start layering them in the baking dish as follows: 1/3 of the potatoes, 1/2 of the bell pepper mixture, 1/3 of the cheese. Top with another third of the seasoning potatoes, the remaining pepper mixture and 1/3 of the cheese. Top with the last of the potatoes and the cheese. Pour the vegetable stock into the dish.
- Cover tightly with foil and then bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the casserole is golden brown. Sprinkle with the parsley or coriander and serve.
This is a great potato side dish that would go with most things. Meatloaf, chicken, fish, pork. I can't think of anything that wouldn't go with it actually! I think Meatloaf would go the best though! Just saying!
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