You know what they say – if you want to get something done, ask a busy person, and Sheila Kiely is nothing if not busy. Mother to six, including two sets of twins, Cork-based Sheila is now also the proud parent of her first cookbook, Gimme The Recipe, to go with her blog of the same name.
Gimme The Book
The back cover of the book tells you that this volume is about easy food ideas for said busy people, recipes that don’t involve long lists of ingredients or anything that you won’t find at your local supermarket. It’s all honest-to-goodness, family-friendly stuff – think beef stew, lasagne and homemade chicken nuggets, as well as brownies, tarts and crumbles – along with practical ideas for family gatherings and tips on getting kids involved in the kitchen. In other words, and as Sheila herself describes it, it’s a book that hopes (and I suspect, succeeds) in answering, in a very practical and accessible way, that perennial question of “what’s for dinner Mom?”
Crispy Potato Skins
On the spud front (because, let’s face it, that is my singular obsession in life), Sheila’s book includes a number of simple, classic recipes, namely for stuffed baked potatoes, potato wedges and crispy potato skins. What I liked about the potato skins recipe was the sheer practicality of it all – if you’re preparing mash for dinner, then here is a speedily prepared snack for hungry kids that can be made from the peelings that you would probably have otherwise discarded.
It also reminded me of how easy these are to make, and prompted me to stop what I was doing and just go make some, because there really is very little effort involved – just take your peelings, toss in oil, season, bake, then add a little cheese at the end. Sheila uses olive oil and cheddar cheese, I adapted things slightly and used some mature Coolea cheese and rapeseed oil, along with a little sprinkle of ground cumin, because that’s how I roll.
You’ll need:
- 6-8 medium-sized potatoes
- 1.5 tblsp olive or rapeseed oil
- coarse salt
- approx. 50g cheddar or other hard cheese, grated
- sprinkling of ground cumin (optional)
You’ll also need:
- A baking tray (or trays) large enough to accommodate the potato skins.
The Steps:
- Preheat your oven to 200C
- Scrub your potatoes and peel them thickly. I’m going to assume that you’ll use the peeled potatoes for some other purpose, such as mash.
- Toss the potato skins in the oil and a little coarse salt and spread on a baking tray.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the potato skins have crisped up, then sprinkle with the cheese and a little ground cumin, if using. Return to the oven for another 3-5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt, then dig in.
The Variations:
- Parmesan, Gruyère or any other cheese of your liking can be used here. You can add some chilli powder or cayenne pepper, as Sheila suggests, or any other spices that take your fancy, such as smoked paprika.
The Results:
- Serves 4-6 as a snack
What a smart idea! And tasty:) I always like how you roll, DS!
And I always like how you roll too, Jenni! I love things that are this simple and this tasty *and* that involve my favourite vegetable :)
Thank you Aoife, this recipe is proving popular alright, great to stave off the hunger pangs until dinner is ready and means less trips with the compost bin! Liking the sprinkling of cumin and I think we’ve all become rapeseed oil converts now that it is so freely available, local and even better, being stocked in the supermarket too. :) Sheila
Definitely a rapeseed oil convert here Sheila (not that I don’t have good olive oil in the cupboard too, mind!) – and of course it’s a brilliant way to cut down on food waste too :)
and I hope you checked that mature coolea for cheese wire fragments, Aoife! ;)
Ah, there you are Mr. Jozeemac! They sure make those cheeses tough in Cork, boy – no excess wire fragments discovered as yet, though, having worn braces for years, I’m sure that a few extra wires in the mouth would be no bother to me :)
Cool blog! Feel free to check out my cooking blog for inspiration :)
Thanks David, will be over to have a looksee presently!